The Astonishing Persistence Of Memory: Present Tense
Part Two
Chapter Four
There was still a sense of 'already done this' that haunted Teyla as she sat in the seat and looked out at a sky full of hiveships.
The Lanteans called it déjà vu which they said was the sensation that you'd been here before.
Certainly this was the sensation of having been here before – Teyla knew she had been here before.
One before, she had sat in a jumper, just like this one, staring out at a velvet sky torn by the massive bulks of the Wraith hiveships as they dragged their bulbous masses along the night sky like row-cutters behind the plough, leaving terror and death in their wake.
The difference was that she had been here with John.
Yet this time, John was immured in the city, forbidden from leaving yet unwelcome to stay. And Teyla was out here with others.
"My God," said Lieutenant O'Bannion from behind Major Lorne. "They're huge!"
"Have you never seen them before, Lieutenant?" Teyla asked, looking over at the stark, shining eyes of the young woman. There were many newcomers to the city since John had been taken by Kolya, and many of them had never seen a major engagement with the Wraith.
It would put them at a significant disadvantage if it came to a fight.
And, more and more, it seemed Atlantis would be forced into such a fight..
"Not like this, ma'am."
"She's not military, O'Bannion. No 'ma'am' necessary." Major Camberwell sounded grim and slightly grumpy. Rodney claimed the Major came in two modes: grumpy or smug and it didn't matter which you got because both were equally objectionable. To which Elizabeth had always quietly commented that it wasn't as though Rodney had the right to talk about coming in grumpy or smug modes.
"Well, whatever, sir," O'Bannion said. "That's a lot of hiveships."
"Only five," said Lorne, studying the HUD.
"'Only,' he says," said the young Marine, shaking her head.
In truth, Atlantis had faced worse during the siege of the city, two years ago.
Teyla remembered flying through the skies over Orin's planet before the siege. Then, the space had been crowded with ships, crawling with darts, intent on preying on the people who Teyla had counted her friends.
Then she and John had been stuck on the planet for hours while her mind crawled and buzzed and hummed with the sense of the Wraith above and about her, while her thoughts crawled and fretted and hoped that Orin and his family might make it to the rescue point before she and John had to leave.
Here, at least, there were no innocents on the planets below. A civilisation had thrived on this planet a thousand years ago and more, but there was nothing left of them now but the broken stone of their structures, mud-swamped.
"So, Teyla," said Major Camberwell with a delicately pointed malice. "Are these the Wraith we're looking for?"
Had it been Rodney or John asking her such a question, even Major Lorne or another of the Atlantis personnel who knew and trusted her, Teyla would have answered directly.
But if it had been Rodney or John or Major Lorne or someone else here, they would not have had to ask that question. They would not even have been here, on a foolish trip to 'prove' that the Wraith were coming, when it was clear enough from the long-range scanners that they were on their way.
There were other things to be doing in the city – preparing for another siege, at the least. Sorting out what had been done to John and looking for a solution. Working out how to set up the outpost as a secondary base for the personnel and technology that they did not wish to lose.
This was the politics of the city – a power struggle between Elizabeth and Colonel Edwards. And Teyla was growing weary of being used as one of the pawns.
"They are in the place where Dr. McKay's scanners said they would be," she said, keeping her voice level and light and her expression pleasant. "They are of the number that the scanners indicated. It is reasonable to assume that these are the hiveships that were seen in Atlantis."
"Logical?"
"If you prefer that word," Teyla said. It would have been satisfying to give in to the temper that rose beneath her calm and urged her to punch him. Or to answer with stiff disdain at his nastiness. She did neither. Her leeway in the city was not so great – especially not when dealing with someone like the Major. "Either way, I believe we have the proof Colonel Edwards sought?"
Lorne leaned forward. "I'm headed back to the Gate–"
"Not yet," interrupted Major Camberwell. "Colonel Edwards has one more request. He wants Teyla to make contact with the Wraith, to find out what they intend with Atlantis."
Teyla blinked. "Colonel Edwards wishes me to contact the Wraith?"
"If we can find out what they intend with Atlantis, then we might be able to counter it. Or offer them something else in exchange."
"I believe it is obvious what the Wraith want," Teyla said.
"Our deaths," offered Lieutenant O'Bannion. She looked chastened as Major Camberwell shot her a warning glare.
"Destroy Atlantis and find the location of Earth," Lorne said, turning back to the HUD and the hives sailing past them like birds of prey sweeping across a meadow in which a bobbed-bouncer watched and remained still lest it be seen and hunted.
"They would prefer both, but I believe that either one or the other would suffice."
"But these Wraith have inside knowledge into Atlantis," persisted Major Camberwell. "They had a look into Sheppard–"
"If they'd actually gotten anything useful out of Sheppard, they'd have been at Atlantis long before this," said Lorne sharply. "We should get back to Atlantis. This isn't doing anything."
"Well...is there anything we can do?" Lieutenant O'Bannion asked, a little timidly.
"Yes."
"No." Lorne said. "Look, we've been through the options: evac the city and leave it so the Wraith find nothing, or fight back. We're not going to evac because that leaves the way open to Earth, and if the Ancients couldn't win a prolonged war against the Wraith, we're not going to manage it either. That's the facts."
Teyla could not see Major Camberwell's expression, but she didn't need to. She could feel his silent fury with Lorne, without ever having to look upon his face for confirmation of it. And she sensed that there were layers here, subtleties of the various Earth military commands that she still did not fully comprehend – a competition, an antagonism, and, she was sure, further politics of the city.
"My orders are from Colonel Edwards. We get a reading of the Wraith before we come back. It'll only take a minute."
Nothing had been said of this before they'd come on the mission. There had been no intimation that this would be required of her – no suggestion that she should do any such thing while they'd still been in Atlantis.
Teyla had seen into the Wraith leader's mind through John's dreaming. That had been enough to tell her the Wraith were coming and that their intentions were not like those of the hive Michael had brought to Atlantis. Beyond that she had sensed no cunning, no greater plan that might involve Atlantis.
"Teyla?"
His peremptory manner was no encouragement to do as he and Colonel Edwards requested, but to argue now would be counter-productive and only spend time they could not afford.
Lorne caught her eye in question. Apparently Elizabeth had not given orders one way or the other, although he seemed willing to disobey the Colonel's edict if she was not willing to risk contacting the Wraith.
Teyla shook her head at him, almost imperceptibly.
She would rather have done this without the audience, but that was preference, not requirement. Closing her eyes, Teyla blocked out the noises within the 'jumper, the sounds of the others' breathing, the soft hum of the 'jumper's power. Instead, she focused on the buzzing noise that had been in her consciousness ever since they'd come out of the Stargate, as her gift let her know that the Wraith were near.
At the best of times, she could block it, but not turn it off. Now, she did not even attempt to block it, but welcomed the immersion of her thoughts into that of the hive.
Elizabeth had once asked her what it felt like, to think with the Wraith. Teyla had described it as sliding beneath the surface of a river and allowing herself to drift to the riverbed. There was a conscious denial in the act, the severance of her human individuality and the embracing of the Wraith plurality, in much the same way as river-drifting cut her off from the air and denied herself the light, yet freed her to the mystery and thrill of the underwater world.
Her heartbeat speeded up in those first few seconds, then slowed as she reached the state in which she was not only aware of the hiveship consciousness, but also of the minds that made it up.
Their thoughts drifted through her mental fingers, inhuman, inconsequential, attentive to their tasks but almost incapable of free thought. The drones were multitudinous and almost mindless, but their consciousness made up the river in which the thoughts of the others swam.
Teyla brushed lightly across the minds of the thinkers, intent on their more complex tasks, from working on the drives to experimenting on their DNA structure. That last caught her attention, and she yearned to look closer, to chase down that trickling thought and possibly discover more of what had been done to John.
That was not her purpose here.
With effort, she forced herself to keep going, seeking out the other minds in the morass – the warriors that called themselves 'blades', those males capable of thought, of independence, of disobedience. Individuality was dangerous where the male would not submit to the Queen; and yet that independence of mind could bring prosperity to the hive as a whole...
Her mind danced more carefully among these: they were clever and cunning, capable of sensing her if she was too clumsy, capable of controlling her if she left herself open. And that, right now, would be folly.
Each blade was his own web of thoughts, his own miniature hive of threads entangled, with one or two thoughts glittering clear and sharp, and many others drifting around those central thoughts.
Brushing across each mind as delicately as she might handle the softest, finest hide, Teyla followed the trail of thoughts that led from this Wraith to that, from that one to the next, and from the next to the one after that. Delicately picking out the thoughts that she sought, Teyla formed an image of the Wraith leading this attack.
Sickly green skin, white hair, with tattoos that formed almost star-like outlines on his face, the leader of this expedition was old, even as Wraith counted the years.
He had prestige and power, too – having been counted among the dead and gone for many years before returning. And he had brought with him knowledge of the humans – and, moreover, knowledge of Atlantis, with a prisoner whose life was owed as part of a debt, but whose living might serve as his hive's access to not only those who defied the Wraith, but also a planet bursting with food.
He was visible from far away, the hard, cold mind at the centre of the web, the still, confident leader in the midst of the chaos; the one who acted in the assurance that he was close to his goal, that his pieces were in place. He did not expect it to be easy – no, he had seen enough in the man called 'Sheppard' to know that these humans were resourced and resourceful, cunning and determined.
Teyla shuddered and dragged herself out of the Wraith consciousness with a gasp that was mental as well as physical. The Wraith mindset was seductive in its own way; all that power laid open to her will should she choose to exert it...
She had never yet tested the theory that she might be able to control a Wraith and not merely read one. It was nothing more than a theory – a possibility she had never explored.
"Teyla?" Lorne was watching her, concern in his gaze. She felt his relief like a burden on her shoulders. "You okay?"
She nodded and tried to find her voice amidst the change in consciousness – the sudden solitude of her thoughts, familiar and yet...lonely. "I am fine."
"Well?"
Teyla was filled with the sudden conviction that Major Camberwell did not much care if she were healthy or dead, only so long as he had the intel his senior officer required.
"They know nothing of our preparations," she said. "They know that we are aware of their coming, but they have not gained any new knowledge beyond that."
"So we're safe?"
"I believe–" Teyla began, and halted.
On the viewscreen the hiveships continued to sail on, inexorably making their way towards Atlantis, but even as they watched, a swarm of tiny ships emerged from one of the openings in the hive. They sped on through space, gaining in size and deadly intent as they came towards the 'jumper position. She did not need to read their thoughts to know where they were headed – directly for them.
Camberwell breathed a curse. "What the fuck did you do, Emmagan?"
"I did nothing." She had felt nothing as she touched the hiveship; received no reaction to her coming. If they had been aware of her presence, their thoughts could not have held the semblance of indifference so long – that was not the way of the Wraith.
"Yeah, well, that's not nothing."
"Camberwell," Lorne said through gritted teeth, even as he turned the 'jumper on its tail, "Shut up for a minute."
"You don't have to listen."
"No, but I have to fly this thing. If you want to survive, don't distract me."
Teyla did not need to look to know that Major Camberwell's jaw was probably gritted, and that his teeth were probably clenched.
Her own jaw was tightening as she felt the Wraith consciousness begin to claw that the back of her head. She did not believe they had been aware of her presence while she was in contact with them – if they had, the attack would have come sooner, while she was still open to them.
What had tipped them off?
In the end, she reflected that it did not matter what had tipped off the Wraith, only that she kept them out of her mind now. She would not betray Atlantis with the knowledge she held; and this close, it was a struggle to keep them from her thougths.
Dimly, she was aware of Lieutenant O'Bannion's cry, of Camberwell's exclamation of shock, of Lorne twisting and turning the 'jumper through moves he was unaccustomed to performing.
And the Wraith were getting through.
Their thoughts battered against her, hunger and determination and an echoing resonance that seemed to throb through her attempts to shield them out.
"Teyla?"
"I am fine," she told Lorne. "But hurry."
"Wait! If she's been taken over by the Wraith..."
Lorne wrenched the jumper through moves that John would have done without effort. "She hasn't been taken over by the Wraith. She's fighting them!" By the glow of the approaching planet's atmosphere, Teyla could see the sweat beading his brow. Her own brow was feeling similarly damp as the toll of blocking the Wraith took a physical price out of her. "Teyla, I'm giving this all I've got."
"Even Rodney cannot change the laws of physics," she managed, and sensed his smile before something scraped across her brain, leaving a red-hot welt through her mind. Teyla felt breath rasp in her throat, knew her pulse was racing, straining against the tide of blood, against the tide of minds stacking up against hers. Clawlike things scrabbled in dark corners, poking, pushing, prodding at her barriers, seeking a way in.
She was vaguely aware of the twists and turns of the 'jumper as it sought to escape the darts firing upon them. Inelegant moves, without John's thoughtless grace, but sufficient to keep them from being hit.
"I thought we were cloaked!"
"We are!"
"Then why the hell are they firing on us?"
"Maybe it's her."
Teyla saw the gun muzzle come up in a moment, and spun out of her seat as Lieutenant O'Bannion exclaimed, "Whoa, what?"
"Major!" Lorne yelled, and his shout slammed through Teyla's skull, weakening her defences. She could feel them getting through, beginning to seep through her shields – the hungry buzz of their minds pressing, pushing, insistent. Between the tension in the cabin of the 'jumper and the tension in her head, she could feel herself being pulled apart. "Are you crazy? She's on our side!"
"Do you know that?" Lorne hesitated, and Teyla's fists clenched. "See?"
"What I know," Lorne emphasised, "is that you're distracting her from fighting them. And risking us. Put the fucking weapon away, Camberwell."
"And sit down and shut up?"
"It would help!"
"Major, I think–"
"You're not called on to think, Lieutenant."
"Fine, then, I say that you let the Major get us out of here, and leave Emmagan to do whatever she's doing." She sounded nervous but determined. "When she turns and attacks us, then you can shoot her and no-one will gainsay you."
"What are you? A goddamned lawyer?"
"Military law and regulation, sir. Whatever you think she might be doing, until she actually does it, she's innocent."
"Evan?" Teyla felt the first ticklish tendril of thought breaking through her shields.
"Teyla?"
"Hurry." That was all she said. It was all she trusted herself to say.
Had this been her team, confident in her loyalty, with trust in her abilities, she would not be fighting the Wraith like this – what Lieutenant Ford had once termed a 'rearguard action'. But Major Camberwell's persistent disbelief, Lieutenant O'Bannion's uncertainty, even Major Lorne's piloting skills – they were not an anchor into which she could safely put her trust.
But they would have to do.
She locked her teeth as her brain exploded into fiery agony, like hot metal rods stabbing into her skull. Something wrapped around her thoughts, cold as ice, freezing her. Tell me what you know!
"She's losing it."
"Put the gun away, Major! Gate's dialled, we're going through."
Fighting back was impossible, unnecessary. She flung herself around her memories, around the knowledge she held, gathering it all together as the blue-green passage beckoned and they slid forward.
Teyla thrust one mental tendril into the morass of the Wraith, empty and blank. It was like plunging her hand into boiling water, and her scream vibrated every nerve in her body as the fullness of the Wraith hive mind poured into it – a template waiting for imprint.
Then they plunged into the Stargate.
In the few seconds it took, Teyla felt the grip of the Wraith fade as distance and dimension exerted their dominance. The tendril she'd plunged into the Wraith snapped back into her with a sensation of tearing. She flung up shields as they stopped dead in the Gateroom – as the shields went up over the Gate and the passage closed – and felt the last claws of the Wraith scrabble and fade.
"Teyla?" Lorne peered at her from around his chair, his expression tense and uncertain. "God, Sheppard's going to kill me!"
"I will speak up on your behalf, Major," she tried to say, but her tongue would not obey her, lying thick and useless in her mouth. Human speech seemed more effort than she could supply; she managed half a smile, even as she heard Major Camberwell calling for a security squad to deal with her.
Then there were voices all around her, surrounding her, drowning her. She doubled over with their babbling cacophony and the world went white.
--
Elizabeth's momma never said there'd be days like these – but then her mom had never been in Atlantis. Not even once.
Having started the previous day with the hope that she could get John's team back out on active Gate status, she supposed she should have expected it would end with something as dramatic as Atlantis facing re-discovery by the Wraith.
And the morning was a whole new ballgame after the report from Majors Lorne and Camberwell, and five hours of sleep.
"All right." A glance around the briefing room gave her a good view of the department heads and assorted key personnel she'd called into the briefing. "We've got a problem"
"We've got several," snapped Colonel Edwards, his arms folded over his chest. "Starting with the fact that the Wraith have two sympathisers in our midst–"
Accustomed to Edwards' ability to grab the paranoid end of the stick, Elizabeth only regarded him with disbelief. Rodney was less restrained. "Sympathisers? Are you nuts?"
"–And no plans are being made to deal with them."
"Oh, and how exactly do you plan to deal with them?"
Elizabeth frowned in Rodney's direction. She didn't expect that he'd subside, but she could hope that he would restrain himself a little. Anger wasn't the way to deal with Edwards and never had been. "Neither Colonel Sheppard nor Teyla are Wraith sympathisers. They've been with Atlantis from the beginning. Teyla's people have lived on the run from the Wraith since Atlantis was abandoned, and no-one's done more for the city than Colonel Sheppard."
"Yet, even now, the Wraith are on their way to Atlantis – thanks to those two."
"Thanks to the Wraith." Elizabeth shot him a pointed look even as she knew it wouldn't do much good. Edwards was too politically motivated, too much a creature of his masters. The IOA had always been a beast to placate, wanting to dabble their fingers in the pie, to 'look out for Earth interests' – as though anyone from Earth wasn't able to look out for Earth's interests. "I think it's important to remember that neither Colonel Sheppard nor Teyla are involved in this of their own free will."
"With all due respect, ma'am, Teyla let the Wraith into her mind on her own."
Lorne's head turned to stare at Camberwell, his lip curled. "Only after you told her she had to contact the Wraith to find out what they wanted with Atlantis. She went in there because you insisted on it – as though it wasn't obvious what the Wraith wanted of us!"
"Destroy us, get the address or location of Earth, then head for the all-you-can-eat Wraith buffet? What?" Rodney demanded. "You know I'm right."
Right he might be, but there were better ways to put it. And there were more important things at hand than the political games that it seemed Colonel Edwards wished to play right now with the city in danger and two of their best people sidelined.
Elizabeth had pushed hard for John's team to return to duty as much for the sake of the city as for them. Atlantis needed people who could think outside the box; who were problem-solvers, and experienced in the kind of issues that Pegasus threw – who had a Pegasus solution for the kinds of problems that Pegasus experienced, not just a one-size-fits-all Earth experience.
But she'd have to work with who she had – and a significant portion of who she had was Edwards and his cabal of IOA-influenced military.
"People!" She let her voice ring through the room, cutting through the noise and waiting until they were silent. She hadn't called this meeting to point fingers. "This meeting isn't about Colonel Sheppard or Teyla. It's about the Wraith that are coming to Atlantis and how we're going to meet them. So," she looked around the table, catching every eye she could as she leaned forward, "let's acknowledge there's a problem and focus on the solution. Rodney, what's the power status of the city?"
"Bad. At present power, we have less than a week's worth of time in which to hold off the Wraith in a protracted siege."
Camberwell frowned. "We have a full ZPM–"
"Which is only going to last us a week."
"–as does Earth and the Odyssey."
"I thought the Odyssey was fighting the Ori," said Ronon.
"They are," Elizabeth told him. She'd been a little surprised when Ronon turned up to this meeting, although relieved. Since John's disappearance, he'd been invaluable in keeping her updated regarding the military state of the city. She'd taught him about Earth in a way that John had only just begun to do; he'd taught her about Pegasus from a fighter's perspective, rather than Teyla's trade and culture orientation.
And it was a relief to have someone here who she could rely on not to undermine her. Whatever other things Ronon could be accused of, disloyalty was not among them.
"We're not relying on the ZPMs from those sources," she told the room – a small gathering, without either John or Teyla, both of whom were still confined to their quarters. "Our solutions have to be self-contained; we're not going to get any help from Earth."
"So why don't we evacuate?" That was one of the scientists, plaintive and bewildered. "The Ancients couldn't stand against the Wraith – and they had all their knowledge and technology and three ZPMs."
Edwards cut in before Elizabeth could make an answer. "The IOA are not willing to sacrifice Atlantis."
"I think we can agree that abandoning the city is not an option."
Their last stand in Atlantis would have failed miserably, but for the unexpected arrival of Earth, and Teyla's ability to fool the Wraith. They couldn't count on that working a second time.
"So what suggestions do you have, Dr. Weir?" The mockery in Edwards' question was thick as winter fog, and she was tempted to snap back a quick retort, but kept her voice even as she answered. He wanted her to lose her temper, to 'prove' her unstable, or emotionally compromised – anything that would give him absolute control of the city.
Even Mr. Woolsey – unsuited as he'd been to Atlantis – had been better than that.
"That's why I called this meeting – to collect ideas about our course of action."
"We played dead for the Wraith once before," said one of the scientists – Dr. Pudinski. "We could do it again."
"Roll over and play dead?" Rodney snorted. "They won't fall for that a second time. And it only worked because we had Teyla mentally reinforcing it."
"Well, we've got Sheppard as well this time, so maybe–"
"Sheppard is to be left out of any solutions for our situation," said Edwards with a cold stare at the scientist who'd made the suggestion. "As of his incarceration, he's to be considered a hostile and treated as such."
"A hostile?"
"Dr. McKay, he's given the location of Atlantis to the Wraith. I think that says a lot about his position on this matter."
"His position on the matter is that he's being used as a pawn of the Wraith. The Wraith made him into a homing beacon – it's not something he consented to!"
"A statement for which we have only his word!"
"And, of course, his word isn't good enough – even when it's backed up with a lifetime of service!"
This was getting out of hand. Elizabeth stood up, laying her palms down on the table with a soft smack. The physical movement had the advantage of drawing the eye as well as providing an audible focus for interruption.
Every eye in the room turned to her – even if Rodney and Edwards took a moment to leave off glaring at each other.
Edwards wanted to play politics while the Wraith came? Fine. She'd play politics.
"Gentlemen, let's keep the focus on the city and our options for defending it. Rome is burning; let's not fiddle." Hinting to Edwards that he was playing political footsie during a time of crisis might shame him into actually being the leader Atlantis needed. Although Elizabeth's personal preference would have been to slap him into next week, there were some things you simply couldn't do – political survival was a tricky thing, whether on Earth or in the Pegasus galaxy. "If the options suggested involve Colonel Sheppard or Teyla, then they'll be considered before being accepted or discarded – like all other suggestions.
"In the meantime, Dr. Beckett is working on a retrovirus to restore Colonel Sheppard, and Teyla has shown herself to be on our side for the better part of the last three years – a record that is unmatched by even personnel such as Major Lorne. We can't afford to shut out ideas just because they don't fit our preconceptions."
A glance around the room showed most of the people nodding – the handful of exceptions were mostly Edwards and his cohorts. Edwards' eyes had narrowed down to slits, and his nostrils flared white as though he was in the room with a bad smell.
Not so nice to have to compromise, now, is it, Robert?
"You're proposing we risk Atlantis, Dr. Weir?"
"Atlantis is already at risk, Colonel. Our best option for reducing that risk is to use the full extent of the resources we have – technology, weapons, people, and the skills they possess. Both Colonel Sheppard and Teyla have skills significant to our situation and have used them in the defence of Atlantis before. Excluding them from the solutions process would be limiting our options. So," she said, looking around the room and tacitly giving permission for people to throw out ideas again, "do we have any other solutions?"
Silence.
Then Ronon shifted, swivelling his chair from one side of the table to the other. "Don't be where the Wraith expect when they arrive."
"We already said evacuating the city isn't an option!"
"No, wait!" Rodney jerked up and began typing into his open laptop with a sudden burst of frenzied energy. "Atlantis isn't just a city."
"What do you mean?"
A few seconds later, the shifting screensaver of the meeting room screen vanished to be replaced by a cross-section diagram of the city. Heads turned to study it as Rodney began explaining.
"It's a ship. We've been living in it as a city, but it's really a spaceship! And Ronon's right – the way we're going to get out of this one is by not being where the Wraith expect us to be."
"We don't have enough power, Rodney."
He brushed Radek's statement away as a man swatted at a fly – an inconvenience. "Then we find more power – we work something out. Look, if we can work out a way to stretch the power we've got, we can have the city orbital before the Wraith arrive and be nowhere in sight when they turn up!"
Possibility and uncertainty warred with each other, a delicate balance of conflict. It would solve a lot of their issues with a second siege, and give them a new start elsewhere in Pegasus.
And it was a better chance than any other they'd had so far.
"You're overlooking a major point, Doctor." Edwards' drawl ground against Elizabeth's nerves. "The reason we're in this situation is because Sheppard got us into it in the first place!"
"Dr. Beckett is looking at a retrovirus to undo whatever the Wraith have done to the Colonel," Elizabeth said firmly.
"And if he can't find a solution?" Surprisingly that wasn't either Edwards or Camberwell, but someone else – one of the newer personnel to the city.
"Then we looking at other options – for both Colonel Sheppard and for the city. We keep looking for options right up until the Wraith jump into the system and start bombarding us."
"Never say die?"
Slowly, Elizabeth turned her head to look at Edwards and kept her composure through the mockery. "If you want to think of it that way, Colonel. We're not dead yet."
"Emphasis on 'yet'," someone muttered.
"Well, thank you for being Miss Positive," Rodney snapped, oblivious to the irony.
Up the back, someone sniggered too loudly to ignore, and someone else's snort turned into a full-bellied laugh. Then most of the room burst into laughter – perhaps edged with hysteria, but a release valve all the same.
Elizabeth wiped tears from her eyes. Ah, Rodney.
After that, the meeting was fruitful enough. An evacuation plan was laid out for most of the city, including any personnel in non-critical positions. Elizabeth assigned Radek and his team to work on the power requirements of the city while Rodney and his team checked over the city's engines. And when Edwards tried to play interference, she blocked him with as much grace and tact as she could.
She'd hoped for a respite once the meeting was over, but Edwards followed her up to her office, his silence portending an angry storm.
"Don't think I don't know what you did in there." He barely waited until the doors were shut. "This is no longer your personal project, Dr. Weir – this is an outpost of Earth, due all the consideration we'd give if Earth itself was under attack."
"It's not Earth." She didn't sit down, because that would allowed him to look down at her from the standing position he always adopted. With Colonel Edwards, everything had to be used to her advantage, because the fight never ended. "And if the IOA isn't willing to offer any more help than platitudes and prerogatives–"
"The IOA's first priority is Earth – as should yours be."
"My first priority is Atlantis and the preservation of this city and its people. As it should be." It came out sharper than she'd intended, frustration rising up in her throat with grim intensity. She saw his brows rise – the inevitable reaction to any 'emotional' outburst she made. Oh, what the hell. She was in for a dime, she might as well go in for the shiny silver dollar. "To that end, I'm telling you to call off the Marines who've been assigned to keep Teyla in the infirmary."
"You don't have the authority."
"Actually, I do." She opened one of the side drawers in her desk to produce a letter she figured she'd have to use sooner or later – ever since it became clear that Edwards was never going to acclimatise to Pegasus.
Edwards' expression was grim as an onion as he pulled the heavy paper out of the Air Force envelope. Elizabeth hated to use this – she'd hoped that they'd learn how to work together as the months went by. But when Edwards was more involved in playing politics than actually protecting Atlantis and the galaxy it was in, then she needed this weapon.
To Whom It May Concern,
I, President Henry Hayes, appoint Elizabeth Weir leader of the Atlantis expedition and give her the override authority in any situation in which she deems her authority necessary. She is hereby appointed with the honorary rank of Lieutenant General for the duration of any crisis in Atlantis.
The letter went on, detailing her powers and limitations – and there were limitations as well as powers. Elizabeth had neither the intention nor the desire to be a dictator in the city, but when they sent the expedition back to Atlantis after the Ancients had come and been dispatched by the Asurans, she'd known she'd need something more to deal with the new commander in the city.
Dealing with John Sheppard had taught her a lot about command, even if, in the end, she'd been able to take a stand, sure that he would back her up. When it came to Atlantis and its independence from Earth and the machinations of the IOA, she could trust that he'd follow her lead as long as the Air Force wasn't directing him otherwise.
Elizabeth had no such assurance with Robert Edwards, so she'd asked General O'Neill for a trump card.
Paper rustled as Edwards closed up the letter, and creased the fold between his pinched fingers. "You shouldn't play games with the IOA, lady."
"And you shouldn't be playing politics when Atlantis is in danger." Hot satisfaction coursed through her at being able to say the words out loud. "Teyla comes out of the infirmary – apart from having the Wraith gene, she knows how much of the city works."
"And I suppose Sheppard's allowed free run of the city?"
"No," Elizabeth said, coolly. She remembered scaled hands around her throat choking her while she tried to reach the man he'd been through the monster he'd become. She wouldn't risk that again, didn't dare as long as the Wraith were coming to Atlantis. "Colonel Sheppard stays in his rooms unless he's authorised to go elsewhere. Carson will keep on with his research on the retrovirus and Dr. Keller will manage the infirmary during the evacuation. And if Colonel Sheppard wants to see his team-mates, he can."
Knowing John, he'd want to at least see Teyla and Ronon. If he asked to see her, Elizabeth would go – but this time, she'd keep the door open.
Last time, she'd been solicitous of John's dignity and it ended up being at the cost of her safety; this time, she'd be cautious. John would probably understand.
"All right." Edwards handed back the letter with crisp precision. "Have your way with Sheppard and his team, then. But if they so much as sneeze the wrong way and bring the Wraith down on us as a result–"
"Then they'll be confined as you wish. We're not on opposing sides, Colonel."
"Really? Because that letter looks like it was drafted specifically to tread on my authority."
It had been. But it wouldn't help to tell him that. "I haven't used it until now," Elizabeth reminded him. "And I'm only doing this because we need Colonel Sheppard and his team. You may not like them, but they're the best Atlantis has."
"They're also the ones that got us into trouble in the first place!" Edwards drew in a long breath and then exhaled slowly. His eyes glittered at Elizabeth. "With your permission, Dr. Weir, I'll start overseeing the evacuation, then?"
"After you call off the Marines guarding Teyla."
A few barked commands and the Marines were reassigned to help the city evacuation. "Thank you." She could be gracious in victory – not that it would make much difference.
If leading Atlantis had been an unsteady partnership before this, it would be all-out war once things had calmed down. A man like Robert Edwards didn't like being thwarted.
Edwards stalked out of her office, and behind him, the techs turned their heads, while Major Camberwell frowned after his superior officer and Lorne looked to her.
She ignored them all.
Closing the door of her office again, Elizabeth put the Presidential letter back, then pulled up her email and began typing up the evacuation order. Once it was done, she'd make the announcement of their imminent departure from this planet.
But as her fingers rattled the keys of her keyboard, Elizabeth reflected that the problem of John and his connection with the Wraith could become a significant problem if they couldn't deal with it.
They had to find a way to break the connection between John and the Wraith. If they didn't, the only solution she could see was to ban John from Atlantis entirely.
- tbc -