Inheritance6
John circled the inert weapon again. The gun protruded from the ground at an odd angle. Silent. Pointing at the blue sky like an enlarged finger. He checked his watch. "Well? You've been scanning for hours now!"
"Minutes," Rodney corrected, rising from a crouched position near the base of the weapon. "And I have almost located this low pulse. It's a trace that would normally be undetectable to any ordinary scan but I've refined the parameters to the nth degree. Isn't it time for lunch?"
"Huh?" John had found his mind wandering like it usually did when Rodney started in on an explanation that would only become increasingly more complicated. "Yes. And if you would finish up we could head back to..." His voice trailed into silence as he spotted Moira heading for them. A basket in her hand, swinging it near her hips. "Moira?"
"Back to Moira? What?"
Moira smiled, reaching them. "I've brought you lunch, if you have the time."
"Excellent!" Rodney enthused. Rubbed his hands together. "Let's eat!" He took her arm, guided her past John to a shaded spot where they sat. "I've been working for hours now and I could really do with something to fortify my depleted energies! I have to watch my sugar intake, you know, and I have to be certain to eat because I can get quite ill if I don't."
John shook his head, followed them as Moira set the basket aside and opened it. He sat on the either side of her. "Bring any lemons?" he quipped.
"That's not funny, John!" Rodney snapped. Hesitated. "Did you?"
Moira smiled at his expression. "No, Rodney, of course not. No citrus of any kind," she assured.
"Here." She handed John a sandwich. "Meleagris gallopavo mutatis mutandis."
"What?" Rodney asked, mystified.
John smiled, taking the food. "Turkey sandwich, with the necessary changes. Thank you."
"I hope this is all right, Rodney." Moira handed him a sandwich. "The works. Club with–"
"Perfect, Moira! Thank you!" Rodney greedily eyed the bulging sandwich, took it.
Moira pulled out her own sandwich. Handed out cans of Coke to both men.
"No beer?" John asked, disappointment creating a pout.
"No," she remonstrated.
"Definitely not!" Rodney agreed.
"And for dessert..." She held up a bag. "Chocolate chip cookies."
"Excellent choice, Moira! Those are for me, right? I mean, they're aren't that many in the–"
Moira laughed. "No, Rodney, we can share them." She exchanged a look with John. He nodded,
shrugged his shoulders.
They ate agreeably. A warm breeze fluttered Moira's hair. John winced at the pain from his lip, making Moira smirk. Rodney devoured his sandwich, his drink. Sat back with a contented sigh as he glanced at the bag of cookies.
"Have you found anything yet?" Moira asked.
"We're close to locating the power source," Rodney answered.
"If by close you mean far, then yes," John agreed.
"Just because it took precise and complicated calculations not only to defuse the thing but to pinpoint the energy...oh don't give me that look!" He fussed over his scanner, muttering to himself.
Moira eyed John. Smiled. "You have a little something..." She leaned closer, napkin in hand. Instead she licked the ranch dressing off the corner of his mouth, moved her lips lightly across his. He returned the gentle kiss, fingers reaching to caress her thigh for a brief moment. She sat back from him, smiled as he did.
"I hope you didn't bite him this time," Rodney quipped.
"What?" they exclaimed at the same time. Startled.
"Oh, fine. You two make gooey eyes at each other! I'll go finalize these locations, shall I?"
"Rodney! I do not make gooey eyes!" John protested.
"Rodney! Don't you want dessert?" Moira asked. She held up the opened bag.
Rodney returned. Shaking his head at them. Took one cookie. A second. A third. "Thank you. And yes, you do, Sheppard." He laughed at his friend's glare, consternation. Moved back to the weapon. The metal gleamed in the sunlight.
"I thought only I did Sheppard," Moira quipped, completely serious. "I mean I'm sure he does himself sometimes, but I think I–"
"Moira!" John nearly did a spit take and snorted. Put down the almost empty can of Coke and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Fuck!" He coughed, laughed. Called after Rodney, "I do not do gooey eyes! Guys don't do that! Moira, tell him!" He snatched a cookie from the bag, met her amused gaze.
She laughed. Took a cookie. "I'm afraid you were, John. But they were very manly gooey eyes."
"All right, then," he conceded. Sighed. "Crap. Are you trying to kill me?" He lounged against the slight incline at their backs, drew her to sit against him. "We're taking a big risk, Moira. I hope you know that."
"What? By having a picnic?"
"Yes." He softly kissed her cheek. "You know how these romantic attempts turn out. Any minute now I'm expecting a Wraith attack, the city to sink, the earth to swallow us, or a ship to crash land."
She laughed. "No, John. I think we're safe since it was my romantic gesture, not yours. Besides, I would hardly call this romantic, with Rodney here."
"Hey! I heard that!"
John laughed. "True, Moira. But still–"
"Sheppard! I've got an energy reading! Spiking!"
John sighed. "See? I told you. I warned you, Moira," he chastised, pulling her to her feet as he stood. "Look what you've done by this romantic picnic!" he complained, leading her to Rodney.
"What is it?"
"Energy readings! Weren't you listening? Spiking here..."
"Will the gun go off?" Moira asked.
"No. It's inert at the moment. Deactivated. Whatever stimulus triggered it in the first place is not present, plus I initiated an inhibitor to bypass any programming that would attempt a premature reaction."
"Well, that killed the mood," John teased into her ear, hand sliding briefly to squeeze her rear.
"Could you say that in English?" Moira asked, elbowing John as he smirked.
"I did. The power is looping back...hang on, hang on, I can trace the source now! It's retreating to the source of the power initializing and no doubt the programming! Here! It's underground."
Rodney help up the scanner.
"Grid?" John asked, eyed the machine. "Grid seven."
"Grid seven?" Moira asked.
John made a face. "By the mountains, twenty klicks from our current twenty. To the west of this particular station."
"Oh! The mountains near the meadowlands," Moira realized.
"Yes, grid seven. Like I said," he reiterated.
"Wait a minute! Rodney, is that the map?" Moira asked, eying the scanner now.
"Yes," Rodney showed her.
"There," Moira pointed. "There's a cave there, hidden by some overhanging vines. I saw a big bug fly in and out of it during our expedition but didn't have time to investigate. It could be the same place you've located."
"Big bug?" John asked, touching his neck as bad memories surfaced.
Moira tried not to smile. "Not an Iratus bug, John," she soothed.
"Good," he relaxed. Glared at Rodney who was grinning. Until a thought struck him.
"How big?" Rodney asked.
"About the size of your arm," Moira answered. "A dragonfly. Sort of. It flew in and out, rather sporadically. I don't think the cave is it's natural habitat so I wondered why it–"
"Okay, let's go. We'll take the Jumper. Moira can handle the bugs."
"Thanks, John," she commented, earning smiles from both men.
************************************************************************
The cave was deep, dark, dank. Their footsteps echoed on the rocky ground. Squelched on the moist spots. It was oddly humid. John shone his flashlight. The beams bounced off rocks and walls. Something scurried further into the darkness to avoid being seen.
"Definitely here," Rodney informed. The glow from his scanner was an eerie amber light amid the darkness. "Lower down. It's still building. Trying to power the automatic gunnery station. It will loop back here and we need to shut it down before that happens."
"Good idea," John commented. Hearing a fluttering noise he paused, shone his light up. Up. "Get down!" He pulled Moira to the ground. Rodney dropped, yelled, nearly dropped his scanner. A flurry of bats flew wildly at them, over them. Seeking the cave's entrance. There seemed to be hundreds. Frantically squealing, flying erratically. In a brown river they flew out, over, away.
"Ugh! Ugh!" Rodney exclaimed, batting his hands over him as he crouched. "Did I forget to mention that I hate caves? I hate them! And bugs!"
"Bats." Moira stood as John did. She turned back to the entrance, frowning. "That was weird."
"Weird? Bats in a cave? I'm no biologist but I'd say that was expected," John remarked, a quick grin on his face. He shone his light across the darkness. The rocks. The stalagmites covered with slime and lichen. Trails of bat guano glistening white.
"No. The bats. Did you know that there are about one thousand living species of bats? Not much different from the prehistoric ancestors. These bats are the species Microchiroptera, smaller insectivores. Nocturnal. But something spooked them. So much they flew out into the daylight, but erratically, like their echolocation was...off."
"Fascinating as that is, Moira, we're going this way." John gently tugged her arm to lead her. "Rodney?"
Rodney uncovered his head. Stood. "Is it safe?"
"Yes, Rodney." John smirked.
"John, the bats. If their auditory senses are being disturbed by–" Moira began to theorize, still staring at the cave's entrance.
"Later, Moira. This way. Rodney, readings."
"Yes, yes!" Rodney adjusted his scanner. Ran a nervous hand across his head again. "Here! Go down. Down. You need to go down."
John smirked at Moira. "Huh...go down. That's a good–"
"Shut up, John." She shoved him. "Move it, soldier."
"Yes, ma'am. Watch your step."
John led them deeper into the cave. The ground sloped as they descended. Darkness enfolded them. The lichen on the stalagmites threw a soft phosphorescence onto the walls. A pale orange glimmer. Water dripped in the distance. A steady noise like a heartbeat. John squinted. Saw a red glimmer in the darkness. He shone the light towards it but it was gone.
"Closer now. The readings are...weird," Rodney commented. Gaze darting from his scanner to his feet and back again.
"Weird again? Great," John muttered. Saw the red light again. A quick glimmer. A beam.
"Do you feel that?" Moira asked. "The ground is vibra–"
"Get down! Now!" John pulled Moira to the ground as the red beam hit the air where they had been standing. "Rodney!"
"I'm down!" the scientist shouted as the beam sliced the air. Shot apart a stalagmite. Rocks flew. "What the–"
"Look!" Moira pointed as John shoved her behind another stalagmite, followed to cover her.
A strange-looking mechanical robot advanced. Gears whirring. The red light seeking targets. Its heavy footsteps crushed rocks. Shook the uneven ground. Noises hummed as gears clicked.
"It looks like a Probot 'droid," Moira noted. She exchanged a glance with John who nodded.
"A what? Oh no, is that another Star Wars ref–" Rodney began to complain.
"Stay down, Rodney!" John peered round the rock, calculating. "A guardian of some kind. We must be near the power source."
"It doesn't look Lantean," Rodney called as the oversized head swivelled. A red beam blasted near Rodney, as if it had heard him.
"Okay..." John handed his 9mm gun to Moira. "Sweetheart, I need you to cover me. If I can get a clear shot at that control center on its head it should go down."
"Should? Can you shoot that accurately?" she asked, taking the gun. The metal felt cool to the touch.
He smiled. "I'm going there." He pointed towards another stalagmite. "I need you to save my fine, fine ass again. Just shoot at it anywhere, but don't hit me. And stay down. Got it?"
"Got it, John. Be careful."
He kissed her. "For luck. Now." He darted into the open, keeping low. The 'droid swung round, red laser targeting him. Moira stepped out from behind the stalagmite, firing wildly. Bullets pinged off the mechanical body, enough to distract it. John lunged, rolled and came up behind the other rock formation. Moira fell back, ducked as the robot fired at her position. Rocks flew. John veered round, stood, carefully aimed his P90 precisely. Fired. The single shot hit the control center. The robot pivoted. Sparked.
"Stay down!" John shouted, scrambling for cover as the robot fired wildly in all directions. Abruptly it shook. Rocks flew. The top of a stalagmite was blasted into pieces. The robot spun, spun, then exploded. Fragments flew, slicing more rocks. A gear slammed into the wall and got stuck there. Blade still spinning. Dust filled the air. Then silence. John clambered to his feet.
"Moira!"
"Here!" she coughed, brushing debris off her clothes.
"Rodney!"
"Yeah, me too!" Rodney coughed, moving to his feet.
John circled the pieces of the machine, stepped to Moira. He helped her up, kept his grasp on her arm. "You okay?"
"Yes, John. That was some shooting," she praised.
"I'll say!" Rodney sounded much less impressed. "You should have realized it would have a self-destruct! We needed it in one piece, John! Not scattered to the four–"
"You're welcome, Rodney," John snapped. "Let's go. It can't be far now." He took Moira's hand, led her round the remains of the machine. "Rodney!" he urged as the scientist lingered.
"I'm coming!"
They descended. Skidding over rocks and uneven ground. Finding themselves in a dilapidated control room. The ground evened out to a dirty but smooth surface. Rodney's eyes gleamed as he rushed to study the consoles. Wiping off dust and dirt. Debris. "Well, this is Lantean! Still operational after thousands of years!"
"Can you power it down?" John asked.
"Yes. And find the ZPM. There has to be one!" Rodney set to work. Initializing the screens. Power hummed. Data flickered. "Power's still growing...oh, look at this!" He pulled up a map.
John leaned to view it. "Are those other outposts?"
"Probably." Rodney ran his finger along the dusty screen. "Three in all, no make that two. This part fell away into the sea...hmm..."
"Triangulate the coordinates and you'll find the ZPM," John suggested. He looked up to find Moira. She was heading deeper into the cave. Stopped to shine a flashlight along the cave wall.
"Moira! Get back here!" John called.
"Look, John! You're right..." Rodney hit a few panels. The screens came to life brightly, fighting back the gloom. "Wow! I can feel the AI Moira was talking about. Like a virtual gatekeeper in there. Huh...you'd think it would be programmed to cooperate with ATA gene carriers, not fight them."
John watched the red lasers crisscross as Rodney triangulated the three stations. "That's...weird. Why would the Ancients set up a separate, automated defense on the mainland that resists interference from them?"
"Maybe they suspected a traitor in their midst?"
"Zoom in there, that spot." John tapped the screen where the lines met. The panel grew brighter at his touch. Hummed loudly.
"Guess it likes you better than me," Rodney grumbled, but concentrated. "Do you know where that is?"
"I will." John grabbed the scanner and brought up the map. "Cross reference this." He set it on the console. It hummed loudly. "Oops, you'd better do it."
"You think? All right." Rodney had one hand on the console. The other typing on his scanner. Head moving back and forth between the two.
John glanced up, scowled. Moira had stepped further into the darkness, was nearly lost in the shadows as she played her light up to the ceiling. "Moira! Damn it! I'll be right back." He crossed the distance. "Moira! Don't wander off!"
"Look, John!" she said worriedly, ignoring his irritated concern.
"What? More bats? We don't have time for another lesson in chiroptera behavior right now!"
"They're dead, John! Look!" She shone her light along the wall. John frowned, shone his stronger P90 light as well. Hundreds were hanging down from the ceiling, the walls. More littered the ground. Small, brown-furred bodies inert.
"I've got it!" Rodney called. "Grid eight, section oh oh."
John looked back at him. "Section what?"
"We've got a power spike. It's looping back! It's–" Rodney warned, meeting John's gaze across the distance. The darkness.
"Shut it down!" He looked back at the bats. "Come away, Moira. What could have killed them all?" He drew her towards the console.
"I...I don't know...but those others..their frantic flying..."
"I can't stop the looping, or slow it! It's surging...but not in pulses! In waves!"
Rodney looked up at Moira as she reached the console with John. She met his gaze. "Echolocation! It's an auditory disruption wave!" they realized at the same time.
John looked from one to the other. "Okay...that really was weird!"
"That explains the power reacting! The sonic concussions we can't hear!"
"Which the bats can! And it killed them!" Moira finished. "Rodney–"
"I'm trying! It's to strong...too..." he paused. "John."
"John!" she agreed.
"Now that is just creepy," John remarked. Both were staring at him. "What?"
"Here!" Rodney stood, shoved his friend into the chair. "You have to do this! I hate to admit it but your gene is–"
"You're strong in the Force, John!" Moira agreed.
"Stronger than mine, the ATA gene," Rodney snapped.
"Okay. Like the Ancient Chair, right?" John asked, sliding into the seat.
"Right!" Moira and Rodney agreed.
"Stop that!" John set his gun aside. He touched the controls. Swore as the power surged. Reacting to his touch. A hum was discernible. The ground shook. "Shit! It's powering up!" He moved to his feet, leaning slightly over the console.
"Power it down, John! Like Moira did!"
"But this is much stronger!" Moira warned. She moved to stand behind John. Grasped his shoulder. "Evan helped me. I'll help you. Rodney!"
Rodney grasped John's other shoulder. "Okay. Concentrate."
John took a deep breath, closed his eyes. Pictured the systems. Pictured them fading, receding. "Damn...it is strong! Fighting me..." He gripped the panels. "Come on!"
Moira exchanged a glance with Rodney. He shook his head, glancing at the screens. They were all flaring to life now. Bright spots amid the cave's natural darkness. "It's still looping...all of the power is flowing back here now."
"John..." she said, feeling the tension in his body, in his muscles. The strain.
"It's a son of a bitch. It won't go down," he muttered through gritted teeth.
"Spiking," Rodney warned. The ground shook. Rocks fell. "I don't think the conduits can handle the overflow."
"Now you tell me?"
"It's overriding the systems!" Rodney warned.
"That's it! Get out of here! Now!" John ordered. Fingers tightening on the controls. Mind trying to force the power down, away. But something was fighting him. Pushing at his thoughts just as he was trying to push his will onto the machine.
"What about you?" Rodney asked.
"I'll be on your six! Go now! I can hold it until you're clear! Go!"
"No! John, we're not leaving you!" Moira protested.
"Moira, go! Rodney, get her out of here now!"
A wave hit. Silence. Then a soundless wave knocking them off their feet. Rocks flew. Rodney landed hard, slamming into a stalagmite. Moira hit the ground but scrambled to her feet. Watched in horror as the whole console shook, shuddered like a beast coming to life. Groaning as a gigantic piece broke free. Fell towards John who was stumbling to his feet, hands still on the panels trying desperately to control it.
Moira saw what was going to happen. Saw in an instant. She didn't have time to call out a warning, to scream. Instead she launched herself. Hauled John back from the console. Flung herself in front of him, shoving him to the ground. Something sliced into her back. Deep. She cried out as pain lacerated her body. As blood flowed. They were knocked to the floor.
John hit his head but his arms surrounded her. He rolled to cover her as the piece flew over them. So close he felt the heat of the sparks graze his jacket. Felt the hot wind of its passing scorch his neck as he kept his head down. His heart was hammering. He lifted his head to see Moira staring at him. "Moira..." he croaked. Drew his hand from under her. Felt wet. Revealed a scarlet palm. Met her gaze in alarm.
"John...save...fine, fine ass you..." she whispered in a gurgle. A line of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Staining her lips ruby. Her head fell to one side. Staring at nothing as the pain faded. As his look of alarm, of sudden anguish faded. All was black.
John froze, stared. In shock. "Moira?" he asked in a small voice. Touched her throat. Shook her. "Moira!" he cried in anguish, moving off her when something slammed into his back. Slicing through his clothes, his flesh. Cutting to the bone. He felt blood spurting as he fell on top of her. Choking at the rush of pain and blood.