Chapter 8 A Simple Mission
They were greeted with scolding sunbeams as they went out of the Puddle Jumper half an hour later, trotting through knee high grass on the outskirts of the forest hiding the twelve villages and the ancient shrine where the Z.P.M. was located. Rodney had approximated to spend about three hours on the walk to the Ancient ruins in his current condition, but was already starting to doubt his estimates. Although not more than twelve o clock in the afternoon, Rodney was already starting to feel exhaustion creep into his bones. And that was before he'd taken the first stumbling steps on the longest stretch of this mission.
The walk proved every bit as exhausting as he'd feared. But even more annoying was John and Carson's constant hovering over him. Their concern made him anxious and that agitated the one kicking the air out of his lungs. As if breathing really was an option. He finally decided to take a break after one hour of slow waddling through traitorous forest terrain, panting so hard even Ronon had stopped making fun of him for it. Resting his back on the trunk of a massive tree he ripped open a power bar with his teeth and tiredly began to eat it. Slowly he slumped down in some sort of crouching position, trying to fend off a building headache with a sip of water. He felt too hot, the fever probably spiking due to the tight vest and all the exercise, but he didn't bother mentioning it to Carson. Knowing John he gathered he wouldn't be allowed to take off the vest either. Thankfully he'd decided to leave his jacket back at Atlantis, dreading the thought of how overheated he would feel with that stuck under the vest in addition to the shirt he was currently was marinating.
Half the power bar slid out of his hand and fell to the ground, and his head started to droop as the exhaustion became overwhelming. He rubbed gritty eyes with a tired frown on his face and tried to get up, but sweet enticing darkness claimed him before he could really understand what was going on.
"Is he... falling asleep?" Teyla's voice sounded muffled and distant.
"Let him!" Sheppard replied.
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"Rodney, can you hear me? Rodney!" His eyes snapped open and he awoke with a start. He blinked in confusion for a few seconds, trying to remember where he was, and finally he managed to focus on John Sheppard's rugged face.
"You've been napping for half an hour, time to start moving again, Sleeping Beauty," John told him and held out a hand, apparently to help him stand up. Rodney grunted, feeling a wave of stupor numb his body, but he reached out and accepted the Colonel's aid. Moments later he was standing on unsteady feet, trying to clear his head enough to start walking again.
Four hours and two more McKay power naps later they finally arrived the Ancient ruins where the malfunctioning Z.P.M. was hidden. Rodney's eyes had been latched to the Ancient Scanner in his hands for the last hour or so, and he was puzzled by the readings to say the least. Now he wiped the sweat from his brow and approached the shrine with determination steadying his steps, and he blatantly ignored the young children that seemed to be drawn to him like a magnet. John finally managed to lure them away with some chocolate and chewing gum and Rodney's back was finally free to do the work he'd been sent here to do.
"Two hours, give or take a minute," he estimated before he dove down into the heart of the EMP generator, cursing the tightness in his chest that made it almost impossible to breathe.
It didn't take him long to determine what he'd secretly been suspecting all along.
"This device has been tampered with!" he told Carson who was trying to stay close but also out of the way.
"It's probably just some kids who's been playing where they're not supposed to and are too afraid to step forward," Carson argued.
"No. Somebody's deliberately been tampering with the calibrations of the generator, trigging it to malfunction in two fazes. This is not the handiwork of a child!" Rodney growled as he dived deeper into the device.
"But why tamper with it so that it fails slowly, why not shut it down completely?" Carson didn't sound convinced. Rodney stuck his head out to serve his most famous "moron!" expression.
"Maybe the perpetrator wanted a safe getaway without raising suspicions, or maybe... maybe he was setting a trap..." Their eyes met, both raising their eyebrows in unison.
"Maybe I should get back to work..." Rodney mumbled. Carson gave him an agreeing nod.
"And I'll go notify Sheppard about your discovery."
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Two hours later his work was almost complete, there were some necessary calibrations that remained before he could restart the Z.P.M. but he was almost there. Carson had informed Sheppard about his discovery regarding the EMP generator, and Sheppard started a full-blown investigation. After a talk with Keran he learned that a stranger had visited the forest a little over a week ago. It was an older man, a rare sight in such a civilisation and he'd been welcomed like a friend. He was particularly interested in the ancient ruins in the forest. A couple of young boys had shown him the old Shrine before Keran had been made aware of his presence, but nothing seemed disturbed though, and the stranger had seemed trustworthy.
He stayed for one night, then thanked for the hospitality and walked through the Stargate. A week later Major Lorne and his team arrived, and the EMP Generator started to behave weirdly. An hour after the Marines had set foot within the forest the generator completely shut down and there was reported activity by the Stargate. A Wraith Dart zoomed through the iris, and the marines guarding the gate followed in hot pursuit in the puddle jumper. They managed to shoot down the Dart and land on the outskirts of the forest before the EMP field came back on, but now it was shutting off and on again at irregular intervals.
Something was not right, but Rodney was too tired to wrap his mind around it. He was working so hard on recalibrating the generator that bright yellow spots started to dance in front of his eyes.
"You need to rest, Rodney," Carson urged, trying to pull him away from the generator.
"I'm almost finished," Rodney barked: "five more minutes!" He tried to hit a free slot with a crystal, but missed it completely.
"Nope, break. NOW!" Carson ordered, handing him a power bar. "Eat!"
Rodney let go of his work with a moan, agreeing for once that five minutes give or take wouldn't change the faith of the universe, so he leaned back and rested an aching back to a pillar. To his great annoyance Carson had the nerve to slap a blood pressure cuff to his arm. The frown on his face moments later told Rodney the doctor was not pleased with the result.
"I think we should spend the night," Carson decided, tucking away his medical kit. "You're in no shape to walk back to the Puddle Jumper tonight, you need rest."
"I'm not spending a minute more on this kid infested planet than I have to!" Rodney shot back, barely nibbling at the power bar in hand.
"You're staying, doctor's orders!" Carson smirked. Rodney opened his mouth to retort back, but his ears suddenly picked up an all too familiar sound from the distance.
"Oh come on!" he moaned and suddenly got very busy with his work again. Seconds later John Sheppard came charging, yelling for Rodney to get the EMP up and working faster than hell. God damn Carson and his breaks!
It was a Wraith Darth approaching the forest on screaming engines. Another recon team, or the tip of the spear? Rodney growled as he tried to make his brain and fingers work faster, hearing children screaming as they were running to hide.
He wasn't even aware when John suddenly dragged him up and away from the generator, trying to get him to safety behind a group of trees. He vaguely registered Carson screaming at the top of his lungs, a bright light zooming in on him, and John's arms and body wrapped protectively around him before it all went blank and the deafening noise ceased to exist.
