"What?" Rodney asked, staring in disbelief at the other 'jumper.
"You needed a way to test this weapon. How else were you going to do it?" Radek muttering something about skimming the water. "Look, I need to know this shield thing is going to stand up to enemy fire. The only way we're going to know that is to get some enemy fire."
"So you want them to shoot at us!"
"Yes."
"To test an untested piece of technology."
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I-!" He caught Radek's eye. The guy would be humiliated if he questioned his skills in front of him, and after last time, he really didn't want Radek mad with him…that green had taken weeks to wash off. Besides, he hadn't been able to find any mistakes in the device, there was no reason it shouldn't work.
Besides, his head hurt, his stomach rolled, and the sooner he finished with this the sooner he could go back to Atlantis and sit down.
"Just…ask them not to fire on anything vital?" He requested, slumping back into his chair. Sheppard nodded cheerfully,
"Sure. Sit back boys, this should be fun!"
Boys?
"Don't worry McKay, It'll be fun McKay, They won't fire on anything important McKay, Well I think they might have hit something important!" He ranted as his hands flew feverishly across the controls.
"Well if your shield worked like you said it would it wouldn't matter!" Sheppard yelled back. The ship bucked and rocked as the Colonel tried to bring it back under control. Sparks seemed to be everywhere as things flew apart.
"It was Zelenka's shield! Not that it will matter in a few minutes when we go crashing into the ocean!"
"McKay-"
"I always wanted to try drowning. I mean, the first McKay that came to Atlantis drowned, maybe it's the universal rule that all McKay's should die that way-"
"McKay…"
"Who wouldn't want a slow, cold, painful death from asphyxiation. I mean it's-"
"MCKAY!" He froze, looking at Sheppard who clung desperately to the controls.
"Fix. The damn. Ship."
"Right…okay." They continued in silence for a minute, one trying to repair the ship, one trying to fly it.
"Is Dr Zelenka conscious yet?" Rodney glanced over, the scientist was still slumped over his console, face down, a disturbing trickle of blood from his temple.
"No. Not that it'll matter if-"
"Rodney!"
"Right…fixing the ship." He frowned at the controls. Why had that missile hit them? The other four hadn't! Was the shield not strong enough? No, the force should be…"Dammit!
"McKay…talk to me!"
"It's the converter! The device that adapts the energy used to power the cloak into a magnetic field. There must have been a power surge somehow, maybe when one of the missiles hit! It's fried!"
"Can you fix it?"
"Didn't you hear me? It's fried!"
"NOT the converter, the ship!"
"Oh, wait-" He grimaced as he reported, "That last blast got the right engine pod. It's not responding-"
"Tell me something I don't know!"
"And the left one is about to give out from the strain of keeping us upright. We need to land now!"
"On water? Rodney, these things don't float!"
"Well if you have a better idea I'm open to suggestions about now!" The two men glared at each other, the only sound the loud whine of the malfunctioning engines. Rodney straightened,
"The shield."
"The one that didn't work?"
"It's not the shield! It was the wires in the converter, they couldn't handle the power flow. If I can fix that, the shield should power up again, and it'll repel the water! We should just skim right across which is how we meant to test it in the first place I might add!"
"You said the converter was fried?"
"Yes, but I have an idea." Rodney pushed himself up, flying into the wall as the ship bucked, "Ow!"
"What can I do?"
"Just try and fly in a straight line! If you can manage that?"
"Just fix the damn converter Rodney!" Grunting, Rodney pulled himself over to the back of the ship, opening the conduit that ran high up against the wall. Yep, it was fried. The ancient crystal system looked more elegant than ever against the smoking mess of wires that was the power converter. The ship swayed dangerously and he clung on, "I said fly straight Colonel!"
"Want to try!"
"Well I-"
"McKay!"
"Right, right!" He examined the components anxiously. It wasn't all that bad. If he could only form a connection between the converter and the cloak again, one that wouldn't fry. But the only wires he had would melt just like the old ones, and if that happened…
Zelenka just had to test this didn't he? What happened to the good old days when everything was theory, and no one would dream of actually trying something like this? Of course Radek's glasses were so steamed up half the time it's no wonder he-
Wait a minute.
"Yes!" He shouted, "And the genius solves it again!" He half fell half ran into the front compartment. "Keep your eyes on the wheel Colonel" He warned as Sheppard looked round at him,
"Let me worry about flying, you've fixed it?"
"Give me two minutes and I will have!" the ship gave a particularly violent jerk,
"You have one!"
Muttering, Rodney slid over to Zelenka, "Sorry Radek" and took what he needed before racing back to the open conduit. The ship shook, before veering suddenly downwards,
"McKay, we're falling!"
"Almost there." He stared at the panel…oh god, but there was no other way…
He straightened out the thin metal framework, no time for gloves, but the current….
He'd had worse.
Probably.
"Sheppard, you're going to get a power surge through the converter. Get ready to activate the shield."
"When!"
"Oh…When I start screaming with girlish fear."
"What!"
Clenching his teeth, he positioned the metal just above the circuit.
"Rodney!" He took a deep breath, and plunged the makeshift connection, hand attached, into the circuitry.
He screamed.
Poor old Rodney! I am whumping him. And most of Atlantis is still asleep! I wonder what he took from Zelenka to make that connection... Have a guess ;) Exams this week but I'll try and update very soon anyway.
You guys are great, I love the reviews. They are like Ben and Jerry's ice cream :) You can never have enough. Do keep it up ;)
