"It's Corletti, sir," came the relatively static-free response through the shipboard speakers. "Teyla's outside with Halling. She'll be here in a minute."
Thank God.
"What's your status, Lieutenant?" Caldwell requested.
"Sir, it's just after dawn, so we've finally got some light to work with. Sorry about not checking in before now, but we had a few problems for a while in there. The storm over the mountains is still looking ugly, kinda hurricane-like. It's heading away from us, though. Down here at the main camp, it's about eighty percent cloud cover, wind gusts of about forty knots, but I don't know how long our luck's going to hold on that count. The campsite itself is a full-blown disaster area. A mountain more or less fell on half of it, and the rest-most of the tents were shredded by last night's winds."
"Casualties?" John asked.
"We've made contact with the Athosians on the east side of the river, and I'm about to start ferrying them up to join Dr. Anane's group in the rocks on the west side. So far, we have several with broken limbs, just about everyone with lacerations and contusions, some severe, and a couple Teyla dug out who I'm pretty sure inhaled some mud."
Beside him, Beckett visibly stiffened. "What about Kwesi's group?" he asked.
"From what we've been able to ascertain by shouting across the river, it's about the same. I'll be over there to confirm that as soon we get everyone on board." John could hear movement in the background as Corletti spoke. "Stragglers are making their way here now that the weather is clearer. A separate landslide has blocked the path to the lakeside camp. Halling has gone downriver a ways to look for two people who fell into the water last night. We had them on the life signs detector for a while, but some of our subsystems are on the blink. There's no way I can risk flying back to Atlantis, even if the weather holds. Once we get everyone together here I'll attempt to evacuate the lakeside camp."
"Negative to that, Lieutenant," Caldwell replied. "It's too risky if the jumper is disabled."
"I understand your reluctance, Colonel Caldwell." Teyla's voice joined the conversation, allowing John to finally reassure himself that she was all right. "However, I do not see that we have much choice."
"From where I'm standing, I think staying put is a legitimate option."
"Hey, Teyla," John put in, cursing the screwy rank structure of the expedition and trying not to notice Caldwell's sharp look. This was Caldwell's ship, but the jumper and its crew were Atlantis's responsibility-John's responsibility. He'd deal with any ruffled feathers later. "How many people are in the hunting parties?"
"It is difficult to say," Teyla answered. "Colonel, please. If we have any hope of rescue, we will have a better chance if everyone is together. If a rescue is not possible, then nothing will be lost if we die in the attempt. And we will be together at the end, which is important to us all."
"Listen, sirs." Corletti's voice returned. "If nobody can come get us, we'll understand. But we'd like to know."
Caldwell was silent for a moment, and John suspected his resolve was beginning to crack. For all his pragmatism, the man clearly wanted to save as many people as possible, just as they all did.
"Colonel, I need to get to that camp," Carson put in, his tone calm but insistent. "There are injuries there that need treatment sooner rather than later, and after all I..." He didn't finish the sentence, but John could tell he was feeling some guilt, however misplaced, over what was happening.
At Caldwell's inquisitive glance, Hermiod muttered about having to reassemble something unpronounceable before the Daedalus would be airworthy. Before John could ask for clarification, the Asgard turned toward the door, speaking as he went. "We can be ready for lift-off in two hours, but I will require an additional hour after that to reinstall the necessary components to beam anyone aboard."
"Teyla, Corletti, stand by," John called. "Help's on the way."
"Be aware that this will also result in a delay in rebuilding the hyperdrive," the Asgard added matter-of-factly, "which may result in the destruction of this ship."
When Hermiod had stalked off the bridge -who knew little gray aliens could stalk?-Carson remarked, "And I thought Rodney was a mite tetchy to work with."
"You have no idea," said Caldwell under his breath. He turned to John. "I just hope for everyone's sakes that by the time we get back, you'll have bought us some time with another ZPM."
Me, too, John didn't reply.
In Atlantis's main lab, Rodney pushed his chair back and blinked rapidly to restore some moisture to his still-dry eyes. "That confirms it, then."
Glancing up from his computer, Radek concluded, "If we can obtain four charged ZPMs, then, purely from a power standpoint, we could fire Atlantis's main engines." He held up a warning finger. "But that does not necessarily mean that all systems will be operational."
Coffee cup in hand, Elizabeth arrived ahead of a train of technicians, engineers and assorted military personnel. Nodding a greeting to Radek, she said, "Rodney, are we ready for the briefing?"
"That would be exactly why I called this meeting," Rodney answered Radek, standing from the chair and giving Elizabeth a smile. "I can now say with a high degree of certainty that Atlas did not test his exogenesis machine on Polrusso."
"Then what would account for the interruption in the planet's terraforming?"
"It wasn't interrupted. It completed the process of water creation roughly two hundred years ago and is now inactive. With no Ancients around to shut it down, it's just idling."
Atlantis's leader frowned. "You mean someone simply needs to hit the off button?"
"Removing the ZPMs from the matrix would have the same effect. Which brings us to Atlas's machine, which I am now certain is still somewhere on Polrusso, possibly in one of the smaller labs where the ZPMs are located. Fortunately, when tracking the machine that's active on this planet, I had the foresight to analyze the component materials. It's a unique composite structure, so it shouldn't be too difficult to locate that same structure on Polrusso once we upload the data into a scanner."
"Sounds very promising" Elizabeth looked as pleased as Rodney felt. And with good reason. If he was right, and there was no reason to think otherwise, in a short while they should have acquired an exogenesis machine to save their planet, sufficient ZPMs to power the Starship Atlantis, taken out a hive ship, and made another planet full of surprisingly pleasant people very happy indeed. Not a bad day's work.
The new arrivals had managed to squeeze inside the relatively confined room, a fact that would normally have made Rodney edgy, but he was not about to let a little claustrophobia interfere with his mood. Explaining to them what he had in mind, he emphasized the need to bring Atlantis up to space-faring standards. "The entire city needs to be shipshape, or space-shape, whatever term you prefer. I want everything checked and rechecked: flight and life support systems, inertial dampeners, navigation systems, star charts-"
"Pegasus Galaxy or Milky Way?" someone called. The sense of excitement was palpable, even to Rodney.
"Let's not get too ambitious at the outset. Initially, we just need to maintain the integrity of the ship and know that we can find our way around without ending up in some backwater star system. On that count, we'll also need to make certain that the Stargate will continue to operate as per usual. As far as we know, the DHD automatically compensates for stellar drift, but I'd like to run several tests once we're in space to confirm that."
The murmurs in the room grew louder as various once-incredible possibilities began to take shape in everyone's minds. For once, Rodney couldn't bring himself to shush them. Atlantis in flight had been beyond their imagination, and now they were ready to make it happen. A brief daydream of a thought flitted through his mind, and he pictured the look on Sam Carter's face upon seeing the city sail into Earth's solar system.
But even ifhe believed that travel to Earth was a good idea- and he wasn't sure he did, because there was a lot to be said for continuing their mission in this galaxy-that decision was about five st
eps too far down the line for the time being. "I'm currently planning an incremental shutdown of the Polrusso terraforming machine," he continued, "so I should be able to send at least one ZPM back here very soon. That will allow us to test-fire one engine, just to clear two years' worth of barnacles."
"Very well done, Rodney," said Elizabeth, enthusiasm and pride lighting her eyes. "This is quite a moment for us all. Everyone, you have your instructions. Please be careful and thorough in your preparations, and report any updates or problems back to your supervisors." She spread her hands. "Let's get to it."
The group filed out like a hockey team charged up for a game, carrying with them a sense of purpose not seen since the early days of the expedition. Once the lab had cleared, Radek approached Rodney with a clipboard in hand. "With sufficient power, I am confident that the city shield will comfortably sustain the hazards of interstellar flight."
"Good, that's one thing checked off the list. In that case, you can come with me to Polrusso."
The clipboard fell to Radek's side. He peered suspiciously at his colleague. "First it was underwater. Now it is another planet?"
Rodney dismissed the reaction. "You've been off-world before. Don't tell me you're still sulking over a little face painting."
"So," Radek continued, folding his arms across the clipboard. "You need me."
Oh, no. No way was he going to start that game all over again. "Only in the sense that I need an additional pair of hands that are at least two sizes smaller than Ronon's, preferably attached to a person educated in something other than shooting things. Yours will do. I might have considered taking Kwesi, but even assuming he gets back in one piece, our illustrious military commander is currently negotiating a trade arrangement for him."
"I don't understand. Trade with who?"
"Whom."
"Is what I said. Who?"
Unwilling to explore the deep and meaningful subtleties of English grammar with the Czech, Rodney let out an exasperated sigh. "With the Daedalus c resident Asgard to recover the Athosians from the mainland."
"Ah! So you agree that the calibrations I designed for the Daedalus force field will keep it safe from nanites."
"I never said-ow!" His intake of breath prompted a sudden flare of pain. He pressed a hand to his jaw and ran his tongue experimentally across the tooth he'd chipped earlier. "I don't believe it!" Withdrawing a fragment, he demanded, "What the hell kind of shell did they drop in that bar, a bullet casing?"
Without any trace of sympathy whatsoever, Radek said, "Go see the dentist."
Suppressing the suddenurge to hyperventilate, Rodneyreplied hurriedly, "It's just a chip, barely scratched the enamel."
Radek shot him a knowing look. "I do not wish to endure your pain."
Ignoring the jibe, Rodney began packing the equipment he would need on Polrusso. "I'll get a Tylenol.. .or maybe a Vicodin. Don't forget to download the analysis of Ea's machine and bring it."
"That data is on your computer."
Rodney was about to snap out a reply when Sheppard poked his head around the doorframe. "Hey. Elizabeth said you were ready to go back to Polrusso?"
"Almost," he replied, running his tongue across the damaged tooth again. Obviously he was paying the price for the military's policy of buying everything, even food, from the lowest bidder. "I need to see Carson first."
"He's on the Daedalus, headed for the mainland."
"Well, that's just great." Couldn't the man have sent one of his underlings? No matter-Rodney could still get a couple of pills from whichever voodoo specialist was currently on duty in the infirmary. Pointing to the equipment he'd stacked by the door, he told Radek on his way out, "All of that needs to come with us."
With selective hearing skills honed long ago, he ignored the scathing bilingual comment about indentured servitude that followed him into the corridor.
Teyla stepped out of the jumper and trudged through the mud to Hailing, standing by a tree whose roots hung over the newly carved riverbank. Like every piece of vegetation that remained, it had been stripped of leaves until nothing but broken kindling remained. Further down in the valley the torrent of water had spread far across the lowlands. Except for the speed at which it continued to flow, it could have been mistaken for a large brown lake. Dead animals and birds lay scattered across the ravaged ground, but of the Athosians who had fallen into the river the night before, Teyla could find no sign.
"The Ancestors do not want us here, Teyla," Hailing said by way of greeting. "We are being punished."
Teyla felt compelled to deny his words, and yet he had uttered Ea's very sentiments. "As children we idealize our parents. It is only when we grow older that we come to understand that they are both flawed and fallible." Halling went to speak, but she motioned for him to let her finish. "That does not diminish our love and respect for them. Indeed, our greater understanding allows us to judge their shortcomings, and our own, less harshly."
"Then should we no longer aspire to be worthy of them?"
Gently clasping his arm, Teyla looked up into his troubled eyes. "Not all of the Ancestors were as pure in spirit as we once believed. We should aspire to be worthy of those who were. But perhaps more importantly, we should aspire to be worthy of each other."
Taking a step towards the jumper, she added, "Come. The Daedalus will be arriving soon to evacuate everyone." When Hailing did not respond, she turned to see him staring bleakly up at the mountains. For his next question, she could provide no answer.
"I wonder how Jinto is faring."
cry efficient designers, the Ancients," Radek commented when he saw the proximity of the lab entrance to the Polrusson 'gate. Anxiously looking across the sand dunes, he added, "Not a step wasted."
"I'd classify it as a healthy sense of self-preservation more than anything else. It's always prudent to have an escape route nearby." Rodney checked his pack one last time, wishing it wasn't always so crammed full of equipment. Ancient technology was great stuff, but if their designs had all been a little smaller and lighter, they would have made his life a lot easier.
"Could be that they were just lazy," suggested Ronon, drawing a smirk from Sheppard as the Colonel eased Jumper One to the ground on the opposite side of the 'gate to the DHD.
"Yes." Radek glowered at Rodney. "Which would explain why I was required to load everything into the jumper when we could have walked through the 'gate considerably faster."
"I want to go for a spin around the planet," Sheppard replied. "The HUD can tell us real-time specifics about the location of the water reservoirs and the ZPMs."
"You sure that won't alert the Wraith?" Ronon pointed out.
"Flying cloaked has never been much of a risk before."
"It's incredibly foolish to assume that, because something has been done successfully in the past, it carries less risk. That's how your government manages to keep losing space shuttles." Rodney waved a hand toward the lab. "In any case, we've got all the information and monitoring equipment we need right here-including systems built into the jumper." He glanced at Radek. "So, Colonel, clip your wings."
Radek continued to glare at him while Sheppard merely shook his head and powered down the jumper. "Looks like they rolled out the welcome mat for us"
Outside, a small crowd had gathered near the 'gate. Rodney recognized Vene and Shira among them. When the team stepped out of the jumper's hatch, the Polrussons moved in to greet them with obvious enthusiasm.
Vene reached them first, a welcoming smile lighting his features. "Forgive us," he said. "It was not our intention to overwhelm you. These people are waiting for family to return from traveling before we begin the journey inland to our new homes. They are excited to see the Ancestors' children who have come to give us the glorious new world we have so long awaited."
Well, that wasn't a bad state of affairs. Certainly being hailed as saviors beat the reception they received on a lot of planets.
Shira approached Radek, studying him inquisitively. "Y
ou are not the one who was here before-the healer."
"His name's Radek. He's delighted to meet you." Rodney turned in the direction of the lab, confident that the Czech was currently giving him a murderous stare and not particularly concerned about it. "Given our time constraints, I think we should get started."
"If it is acceptable, may we observe what it is that you will be doing?" Vend asked, indicating himself and Shira. "Shira is a historian, and this is indeed a historic time."
Sheppard glanced at Rodney, who responded with an indifferent gesture. "The more, the merrier."
Leaving their adoring fans behind by the 'gate, the team approached the entrance to the lab, the floor of which, he noted, had been swept free of sand. Both the inner and outer doors opened at the Colonel's command as easily as they had before.
Once inside, Radek's gaze swept the room, taking it all in. "I expected it to be more ... tidy."
"I think we can assume that the researchers left in a pretty big hurry when the Wraith showed up." Sheppard rested his hands on the stock of the P-90 clipped to his vest, which bugged Rodney more than he wanted to admit. They could be on a mission to a planet of pink fluffy bunnies, and they'd still be armed to the teeth, because you just never knew in this galaxy.
"Since you are frequently eager to direct the course of my work," Radek asked, his expression falsely innocent, "perhaps you would like to tell me where to begin?"
"Cute." Rodney crossed the room to the lab's records interface. "The reservoirs couldn't contain all the water of this planet through geology alone, so it stands to reason that the terraforming process must employ a type of shield technology. Since that's been the focus of your research for some time, you're as likely as anyone to be able to decipher whatever notes the Ancients left."
"We are certain that otherwise the process should have been completed by now? Perhaps something further needs to be done before we shut this down." Radek withdrew his laptop from his pack and set up an interface with the Ancient computer, demonstrating the other reason Rodney had wanted to bring him along: he never needed to be led by the nose.
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