SGA fic - World War II AU

[dimity_blue]

Title: Resistance
Author: Arnie
Genre: AU, gen
Rating: PG
Summary: Lt. Sheppard is sent into Nazi Germany to extract an undercover agent
Length: 2,860 words
Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been. Never will be either. :o(

Written for raphe1 in response to the challenge she gave me.



Resistance
by Arnie

John knocked at the door, waited for the quiet, "Come in," then entered. As he'd expected, Major Emmagen looked up, but there was no welcoming smile.

"Major." He saluted smartly.

"Lieutenant Sheppard, please take a seat."

He sat down, and watched her face carefully. From the set of her mouth, he could tell she was pissed at someone, and hoped it wasn't him. They often sparred together, honing the hand to hand skills that he often needed while on intelligence missions behind enemy lines, but, for all their off-duty friendliness, she was still his superior officer.

"I have a mission for you." She held out a file. "It is..." Teyla stopped, pressing her lips together.

John decided to take a chance. "What's up?" It definitely wasn't the way to address a superior officer, especially not in her office, but he'd never seen her this annoyed.

She sighed, even that small sound betraying her anger. "Lieutenant Kavanagh was sent on a mission. He returned this morning, and reported...failure." Her mouth tightened again. "You are to repeat his mission and failure is not an option."

Raising his eyebrows slightly, John flipped open the cover of the file and gazed down at the photo included inside.

"Doctor Rodney McKay," Teyla informed him. "He has been undercover for over two years now, working as a scientist in one of the laboratories in Stuttgart. Kavanagh was sent in to extract him, but claims that McKay refused to leave." She paused, then leaned forward. "John, I know Rodney. If he refused to leave, he had good reason, but Kavanagh's report has thrown...doubts on where his loyalties lie." Her eyes met his. "If you cannot extract him successfully, your orders are to terminate him."

He stared at her, then turned his gaze back to the photo. John had done plenty of things he'd never be able to tell his mother, but it was extremely rare for any intelligence agent to be given orders to terminate one of their own. Rare, but not unheard of, unfortunately. "And Kavanagh doesn't know why McKay refused to leave?"

Teyla looked even more pissed. "He claims that Rodney has become infected with Nazi ideology, and believes in their aims." She shook her head. "If that were true, why did Rodney not betray Kavanagh?"

John shrugged slightly, not wanting to say that maybe McKay hadn't wanted questions about his own identity raised.

"Also, Rodney is working on several extremely advanced weapons systems, yet the Germans do not have any great technological advantage over us." Teyla waited until John looked up at her again, then continued, "If he were a Nazi, he would be helping them to win the war."

Flicking to the next page in the file, John glanced down McKay's hugely long list of qualifications. It was to be hoped McKay hadn't turned, or the Germans really would start kicking their asses. "So, when do I leave?"

~'~

As it turned out, John and his team left that evening. A night flight, from the English airbase they were stationed nearby, was combined with a bombing run. As they parachuted down to a field outside Stuttgart, the city lay quiet - a stark contrast to the nearby cities with death raining down upon them.

John stashed his 'chute in a nearby hedge, then turned as Ronon and Stackhouse approached him. "Our contact should be meeting us soon. Let's get a move on."

Naturally, they were there early - it being better to arrive early and scope out the land, than late and miss your contact.

Once at the rendezvous, John waited in sight, while Ronon and Stackhouse disappeared into the undergrowth. Sighing a little, John leaned against a tree, and listened to the quiet woodland sounds he could hear now the bombing had stopped. For too long now, it seemed he'd been in cities with the smell of burnt or burning rubble in the air. It made a nice change to be waiting in clean, fresh, open air, though he knew it wouldn't last for long. A sudden rustle of bushes was all the warning he got as a lone man stepped into view.

For a moment, the man stood there silently, then he asked, "Nighthawk?"

"Lift off," John replied.

The man nodded and approached quickly. "I am Deitinger. My men are nearby." He glanced around as if looking for John's team.

"Sheppard." John shook his hand, then added, "And my men are nearby too."

As he spoke, Stackhouse appeared.

"Just one man? We expected a team of three. You had trouble?"

"Ronon's keeping an eye on his companions," Stackhouse put in, addressing Sheppard.

Deitinger seemed a little displeased. "It is to be hoped they do not see him and think he is a Nazi."

John grinned. "They won't." Well, not unless Ronon wanted them to see him.

Once they reached Deitinger's men, it was clear that they hadn't seen Ronon at all. Looking around, John realised he couldn't see him either, and gave a low whistle.

Immediately, Ronon rose into view from the middle of a clump of bushes. "They okay?"

John nodded. "They're our contacts."

"Good."

It didn't take long to reach the safe house and, once there, Deitinger handed over the ID badges the three of them would need in order to get inside the facility.

"We'll go in with the cleaning staff. Once inside, it will be easier for us to move around." Deitinger's dark eyes met John's, and he shrugged. "No one pays attention to the man who's cleaning the floor."

John smiled, and hoped he was right. "Which lab is McKay in?"

"Here." A map of the facility was efficiently unrolled and laid flat on the table. "This is the door we go in through. Herr Doktor McKay and his assistant are in this laboratory." Deitinger tapped the map.

"Once in, can we take McKay out as a janitor?"

Deitinger shook his head. "The scientists are too well guarded for that." He glanced at Ronon and Stackhouse. "One of your men is an explosives expert, correct?"

Ronon grunted. "That's me."

John smiled. Blowing things up was one of Ronon's hobbies.

"Once you are in and have secured Herr Doktor McKay, we have arranged for a diversion." Deitinger smiled at Ronon and pointed at another section of the map. "This is where your talents will come in handy."

Ronon leaned over the map. "What's in there?"

Deitinger's grin widened. "The Germans are working on weapons. This is where they store their explosives."

"If Ronon sets off a charge, how long do we have to get out?" John asked. While he was all in favour of Ronon making things go 'boom', he preferred to be some distance from them when they did.

"Not long. Once the charge goes off, it will start a chain reaction that will destroy the facility unless the Germans can stop it. We would have destroyed it ourselves, but we need it to look like an accident."

Ronon shrugged. "That won't be a problem."

~'~

Early the next morning, John and his team donned overalls that looked old but seemed clean. Ronon sighed as a slight ripping sound was heard.

John leaned forward to get a better look. "It's just your shoulder seams. Try not to move your arms too much." Glancing up, he added, "At least, not until you're setting the explosives."

He got a slight smile from Ronon, cast a quick glance over Stackhouse, then turned to Deitinger. "Let's roll."

"Roll..." Deitinger seemed to consider the word. "Ah, the truck is outside."

Once outside, John hoisted himself into the open back of the truck, and turned to face Ronon as Stackhouse scrambled in beside him. "Be careful." He grinned. "Or we'll be taking you home naked."

Ronon moved carefully, then sighed again once he was in and his overalls were, apparently, still in one piece. "Next time, I'm bringing my own."

John's grin widened at the dark look he got from Ronon. "Deitinger, we're ready to go."

It didn't take long to reach the meeting point for the janitors, and Ronon's overalls weren't put to any strain as they shuffled their way through the gates, the watchful eyes of numerous well-armed guards upon them. Their identity cards presented and accepted, John soon found himself in possession of a mop and a bucket of water.

Stackhouse, who was similarly equipped sighed and murmured, "My mother's mop looks exactly like this." He sniffed dubiously at the water. "She prefers a lemon cleaner though."

As Ronon gave them a nod and disappeared down a hallway with Deitinger in tow, John glanced at his watch. "Let's move."

It didn't take them long to reach the lab where McKay was working, nor did they have any problems getting in there. It seemed that Deitinger was right when he said no one looked at the man cleaning the floor.

McKay was deep in conversation with another scientist, a thin, pale-faced individual with glasses, but he soon abandoned that as John started mopping the floor near the large blackboard set up at one end of the laboratory.

"Hey, hey you!" he said in German, his tone demanding. "Not near the blackboard!" He turned back to the other scientist. "Do they deliberately send idiots in here or do they forget to tell them to stay away from my work?"

The thin man shrugged, a glimmer of a smile on his face. "Maybe they just like annoying you." He frowned and moved to one side as Stackhouse began to mop the floor right by his feet. "Why are there two of them?"

McKay swung back to face John, his eyes wide. His mouth opened, then he shut it again as John smiled, trying to downplay the gun in his hand. "Just relax, McKay." He jerked his chin at his team-mate. "Stackhouse."

Abandoning his mop, Stackhouse grasped the other scientist's shoulder and moved him further down the room, away from McKay.

McKay's gaze flickered in that direction, then he stepped in front of John's gun. "You harm him and I'll scream this place down. I mean it!"

John frowned. That hadn't been what he was expecting. "My name's John Shep -"

"Yes, yes, I know! You work for Army Intelligence, you've come to get me out," McKay replied sharply. "As I told the last moron you sent, I'm not going anywhere without him! So shooting him would be a mistake!"

"What?"

McKay sighed and rolled his eyes. "Zelenka! What did I say about Army Intelligence?" he demanded. Not waiting for a reply, he turned back to John. "I said I'm not going anywhere without him." He paused, then, when John didn't reply as he was still trying to figure out how 'not going anywhere without him' equalled McKay being infected with Nazi ideology, continued, "Are you capable of understanding me or are they scraping the bottom of the barrel this time?"

"Well -"

"Not that that cretin understood a thing I said, despite him claiming to know what was going on." McKay pointed to himself. "Me McKay." He pointed to Zelenka. "Him my laboratory assistant. He goes with us."

John managed an, "Okay," but McKay steam-rollered on.

"Do you have any idea how long it takes to train a decent assistant? And it's not like the Germans would appreciate his work if I hadn't insisted he - wait...you said okay?"

Privately, John was wondering how the hell McKay had managed to stay undercover for so long. The man talked. Endlessly. Realising that McKay was waiting for an answer, he nodded. "You want Zelenka to go with us. He's a scientist, right?"

"Yes!" McKay seemed to have revised his opinion of John's intelligence. "Thank God! I tried explaining it to that boneheaded jackass they sent last time but he seemed to think Zelenka ending up back in a concentration camp was perfectly acceptable." He snapped his fingers in Zelenka's direction. "Don't forget your notebook. I'm not listening to you bitch about it all the way back to... Where are we going?"

John realised that was meant for him. "England."

McKay grunted. "Good. I hope they have some decent coffee. The supplies in this place are abysmal."

"Okay." John felt rather shell-shocked. Was he in charge of this mission or not? Apparently not as McKay pushed Zelenka towards the door and ordered him and Stackhouse to get a move on. Marshalling his scattered wits, John managed to get to the door first. At least he wouldn't have to drag McKay out against his will. "Just hang on."

"What for?" McKay asked.

"We can't just walk out of here," Stackhouse put in.

"You just walked in," McKay retorted.

"Yes, and we were disguised as janitors," John replied. He checked his watch. If Ronon and Deitinger had done their part, it should be any minute -

A quiet knock interrupted his train of thought, then the door handle turned. Ronon grinned at him as he and Deitinger slipped into the room. "Ready to rumble?"

John nodded. "All set. We have an extra scientist with us - Zelenka."

"Okay." Ronon glanced down at his watch.

"What are we waiting for?" McKay demanded.

There was a quiet rumble, like far off thunder. "That," Ronon replied. He held up a hand and counted off, "Five, four, three, two, one." The rumbling intensified. "Let's go."

Yanking open the door, John led the way out, reaching back with one hand to grab McKay's coat front when he realised the hallway was rapidly filling with smoke. He glanced back. "Ronon, keep hold of Zelenka," then headed out into the haze.

A guard rushed past, shouting at them to evacuate as he went, and John happily obeyed. McKay didn't put up any resistance as John pulled him down the hallway and towards the door. They weren't the only ones running out.

The doors opened before they got there, and people streamed out into the fresh air, John and his group going with them. In the melee, it was easy for them to keep together, making their way through the mass of people to the fence. The guards were still on the gate but, if Ronon had lived up to his usual standards, that wouldn't last long.

An ominous boom sounded, and the gates were abruptly flung open, more orders to get out being hurled around. People poured out, and Deitinger tugged at John's arm. They ducked off to the right, and were quickly hidden from view behind a large van.

"Now what?" McKay demanded quietly.

John glanced at him, then at Deitinger, who nodded.

"Now we get out of here," John replied.

"Excellent idea," McKay retorted, a rather snide tone in his voice. "How?"

"McKay." John waited until McKay's bright blue gaze turned his way. "Shut up."

Surprisingly, the man did as he was told.

As Deitinger peered around the edge of the van, John grabbed McKay's collar again and waited. He had no intention of losing the scientist they'd come for. He gave Ronon a quick glance, and smiled as Zelenka's eyes opened wide as the large man grabbed his collar, then quickly followed Deitinger out into the ever-thickening cloud of smoke.

"We'd better get a move on," Ronon murmured, as flames from the building brightened the haze.

John looked over, then pulled McKay on faster. It looked like the Germans hadn't managed to stop that chain reaction.

They'd just reach a small enclosed van with the German for 'bakery' on its side, when there was another ominous rumble. Deitinger dived into the driver's seat and started the engine, as John and Ronon hurriedly stuffed the scientists into the back and clambered in themselves, yanking the door shut behind them. As the van jerked into motion, John heard the explosion.

Ronon grunted. "I would've liked to have seen it go up."

From behind them, McKay snapped, "Feel free to go and take a closer look, as long as it means you'll get off my legs!"

~'~

This time, when John knocked on Major Emmagen's door and went in, he got a wide smile.

"John! I got a letter from Rodney this morning." Her smile widened. "His minions are complete morons and he has no idea how they're qualified to work with him and Zelenka." She handed over a bulging envelope. "He has sent several messages for you. I'm sure you'll want to read them for yourself."

John grinned in reply as he tucked the envelope into his pocket. "I guess he writes as much as he talks."

Teyla laughed. "He may talk as much as he wishes - within reason, anyway. He is now rated far too highly to be sent on any more undercover missions. And the work he did to prevent the Germans from developing the weapons they had has wiped out any doubts his superiors might have had."

If they hadn't, John was sure Rodney would have put his superiors straight. Loudly. "And there's no problem about him working with Zelenka?"

"Fortunately, Doctor Zelenka is eminently qualified for the work Rodney is doing." She smiled and turned to her desk to pick up a file. "Now, about your next mission...."

The end.
13th April 2010.

~~~

That's it! Hope you liked it! Please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

Comments

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

Oh this is really good - love the WWII resistance setting, perfect fit for the team. Do you think you might write another one in this universe?

[raphe1.livejournal.com]

:::pets new best friend emrinalexander and smiles sweetly at beloved Sarie::: I concur!!!! Please sir, can I have some more??? Seriously, this is an awesome AU. You really got Rodney down. He is sooooo him. And I love Ronon's "joy de bomb"! GLOMP!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Nancy! ::hugs:: I'm really glad you enjoyed it. And yeah, I thought Ronon would love blowing things up! :oD

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking about it! I really like the idea of them in WW2, and raphe1 is all for it (as you can see). :oD

I'm really glad you enjoyed it so much. Thanks for commenting!

[sheamackenzie.livejournal.com]

Dude, now I want the epic epistolary romance between John and Rodney in this AU. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant. Then again, I love AUs and I love epistolary stories, so it's no great shock.

Brava, I enjoyed this.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. :oD

[caarianna.livejournal.com]

I liked this, particularly Ronon's enjoyment of blowing things up. ::grins:: Would like to know why the first agent didn't bring Rodney and Zalenka out ... maybe he's the one who is a foreign agent????? ;)

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

LOL! I was thinking it was just Kavanagh being all anal and refusing to do more than his orders ("but I was told to bring Dr. McKay out - not him and his assistant!"), but you could be right about Kavanagh being a double agent!

And yeah, I thought Ronon would enjoy blowing things up. :oD

Thanks for commenting! I'm glad you liked the story so much.

[admiralandrea.livejournal.com]

Oh I really liked this! Your Rodney voice in particular is spot on *g* And of course he wouldn't want to leave Zelenka behind!

Very nicely done :-)

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Andi. I love writing McKay - he's so much fun! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. :oD

[leesa_perrie]

Wonderful!! Excellent idea - and of course Kavanagh wouldn't bring Zelenka out, his orders were solely for Rodney!

"John! I got a letter from Rodney this morning." Her smile widened. "His minions are complete morons and he has no idea how they're qualified to work with him and Zelenka."

LOL!! Ah, Rodney - ever the same!!! *loves*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

and of course Kavanagh wouldn't bring Zelenka out, his orders were solely for Rodney!

That's what I figured! I think it's typical of Kavanagh to stick to his exact orders.

Thanks for commenting, Leesa. I'm glad you liked the story so much. :oD

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Awww, thanks! I'm glad it worked so well for you.

Thanks for commenting!

[ribbon-purple.livejournal.com]

Cool :o)

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!