The lieutenant marched past a half-dozen hunters, seemingly taking the most direct route to the DHD on purpose so as to prove that the Nistra hadn't won anything. When the gate activated, Elizabeth watched Carson and the Marines troop through and tried not to feel desperately isolated.
Donning her confidence like a cloak, she faced the governor and minister as the wormhole shut down. "This changes nothing about the talks," she informed them. "Control of the gate is not to be used as leverage in any discussion. Keep in mind that my people hold the key to shielding either gate. The first time an ultimatum is issued here-about adarite or raids or anything at all-I'm gone, and no one gets a gate shield."
The presence of the Nistra hunters allowed Galven the freedom to be more accommodating. "Your position is reasonable and understood," he said. "Shall we-"
A sharp crack, like the sound of lightning, tore through the air, followed shortly by a cry-and then chaos.
Elizabeth hit the ground on her side, pain blossoming where her hip struck the hard-packed dirt. It took a half-second for her to realize that Lorne had yanked her down, and another half-second to realize that she should be grateful for his instinctive action. Scattered, random flashes illuminated the area around them, and arrows hissed past overhead.
"I think Cestan's team just showed up to play," Lorne said into her ear, struggling to be heard over the shouts of the hunters. "We need to get out of here."
She raised her head to look for the gate. Between it and them lay forty yards and far too many combatants. Each leader had been swallowed up by a protective cluster of fighters almost immediately. Adarite whips sizzled all around, creating a light show that would have been breathtaking if it hadn't been grisly at the same time. "The Hall," she told him. "We can wait this out in there."
The Major's eyes scanned the newly christened battlefield for the safest route down the hill. No doubt he'd noticed, as she had, that both sides fought in relatively small numbers so far. This wasn't the start of a carefully planned campaign by either group. Rather, it seemed more like a first skirmish between scouting parties. They would have to hope that an opportunity to reach the gate would present itself later, before Atlantis was forced to send a rescue team into the fray.
"Stay as low to the ground as you can until we open up a safe distance," Lorne directed, pointing toward the clearest path. "I'll be right behind you."
Sucking in a breath, Elizabeth began to crawl forward on her forearms, the way she'd seen the Marines do in training. Before long she had to shut her eyes against the long grasses that scratched her face. She wasn't covering ground as fast as she would have liked; Lorne surely could have outdistanced her in seconds. He didn't, of course, instead keeping his body between her and the majority of the fighters.
As the ground started to slope away under her, hope crept into her thoughts. Once they were partway down the hill, the odds of being followed or struck by a stray weapon would diminish.
She'd just gotten brave enough to get up on all fours when she heard a soft moan nearby. One of the Falnori whip-warriors lay in a heap a few feet away, an arrow driven through her thigh. Elizabeth paused, glancing back at Lorne and the first-aid supplies she knew were stored in his vest.
"Helping her might be interpreted as taking sides," he warned under his breath. "Which would be a dangerous thing for us to do."
The warrior looked near to Elizabeth's age, and had she not been wounded she might have carried herself in a similar manner. Her gaze displayed acceptance; she looked as if she knew that the off-worlders would be taking a risk to aid her, and she would understand if they chose not to do so.
It was the most rational viewpoint Elizabeth had seen from anyone on this world in days. She shuffled awkwardly on her hands and knees toward the woman. "Grab her other arm," she told the Major, who moved to comply. Together they dragged the warrior down the hill until they felt safe to stand and pull her arms across their shoulders.
By the time they reached the Hall, Elizabeth's lungs burned with exertion, the sun was inching toward the horizon, and the battle sounded distant. The trio stumbled only a few steps inside the entrance before stopping, unable to negotiate over the rubble on the floor. Trained in basic field medicine, Lorne did his best to make the warrior comfortable and slow the bleeding, although he elected not to remove the arrow from her leg.
"It'll just bleed more if I do. Somebody who knows a lot more than me will have to stitch you up," he told her apologetically, handing over a couple of pills and his canteen. "Take these. They're painkillers." She accepted them with a strained smile.
Exhausted though she was, Elizabeth couldn't resist remarking to Lorne, "Bet you're rethinking your choice to stay here and send Beckett home."
"No, ma'am. I'll take this little paradise any day over the ass-kicking the Colonel would deliver if I left civilians alone and unarmed off-world."
"Thank you." The soft comment came from the woman they'd propped against an overturned bench. "I would not have lasted long had I remained on the battlefield."
"Don't thank us yet. We may not be able to get out of here for some time." Elizabeth sat with her back to the wall and drew her knees up to her chest. "I'm Dr. Weir, by the way, and this is Major Lorne."
"I am Merise. I was one of the first to encounter your people near the gate, days ago."
The name struck a familiar chord. "Teyla mentioned you. She admired your fighting abilities."
"We owe you much for being willing to help us reach for peace." Merise cast her gaze down at the rough projectile embedded in her leg. "Even if it is beyond our grasp. We remain honored by the attempt."
In other words, thanks for playing, and we have some lovely parting gifts for you. Just `trying' had never been good enough for Elizabeth. Still, she had to wonder if she'd been foolish to keep pushing when all signs had pointed to failure. Had she been hopelessly arrogant to believe she could halt a tide that had been building for centuries? Or had it been a blind, desperate play to regain some shred of the rigidly moral life she'd left behind on Earth?
Forcing herself to focus on the immediate situation, she looked at the Falnori woman. "I'm assuming, based on your quick reaction to the Nistra seizing the gate, that your own army isn't far away."
"It is near," admitted Merise. "My group rode ahead. We did not come to provoke a battle, however. We merely planned to patrol the western woods, as we often do. When we saw that the gate had been overrun, we were in place to act."
"Can't really fault you for that," Lorne said. "But now that the fighting's started, we're going to have to treat this like a war, because that's what it's turned into."
On that cheerful thought, Elizabeth leaned her head back on the wall and closed her eyes.
She must have dozed for a while, since the daylight was all but gone when she opened her eyes again. The Major seemed to be exploring the ruined outer building of the Hall. Across the room, the beam of his flashlight played over broken equipment. "Looking for anything that might be useful as a weapon," he explained quietly, glancing at Merise, who also had fallen asleep. "Just in case.
"That will not be necessary."
Elizabeth pushed herself to her feet as Cestan entered the building. His only damage appeared to be to his robes, which were rumpled and smudged with dirt. Two of his warriors immediately went to assist Merise. "The battle's over?" Elizabeth asked.
The governor's nod was grave. "The first of many, I fear. We suffered few losses, but the gate remains under Nistra control."
"How did you…?"
Intuiting her question, Cestan gave a tired smile. "There are not many places you could have fled. Especially since Kellec witnessed you taking Merise with you. We are thankful for that."