John tapped off the radio and looked over at Elizabeth and Zelenka. "They're both alive," he told them.

"How badly are they hurt?" Elizabeth asked.

"Not sure. Ronon said McKay was trapped under debris. It might be best for Carson to check him before we try to move him."

"And Ronon?" Elizabeth asked.

"He says he's fine," John hedged.

Elizabeth studied his face for a moment. "But you don't believe him?"

John shrugged. "You didn't see him when Carson took the tracker out of his back. I don't know if he really is fine or if he's refusing to admit he needs help, too." John glanced over at Thompson. "All right, we need to get over there and see what we're dealing with. I'll radio Carson and let him know Rodney and Ronon are alive. If things are under control down there, I'll need him to come with us."

"I can take care of that for you, Colonel," Doctor Biro said, and left the room.

John turned to Thompson. "There could be a lot of debris between our people and us. We're going to need bracing equipment, rope, and tools to dig through the rubble."

Thompson nodded. "We're on it, sir," he replied and motioned his team toward the door. "We'll get the gear and meet you over there."

John nodded and watched as Thompson's team left.

"John?" Elizabeth said, and John stopped at the door to the conference room. "Be careful."

Carson met him in the armoury five minutes later and held out his hand to John. "You must have a whale of a headache by now, Colonel," Carson said as he handed over the pain medication and some water. "Is there anything else you can tell me about their condition?"

John swallowed the pills and shook his head. "Ronon says he has cuts and bruises. Not sure if that's all or if he's not telling me something."

Carson nodded. "He has an incredible threshold for pain. It's possible he is more injured than he realises as a result."

John zipped up his tac-vest. "According to Ronon, Rodney is trapped under something." He looked at Carson. "You'll need to tell us the best way to extract and move him."

Carson nodded. "From what Thomas told me when he brought Adam and the rest of the archaeology team in, I think we should be grateful they've both even survived." Beckett checked the rest of the room, then asked in a low voice, "What is the link telling you?"

John shrugged. "No spikes in the last thirty minutes, but the itch is there."

"We'll take that as a bit of good news, then," Beckett replied, and adjusted the medical pack on his back.

John motioned Carson out of the armoury and back toward the transporter.

"Lorne to Sheppard," John heard over the radio, and stopped walking.

"Sheppard," John replied and tapped Carson on the arm, so he stopped next to him.

"Sergeant Stackhouse reported in, sir. He says the transporters are still only working for the lower levels. Closest he could get to Volkov's team was level twenty-five."

"Copy that. Did he say anything about what his level looked like?"

"Not good, sir. He says the damage is extensive. He also said that section of the tower is not very stable. They've had a few parts of the ceiling come down since they arrived. They've started digging through the debris to reach the geology team, but he isn't sure they will be able to reach them any time soon."

John rubbed a hand over his face. If the damage was that severe one floor up, how bad was the level where Rodney and Ronon were trapped?

"There is some good news, sir," Lorne continued. "Stackhouse said the life signs detector found four people on his floor and four on the floor below. It sounds like everyone else is at least still alive."

John rubbed the back of his head. "I'm assuming two of the other readings are directly below the four indicating Volkov and his team."

"Yes, sir."

"That would be McKay and Dex. Where are the other two?"

"Stackhouse isn't sure, sir. According to Doctor Zelenka's schematics of the tower, they could be trapped in the transporter. If that's the case, it's going to be a heck of a job getting them out."

"And no one has been able to reach them on comms?"

"No, sir. We're not sure if that's because they are unconscious or if it's due to damage to the radios."

Or they don't have their radios, John thought to himself remembering the number of times Rodney forgot to wear his earpiece or took it off for whatever reason.

"Copy that. Sheppard out."

"Colonel?" Carson asked.

"The good news is Stackhouse found eight life readings over in the tower. Everyone we're trying to account for is still alive."

"And what's the bad news?" Carson asked.

"Getting to any of them is going to be difficult. According to Stackhouse's report, there is a lot of damage from the explosion. We're going to have to climb at least five floors to get to where Rodney and Ronon are trapped, and most of the hallway on Stackhouse's level is blocked." He glanced at Carson. "I'm not sure we'll be able to get to any of them quickly."

~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~

Rodney lay on his stomach listening to Ronon talk to John. He needed to focus, he told himself, rubbing his head. He coughed as he tried to take a deep breath of the smoky air and twisted his head enough to look around.

He glimpsed Dex across the room near where the shelves of Ancient devices used to be and felt a pang of regret knowing whatever the objects were, they were gone now. No chance anyone would discover their secrets now.

Rodney glanced at the gaping hole where the wall between the two labs once stood, and memory flooded back of the man holding the Wraith grenade. Why was the grenade even in the room? he wondered. It wasn't like the Ancients wouldn't recognise one when they saw it. Was it carelessness? Arrogance? Were there more grenades over in the other room now primed to explode?

He felt a spurt of adrenaline-fueled panic at the thought, and tried to pull his leg out from under the slab of stone pinning him to the floor. He whimpered slightly as he felt fresh blood trickling down his leg, stopped moving, and dropped his head back down on his arms.

Maybe Dex was right, he decided. Maybe he shouldn't be moving. He tried to twist around enough to see how he was pinned, but couldn't see much more than a large slab of stone resting on his calf. He could feel something else under the stone scraping against his leg any time he tried to move and realised he wasn't going to get out from under the rubble with either his own panicked efforts or Dex's brute strength.

He was supposed to be the smart one, he told himself, he needed a plan.

He waited until the pain in his leg faded from a sharp stabbing to a dull throbbing, then looked around the rest of the room looking for something Dex could use as a fulcrum or some other way they could shift the stone.

He heard a creaking noise above him, glanced up, and saw what was left of the ceiling sway slightly as dust and some smaller bits of stone rained down on him.

He coughed again and tried to brush the grit out of his eyes. He winced when his hand touched his forehead, and his fingers came away bloody. He swiped at his head again and felt a cut, several centimeters long, across his forehead.

Along with his bloody leg and head, Rodney could feel his heart racing at the thought of being trapped, not only under whatever was pinning his leg, but the lab in general. He'd glimpsed the pile of rubble blocking the door; he knew they weren't getting out that way any time soon.

First things first, he told himself. Get out from under the slab. Then worry about getting out of the room. He rested his chin on his arms and tried to think around the headache pounding in his skull.

Dex had said the block was too big for him to move so the easiest thing to do would be to make it smaller. How could he make it smaller? He lifted his head and started scrabbling through the rubble nearby.

"Where is it?" he muttered, and pulled his leg against the stone pinning him in his haste to find what he was looking for.

He was so focused on what he was doing, he hadn't realised Dex had finished his conversation with Sheppard and was standing behind him.

"What are you doing?" Dex asked, and handed back the radio. "I thought I told you not to move."

Rodney took the radio and waved off the comment as he stretched his arms to reach the area up against the edge of the upturned table. "Where is the laser device I was working on?" he asked, wincing at the pain in his leg as he pushed aside some of the smaller pieces of stone within his reach.

"What?"

Rodney turned to glare as best he could. "The device I was working on before. Where is it?"

Dex stared at him for a moment, arms crossed over his chest, and Rodney could see the mix of impatience and frustration in his expression.

Rodney ducked his head and tried to hold onto his temper, he was going to need Dex's help if his plan was going to work. "You said the stone pinning my leg was too heavy to move. I told you I thought that the device was some sort of laser cutter. If I can get it to work, you can use it to cut the slab into smaller pieces."

"Oh. Not a bad idea," Dex replied with a nod.

"Thank you," Rodney retorted. "Now help me find it."

"That could be a problem," Dex told him a few seconds later.

Rodney looked up at him, and Dex continued. "The glass was blown out of some of the windows. It might be gone."

"For my sake, let's hope not," Rodney replied, and propped himself up on his elbows. "I put it to one side of the table, near my jacket. Try looking over there." He pointed to his left.

Dex glared at him for a moment longer then turned to look for the laser.

As soon as Dex turned around, Rodney saw a piece of metal sticking out of his back and swallowed hard. "You need to sit down," he said as he reached for Dex's leg, and tried to stay calm.

"I thought you wanted the laser," Dex growled back at him, still sifting through the debris near the end of the table. Rodney watched as he pushed more debris aside one-handed and pulled his jacket out from under the edge of the table. Dex hung it off the end of the table and went back to searching for the device.

"Really," Rodney said again, his tone more insistent. "You need to sit down."

Dex swung around and growled. "What's your problem now?"

Rodney stared up at him as best he could. "You really can't feel that? There's a piece of metal sticking out of your back, just below your shoulder."

Dex tried to reach the piece of metal and flinched as his fingers brushed against it.

"Don't touch it!" Rodney ordered. "You pull it out, you could bleed to death, and then who would be left to get me out from under all of this?"

Rodney ignored the angry look Dex aimed in his direction.

"We need to do something to stop the bleeding," Rodney said and glanced around the room. "Do you see a black backpack?" he asked. "There should be some medical supplies in it." Not to mention the power bars, Rodney added to himself as his stomach reminded him how long it had been since he'd last eaten.

"I found it," Dex said a moment later.

"Good. Bring it over here, and I'll tie something around your shoulder."

"That's not going to happen," Dex replied, came back around the table, his right arm held tight to his chest, and sat down beside McKay with a grunt.

"What do you mean? I keep some emergency supplies in my pack, I'm sure there's a pressure bandage we could use."

"You don't get it. The pack isn't here. It went out the window. There's something black on a balcony about halfway down the tower."

No pack meant no food on top of the no medical supplies. With no idea how long it would take Sheppard to reach them, that could be very bad.

He swallowed hard and tried not to think about it. "We need to do something about your shoulder," Rodney insisted and twisted around to get a better look at Dex's back. "It might have stopped bleeding on its own," he reported a few seconds later.

"It'll be fine," Dex replied impatiently and stood. Rodney didn't miss how he staggered a few steps before he found his balance. "I'll find the laser."

Rodney shook his head. Sheppard was not going to be happy, he thought to himself as he watched Dex disappear behind the upturned table.

"Here," Dex said a moment later and dropped the small device into Rodney's hand. "It looks broken, though."

"That's just the case," Rodney said absently as he studied the device. "The interior components all seem intact. I'll need any tools you can find."

He poked at the inside of the device with his finger as Dex went back to looking for tools. The power supply wasn't very big, he noted. If it wasn't powerful enough, he'd have to find a way to boost the output if he had any hope of using the laser to cut through stone. One problem at a time, he reminded himself. Get it to work first, then worry about modifications.

"This is all I could find," Dex said a few minutes later and dropped a set of screwdrivers and a pair of needle-nosed pliers on the floor near Rodney's arm.

Rodney nodded his thanks and set to work, barely noticing when Dex wandered back over to the door.

He had double-checked the power source, found it still charged, thankfully, and was checking the focal settings when he heard a clatter behind him and turned to see Dex skipping back from the pile of rubble near the door.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Rodney asked.

Dex flexed his fingers and stepped closer to the pile again. "I'm trying to dig a way out of here," Dex replied.

"That's not going to work," Rodney told him pointedly, and went back to the laser. "Based on how far that pile spreads into the room, you'll be trying to dig us out for a week and still not make a dent. Sit down before you make your shoulder worse."

"I suppose you have a better idea?"

Rodney tried to shrug but failed since most of his weight was balanced on his elbows. "I'll think of something," he started to say, then yelped as there was a crash above him and part of the ceiling came down around him.

"This section of the tower is becoming more unstable," Dex said once the noise stopped. Rodney was surprised to find Dex kneeling beside him.

Rodney looked up from where he lay with his arms over his head. "What was your first clue?" he asked harshly, and felt the new bruise forming on his cheek where a bit of the ceiling had grazed him.

Dex growled low in his throat and started to stand, but Rodney reached out and awkwardly grabbed Dex's arm.

"Stop," he said, forcing down his own impatience and pain. "Save your strength. We may need it more later."

Dex glared at him for a moment then settled back on the floor. "You going to be able to fix it?" he asked, and pointed to the device in Rodney's hand.

Rodney sighed and studied the device. "I don't know. Even if I do get it to work, the power supply isn't that big, it may not have enough energy to cut through my jacket much less …" He stopped and pointed to the coat still hanging off the edge of the table. "You can use it as a sling. Maybe keep from doing more damage to your shoulder."

Dex studied his face for a moment then reached over and grabbed the coat. The jacket was dusty and torn in a few places, but Rodney thought it would do as a temporary sling.

Dex zipped up the coat then flipped one of the sleeves over his shoulder. Rodney saw it catch on the piece of metal and winced in sympathy as Dex tried to jerk the sleeve free. "Stop, the sleeve is caught," he said. "Lean towards me so I can reach it," he added and twisted around as best he could when Dex bent forward. He shifted the sleeve off the piece of metal. "Okay, try again."

Rodney tried to help, but he didn't have the leverage to do much more than help tie off the sleeves in such a way Dex could use the body of the jacket to support his arm.

"That will hopefully hold until Sheppard can get to us," Rodney said, and dropped his head back on his crossed arms, easing the pain in his back from straining in an awkward position to help Dex make the sling.

"We still need to find a way out of here," Dex said a few minutes later.

"I'm still stuck and you can't dig. What exactly do you think we're going to accomplish?"

"We can't just sit here."

"Sheppard will get us out," Rodney told him, and stopped when he realised what he'd just said.

"What's so funny?" Dex asked, and Rodney realised he must have the stupidest grin on his face.

"Nothing," he started to say, and stopped with another look at Dex. "It's just I've had this conversation before, only the last time I was on your side of it." He remembered sitting in that cave with Ford, not really believing the Lieutenant when he said Sheppard would come for them.

He had a flash of memory of that same Ford pointing a P-90 at him and pulling the trigger. He'd never describe his relationship with Ford as best buddies, but he thought they were at least friends. He'd thought Ford was someone he could trust, someone who would trust him. Instead, his so-called friend had tried to kill him, twice.

"Sheppard will get us out of here, you'll see," Rodney said again, and closed his eyes.

~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~

John knew as soon as he stepped out of the stairwell, they were not going to be able to reach the lab. Carson had been right, the fact anyone had survived at all was a minor miracle. He could see most of the ceiling had collapsed into the hallway along with some of the surrounding wall. Glancing up, John could see places where the floor above them was also gone. Slabs of stone, metal support beams, and glass littered the area, and they weren't able to advance more than a few feet before there was too much debris, and they were forced to stop.

"Colonel Sheppard, are you there," John heard Zelenka call over the radio.

"Go ahead, Radek." John looked at the destruction around him.

"I believe I know why Doctor Chaudhri and Doctor Marçon have not tried to use the transporter to return to the control tower. I was able to run diagnostics on the system, and it appears the interface was damaged in some manner."

John looked at the destruction around him and could easily see how the delicate transporter systems could be damaged.

"That's assuming they are even conscious," Carson said, softly enough that Zelenka wouldn't hear him.

John shrugged. "We know they're alive. It could be they are just stuck due to the transporter malfunction."

"I hope so, Colonel."

"Tell me you have some good news," John said, his attention focused on the radio.

"Possibly, Colonel. I have been researching the transporters in the Ancient database, and there may be a way to remotely trigger the transporter. If I can get it to work, I may be able to transport the two people trapped inside to an area where rescue teams can get to them."

John stepped back as dust and a few small pieces of the ceiling sifted down. "How sure are you that you can get this remote system to work?"

"I will not lie. It would be much easier if Rodney were here to help, but I think I can make it work. The important thing is there is still power to the transporter on your level. I will need to reconfigure the system to allow a second transporter to direct the first."

"Let me know when you're ready to give it a try."

"I will do that, Colonel. Zelenka out."

John turned to say something to Beckett as more of the ceiling started to crumble down around them.

"Colonel Sheppard?" Thompson called as he joined them in the hallway. John glanced behind him and saw Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Masters following, carrying a bundle of excavation tools.

"Hang on, Sergeant," John ordered and held up a hand as more of the ceiling came down in the hallway in front of him.

"Sheppard to Stackhouse," John said over the radio.

"Stackhouse here, sir."

"You need to stop whatever it is you're doing up there, Sergeant."

"Sir?" Stackhouse said, and John could hear him telling someone nearby to stop working.

"The ceiling down here isn't stable, Sergeant." John heard a crash as a larger chunk of stone fell not far from where they were standing. "We've got more debris falling."

"Copy that, sir," Stackhouse replied. After a short pause, Stackhouse continued. "We've pulled back to the stairwell, sir. We weren't able to make much progress anyway."

"Were you able to contact any of Volkov's team?"

"Yes, sir. That's why we were trying to hurry. I spoke to a woman, Doctor Archer? She told me Doctor Volkov is buried under rubble and may be severely injured. He's having problems breathing."

"We need to get them out of there, Colonel," Carson said. "If he has a collapsed or punctured lung, he could suffocate."

John glanced up at the ceiling, then down the hall. They weren't going to get anywhere trying to dig through all the debris and time was becoming a factor. They needed a new plan. He thought back to visiting Rodney earlier, the wall of windows looking out at the ocean …

"Head back to the conference room, Sergeant," John ordered. "I might have an idea."

"Yes, sir. Stackhouse out."

John turned to Thompson and his team still waiting behind him. "We need to fall back. There's too much damage to try digging any of them out. We could end up doing more harm than good."

Thompson nodded as another chunk of ceiling came down. "I think you're right, sir."

"Take your team back to the control tower. I'll let you know when I have a better plan."

"Yes, sir." Thompson turned to Garcia. "You heard the man."

John waited a moment, then tapped his radio again. "Ronon, it's Sheppard."

"Sheppard?" he heard Rodney reply, and was relieved to hear McKay sounded more like himself.

"Rodney, how are you two doing?"

"I have half of a building on my legs and Dex has a chunk of metal in his back. We could really use a timely rescue right about now."

"Ronon has what? He told me he wasn't seriously hurt."

"To be fair, he didn't know about it when you radioed before."

John heard Ronon's voice off mic saying something he couldn't quite catch.

"He was going to find out sooner or later," Rodney replied impatiently, obviously to Dex, not John.

John looked over at Carson and said in a low voice, "You need to hear this."

Beckett gave him a puzzled frown but tapped his radio into the conversation.

"Rodney," John said, "say again. What's wrong with Ronon."

John heard a sigh and then, "There's a piece of metal stuck in his back. I think it's from whatever that decoration was hanging from the ceiling."

"Rodney," Carson said. "Did you try to remove it?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Rodney retorted. "I know enough not to do that. We're using my jacket as a sling for his arm."

Carson ignored the tone and asked, "What about you?"

"I'm still stuck. I do not want to be one of those people you read about cutting off their own limbs to free themselves, so tell Sheppard to hurry up." John heard the underlying fear as well as the pain in Rodney's tone.

"We're doing everything we can," Carson told him. "There's a lot of debris."

"Wraith grenades tend to have that effect, yes," Rodney said impatiently.

"What?" John said. "Did you say Wraith grenade?"

"Yes, well, I assume that's what it was." There was a long pause over the radio. "I didn't remember the Super Wraith or the devices we found in the derelict ship until it was too late," Rodney finished in a near-whisper.

A Wraith grenade. John shook his head and surveyed the level of destruction he saw in the hallway.

"Rodney, I have an idea on how to get you and Ronon out of there. Shouldn't be much longer," John promised and tapped off the radio.

"John?" Carson asked as John led the way back to the stairwell.

"It's too dangerous, and it's going to take too long to try and dig them out," John said. "If we can't get to them from the inside, we'll have to try from another direction."

John opened the door for the stairwell and saw the moment Carson figured out what he meant.

"That is bloody madness," Carson said. "Not to mention impossible."

John shook his head. "Not impossible. I've done something similar back on Earth using helicopters."

Carson started down the stairs, muttering to himself, "Bloody foolish, trying to fly a jumper up here and get them out through the windows."

"It's the only way I can think of to get to them," John replied. "You said yourself, we needed to hurry. I know the lab Rodney is in has a large bank of windows. I just hope the room Volkov and his people are trapped in has the same layout. If we can't reach them with a jumper, I'm not sure what else we can try."

John called Lorne and Zelenka once they were in the transporter and told them to meet him in the conference room.

"John? "Elizabeth said when John entered the conference room with Carson behind him. "Where is Sergeant Thompson and what is this new idea of yours for getting our people rescued."

"I had Thompson stand down for the moment," John replied as he sat down across from Weir. "Plan A isn't going to work," he said, as he braced his arms on the table in front of him. "The tower is too unstable, and our people are injured. Digging is going to take too long."

"But you have another idea?"

"Maybe," John said and turned to Zelenka. "Did you bring the schematics for the tower?"

"Yes, Colonel," Radek replied as he projected the drawing on the screen behind Elizabeth. "I am not sure this is a good idea, however."

John stood and studied the drawing for a few minutes. "Both levels have windows," he muttered to himself.

"Yes, but there are overhangs on both levels." Zelenka pointed to the out-jutting lips of stone above and below the window frames. "You will not be able to hold the jumper flush with the structure, and the ship will not fit between them. The ramp will need to be balanced here and here." He pointed to the space just below the window on each level.

"John, are you seriously considering flying a jumper over to the tower?" Elizabeth asked.

John turned to her. "I don't see how we have many other options. Stackhouse, tell her about Volkov."

"Yes, sir," Stackhouse said. "I talked to Doctor Archer a little while ago. She told me Doctor Volkov is still trapped. Doctor Archer and the other scientist with her -"

"Doctor Verona," Zelenka supplied.

"... Are trying to dig him out, but they can't move the larger blocks of stone and Volkov is having trouble breathing."

"There was a Marine with them," Zelenka said. "Can he not move the stone?"

Stackhouse shook his head. "Corporal Webber has a broken arm."

"Rodney is still trapped, too," John added with a look at Elizabeth. "I know it's not ideal, but we're running out of options and time."

"There may be less time than you think, John," Elizabeth said with a frown. "Have you looked outside? There's a storm brewing."

"Then the sooner we get moving, the better," John replied and turned to Carson and Lorne. "This will have to be in two trips. Carson? I need to know which floor we're going to first."

"Volkov," Carson said with only a slight hesitation. "If he is having difficulty breathing, we need to get him sorted first."

John nodded. "Get your team together and get to the jumper bay."

Carson nodded and hurried from the room.

John turned to Lorne. "We're going to need Marines and equipment to get Volkov out. They need to be careful. No heavy equipment. From what we saw, the floor isn't very stable, and McKay and Dex are in the room underneath them. We can't risk more of the ceiling coming down on them."

"Yes, sir," Lorne said. "I'll have a team ready to go in ten minutes," he added, and left the conference room.

Ten minutes later John glanced at the men and women crammed in the back of the jumper as he toggled the release for the jumper bay sunroof. John glanced at the empty co-pilot's chair and refused to let himself think about why Rodney wasn't in his usual spot.

Carson sat in one of the seats behind him. He spoke softly to Doctor Cortes, a small woman with dark hair and a lilting accent. Carson's two med techs, David and Jason, sat on one of the rear benches, a pile of medical gear stacked between them, while Thompson and the remaining members of his team, sat on the other bench.

"Control, this is Sheppard," John said as he closed the rear hatch. "We're ready to go."

"Copy that, Colonel," Chuck replied. "You are cleared for take-off."

"John, that storm is going to be here soon," Elizabeth said.

"We'll get there and get back as fast as we can," John replied and lifted off. "Sheppard out."