Title: Drones
Author: Lorr
Genre/Rating: General
Characters: Weir, Sheppard, Beckett, McKay, Ford, Teyla, Ronon
Disclaimer: The characters and universe do not belong to me. I just like to come and play occasionally.
Spoilers: I don't think so, but apologize if there is.
Background: I thought it would be interesting to do a little exploration in Atlantis. Reviews are, of course, welcome. Thanks to all of the reviews for my other little efforts. It's nice to know people are reading them.
John Sheppard looked out over the water. He found this isolated sliver of deck near sea level some time ago. Every once in a while, it was nice to get away and think. And, sometimes he liked to be outside when he was doing so. His quarters were restricting, and accessible. He knew Elizabeth sometimes retreated to the balcony outside of Gate Ops, but that was too public. Even though the population of Atlantis was very small, sometimes it was more crowded than he was comfortable with.
Lately, this little refuge had seen a lot of him. He found his way here a once or twice a week, even if it was only for an hour or two. Usually, it was late at night, when few people were around to see him duck through the door. It was close enough to a transporter so that he could get back to Gate Ops quickly if necessary, but far enough from the populated area to be secluded. It also had an unobstructed view of the horizon. If anyone else knew about it, they did not come out when he was here.
The Colonel sat on a chair he'd squirreled there and propped his feet on the low barrier that skirted the edge of the deck. He stared out at the night sky and thought about their latest mission.
The Daedalus was making semi-regular trips to Earth, but it returned to Atlantis loaded with personnel, ordnance and other necessary equipment. She could not bring back much fresh fruit or vegetables. Almost everything had to be frozen, canned or freeze-dried, mostly the latter. The farms and orchards on the mainland were barely established and, as yet, produced little in excess of what was needed there. Trade with other planets yielded some, but not enough to fill the gaps. Consequently, quantities of fresh food were relatively small and disappeared fast, especially now that the number of expedition members had significantly increased. Except for a very short stint in the States for the court martial two plus years ago, fresh produce had been scarce in his life since being posted to Afghanistan. That was a lifetime ago.
Sheppard had taken a team to a farming planet and negotiated a trade for perishables some weeks ago. They had been welcomed and stayed for several days, getting to know the inhabitants. Yesterday, he went back with a team of fifteen, including an agronomist and several men to help collect the harvest. They anticipated returning to Atlantis laden with spring vegetables. The day had started with an almost picnic atmosphere. Yeah, some picnic.
About two thousand people lived on Nalima, P3X759. Lived. They were all gone now. The Wraith had been there, too. How many planets was that? How many planets had been stripped of humans since they had come to Atlantis? How many people had been culled, either trapped in cocoons, waiting to die, or already drained of life. How many that they didn't know about?
He didn't want to count.
Sheppard knew that it wasn't his fault. Not entirely, anyway. He knew that Sumner's interrogation revealed the existence of a fat new feeding ground. He knew that the Wraith were waking up more because of that knowledge than anything he had done. It didn't really help.
There wasn't enough food to sustain their numbers in this galaxy. Not enough generations had gone by to replenish an ever dwindling reserve of humans. Each massive awakening since the first so long ago had reduced the breeding stock a little more, making a full recovery impossible. Now they were waking far too early and the crop was not ready for harvest.
Nalima was the result, along with the other now uninhabited planets, each stripped of her people. Well, not quite. This time, they found bodies. There were dozens of withered shells left after the Wraith fed. Most of the away team had seen death before, but this was something else. The Wraith destroyed the people, town and farms, orchards and crops. Nothing was left. It took them hours to gather and bury the remains. It was very late when they returned to Atlantis the night before.
After getting checked out in the infirmary and washing away the sweat and death Sheppard had gotten little sleep. He imagined the rest of the team suffered the same long night of unbidden ghosts. Their appearance during the day confirmed his suspicion.
His report of the mission was brief, but had taken hours to write. How do you say that one hundred and seventeen men, women and children died horrible deaths and were buried in a mass grave? The headstone was a roughly carved plank that simply stated their number and they once lived on this small planet. No names were known, and only the clothing, length of hair and size of the bodies indicated male or female, adult or child.
He stared at the galactic center that was disappearing into the watery horizon at this time of night. The view was one of the reasons he chose this little refuge. He could get lost in the diving mass of stars and dust lanes. It usually helped him empty all thought and drift. Sheppard was tired but knew sleep would elude him a little longer. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The galaxy continued its march into the ocean as he watched, but did not quite see.
The sound of the door opening brought Sheppard out of his reverie. He turned his head a fraction to see who was invading his solitude. There was enough light to show her features. Elizabeth Weir cautiously stepped through the door and looked around.
"John?" She spoke quietly. Then she saw him. "Hey. What're you doing out here?"
He stood up and pulled the chair around for her. "Nothing, just wanted a few minutes to myself."
"Oh, I'm sorry." His flat statement took her aback. She turned to the door. "I can go."
"No, that's okay. I've been here for a while. Sit. Please." Sheppard pushed the chair forward then straddled the barrier, leaning back against the wall. He looked out at the night.
Elizabeth sat on the offered chair and followed his gaze. After watching for a minute or two she sighed. "It's stunning!"
"I sometimes wonder if that is one of the reasons the Ancients picked this planet."
"You know, I don't think I have ever been out on this side at night. I've never seen it set before." She smiled warmly at him.
"You need to get out more." His voice was subdued.
"Yes, I think I do. What else is there around the city I should see?"
"Lots. I'll take you on a tour." He raised an eyebrow. "Did you need something?"
Now she frowned. He was usually much more at ease with her than this, no matter how bad the day had been. "Are you okay, John?"
Sheppard rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her. "Just tired, I guess."
"I'm sorry, it must have been terrible yesterday. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." He closed his eye and tilted his head back against the wall.
They sat in silence for a long time. Elizabeth watched as the spin of the planet worked its disappearing act on the mass of stars and dust before them. She thought about how easy silence was with John Sheppard. They had become close friends since that day in Antarctica. She realized long ago that their friendship happened very quickly. A firm bond formed between them even before they came to Atlantis.
Elizabeth remembered it was Sheppard, not Sumner, she looked to when the Gate closed down on their arrival the first day. That was an odd thing to do. She had never been able to put her finger on why she had instantly liked and trusted him.
She was startled when he suddenly stood up. He scratched the top of his head and looked at her as if he wanted to say something. It was hard to see his face now. The light from the stars was diminishing quickly as most of the galactic center was gone. But, without saying a word, he turned to stare at the sky and ocean.
Elizabeth was aware he was very reluctant to talk with her about the worst aspects of any mission. Sheppard knew she read every word of every report. And, he also knew McKay tended to fully describe even the most trivial details. McKay had not gone on the visit to Namila yesterday. His interest had quickly waned on their first mission there. No ruins or technology to speak of, so Sheppard left him behind. The Colonel had included only what was necessary in his report. She was aware and more than a little grateful that she was spared the very worst aspects of this one.
"John…"
"How are you doing?" Sheppard interrupted before she could say more. He turned back to her and folded his arms over his chest.
She narrowed her eyes. "I'm fine. Are you trying to change the subject?"
"No. Yes. I just don't want to talk about it. Look, its late and getting a little chilly out here. Let me walk you to your quarters."
Knowing that she would not be able to coax anything out of him, Elizabeth nodded and stood up. She realized how tired she was at that moment. It was time to turn in.
The next morning came all too fast. Elizabeth felt like she had just fallen to sleep when her alarm went off. After a quick shower, she headed for the mess hall to get some breakfast and coffee. She was so grateful for the supply of coffee the Daedalus brought them. And, today was one of those days she would probably need more than she would normally drink.
Less than an hour after the alarm jolted her out of bed, Elizabeth walked into her office. Sheppard was sitting there, looking only marginally better than she felt.
"Looks like you had a good time last night." He grinned at her. "You okay?"
"And, good morning to you, too." She sat behind her desk. "I'm fine, thank you. You're going to the northeast area today, aren't you?"
"Yeah, we've seen almost nothing out there." He fidgeted with his vest zipper. "We need to finish searching the city."
"And, a couple of days poking around here will do you and your team some good. You're taking Lt. Simmons and his team out there, too, aren't you?"
"Yeah, Nalima was supposed to be an easy first mission for him. I want to get him busy, let him and his team settle down before they go off-world again."
She searched his face. "How are you?"
He stood up, suddenly uncomfortable again. "Oh, I'm good. Ready for the briefing?"
"Yeah." She mentally kicked herself as they headed for the conference room.
Sheppard's team started at the top and worked their way down while Simmons began at the bottom floor. Sheppard, McKay, Teyla, Ronon and a couple of technicians moved from room to room in the small tower. As tedious as this process was, they were cautious in their search. There had been enough surprises to make them wary of everything they saw. Sheppard, Teyla or Ronon would enter each room first to check for hazards then they would allow the scientists in.
Most of the tower was accommodations for the citizens of the city. There were also labs, common areas and what might have been storerooms. The new residents thought it might be that the Ancients lived near their work. McKay and the technicians identified a couple of interesting things during the course of the morning, but there was nothing particularly special. They noted the locations and moved on.
Late in the afternoon the team came across a door that would not open for Ronon or Teyla, who arrived at it first. McKay moved up and touched the door control. Nothing happened. He then tried to pry the panel off of the door control but it wouldn't budge.
"Colonel?" McKay looked over his shoulder as Sheppard approached. "This door is stuck. We can't get in."
"Have you checked the crystals?" Sheppard got his answer from McKay's expression. He touched the panel and the door slid open. He raised an eyebrow then shrugged. "Well, maybe you loosened it for me."
It was a larger than normal lab for this tower. The lights came up as Sheppard walked through the door, followed by Ronon and Teyla. They stopped in stunned silence.
"McKay!" Sheppard didn't turn as he called for the physicist.
"What?" McKay walked in. "Oh, my!"
The technicians crowded through the door, pushing McKay inside. They also stopped, mouths hanging open. On a long lab bench in the middle of the room, they saw an array of drones in various states of design and construction. They all approached the bench and circled it. After several seconds, McKay and the technicians turned to control consoles along one wall.
"Is this what I hope it is, Rodney?" Sheppard studied a drone with a single, vertical, flat tail.
"I don't know. Give me a few minutes." McKay and Sullivan, one of the technicians, huddled over a console. They pulled laptops and data pads from backpacks and began to set them up. "And, don't touch anything."
"Wouldn't dream of it." The Colonel withdrew his hand from the drone. He turned and leaned against the bench. A moment later Ronon and Teyla stood beside him.
McKay placed one hand over the ATA sensor to activate the controls, but nothing happened. He wiped the pad with his jacket sleeve and replaced his hand. Again, nothing happened. He closed his eyes and shook his head once in annoyance. Then he looked at Sheppard with a slightly peeved expression. The physicist very much disliked the fact that he did not have the ability to make all of the Ancient technology work.
Sheppard flashed a smile and walked over to the console as McKay moved back, pushing one of the technicians aside.
Ronon frowned at Teyla. He spoke in a low voice. "What's wrong?"
Teyla glanced up. "There are some things only Col. Sheppard can work."
Sheppard stretched out his right hand and passed it about six inches over the pad. The console immediately came to life. He raised an eyebrow at McKay who stared daggers at him.
"You told me not to touch, Rodney." Sheppard held up his hand. He smiled his sweetest at McKay.
"Go stand over there." McKay pointed to a nearby corner then turned back to the console with Sullivan. The other two technicians, Brown and Davis, began checking out the drones.
"These guys are going to be here for a while. We might as well check out the rest of this floor." The Colonel headed for the door with Teyla and Ronon in front of him.
They were barely out the door when McKay's shout brought them back. Sheppard stopped just outside and looked in. The lab was dark, all lights and equipment turned off. He stepped inside and the lights came up again. McKay impatiently pointed at the sensor. Sheppard went over and waved his hand over it and the console came online again. He nodded and hopped up to sit on an empty stretch of bench-top. Then he looked at Teyla and Ronon.
"You two keep going. Lt. Simmons' team should be finishing with the lower floors soon." He glanced at McKay. "Rodney, there may be something else on this floor. You want…"
"Brown, go with them." McKay interrupted. "If you find something interesting, come get me. Don't touch anything."
Brown rolled his eyes as he walked past Teyla. "Yes, Doctor."
An hour later, Sheppard was beginning to feel the lack of sleep and inactivity when Teyla, Ronon and Brown returned. He could see Simmons and his team standing in the corridor outside.
"Anything?"
Teyla shook her head. "No, it appears as if the rest of this level was used as living quarters."
"Lieutenant?"
Simmons poked his head in the door. He was young, but looked like he could take care of himself in a fight. "Not much of interest on the floors below, Sir. We've recorded everything that might warrant further investigation."
Sheppard yawned and checked his watch. He nodded at Teyla, Ronon and Simmons then jerked his head toward the door. "Okay, you all head on back. There's no reason for you to hang around. We'll come when Rodney gets hungry."
"I heard that." McKay glared at a smirking Davis.
The next couple of hours passed with McKay alternately working quietly then grumbling at his technicians. Sheppard occasionally tried to look over their shoulder only to be waved away. He resorted to spending the time pacing, just being bored or reading a paperback his pulled from inside his vest. He learned a while back to bring a book for times like this.
McKay finally straightened and frowned at Sheppard, who had settled on the counter, leaned back and started to doze off.
"Colonel?" McKay raised his voice and Sheppard snapped awake. The physicist appeared at once pleased and frustrated.
"Anything useful?" Sheppard absently rubbed the stubble on his cheek.
"I don't think this is what you hoped for. It looks like it's just a design lab. There isn't enough space or equipment for manufacturing more than a handful of drones at a time." He saw the Colonel's crestfallen expression and held up a finger. "I need you to do something. Come here and sit."
Sheppard slid off the counter.
"Listen we've hit a wall. I've been able to dig out only superficial information. I want you to try something." McKay pointed to the chair in front of the screen and controls he just vacated. "The system won't let us past a certain point, and it's not because it's broken. I want to see if you have any luck."
The Colonel sat down. "What do you want?"
McKay's eyes narrowed in thought. He looked around the room and pointed. "Schematics for that drone."
Sheppard studied the drone for a moment then turned to the control panel, placing his right hand on the sensor. Within seconds, the screen before them began to cycle through complex diagrams and design details of a drone with a single tail.
"Are you getting this?" McKay barked at Sullivan, who was frantically typing commands into a data pad. He pushed Davis out of the way then saw Sheppard had turned around, taking his hand off the control pad. "Don't stop!"
"Relax, Rodney." Sheppard glanced at the still running program. Two or three minutes later, it stopped.
Sullivan nodded eagerly at McKay's unspoken question. "I think I got it all, Doctor."
McKay rubbed his hands together and looked around. "Let's try something else."
"Look, Rodney, it's way past my dinner time. We can come back tomorrow." Sheppard gathered his P-90 and headed for the door. He paused in the doorway, waiting for the others. "Gentlemen?"
"Yes, okay! We'll come back tomorrow." McKay stuffed his laptop into his backpack and almost ran out the door. "Come to think of it, I'm starving. The mess is still open, isn't it?"
Sheppard spent most of the day in the lab with McKay, Davis, Brown and Jane Brice, a linguist proficient in Ancient. Sullivan was back in McKay's lab, quite happy to be pouring over the drone schematics all by himself. This time, McKay needed Sheppard to do more than pull up schematics. The Colonel sat at the console, thinking what he was told to. McKay sat next to him almost the entire time, with Brice on the other side. They argued over translations on each step before directing Sheppard's next move.
"Look, I don't know exactly why I can't work this. We know from the other Elizabeth that some Ancient scientists worked on projects in secret. Maybe this was a top secret project. Maybe only a handful of the Ancients could ever work it. Maybe it just happened to be calibrated with a high threshold of…of…" McKay spoke quickly in agitation. "Maybe it was paranoia. I don't know. I do know you don't want to be here, but you're just going to have to deal with it."
"Take it easy, Rodney. I just said it strange." Sheppard frowned at McKay.
A passing comment brought McKay's frustration to a boil. It was late in the afternoon and they had been stumped by a reference to a Gate address for hours. For some reason, McKay, through Sheppard, could not dig beyond a certain point about this lab's research in the Ancient database. They had been able to study the technology and designs, but the whereabouts of the manufacturing facility was out of reach.
After hours of figurative hair-pulling and refining translations, McKay began to pace. He was talking to himself and no-one else in particular. So far, they had found a lot of research into materials, aerodynamics, propulsion mechanisms and damage patterns. There was only vague reference, however, to where the drones were made.
Sheppard watched for a while then stared at the drone with the single tail again. He reached back and placed his hand on the control pad. Suddenly, the drone began to glow and emit a humming sound. As McKay and the technicians watched with growing apprehension, the drone started to vibrate on its stand.
"Colonel, what are you doing?" McKay said as the others inched away. "You have to stop now."
Sheppard's narrowed eyes slightly and the drone rose up a couple of inches. It hovered for several seconds and slowly turned three hundred and sixty degrees on both axes before it settled back on to the stand. An instant later, it was dark and silent, as if nothing had happened.
The Colonel cocked his head a fraction and smiled. "Okay, Rodney, that's enough for tonight. We're not getting anywhere. Let's head back."
"Colonel…Wait. How did you do that?" McKay followed Sheppard to the door, glancing at the drone as he passed it. Then he stopped, a look of indignation on his face. "Why did you even try it? You could have killed us!"
Sheppard turned and gave McKay a look of "oh, please" that stopped the physicist cold.
"Rodney, I've had enough for today. I'm heading back."
"But, how did you…We need to…the Gate address." McKay frantically looked from the drone to Sheppard to the controls. "We need the Gate address."
"Not tonight, Rodney."
Dr. Brice was packing up the data pads with Davis and Brown. "Dr. McKay, we have a lot of data here. We should go over it again to see if we missed anything. There is still a large amount of text to translate."
Sheppard watched from the doorway, weariness and amusement in his eyes. "It's been a long day, Rodney. Sleep on it."
They all breathed a sigh of relief when McKay nodded and began to gather his gear.
