A/N:
So here is the first chapter of the second episode of my series, continuing the events of episode 1.
Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter One: Consequences
The emergency response teams were on the scene in minutes, desperately trying to make safe the area and find Colonel Sheppard and Kanaan. Rodney could only stand and watch as they got to work, the shock of what had happened still being processed in his head. It was only the brief contact of a hand on his shoulder that drew him out of the stupor, forcing him to turn around to see his friends and colleagues gathered behind him, silently surveying the carnage up ahead.
"Rodney, are you okay?" asked Teyla with more than a little concern
"Yes yes...I'm fine. I've been through far worse" Rodney lied. He desperately hoped they would buy the untruth with no further questions.
"What happened here?" asked a stone faced Ronon.
"Sheppard called me last night, said he had detected strange energy readings from the storage area, We came down to investigate...Sheppard went on ahead and then..." he trailed off, not able to finish that sentence.
"Why didn't he call us?" asked Ronon, seemingly offended.
"My guess would be he wanted to find out what it was first before destroying it" said Rodney, the anger evident in his voice.
"And what do you mean by that?"
"Just that you tend to adopt a destroy first, ask questions later policy when it comes to these things..."
"Enough, both of you" said Teyla, intervening before things got physical. "We are all under a lot of stress, now is not the time for your childish bickering".
Both men looked at each other before realising that Teyla was right. Each offered a contrite nod to each other and then to Teyla before turning to once again face up to the nightmare unfolding before their eyes.
A flurry of activity up ahead caught the attention of the gathered crowd. A rescue team emerged from around the debris-strewn corner, each of them clutching the corner of a medical stretcher. Before they had a chance to react, a second rescue team emerged carrying another victim from the explosion. Doctor Keller was escorting the second team, her attention focused solely on her patient as she continued to check his vitals.
"Who is the second victim?" asked Major Lorne, who had arrived on the scene only a few moments ago.
Rodney inwardly cursed himself, knowing that he had completely forgotten there was someone else in there.
"Oh god, Teyla" he said as he turned to face his Athosian friend "It was Kanaan...Sheppard called out to Kanaan over the comm"
Teyla was stunned. Not only was her best friend caught up in an explosion but now her partner too. She battled to maintain her outward composure, even though inside she was rife with panic and fear. What had Kanaan been doing in this area of the city? Why had he been in the vicinity of an explosion? It didn't make any sense and that alarmed her even more. Thankfully, she did not have to contemplate such matters right now. Doctor Keller had seen her friends and trudged solemnly towards them, the look on her face suggesting the news was not good.
"Hey guys" she says, trying to sound as positive as possible.
"How bad is it?" asked Rodney, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Colonel Sheppard has suffered a serious cranial trauma and some broken bones, probably as a result of being thrown against a bulkhead. He's currently unconscious and unresponsive" said Doctor Keller, the concern evident in her voice.
Everyone took a few moments to digest the diagnosis. They had each seen Sheppard take everything the galaxy had thrown at him and still come out smiling. But as his unconscious form passed by them on the stretcher, they collectively wondered whether the Colonel's luck had finally run out.
"And Kanaan?" Teyla asked, barely keeping her voice from cracking.
Doctor Keller looked pensive for a moment, as if deciding whether to tell the whole truth.
"He was much closer to the explosion. His body has suffered extensive second and third degree burns that will require grafts. Aside from the burns, he's suffered multiple internal injuries from being hit by pieces of debris" said Keller, clearly deciding that honesty was the best policy.
Teyla didn't know how to react. She just stared vacantly at the horrendous scene up ahead, desperately hoping this was some kind of nightmare that she would soon wake from. As Doctor Keller slid away from the group to check on Kanaan once more, everyone else simply stood in silence, no-one possessing the words to fully summarise the situation and the pain they were all feeling to varying degrees.
"Excuse me Doctor McKay?" enquired a quiet voice. Everyone turned around to see Doctor Jansen standing before them, clearly unsettled by the devastated surroundings.
"Not now Jansen" said McKay solemnly, not concerned with what minor problem Jansen was currently facing
"I'm sorry sir. But Mr Woolsey and Doctor Zelenka need you in the control room immediately. There's something wrong with Atlantis.." he replied.
- - SGA - -
Rodney and the others had barely ventured out of the damaged area before discovering exactly what the problem was with Atlantis. Aside from a few faint lights that scarcely provided enough illumination to see a few steps ahead of oneself, Atlantis had seemingly be drained of all power and was encompassed in an eerie darkness unlike anything they had seen before.
After a far longer journey than usual due to these emergency circumstances, the team reached the control room to find frenzied activity taking place. Technicians were busily checking the various systems and sub-systems for any sign of fault whilst marines were handing out flashlights to any and all personnel. It was a scene more reminiscent of some kind of disaster movie than real life, Rodney thought to himself as they made their way towards Zelenka and Woolsey.
"What's happened?" asked Rodney.
Woolsey and Zelenka exchanged a brief look as if deliberating who should break the bad news. Eventually Woolsey's superiority won out as Zelenka turned to face Rodney and the others.
"It seems that Atlantis has suffered some sort of cascade power failure. All main systems are offline. Rodney, we've stopped moving" said Zelenka worriedly.
It took a few seconds before the realisation of that sentence dawned on everyone; the self destruct sub-routine was still active. If they could not get Atlantis moving again and soon, then time would soon run out and they would be in deep trouble.
"You understand now why we asked you here ?" asked Woolsey to which Rodney could only nod weakly.
"From our initial readings, it appears that the primary power flow regulator overloaded shortly after the explosion" said Zelenka, directing Rodney's attention to the work.
"But we have secondary flow regulator that should have...oh no" said Rodney as he hurriedly checked the city schematics on his tablet.
"What is it?"
"The explosion...I wondered why it occurred in that part of the ship. Damn, why didn't I see this sooner!
"What Rodney?"
"The storage area is relatively unimportant to the function of Atlantis, but its situated next to the...
"...secondary flow regulator." said Zelenka, finishing Rodney's thoughts.
"Thats why the power is out, someone or something has disrupted the power flow. We need to check out the primary regulator" said Rodney.
Zelenka nodded in agreement and they both rushed off in search of the regulator, desperately hoping the overload had not caused major damage. Because if it had, then they and everyone on Atlantis were pretty much screwed.
"Mr Dex, Major Lorne...a word if you please?" said Mr Woolsey.
"What can we do for you sir?" asked Lorne
"With Colonel Sheppard currently incapacitated, I'm putting both of you in charge of the investigation into this incident. We need to find out what happened here."
"Yes sir" said Major Lorne whilst Ronon nodded his own understanding. Both men wanted answers as much as anyone and would not stop until the truth was uncovered.
"What about me?" came a quiet voice from the doorway of the control room. Teyla's face was one they had all come to recognise from her, a steely determination in the face of immense adversity.
"You, Miss Emmagan..." said Woolsey "...you should be in the infirmary with your partner and Colonel Sheppard."
"But I wish to help" pleaded Teyla
"If you keep us updated, you will be helping" replied Woolsey reassuringly.