Stargate: The Abandoned, 3, Episode Three: Darkest Knight

[The Narrator]

The team sits packed inside the Jumper. Harris is in the pilot's chair with Hall as co-pilot. Winter and Tim lay stretched out in back, along with Chris, Riley, and the others.

Someone has drawn a sheet over Tim, which only seems to exaggerate his state.

Winter's rash has all but disappeared, and enough time has passed that she may awaken soon.

No one has said a word in some time, and the silence is beginning to weigh on everyone.

[RP Chris Perkins]

From his second row seat, Chris looked around the cabin at the quiet crew, still intentionally averting his eyes from the remains of the ex-geologist. The sheet was so not helping, and somehow the lack of two men in the ship made the babin feel insufferably cramped and yet empty at the same time.

Claustrophobia of a different sort kicked in and he felt he had to say SOMETHING.

"So is this how it's going to be? We sit around and stare at each other until we drift off and starve to death, or what? I don't know about you all, but I need some air, we have to do something about..." he made a gesture at Tim's body, "and I cetainly don't want to be stuck in this lint trap when Winter wakes up and finds out her little puppy has gone by the way of road kill!"

[RP- Jamie Harris]

Harris said nothing to Chris and his accusations, because the truth of the matter was that she had know idea where the were. She looked at Hall from the corner of her eye.

"He's right ya know. Do we have a plan?" she said quietly, shifting her gaze back to the inky black sky.

((OOC:Oki dokie all fixed up ^^))

[The Narrator]

((OOC: Wasn't sure that we'd gotten there, I thought we were still dialed into the space gate, and I wasn't sure if everyone would appreciate being forced to go to the address supplied by Medea.

That being said, *holds large blinking "Plot Point" arrow directed at said world*. -- Rey))

[RP Riley Hunter]

Riley shrugged rather apathetically, not caring really either way what happened right at the moment. At least they were away from the Genii. It was a small consolation; out of their already small group of comrades, two had been taken away. What she really wanted right now was a hot, long shower and some decent sleep. Seeing as both were on the other side of a Gate address that refused to connect (and even then, the sleep would probably have proved elusive), she would've settled for just getting out of the damn Jumper and finding a place where they could safely lay Tim to rest.

"Is there a planet nearby?" Riley asked, startling the Marine next to her. "One we could actually land on, that is. I'd rather not wait much longer in here."

[RP Bennett Hall]

"He's right ya know. Do we have a plan?" she said quietly, shifting her gaze back to the inky black sky.

"Oh and suddenly I'm ranking military officer?" Hall grumbled under his breath, unconsciously rubbing at the bandaging covering what was left of his ear.

"Is there a planet nearby?" Riley asked, startling the Marine next to her. "One we could actually land on, that is. I'd rather not wait much longer in here."

He spoke a little louder, "I'm with Hunter on this one. I think finding somewhere solid to land would be nice. I sure as hell don't want to be in this little Fun-V when the decomposition sets in for our friend Timmy back there."

He glanced back over his shoulder and leveled a glare at Chris. "And if I were you, buster, I'd watch who I'm callin' roadkill. Campbell wasn't a close friend of any of us, but I respected him and you damn well better do the same for his memory, you little slug, or Winter is gonna be the least of your problems."

[RP Chris Perkins]

"Oh sob sob, whine whine. At least we're still around to 'honor his memory'." Chris clasped his hands together and did his best impression of a swooning princess. "Now he'll live on forever in our hearts," He dropped back into a bored expression, "or some other Hallmark bullshit."

He nestled back into his chair angrily.

"Get us out of here, Harris."

[RP Lydia Winter]

Stirring from her stun induced stupor, Winter groaned, raising one hand to rub her forehead. She wasn't yet totally coherent, but she heard the edge in Perkins' voice and reacted accordingly.

"Stuff it, Perkins. I've tried to kill McKay, I'll succeed with you."

[RP Chris Perkins]

At the sound of Lydia's voice, Chris went rigid and did his best attempt to sink unnoticed into his chair.

[RP Riley Hunter]

ooc: Oh snap! Now the fur is really gonna fly. *hides behind a big rock*

bic: Riley jumped, startled at Winter's sudden reappearance in the land of the conscious. She swore softly, eyes darting to Tim's sheet-draped form nearby.

"Welcome back, Doctor Winter." she said, forcing a smile into her voice and failing miserably. "How do you feel?

[RP Lydia Winter]

"Like I've spent the past twelve hours in a mosh pit," Winter responded, her back creaking as she struggled to sit up. She winced and scooted to the nearest wall, leaning on it for support. "Or maybe it's fairer to say as the floor under a mosh pit."

Wearily, she raised her head, taking in the sheet draping what she had to assume was Sampson as well as the faces of her crew.

One was conspicuously missing.

"Where's Campbell?"

[RP Chris Perkins]

"Um. Er. Waiting for us back at the planet. Yes. Yes."

Chris sat up straight, avoiding eye contact with Winter.

"Yes, let's get back there! He's probably lonely by now..."

[RP Riley Hunter]

Riley winced, and tried to evade the question by fiddling with her glasses, taking them off and cleaning them with a somewhat clean portion of her shirt. After a few moments of this, she stopped, sighed, and replaced them. Might as well get it over with.

"He's-" She was cut off by Chris' blatant lie.

"Um. Er. Waiting for us back at the planet. Yes. Yes."

Chris sat up straight, avoiding eye contact with Winter.

"Yes, let's get back there! He's probably lonely by now..."

She glared at him, eyes narrowing. "Chris, it's probably best not to lie in a situation like this." she snapped at the engineer, her accent thickening in her annoyance. "She deserves the right to know."

[RP Chris Perkins]

Chris glared back at the woman. "Go ahead and tell her, just give me a running head start. You wanna deal with Hurricane Winter, you go RIGHT ahead!"

[RP Riley Hunter]

"Someone's got to do it, Chris." Riley replied stiffly, and then turned back to Winter.

"As far as we know, Jason Campbell was trapped and presumably killed when a tunnel nearby him collapsed, taking him down with it. We checked on the life signs detector, but we couldn't find anything, save for our own." She said this in a rather detached voice, as if she were giving a report on the anatomy of sea slugs. After a moment, though, her clinical demeanor softened, a look of grief on her face. "I'm sorry, Doctor Winter. We tried saving him, but it was too late. He's gone."

[RP Lydia Winter]

Winter slumped against the wall, stunned into silence. She sat that way for several minutes, processing the information until her vocal cords found the ability to make a sound.

"Then--" her voice came out a croak, harsh and dry. She swallowed, trying to make her throat loosen enough for clarity and failed.

She opted to remain quiet until her emotions could be brought under control.

[RP Chris Perkins]

Chris stared at Winter in surprise for a moment before asking, "Did we break her?"

[RP Riley Hunter]

"Now is not the time, Chris." Riley said softly. "She needs to deal with this her own way. Trust me on this one."

[RP Chris Perkins]

"But..." Chris frowned. "Where's the smoke and fumes? I was expecting flames and growling and hairpulling. Flailing of epic proportions! But this--" he got up and squatted near Winter, waving a hand in front of her face. "This is boring."

[RP Riley Hunter]

"People deal with grief in different ways, Chris." Riley said. "And I probably wouldn't do that if I were you."

[RP Chris Perkins]

"She's, like... Comatose or something." He leaned in and pinched Winter's cheeks. "I'd get a doctor, but he croaked too."

Chris leaned back. "It's actually kinda nice, the quiet."

[RP Riley Hunter]

"You are an insensitive bastard, aren't you?" Riley muttered to herself, shaking her head. She raised her voice. "I suppose, but we should probably figure out something to do, just in case."

[RP Chris Perkins]

"Maybe if we get her laying down again, we can stun her again and, when she wakes up, tell her it was all just a dream." He wiggled his hands in her face.

*wiggle wiggle*

"Just a dream, Lydia! Just a dreeeeeam!"

*wiggle wiggle*

[RP Riley Hunter]

ooc: Oh, lord. Now you've got me giggling. My dogs are looking at me funny.

[RP Chris Perkins]

OOC: Haha! Mission complete! I enjoy being a jerk!

...but I miss Jay already.

Meetcha in the OOC thread, if you wanna continue this convo!

[RP Lydia Winter]

Faster than a kung-fu master with chopsticks snatching a fly out of mid-air, Winter's hand shot forward, fingers wrapping around one of Perkins' digits and bending it backward as far as it would go without breaking. Her fury was controlled and she appeared calm save for the fact that her right eye twitched as she met the engineer's gaze, hard and steady.

"Did I ever mention that I very nearly failed my psych exam, Perkins?"

[RP Chris Perkins]

"Oww ow owowowowow!" was the engineer's only legible reply.

[RP Bennett Hall]

Watching the exchange between Winter and Perkins, Hall just shook his head.

"As much as I think he deserves it, Doc, maybe you might not wanna rip off any of his tech fixin' fingers," he said, turning back to the console. "Other, less vital body parts are up for grabs, though."

[RP Lydia Winter]

"'Less vital'?" Winter repeated, not releasing Perkins' finger. "Hmm. So, tell me, Perkins...just how attached are you to the idea of being able to reproduce?"

[RP Riley Hunter]

"I did tell you not to mess with her, Chris." Riley said, a wry smile on her face. "But I agree with Hall: Any injuries not sustained from an enemy are a bad thing."