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aAuthor: Flaim aka Darkfalconheart
Story: You can run with us. (5/?)
Pairing: nothing as of yet, maybe John/Ronon later on
Summary: John get’s captured by the Wraith, they make him a runner.
Rating: for this chapter: 13 , may be higher in later chapters
Warnings: some violence
Status: WIP
Spoilers: Up to ‘The lost tribe’.
Wordcount: ca. 3500
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, names or other various parts of the SG/SGA universe and all rights are with their respective owners. This is a work of non-profit fanfiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s note: Major General Heinrich von Aue is a completely fictional character, I invented. I have the greatest respect for Hubertus von Butler, who was in command of the KSK until 2005, and who is now heading the DLO, I would never dream of using a real character in my fanfictions, which is why I invented von Aue instead.
Dietmar of course is also fictional.
Who wants to read up on the topic, here is an English source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommando_Spezialkr%C3%A4fte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernsp%C3%A4hkompanie
Again I have to tha nk feathers for her wonderful corrections. You rock!
Interlude - A foreign soldier came to me
„... I will pray for you
I will tell you what to do,
I'll stone you. I shall break you every limb.
Oh I am not afraid of you.
But maybe I should fear the things you make me do.
(James Fenton: Jerusalem)
Jack O'Neill tended to be a little cranky when he did not know what was going on. Being a General usually meant that he was supposed to know. But being called out of a NATO conference in Brussels, being driven to the Airports and being ushered on board a British Airways long haul flight to Washington without as much as an explanation, fell clearly in the category of things to annoy him. Arriving in Washington he found himself picked up by a staff car and driven off. As there was no one he could snipe at, he kept a grim silence until they reached their destination.
When he entered the small briefing room Jack was well ready to demand his answers quite forcefully. But all the words that were on his mind slipped away, when he saw who was awaiting him. If George Hammond and Hank Landry had seen it necessary to pull the strings to get him back from Brussels, it could mean only one thing: there was something wrong OUT THERE, badly wrong or they would not have recalled him. "Which of our old buddies picked a whacked time to go to pull a stunt?" he asked.
"Good to see you too, Jack. Sit down." George Hammond pointed towards the chairs grouped around the small table.
Jack sat down, but shot the man, who was now advisor to the president an annoyed look. "So, why did you call me back from Brussels? It was kind of nice there…" He paused for a moment. "Except for all the conferences. "
"Be glad we didn't call on you a week ago, when the IOA conference as still in full swing," Hank Landry replied. "You would have liked the bickering and trading of favours behind the scenes."
"The IOA?" Jack's voice became guarded. Ever since the Stargate program had been revealed to the leaders of the other nations, the IOA had been a greater pain in the butt than Senator Kinsey could have ever hoped to become. "Is this because of the stunt Baal pulled? Or again because of the Alkesh in Greenland?" The latter was one of the least favourite events of the last year. An Alkesh landing in Greenland was one thing, but having to explain to a whole damned Nato contingent that was up for arctic training in Thule airbase had been a bitch. The IOA had been riding on this incident for weeks.
"None of that." Hammond explained. "Jack, this is about the Atlantis expedition."
Jack frowned. "So Woolsey became finally his ass handed back by the Wraith? Couldn't happen to a nicer man."
Hank Landry sat down opposite of Jack. "Something was off about the Atlantis expedition, this much we knew for about a year. But we suspected the trust was behind it and planted some people to find out more. The IOA insisted that Mr. Woolsey was doing a perfectly good job, and we had nothing to contradict this. Until… until Major Lorne was send back to the SGC to recover from wounds sustained in a battle against the Wraith." Landry stopped for a moment, before he went on. "Major Lorne, despite his bad shape, insisted on talking to either you or George here, the moment he was in the SGC and the gate had shut down."
Jack arched an eyebrow. "Why?" This did not sound good, it sounded like a big mess had just been exploded in their faces.
"I asked him the same when I arrived there." Hammond interjected. "What I heard and saw the next hours was unbelievable. "
"So Mr. Woolsey isn't doing as well as he pretends to?" Jack asked. He had seen enough of this man to know that appointing him to lead Atlantis had been a mistake.
"Things are far worse, Jack," Landry said.
Hammond nodded. "The situation of Atlantis is grave. The Wraith have attacked the city twice in the last year and caused considerable harm. A lot of our allies in Pegasus have been alienated by Woolsey for various reasons and it seems that through Woolsey a certain faction of the NID has wielded considerable influence for the last fifteen months."
Jack sat up straight. The NID had caused them troubles before, especially some of the groups inside it. He had seen his share of problems with them before. "Lorne claimed that Woolsey is back with his buddies at the NID?"
"He does not claim, he had proof." Landry said gravely. "He and a Dr. Zelenka have been building a file on Woolsey's activities ever since he declared John Sheppard MIA and presumed dead in spite of evidence to the contrary. Rodney McKay is the one who found the hard evidence but he failed in transmitting it to Earth and had to flee Atlantis."
"In his reports Woolsey claimed that McKay never overcame his addiction to the Wraith Enzyme and went renegade." Hammond went on. "Lorne told us that McKay is safe, hidden away with some of their allies and delivered a recorded statement from him. It was Zelenka who managed to lay his hands on the evidence McKay had found, before it could be destroyed. Zelenka was promoted to McKay's position and thus managed to garner a lot of information. "
Jack had to try not to look shocked from Hammond to Landry and back. "Have things really gone this far?" It had been a while since he had heard such a story. But if Lorne, who was as level-headed and rational as they came, chose this way of delivering the information they had, and was not willing to trust anyone, then things had gone from bad to worse, much worse. "And what was this about Sheppard?" Jack had persuaded the Major to go with the Atlantis expedition in the first place, when the younger man had been flying choppers from McMurdo to the Ancient outpost in Antarctica.
"It's one of the situations Woolsey mishandled badly." Landry said grimly, pushing a folder towards Jack.
Jack usually made a show of his dislike for all kinds of paperwork, but not right now. He read through the report swiftly and efficiently. Had anyone else handed him this report, he would not have believed that this was genuine. "They just left him out there?" he asked. "This button pusher just sat back and left one of our men behind?"
Landry's mien was still grim. "Yes. From what Lorne said, there was a sighting of John Sheppard alive several months back."
"Months?" Jack's voice grew involuntarily louder. "First they leave him out there, with whatever the enemy did to him, and then… " he stopped and shook his head. "We need to bring him home, him and everybody else that may be on the run from our very own tyrant right now."
"The IOA was as appalled as you are, Jack, when they saw the hard evidence." Hammond replied.
"They were probably more appalled by the negative effect that his case had on diplomatic relations out in Pegasus," Landry corrected. "Carrying the Ancient gene in a significant proportion makes him something of a direct descendant of the Ancients. And John Sheppard acquired quite a hero's reputation, too. More than one nation stopped relations and trading with Atlantis, thus also stopping some vital substances and materials from being available to us. That's what shocked the IOA."
Jack critically eyed the pile of folders still resting on the table. "I guess this are all the other messes Woolsey made?"
"Most of them, the big fish, the small stuff was omitted." Hammond selected a rather thick one from the pile and handed it to Jack. "And this is our other big problem."
Jack took a short look at the folder. "The Wraith, those bastards could not roll over and stay dead, couldn't they?"
"For the past fifteen months Mr. Woolsey has insisted that the so-called "High Wraith" are just a myth, invented by the frightened population of Pegasus. During these fifteen months the 'High Wraith' have established their rule over about 50% of the Wraith population and are again a force to be reckoned with. Atlantis was attacked twice, and while ultimately able to fend them off, the damage and losses were grievous. This –" he pointed towards a photograph, "…is the man who led the second attack, and came within a hair of conquering Atlantis."
Jack O'Neill studied the picture silently. "He doesn't look like them. Is meagre, grey and looking like a walking corpse out of fashion with them nowadays?" The picture he saw looked frighteningly human, a little reminiscent of the Wraith turned human by the retrovirus, but with an eerie, dangerous quality that had been lacking in them. The man in the picture was tall, clad in a dark armor. Flowing white hair falling over his shoulders marked him as the Wraith that he was, but his face had nothing of the usual wraith contortions.
"These `High Wraith' are different form their other brethren. Unfortunately Mr. Woolsey has prevented any study of them, so we have more educated guesses than facts about them. But Major Lorne insisted that this one was able to use Ancient technology."
"Now, that's what I call bad news." Jack replied dryly. "So what did the IOA decide about the mess they made?"
Landry and Hammond exchanged a significant look, then Hammond spoke: "After long deliberations and negotiations the IOA agreed to place command of Atlantis back in the hands of the military AND have this command with a more long-term timeframe. Many of the IOA members felt that our influence on the military aspect of the expedition was already too great, but eventually they agreed that we still had the best candidate for the job. Someone who too is of Ancient descent and can help repair our standing with the various nations out there, someone who has already proven able to handle overwhelming threats and who is seen capable to again restore trust into the leadership of Atlantis."
"And who would this wonder-boy be?" Jack asked in good humour, the man had his work cut out for himself, that much was sure.
A wry smile lit up on Hammond's face. "Congratulations, Jack. You will be the next commander of the Atlantis expedition."
"There we have a true rarity: Jack O'Neill in stunned silence." Hank Landry's humour made Jack grin. He didn't reply to this one, but turned to Hammond. "How did you get the IOA to agree to this? I was never good with them, and they know what I think of their rules, regulations and directives."
"The IOA agreed that there is no better man for the job, Jack. But…"
"Ha! You said but!" Jack interjected. "If they send me Woolsey as chief of administration, can I give him to the Wraith as a peace offering?"
"No, Jack."
"Too bad."
"The IOA had another condition on your appointment, Jack. And one that was heavily debated," Hammond went on. He had been there and seen the debate going back and forth for the better part of a week. "As I already said: it is strongly felt among the IOA that the US influence on the military part of the Atlantis expedition is rather strong, as the bulk of the forces in Atlantis is American."
Jack snorted. "Most of the important member nations have some troopers there too, you know that."
"It is not about having troops there, Jack. The IOA has made it a condition that your second in command, the man who will fill in for Col. Sheppard, has to be a soldier not from the US. In case Col. Sheppard is dead or unable to resume his duties in the long run, this man will take Sheppard's place." Hammond took a deep breath. "The only thing I could them to agree to is, that they leave the actual choice with us. They won't appoint anyone, but they reserve the right to appoint someone, should they find us violating this directive."
"So it is still my choice of staff." Jack summed the whole sermon up. "Well, tell them it's ok, and they can stop bickering. I mean – don't tell them to stop bickering for real – but that their condition will be met."
Hammond was slightly astonished. "It won't be easy, Jack. We cannot bring this person in on the whole thing, before he has signed up for it. And requesting the files of possible candidates – even if we take only NATO members into account – will be a mile of paperwork."
"Cut it out." Jack replied. "Don't request anything, don't ask for one stupid folder to gather dust in the basement of the SGC."
"Jack, there is no way around the stipulation…"
"Yeah! I got that. I already know my prime candidate. The bitch is: I have to fly back to Europe and talk him into it."
Landry grinned about Hammond's confusion. George should know Jack well enough, to guess that Jack would come up with a candidate faster than the IOA could sign a form. "So you already have an idea?"
Jack nodded. "The man was in on the whole mess with the Alkesh in Greenland, kept on asking impertinent questions, when the cover story proved thin." Jack grinned. "He was the one who snuck up on the Baal clone and cut his throat. The downside will be explaining to General Major Heinrich von Aue why I want to steal one of his officers, and he is good at boring holes in cover stories too."
"The one who took out the Baal clone in Greenland... " Hammond rifled through his memory. "That was Dietmar Schmiedeberg, wasn't it? Why him, Jack? I had a list of suggestions already prepared for you."
Jack leaned on his elbows, as he began speaking. "It's all about the message we want to send to Atlantis. They've had some rapid changes in command, the last one was disastrous and their most trusted officer is missing thanks to Woolsey's incompetence. If I just waltz in with someone to replace Sheppard in tow, I won't be very welcome there. So I need someone who will fill in for Sheppard, but be ready to step down once we have Sheppard back. Dietmar Schmiedeberg is only a captain. He was supposed to be promoted to major, but as the whole mess for which he was to be promoted never happened, it's still under wraps. So his rank will serve to make clear that he's just filling in, a temporary solution. Secondly, John Sheppard is alone, cut off from his troops, hiding out in the wild, he's got some pretty nasty experience in Afghanistan when it comes to that. So I need someone who can get into that mindset, who can think like he does. Schmiedberg was in Afghanistan and he was in on Operation Anaconda. And lastly – he was calm when confronted with the Baal clone in Greenland and handled himself well."
***
Jack would have liked to have these talks on Rhine-Main airbase. This was a place he knew well, he had been there often enough during his career. He would also have been with KSK headquarters in Calw. But Major General von Aue had asked him to come here, to Potsdam. It was a city Jack had seen in times and under circumstances he could not repeat to anyone and he felt slightly uneasy here. "Your request is highly irregular, General O'Neill. I would not have considered it, had I had not two calls this morning: one from the ministry of defence and one from Combined Joint Forces Special Operations staff in Brussels, both urging and ordering me to comply with your request." Major General Heinrich von Aue eyed Jack suspiciously. "And I do not like asking one of my men to agree to a joint forces mission of indeterminable length and unknown destination. "
"This will only happen if Hauptmann Schmiedeberg volunteers for this assignment." Jack replied politely. Daniel would have been astonished to find out that Jack was quite fluent in German, Jack thought. "Or is his promotion official by now?"
The Major General shrugged. "No, it is not likely to be official for quite some time. But then, there are many things not official here." They walked into a briefing room that had been painstakingly prepared to serve as kind of impromptu conference room. The Major General closed the door behind them. "To make myself clear, General O'Neill: I will sit in on the whole interview, and if this gets too fishy…"
Jack nodded. He respected von Aue's wish to protect his men, he would have done the same, perhaps less overbearingly so. "Of course. Just as it is understood – the decision is with Dietmar Schmiedeberg, and with him alone."
"Abundantly clear." They both sat down and on a call from von Aue the door opened again and his adjutant let Captain Schmiedeberg in. He had not changed much from the last time Jack had seen him in Greenland. His salute did not betray whether he was startled or not. Von Aue waved it off and gestured the man to sit down. "Before we begin, I want to make some things clear, Dietmar. General O'Neill is here with a proposition for you to join a joint forces venture. While it is legit on all levels, it is highly irregular and volunteers only. The decision is yours."
Dietmar Schmiedeberg accepted those words silently, before turning his gaze to O'Neill. "Pleasure to meet you again, General. Has another test-ship crashed in Greenland?"
O'Neill would have preferred talking to Schmiedeberg alone, where he might have been able to say a little more than he was actually allowed to. "No, but it has to do with that ship. The mission is starting where this ship came from." It was not exactly true, but might give the man a clue. He had asked some quite unnerving questions during the incident in Greenland. "The mission is long-term and I won't deny that it goes into a warzone. Your predecessor went MIA and it falls to us to get him back home."
Major General von Aue frowned. "So you need someone to step in for one of your people, and to help extracting him out of enemy hand's – but when the mission is accomplished? "
"That still has to be determined based on the mission's needs." Jack tried to be diplomatic. He had his own ideas for all this, but it would be easier to pull off when they were all in Atlantis and far away from the bureaucracy of Earth.
"Meaning Dietmar is to risk his neck to get your man out of his own SNAFU and then kicked out again? How did your man get into trouble in the first place?"
Jack sighed. He had forgotten the cynical qualities of Major General von Aue, when it came to protecting his men. "Col. Sheppard did not get in trouble on his own account." He said. "And I would really appreciate when you let me finish one or two sentences, now and then. Just now and then."
Schmiedeberg' s straight pose had changed to vividly attentive. "Did you say Col. Sheppard? John Sheppard? Is he the one who is MIA?"
Jack nodded. "Right. I can't tell you any more, than that he is MIA and that we have good reason to assume he is still alive." Jack wished he could tell the man more, but not with the Major General in the same room.
Dietmar nodded curtly. "Good, count me in. General von Aue mentioned beforehand that you need me to sign some non-disclosure agreement."
Jack had not expected a decision so fast. "I have the papers here. It is a little more than the usual stuff, but the mission is pretty special."
"Dietmar, are you one hundred percent sure about this? You know next to nothing about this mission, or what war you are getting yourself into. This all is…"
"Highly irregular, I know, General." Dietmar's voice was calm. "But my decision is made."
"This John Sheppard, is he the one who…?" The Major General did not need to finish the question, Dietmar nodded.
"…the one from Afghanistan. This he is."
