Chapter 3: A Mutt's Point of View
oooOOOooo
The moment McKay's voice erupted on the city speakers, before he had even really said anything of importance, Lorne had known that his good morning had just been shot to hell. Attention, Attention had carried throughout the city and, like a well-trained mutt, Lorne had frozen in his tracks and automatically cocked his head, waiting for instruction. There were three other people in the corridor with him, one of them a seasoned British Captain, and each one of them had done the exact same thing. McKay didn't use this tone of voice often, the one that would make a General stand to attention, and Lorne was pretty sure the scientist had no idea the effect it had on people. Perhaps that was why it was so effective now.
Then Rodney had gone and declared a Level One Emergency Lockdown and Lorne had a completely composed moment of holy fuck, I'm in charge! before tearing off down to the armoury. Instinct had him reaching for his radio to demand an explanation to this crisis, but he aborted the move at the last moment. McKay would tell him what he needed to know when it was necessary and the last thing Lorne needed to do was distract the man from his work. At least for the moment. He opened a direct line to all military personnel instead.
"This is Major Lorne and I am the ranking officer on Atlantis," he barked sharply as he rushed along, "I need rosters and status updates stat!"
By the time he stepped through the armoury doors he'd already received several reports from teams snapped into his ear. He listened carefully as he moved, making a beeline through the large storage space to the back room; the one where they kept the nuclear warheads and other, slightly more dangerous weapons. He saw that Lieutenant Lee and a few other soldiers had already thrown heavy nets over many of the crates of ammunition and were securing them firmly together and to the walls.
"Major Lorne, this is Beckett."
"Go ahead," Lorne answered, as he continued to check the ropes. The warheads appeared to be firmly strapped down and secured, but he had to make sure. He didn't need an 'obliterated the city due to laziness' notation in his records, especially not if they survived whatever the hell was going to happen in fifteen minutes.
"My people are all accounted for and I have no critical patients at this time," Beckett reported and Lorne nodded, grateful for at least that small mercy. "Though we are a tad short-staffed at the moment and have a load of loose equipment. I could use any extra hands you could spare."
"I'll see what I can do, Doc," Lorne said and quickly switched channels. "Cadman, what's your status?" He didn't want to breathe down her neck, but time was of the essence and she was responsible for the current status and accountability of military personnel.
"I need two minutes, Major," Cadman reported.
"Acknowledged. Dr. Weir, how are things in the control room?" He asked. A short distance away Lieutenant Lee was tightening the ratchet straps on the last set of boxes now, and Lorne waved a hand to get his attention as he stopped by the armoury door. Lee nodded sharply as he completed his task, and then began heading towards him, double-checking the straps he passed.
"Sergeant Campbell and I have almost finished securing the room," she answered. "The stargate has been disconnected, and the control crystal secured." Lorne nodded to himself as he mentally checked the control room off his list.
"Acknowledged. Dr. Beckett has requested assistance in the infirmary, Ma'am. I'd like you to head there."
"Rodney left a few moments ago to secure the ZPM. I'll head to the infirmary once he returns, Major."
He just managed to get out a "thank you Ma'am," before McKay's voice erupted from the overhead speakers and his ear piece, sounding short of breath as he announced the ten minute mark.
"Cadman, I need that status report!"
"Yes, Major." He held a finger out to Lieutenant Lee while he listened to her report. When she reported that three of the five naqueda reactors were secured, he breathed a sigh of relief and sent Lee to the infirmary with strict orders to make sure both Weir and Beckett were secure when the time came. Lorne gave the armoury one more quick check before securing the door and heading to the infirmary himself. Strictly speaking, the reactors should have been covered by the science teams, but that had changed after the first few practice drills. Nothing had actually exploded during those drills, unless you counted Dr. McKay, but it had shown that the science teams had more than enough to handle securing their experiments and an extra hand from the military would be necessary.
Speaking of the scientists, he should have heard from them by now. Then with a sinking realization Lorne remembered that Zelenka had accompanied Sheppard and Ronon to the mainland that morning and wasn't around to act as McKay's back-up. There was nothing to be done about it now, but it could explain the delay from the science department.
"Dr. Marlow, how are you doing down there?" There was a crash of equipment from the other end of the line just as Dr. Marlow answered. The normally unflappable scientist sounded harried, and another crash of equipment muddled his response. Lorne frowned. "Can you repeat that, Dr. Marlow?"
"Sorry, Major. We lost one of our experimental setups, but should have everything secured in a few minutes." Lorne stopped in the middle of the hall and contemplated a change in direction. Decision made he twisted around to head to the labs. With Zelenka off world, Kusanagi, Marlow, and Sauder were in charge of the scientists and though Lorne had no doubt that they would hold up their end, he was worried that whatever timeframe they were working on wouldn't be enough. He needed to personally determine that things were secure. Then Marlow dropped another bombshell.
"We've been unable to contact or find Dr's. Ramirez and Eglington."
Damn it.
"Understood." He acknowledged briskly and severed their connection. He flipped his headset to the citywide frequency, but halted the action when McKay's voice sounded again. He slowed his dash despite McKay's directive to continue working. The explanation of their crisis left him stunned, but he didn't have to be a rocket scientist to picture Atlantis skimming across the water's surface. When McKay announced they only had seven minutes remaining he picked up his pace once again.
"Dr. Ramirez, Dr. Eglington, report." He hit the transporter running, almost crashing into its back wall and control display as he stopped, and selected his location. When he emerged and rounded the corner near the labs, he barely managed to avoid crashing into Dr. Kusanagi and the three scientists running behind her as she shouted out orders. Entering the main lab he saw several others were powering down equipment and stacking laptop after laptop into a padded drawer built right into the city walls. Two of his soldiers were throwing ropes around some large portable panels to secure them to the walls. He saw Dr. Marlow by the largest console in the room and moved over to him while activating the city wide communications once again. "Dr. Ramirez, Dr. Eglington, report!"
He was in the process of asking Dr. Marlow where the scientists had last been seen, when Ronon's completely unexpected voice came over his headset. "I think they're on the west pier. Doubt they have their radios with them," he gruffly informed him and Lorne couldn't help a sigh and looked at Marlow.
"They may be on the west pier," he passed the information on and the Doctor's eyes widened in alarm.
"What the hell are they doing out there? The speaker systems aren't operational on that pier! There was never any reason to repair them until we had time…" He trailed off and blinked before going frantically back to his work. Clearly this was something Lorne was going to have to deal with.
"Great. Just great," Lorne muttered. He'd have to send someone to get them, but the chances of anyone getting to that location in time to warn the stray scientists was practically impossible, even sending a jumper would take too long with the time frame they had left. Wait a second. "I thought you went to the mainland," Lorne announced sharply and then demanded to know the Satedan's status.
"I'm almost to the West Pier," Ronon grunted.
"Keep me updated," Lorne ordered but Ronon didn't bother to respond. If the scientists were still out there, Ronon would get them to safety, but even he wouldn't be able to protect them from McKay's wrath once this was over.
"Sir, all military personnel accounted for. Several teams have completed their tasks and are available for redeployment." Cadman announced sharply in his ear.
"Copy that, stand by," he looked to Marlow. "Where do you need an extra hand?"
"Labs four and seven. Most primary rooms are secure, but Dr. Sauder could use a hand."
Lorne told Cadman where to send them and she acknowledged the order. Lorne stood back and took a moment to simply breathe. If he had had time to really take everything in he would have been damn proud of everyone in the city. The military and scientists were working with an efficiency normally found only after years of close acquaintance and it sometimes threatened to knock Lorne off his feet at how well the people around him could work together. Best of the best, and right now it really showed.
Organized chaos was as close as he could come to describing the next five minutes.
When McKay gave the final order for everyone to stop what they were doing and secure themselves safely, Lorne had looked grimly at the people he was with and nodded. They rushed off to find a place to hunker down and he felt like his stomach was in his throat as he made sure everyone in his vicinity was as secure as they could be.
"Lorne to Dr. Weir," he called into his radio as he ran down the hall, poking his head into a few labs to see various people wrapped tightly around the legs of barren desks that were bolted to the floor, while other people were using the spare ropes to tie themselves in place.
"Go ahead, Major," She responded immediately, her tone declaring the urgency of the situation.
"Are you and Beckett secure?" He ran past a few more labs and the kitchen but at that point he didn't have time to check them anymore. He hoped people weren't stupid enough to hide in the kitchen.
"We are, Major," she sounded slightly amused despite the situation and Lorne figured her tone had something to do with the soldiers Lorne had assigned to their safety. Lorne's men knew exactly how important it was to keep them safe. They'd probably had Weir and Beckett locked down five minutes before McKay demanded it.
"Lorne to McKay," he waited a moment for an answer, which didn't come fast enough. "Lorne to the Control room!" He barked.
"Campbell here, sir," was the instant reply and Lorne unclenched his fist.
"Chuck, are you and McKay secure?"
"I am, Major, but Dr. McKay is-"
"Dr. McKay is right here, thank you," McKay interrupted hotly, finally gracing Lorne with his voice. Lorne heard him mutter something that sounded suspiciously like tattletale under his breath and Lorne knew, without a doubt, that the man wasn't secure.
"Damn it, McKay! Get to a safe location!"
"The city won't fly itself, Major," the man snapped. Then the sound of McKay's typing cut off abruptly as he disconnected, and for an insane moment Lorne wondered what that meant. He'd been too focused on his own part of the emergency to wonder about McKay's actions, and it suddenly occurred to him that with Sheppard off-station there was no one protecting McKay's back. Damn it! He should have assigned two men to watch McKay when he'd split the command staff and ordered Weir to the infirmary. He picked up his pace, his steel-toed boots pounding heavily on the ground, echoing loudly in the empty corridor.
"Major, what's your status?" Weir suddenly demanded in his ear and he cringed as he ran.
"I'm on my way to the control room."
"That's a negative Major, you need to secure yourself as well." She demanded and he completely agreed, and he would, just as soon as he made sure McKay was safe. He might be the second ranking military officer in the city and currently in charge, but Sheppard would have his balls in a jar if McKay got hurt and Lorne was rather attached to that bit of his anatomy.
His plan to get to the control room and his response to Weir, however, was abruptly halted when Corporal DeBoer suddenly materialized in front of him. Lorne crashed into him and sort of bounced right off his chest. He was still coming to terms with the fact that he was no longer running when DeBoer dragged Lorne bodily into the supply closet he had magically appeared from. He'd hit brick walls that were softer; when Henning DeBoer wanted you to go somewhere, you went. Before he could suck in a breath and order the soldier to back off the man had forcefully pushed him to the ground, and then sat down beside him, effectively blocking the only route to the now closed door. Lorne pressed his back into the wall and glared.
"Good of you to join us, sir." He looked to the soldier pressed on his other side and was greeted with Cadman's pearly whites. Just beyond her he could see two more soldiers crammed in with their backs at one wall and feet braced against the other. They were like freaking sardines they were packed so tight. Hehe -
"I've got to get to McKay," he announced and moved to stand, making sure he used his command voice. He barely even budged as both DeBoer and Cadman grabbed his shoulders and forced him to remain seated, Cadman viciously digging her fingers into a pressure point. DeBoer just glared.
"Sorry, sir. McKay's orders were to secure ourselves." The big man looked far from sorry.
"Yep," Cadman agreed, giving his shoulder a good squeeze before releasing her grip. "And right now McKay's in charge, sir."
"Major? Are you secure?" Dr. Weir demanded into his ear, and Lorne let his head fall forward in defeat.
"Yes, Ma'am," he reassured her. He couldn't stretch his legs out, the wall being too close. DeBoer's massive legs were practically growing out of his chest they were tucked in there so tight. Weir didn't get a chance to answer though as McKay's voice cut through every communication system in the city.
"BRACE YOURSELVES!" he yelled into their ears and through all the speakers creating a brief echo. Lorne felt the soldiers beside him tense and followed suit, sucking in a deep breath and holding it. Then holding it a little longer. And a little bit longer.
"This is it?" Cadman asked beside him, still locking herself into place as much as she could and someone huffed a laugh. Then the floor and walls began to vibrate.
"You had to say it, didn't you," DeBoer grunted, flashing a sardonic smile her way and Cadman shrugged, her shoulder digging into Lorne's bicep.
"Well, it was a bit anti-climatic there for a moment. I'd hate to think we did all that work for nothing," she grunted back. Then they all shut up and concentrated on bracing themselves as much as possible. The vibrations increased in strength, rattling Lorne's teeth and blurring his vision to the point where it was easier to close his eyes. For a moment it felt like the city was tilted at an odd angle before it straightened itself out and then the overbearing vibrations calmed, and became nothing more than a light humming in the air.
Something was still wrong though. There was no way that was the extent of it. Lorne's spidey sense was still tingling, a feeling of dread that stuck heavily to his rib cage. Atlantis didn't feel right. His ATA gene wasn't nearly as efficient as Sheppard's, but he still had a slight connection with the city that he assumed all the gene jockey's had, and right now it was telling him something was still very wrong.
"Was that it?" Murphy asked, and Lorne shook his head negatively.
"No. It couldn't have been. McKay would have cleared us by now," he thought out loud. "I think we're airborne."
"Well, shit." Yeah, that pretty much summed it up. They waited a few more tense moments, the seconds ticking past, and then the vibrations started up again. They built a lot quicker this time and Lorne was reminded of an engine on the verge of stalling out. The crescendo of sound and vibrations rattled his spine and he could feel Cadman and DeBoer shaking beside him, the combined pressure of their shoulders almost crushing him. And then it just stopped. Everything stopped. There were no vibrations, not even the hum of the engines. For a moment silence reigned.
Then his stomach lurched, trying to leap into his throat as his entire body became suddenly weightless, hovering an inch off the floor.
"Hold on!" He yelled, as if they hadn't figured that out for themselves yet.
"No shit, sir!" Cadman yelled right back. Figures she'd have to get the last word.
When they hit, his entire body was thrown violently forward and for a long, shocking moment, he forgot that he still had control of all his muscles before he used his legs to shove himself back into place against the wall. Just in time for them to be thrown back without mercy. His back slammed into the hard surface; the breath shoved out of his lungs in a rush. He heard someone's head connect solidly with the wall.
Atlantis groaned around him, shuddered, and then his stomach was flying into his throat again and Jesus this was bad. This was going to be very, very bad. He managed to suck in a lungful of air just as he began to see stars.
When the second bone-jarring lurch came it was worse than the first. From somewhere in the city he heard a series of heavy crashing and hoped to god no one had been near whatever it was that could make that noise.
They were thrown forward again, his body twisting slightly, knocking him from his wedged position between DeBoer and Cadman. Cadman swore as she and Murphy were dislodged from their tightly packed positions. They crashed into the opposite wall, Cadman's legs and elbow smashing into Lorne. With the extra support their bodies provided suddenly ripped away Lorne was left flailing in the air, trying to find something to brace against. It was a wasted effort as he toppled onto Cadman, hearing her grunt as he landed heavily.
Everything coalesced into one giant blur of limbs and sharp pains. A steel tipped boot connected with his head, stars burst across his vision and his funny bone smashed into the wall, the sudden, blinding pain stealing his breath away. His knees landed in something soft. Someone's shoulder was driven into his back, knocking him further into whoever was beneath him. By the time the city settled and Lorne could finally tell which way was up again, he was lodged at the bottom of a pile up. One of his arms was pinned uncomfortably and he could feel someone's knee pressing viciously close to his family jewels. One wrong shift was threatening a world of pain beyond what he was already feeling.
"Everyone okay?" He croaked, his voice more breathless than he'd anticipated. He took a moment to clear his throat. There were a series of 'never betters' and grunts as they all tried to pull themselves apart. One good thing about the military is that people weren't shy about where they placed their hands, which went a long way in avoiding unnecessary awkwardness. In no time at all DeBoer was dragging his giant frame out of the closet door and up to his feet. He hauled Lorne out right after him like he was a ten pound weight.
"You okay, sir?" The big Dutchman asked and Lorne nodded. He looked back into the small space, noticing for the first time that the last soldier was Sergeant Choy. The man was looking dazed as he probed the back of his head, his fingertips coming away bloody, leaving a red smear on his neck. Lorne could understand how he was feeling, a bit unsteady on his own feet. He blinked and resisted shaking his head, not wanting to aggravate his screaming headache. Doors all around them were sliding open and more people were beginning to slowly creep into the corridor, more than a few of them with visible wounds stumbling around.
Somewhere down the hall he could hear screaming.
He turned to Cadman.
"Secure this area and begin triage. You know what to do."
"Yes, sir."
Lorne nodded, turned sharply and began heading in the direction of the infirmary, his step determined despite being just a little unsteady. His head was throbbing and he had a sharp pain in his ankle when he walked, but he ignored them both. He'd had worse after sparring practice. With Sheppard.
"Lorne to Dr. Weir," he accessed his communicator as he entered the next corridor, noting that people were already sorting themselves out and trusting his people to handle the situation as he moved out.
"Yes Major, I'm here," she responded a moment later and he let out a sigh of relief at hearing her voice. It was one less thing he had to worry about.
"Are you okay?"
"Both Dr. Beckett and I are fine."
"Understood. Stand by," he ordered and then accessed the communicator again, trying not to sound as grim as he felt. He had a lot of people who needed help right now, but his first priority was making sure that the expedition leaders were safe. He'd worry about everything else after that. "Lorne to McKay." He waited a moment but there was no answer. "McKay, respond," he waited another moment, his gut clenching. "McKay, do you copy!" He snapped and there was still no response. "Lorne to Campbell!" He looked around and flagged down the first available soldier he saw.
"Campbell here sir," the technician's voice came shakily through his radio. Lorne looked at the soldier he had flagged down.
"Report to the control room and get me an update. Double time it!"
"Yes sir!" The man turned and sprinted off, Lorne activated his radio again.
"What's your status?"
"I'm okay sir," the man replied, sounding only slightly steadier.
"Is McKay still with you?" It took longer for the technician to respond than Lorne was comfortable with.
"Yes, sir, he's with me. He seems to be okay, sir."
"Seems to be?"
"He's insisting he's fine, sir. His radio was dislodged during the…landing."
"Fine. I have a soldier heading your way. Tell McKay I'm heading to the infirmary."
"Understood." Chuck replied and then disconnected.
"You had better be okay, McKay," he growled to himself as he continued to storm down the corridor. "Because I am not going to be responsible for you getting hurt again."
He marched into the infirmary a moment later and froze to take in the mess. It was apparent that while the medical staff had been able to secure a lot of things, basic supplies had been low on the priority list. Shelves lay toppled along one wall, bags of saline, bandages of all sizes, nasal canulas, pre-packaged syringes and lord knew what else was scattered all over the place. Privacy dividers were being hastily picked up from the floor and shoved out of the way against one wall. A nurse was trying to kick a disposable bedpan off her foot while righting a bedside table, and the staff hustled about trying to get the place back in order. Several people were already limping into the area under their own steam for medical aide.
Lorne almost slipped on an abdominal pad as he made his way to Beckett's office before finally stepping through the door. His eyes quickly tracked over the leaders, lingering a moment on Weir's splinted fingers with a frown. Other than that they seemed fine. He nodded at them.
"We can't reach McKay," Weir informed him crisply and he stood to attention at the tone.
"Campbell reported that McKay's okay but he's lost his radio. I've sent someone to confirm their status," he replied and she nodded, her lips pressed into a tight, unhappy line, her shoulders squared and ready for action. It wasn't that Lorne didn't trust Campbell to answer truthfully, but the man had sounded rattled over the line and may have sustained injuries himself. Lorne would have liked to have a more positive answer for her. In fact he would have preferred to go and check on the Canadian himself before coming here. But they had standard operating procedures in times of crises and, like it or not, he had to follow them. Meeting with the command staff immediately to get organized was a part of that procedure, and the location of the primary meeting was wherever Weir was.
He knew right now his soldier's were following procedures that they had trained for, doing everything they could to make sure everyone was safe and to minimize damage. In a few moments they would begin to receive preliminary reports and it was going to take a lot of coordination to bring everything back under control.
oooOOOooo
"At this point we don't know the extent of the damage to the city or the number of casualties," Weir looked at Major Lorne and forced herself to ignore the vivid bruise beginning to shade his temple. "Carson's team has already begun to set up the cafeteria as a triage centre. Anyone with severe injuries will be brought here immediately, everyone else who needs medical attention goes to triage first," she ordered. He nodded and quickly relayed the information to a few key personnel, his gaze focused as he spoke into his radio. She looked back to Carson, who was practically bouncing on his feet, no doubt itching to get to his work. She understood exactly how he felt. It was times like these, when she couldn't afford to let herself physically help in an emergency, that left her feeling useless and on edge, despite the importance of her task.
"We'll head back to the control room and set up command there," she informed the Doctor, who immediately began nodding in agreement. Her attention shifted to Lorne however, when the soldier turned his head away as he listened to his radio, his eyes crinkling unhappily at the edges until, a moment later, they smoothed out and he looked at her.
"We have confirmation that McKay and Campbell are okay," he announced and relief flooded through her as the Major turned back to his radio and began issuing a few more orders. She met Carson's eyes briefly, seeing concern reflected there and she took a deep breath. Okay. They could do this.
"Keep me updated as necessary," she told Carson and then swiftly left the infirmary, Lorne hot on her heels. There weren't as many people in the corridor as she had expected on her fast march to the control room, but twice she had to press herself against the wall as several people, military and civilian, came rushing down the hallway carrying people strapped to backboards. One of them had been screaming, a high pitched wail that only stopped when they had to suck in air.
"What's the preliminary rundown?" She asked the Major when he stopped issuing orders through his radio and he rubbed at his forehead, wincing when he encountered the dark bruise.
"We don't have a headcount yet. Two personnel were unaccounted for before the crash, their status is still unknown. Ronon Dex went to investigate their last known location but we've been unable to reach him on the radio. There have been a few reports of people trapped in various locations. There are no reported hazardous material situations yet and the armoury was locked down securely. I have also been unable to reach Colonel Sheppard or Dr. Zelenka. They should be on their way back from the mainland by now."
"Understood," Weir acknowledged as they finally came to a door to the gateroom. The major neatly stepped in front of her before she could step through, going first and looking around cautiously. He paused to kick a chair that belonged on the upper deck out of the way, a frown quickly marring and then disappearing from his lips as he looked up to where it had come from. He touched his radio and gave a brief order to keep checking on Ronon's location.
Her eyes were drawn almost immediately to the stargate, and she was relieved to see it still standing, looking as majestic as it always did with the sunlight filtering in from the windows all around. A door opened across the large room and she saw several people in blue shirts coming streaming in. One of them actually beat her to the stairs, not bothering to pause and nod as he sprinted up, two laptops clutched tightly to his chest. She wasn't slow to follow and when she reached the top she finally saw Rodney, or at least the back of him as he was bent far over a console. She had seen him in that position so many times now that not even her subconscious came up with jokes anymore.
"Dr. McKay, I have your laptops," the scientist gushed out even as he held something small to McKay. His face was red from his exertion.
"Set them up there," Rodney nodded to the console beside the DHD. Beneath it Elizabeth could see a broken laptop kicked out of the way, its wires still feebly connecting it to the station. The scientist quickly pulled the wires out and flung them to the floor, forgotten, as he moved to his task. Elizabeth moved to Rodney's side, noting that Chuck was perched close by. In the time it took her to reach them he had already glanced in Rodney's direction twice, assessing him, a worried pinch to his brow. She wondered at this as Rodney looked up at her, a familiar scowl on his face as he clipped a new radio into his ear, until he realized who she was.
The brief look of relief she saw in his eyes was quickly replaced by anxiety and irritation.
"Rodney," she greeted and he stood stiffly, holding his left arm a bit gingerly. "What's the situation?" She asked and tried not to hold her breath. Just beyond them people were setting up computers in the conference room, getting the command centre ready. Rodney sucked in a breath, preparing to launch into what was no doubt going to be a withering tirade, and then he just seemed to deflate, rubbing wearily at his neck.
"We don't seem to be in danger of a repeat of what just happened. The chances of the city building up enough power for another launch, in any propulsion unit, is astronomically low without the ZPM directly feeding it, but, as it was proved only moments ago, it can happen. I've got a team in the ZPM room monitoring it directly just in case, or at least I will as soon as they get there, but I still haven't been able to pinpoint the energy source or figure out why it built up so suddenly in the propulsion systems." He paused a moment, apparently distracted before a deeper look of irritation crossed his features.
"Yes I'm aware of that! Thank you! Go talk to Kusanagi, I'm busy trying to keep your useless hide alive!" He spat. Elizabeth frowned and he quickly pointed at the radio that sat in his ear to explain that he wasn't talking to her, which she was well aware of. Then he looked at Lorne. "Chuck is working on the communication system, you should be able to talk to Sheppard in a few minutes," he informed him, pointing over at Sergeant Campbell to make sure they knew who he was referring to before looking back at Elizabeth. "Atlantis went into an automatic lockdown during the flight and landing-"
"You call that a landing?" Lorne cut in and Rodney glared at him.
"We are not all a bunch of bloated, mutilated corpses at the bottom of the ocean right now, so yes, I call that a landing. Thank you very much!" He spit and Lorne hastily raised his arms in surrender to placate him. Rodney turned back to Weir, his glare still sharp. "As I was saying, the city went into its own version of a lockdown and, seeing as we've never had to deal with a situation quite like this yet, I'm still trying to determine exactly what that means and the extent of the systems involved." He announced and then his eyes widened in alarm. "Oh my god, the plumbing!"
"Sewage and water systems seem to be functioning normally, sir," a scientist nearby announced quickly, startling Elizabeth for a moment. Rodney nodded and looked back at the screen.
'Good. That's very good," he muttered.
"Rodney?" She tried for his attention, not missing the concerned glance Chuck once again sent his way.
"Hm? Oh, right. I need to take some more readings before I can figure out what happened. Until then I can't tell you much more. Kusanagi is in charge of damage assessment and personnel. Marlow is in charge of-"
"ATLANTIS THIS IS SHEPPARD! DO YOU COPY?" Sheppard's voice suddenly boomed across the gateroom and Elizabeth flinched, her eyes automatically tracking to the ceiling before she recalled that she wouldn't be able to see him. "ATLANTIS, RES-" his voice abruptly cut out and she looked to where Rodney was glaring, which was right at Chuck. The Canadian technician stared back at McKay, and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Communications are fixed," he announced. In her headset Sheppard was continuing to demand attention, his voice loud and sharp in her ear.
"Colonel this is Atlantis, we copy." She responded and Rodney turned his back on her and Lorne, looking to his monitors again. She frowned distractedly at his stiff posture, making a note to ask if he was okay later even as she addressed her frantic head of military.
"What's the situation?" he demanded, his tone as clipped as it ever got and she took a moment to empathize with how he probably felt right now.
"We're in one piece at the moment. Damage assessment is on going. Dr. McKay is trying to determine what the problem was. What's your status?"
"We're above the city now." He informed her, his drawl coming out thicker in an attempt hide his tension. She nodded to herself.
"Understood. We're in the gateroom, rendezvous here once you've docked."
"That might be a bit of a problem," his drawl was in full force as she waited for an explanation. He didn't disappoint her. "It looks like some debris has landed on the jumper bay's hatch. We'll find an alternate landing site and join you when we can."
"Understood," she acknowledged when Rodney sharply cut in.
"Wait, no, don't land," he ordered, a worried edge to his voice that did nothing for her nerves as she looked back at him.
"What is it, McKay?" Sheppard demanded.
"You need to head to the west pier, I'm sending you the coordinates now," he announced even as he worked, a map of the city appearing on the screen in front of him.
"What's there?" She demanded as Rodney finished his task and looked over at her grimly.
"Ronon's there."
Beyond the stained glass windows a shadow passed as the jumper sped away.
