Stargate Atlantis: Vessel
One minute seven seconds and probably one eighth of a millisecond – but only he was counting - was how long Doctor Rodney McKay sat immobilized.
Piercing blue – the color of the Atlantis gate chevrons - was all he could see. McKay opened his mouth to speak but only a puff of air came out. Sweat coalesced in his palms and fuzzy images of words formed in his head. Another puff, a vowel sound, and his shoulder slumped. The woman in polyester grey did not move from her spot.
Inside another one of Janus's hidden laboratories, McKay knew the silence had gone on too long. It was probably awkward. He forced himself to think of something calming. Soft and cottony, snow drifted through his head. It reminded him of the simplicity of his Canadian childhood when only the intricate crystalline structure of snow flake would matter to a boy of his age. He relaxed just long enough to clear his head and he knew what to do.
Greet the woman, Rodney, thought McKay.
He cleared his throat and his sweaty hands wiped down his black uniform. Pale blue light resonating from bubbling beakers made his outstretched hand look dry. "Hello, I'm Rodney – I – ahh — Rodney McKay, Doctor."
The side of her cheek twitched in a smile. All thought of snow ceased. He wanted to shove his flapping tongue back into his mouth and hit the restart button. The woman appeared unaware his babbling should be considered annoying and instead stepped forward to take his hand. Her tumbling brown locks bounced around her face accenting her deep blue eyes.
Did I wear deodorant today?
"Hello Doctor McKay, I am Doctor Mary Honeywell."
"Ohh, it's just Rodney, call me Rodney." He watched as she nodded then turned her head to take in the unorthodox lab. Beakers illuminated murky colored water held within and a red light strobed on and off on the console. The most peculiar part was the black muddy residue sliding down the side of a stasis chamber. Slowly, the residue lurched toward the floor. Conjoining with a tap, tap, tap.
Mary shuttered and moved her gaze from the chamber. McKay was acutely aware she was still holding his hand. Warmth lingered in his hand then slowly faded. She was gently pulling back and he took that to mean it was time to let go. He watched as his hand slid slowly out of hers and she spoke, "So?"
McKay popped his head up to look at Mary. Up and down he looked trying to reason why she was actually there. "So? Umm – What?"
Mary did not respond - staring point blank at him - she waited. He swore he could feel her eyes scanning his face and he tried desperately to remember something. As the silence lingered McKay began to sway. Mary waved her hand in a circular motion. With the gesture, he assumed she was trying to get him to remember. His forehead creased. Finally, Mary broke the silence, "Mr. Woolsey asked me to come here upon my arrival today – is that not correct?"
McKay thumped his forehead then regretfully pulled his hand back, "Right, Yes, Sorry. You are the new expert in languages, including Ancient?"
He watched as her lips parted into a wide smile and her smile appeared to brighten the room. McKay cursed his male hormones and their trickery. Mary answered, "Yes, I am an expert in Lantean – and fairly good with other languages too."
"Right, well, I had sent a communique to Doctor Daniel Jackson shortly after we began cataloging the City yesterday but he has not responded." McKay imagined Daniel deleting his message and laughing about it later with Samantha Carter. Giving his head a shake, he rid himself of the image and continued, "So you'll have to do."
Mary's smile faltered and McKay's blabbering started, again, "Oh, no, I didn't mean you aren't good enough to help me, I mean look at you, you surely must be good at your job – I don't know why I just said that." Doctor Honeywell waived a dismissive hand and he shut his mouth immediately.
"Where should I start, Doctor McKay?"
"Just Rodney, call me Rodney." He wrapped his hands behind his back.
"Rodney." She smiled.
Like an opposing magnet, a self-conscious McKay side step around Mary with a large berth. Carefully not to rub against her, he moved towards the odd stasis chamber. Mary matched his stride to stay by his side. "Well, yesterday, I was working in this lab with aid of Ronon Dex and Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard." McKay turned his gaze to her face then averted his gaze forward. "You probably remember John from when you arrived today. He was meeting the new IOA recruits this morning."
Mary stopped and turned her eyes skyward. It pleased McKay that she didn't immediately remember John Sheppard. Her eyes went wide in acknowledgement. "Ahh, right, right. Crazy kind of hair?"
"Ha, not compared to Ronon's."
"His is quiet interesting, as well," piped Mary.
Oh, of course, she remembers Ronon.
"I didn't know Ronon met any of the new recruits."
Mary rolled up on to her tippy toes and shrugged. McKay mimicked a shrugged in response and continued toward the chamber. "Well anyways, Ronon inadvertently opened the chamber."
McKay air quoted the word opened. Mary slowed the rhythm of her speech, "Ok."
The sickly black residue had puddled on the floor and McKay did not want to be near it. However, Mary was so close to him he could feel her body heat. He tugged on his collar down and quickly stepped over the puddle, distancing him from Mary. He paused for a moment to see if Mary would follow him. She did not.
He released his breath and spoke, "Unfortunately, the stasis chamber was not like any other stasis chamber I have ever seen. It was giving off residual radiation and the encasing was black instead of translucent. Ronon inadvertently opened the chamber, deactivating the stasis."
McKay air quoted the word deactivating. Mary crinkled her nose. "Why do you keep making this gesture?" She put her hands up in the air and flexed her index and middle finger at McKay.
"Hmm, ohh, well I haven't quite figured out exactly what the chamber was meant to do. So I am just using general term while explaining."
"I understand. How do I help?"
"I need you to decipher Janus's notes for me." McKay waved his hand back toward the console. Mary obliged and proceeded to move to the consoles. He waited until Mary was a few steps ahead to cross over the puddle. He quickened his pace when he realized Mary was astutely waiting at the console. Grabbing the seat, McKay tapped on the console keys. A blue and white display screen formed in front of them. Green data, in Ancient text, started to appear on the screen. Mary leaned over him to get a better view. Her hair fell forward and tickled the side of his cheek. He quivered at the prickle then coughed to calm himself.
"Sorry." Mary tucked back her hair.
"Ahhhem, well as you can see I need you to translate the text."
McKay watched as the green writing reflected in Mary's eyes, as she scanned the screen. As she turned her gaze back to him, he shot his head back up to look at the display screen.
"Can you not translate Lantean yourself?"
"Well of course I can but I am too busy with the chamber. As such, I do not have the time to figure out the syntax." McKay pointed to a section of the text. "You'll see what I mean." McKay's finger pointed out and highlighted Ancient text from a passage in Janus's log. "I read the passage as, pan doron me theoi o pithos de kako me Ellips."
"Mhhmmm."
"Translated, I understand this to mean, all gifted by the Gods the vessel of evil also carries hope. It does not make a lot of sense, as you can see."
"Yes, I see Rodney, I suspect understanding the full text will help us understand the meaning." She moved her body closer to him. He froze. Nudging her hip against his, he realized she was trying to take the seat from him. He scooted, manly, out of her way.
"I will do my best to translate this for you." Mary began flipping through pages on the screen and scribbling on a nearby notepad. Stopping, she turned her head around to look at him. "Is there anything else I need to do?"
Unwittingly hovering over her, he took a couple steps back. "No, no, I ahh should go to the see the Medical Doctor."
"Oh, are you sick?" Mary appeared worried.
Taken back by her concerned, he blurted out, "She's my girlfriend."
Mary dropped her head to one side and looked at McKay.
"What I mean is she is my girlfriend but she also ran test on the residue and the person who came out of the chamber."
"A person was in there?"
"A teen aged girl."