Chapter One

title: Sentinel & Guide
author: lisa roquin
rating: 15/mature-more or less gen
fandom: BtVS/SGA/Sentinel
series/sequel: Blair's Brother Universe
characters/pairings: Xander, John, implied established Jim/Blair
disclaimer: all copyrighted characters and their "universes" belong to their respective authors, writers, creators, production companies, producers and long lists of people that are so very much not me. Quite simply, if you recognize it, it isn't mine. No profit made, no harm intended, just having fun.
summary: His current grip on sanity were three alien kids, an alien with knives in his dreadlocks, a Scot who liked playing around with genetics and bio weapons, and a hyperglycemic bitchy Canadian astrophysicist.
warning: ~rolls eyes~ I hate these things. some violence in line with any of the shows norms. character death references. Moderately AU, timeline fudging notes at the end, no current spoilers for SGA.
author's note: started a couple months back, and wrote itself inside 3 days then quit except for just a little bit.
wordcount: 16400+




Prologue--Feb/March 2011

John lost track of the days and nights. He thought six, maybe seven...lack of food was getting to be a serious problem even if they had water. Brackish, tasting heavily of iron or whatever the ore that threaded through the rocks the labyrinth of caves and tunnels was made of. Iron was the best comparison John had even if it wasn't right.

Good.

Easy.

Friendly trade negotiations. Lots of food.

Ronon and Rodney had taken the food back to Atlantis and took a couple of locals for Carson and his people to take a look at. He and Teyla had stayed to see the Ancestor's Temple, which had sounded something like an ancient's settlement. While Rodney might have been the more expected to go investigate that..the Ancestor's temple had been a two day walk through the jungle, plus three nights and two days there and a two day walk back. With one of the village elders. Shaman or priest or something like that, and the old fella was at least the equivalent of 80 if a day, though John couldn't quite say that was the right number of years. Or even the right ballpark. And the real clincher for Rodney not going...thirty-two 'junior warriors' of the village. ranging from eleven to seventeen.

Rodney had snarked that he hoped John enjoyed playing Scout Master with his campfire girls. Kids, bugs, jungle, camping, possible citrus. Rodney didn't want any part of the trip even if there was a chance of ancient tech. He'd let John deal with the kids and bugs and jungle hike and travel in style in the jumper if it turned out to be Ancients.

John had choked and managed to keep Rodney from blowing the whole deal by insulting the manhood of the village's collective teenage male population. And quickly covered that Rodney meant "Eagle Scouts" that Canadian's were in a different country and got the words mixed up sometimes.

Hive ships...

Oh fucking hell hive ships. Three that John had seen.

They'd made it to the caves. The old man hadn't budged, insisting they run without him. He pointed to a...had to be Ancients whatever the hell it was. Not quite the chair but something to that effect. a...barstool and a little panel of things. The temple's keeper presented himself when the old temple keeper...the temple pierced their skin and then came alive or not for them seven sunrises later...if not the next candidate came and put their hand on the alter to see if they were worthy to be the keeper.



Something like Carson's gene therapy. Took or didn't. They kept going until it took in someone. Certain clans produced more Keepers than others.

Teyla had died in his arms, one of the half dozen on the ground. One of the fish-faces like Steve had been and five with the 'hockey masks'--Ford. Ford's descriptions. Hell was Ford even alive? He...

John was damn sure he didn't but until he had a body he wasn't giving the kid up completely. A shred of hope.

Stupid.

Teyla'd been caught, fed on. One of the kids managed to shoot a bow, break the connection. John caught her and they ran, ran for the caves. A blast from the "barstool" had sealed them in the caves. And two of the 'hockey masks' with them. Half the kids hadn't even made it into the caves. Zapped up by the Wraith's beams.

Kids were as prepared as any eagle scouts, though this wasn't training, this wasn't relatively controlled hunts and games which most of them had years left of. This was...

Blackness.

The kids said they couldn't see at all but John's eyes had adjusted to the dim...one of the sons of bitches was still alive. Three of the kids caught in the falling rock. Aftershocks. Things knocked loose by the laser canon thingy..goddamn.

The oldest had known of an exit. The old man had...intended to give them cover, seal them in, a place to hide, exit the other side of the damned mountain in a few days after the wraith had gone. There was no fresh air...not enough.

Oh, bits seeped in, it wasn't sealed air tight, but not enough. No where near enough, no freshness to the damn air. The other side had been caved in. John was damn sure of it. Snakes or the scorpion things, had taken four more kids before John's eyes adjusted. Two more had slipped on a ledge that went thousands of feet down into a crevasse. Goddamned...Mines of Moria or something. Three had died of their injuries sustained even getting to the cave the second and third days. That..had left him with all of seven boys and a trail of corpses, heading for the slightly fresher air that just wasn't enough to be an outlet. And a goddamned Wraith in the caves with them.

A scream stopped John cold.

"Sanji" he hissed.

"Something bit me" the fifteen year old wavered.

Snake, oh fuck. John had missed it, tired. Red, black triangular patterns down it's back. "No body move." John said. "Kahdin don't breathe." Fuck goddamned FUCK. Whisper of sound which had been masked by soft footsteps before, a second of the poisonous snakes slid from the wall. These damn things would be the only fucking reptiles in the universe that freaking traveled in mated pairs.

"No body move. Kahdin. Kahdin listen to me, DON'T MOVE." John hissed as the snake slithered over the boy's foot. John's heart stopped waiting watching. "Nathi."

John slowly reached for his gun. "Steady Nathi."

One snake lost it's head. The ricochet deafening. Rocks and debris started falling. The second snake shot.

"Sanji..."

John caught the boy before he collapsed already convulsing.

The roar..the wraith...found them goddamn caught up with them. Stench. God that thing stunk. Scream. No no no Kahdin. Nathi. "Johi, Tal, Mahdri, Lanto go go go straight I'll catch up GO!" John ordered. He opened fire, hearing Tal's scream his body fall several feet down the tunnel behind John, a blast from the Wraith's laser-rifle. The Wraith dropped finally, with a full clip in it.

"See you heal from that," John growled, his k bar used to remove the damned things head.

A shout, pained shout, hearts racing. The boys...

John ran. Just a rat. Just a damn rat...it had bitten Mahdri though. Not poisonous but any bite, these conditions, it sure as hell wasn't clean. Found it. The exit.

The bright sunlight pouring through the small hole nearly blinded him. Safety in sight, his senses finally overwhelmed him.

"Lanto? Can you stay with him?"

Lanto nodded, his ankle was swelling twisted from something in the darkness when they'd ran, his side ached, a burn-graze from the Wraith gun. Johi and Mahdri climbed up to the small opening, barely squeezing through John wouldn't make it through the opening even if he was able to climb up to it. Johi barely made it, and John had a head in height and a good deal of weight on the wiry fifteen year old. Lanto didn't say anything, Johi and Mahdri assured him he could climb in and out, look for firewood, and water and food..he couldn't though his ankle and his side.

~*~

"JOHN! SHEPPARD IF YOU'RE DEAD I'M KILLING YOU!"

The voice, shrill panicked, sweat tinged with the sour tang of fear, heart racing..."don'needt'besogoddamnedloudrodney" John murmured, the breath of sound pounding through his head. Heartbeat next, no not next to on top of him. weight on top of him. Lanto. "ALIVE, RODNEY, SHUDDUP" he managed to shout, the voices so loud