Be all my sins remembered pt.2
Authors note: Okay so this is part two. If you need to know what happened just read part one. With that being said on with the story.
Later, John Ronon and Teyla, geared up for offworld travel, walk along a corridor. Two guards carrying Wraith stunner pistols follow, and they are followed by the Wraith wearing a belt which shackles his wrists close to its waist. Two more guards with stunner pistols follow it. They go to the jumper bay where John, Ronon and Teyla enter a jumper followed by the Wraith. Ronon grabs the Wraith's arm and hustles him to the front of the cockpit.
"Sit down." He ordered. He shoves the Wraith into the seat behind the pilot's chair and sits next to it, holding his blaster on it. Teyla takes the co-pilot's seat, John walks to the pilot's chair but turns to the Wraith. "First sign you cross us…" John started. "…I die I know." The Wraith finished. A short time later, the jumper exits a space gate and its engine pods deploy. It moves forward into the midst of a fleet of Wraith hive ships.
"Well, this is different." John commented. The console beeps. "Receiving transmission." Teyla said. The HUD appears on the windshield. "Docking instructions." Teyla noted. "All right, let's get this over with." John stated. The jumper heads into one of the hive ships and lands. As its engines shut down, John turns to the Wraith. "Now what?" He asked. Someone bangs three times on the outside of the door. "You open the door?" The Wraith suggested wryly. John and Ronon exchange a glance, then John stands up and starts to walk towards the rear of the ship.
The Wraith stands and indicates his shackles. "Perhaps we should remove these. I think it sends the wrong message, don't you?" The Wraith questioned. Ronon looks at John. "This is a mistake." He said. "We need his help." John pointed out. He walks back to the Wraith, then he and Ronon start to untie his wrists. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Ronon told John. "Well, we're here. Let's see it through." He replied. They undo the belt around the Wraith's waist and drop it to the floor. They all walk to the rear door, Ronon pressing his blaster against the Wraith's back. John hits the button to open the door.
Four Wraith guards are waiting outside with stunner rifles aimed at them. John holds up a hand placating, but Ronon shoves the Wraith to the side so that he can aim his blaster at the guards. "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, take it easy." John told the guards. The guards open fire while the Wraith ducks out of the way to give them clear aim at all three humans. John and Teyla drop immediately but Ronon tries to struggle up. The guards fire several more shots into him until he is unconscious. As the guards lower their rifles, the Wraith looks down at the humans in satisfaction.
Meanwhile back in Atlantis, in the lab the Ancient table now has a silver puddle on top of it. Rodney is standing on one side of the table while Zelenka and Natalie are on the other side. "All right. Basic nanite material has been formed." Rodney said. "Let's see if we can get them to interact." He picks up a small device and takes it around to Radek and Natalie's side of the table, while Radek smiles down at the puddle in admiration. "I must say, Rodney, this is quite an ingenious idea." Zelenka said. "Were you expecting anything less?" Rodney asked smugly. "Well…" Radek hesitates. "Well what?" Rodney asked.
"Well, you have been in a bit of a rut lately." Radek answered. "He's right, Rodney." Natalie told him. "It's nice to see you doing something amazing like this again." Rodney looked at them. "I have not!" Rodney exclaimed, indignantly. "Ok, well, like a dry spot, maybe." Zelenka amended. "That is not true." McKay defended. "OK." Radek said. "It is not!" Rodney exclaimed. "Stop fighting boys, we need to work on this." Natalie said. "Now are we certain that these nanites will not go beyond simple cohesion?" Radek asked. "Of course." McKay stated. "I've disabled most of the normal protocols. It won't be able to do anything beyond form a simple block. All right, here we go."
He types on the device and the puddle pulls together and forms into a block about six inches square. "It worked! You did it, Rodney!" Radek exclaimed. "Awesome!" Natalie added. "Naturally." McKay replied. "McKay's back!" Radek said happily. Natalie laughed. "Will you stop that?! I was never gone!" Rodney said irritated. His device beeps, he looks at it. "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Wait a minute." He commented. He types into the device. "We've got a problem. The cells aren't communicating with each other." Rodney told them. The block collapses back into a puddle, they all sigh. Of course it isn't that easy, Natalie thought to herself. "This could be tougher than I thought." Rodney stated. Radek raises a finger. "And I don't wanna hear you say anything." Rodney told him. Radek lowers his finger again as Rodney goes back to the table.
In the puddle jumper, Teyla, Ronon and John are lying unconscious in the back of the jumper. The Wraith reaches down and shakes John awake. Grimacing, he opens his eyes and drowsily looks up at him, then his eyes widen and he struggles to push himself up into a sitting position. "Be calm." The Wraith told him. The Wraith offers John a pistol. "Here." He said. John snatches the pistol from him. "What the hell's going on?" He asked. "Apparently my fellow Wraith wanted to speak to me without you being around." The Wraith replied. "Well, they might have just politely asked us to stay in the jumper." John commented. "Come now, you would never have let me leave your sight." The Wraith pointed out. "Well, we'll never know now, will we?" John asked, sarcastically.
The Wraith walks a couple of paces away, then turns to face him again. "We have a deal." He said. John smirked. "Seven hives will join us in the fight." John's smirk disappeared. "Seven? You said twelve." John reminded him. "Not all of them were convinced that the mission was achievable, plus many of our ships are without Queens." The Wraith told him. "We'd be unable to create new soldiers should they fall. If you prefer none…" The Wraith trails off. "All right, seven." John conceded. The Wraith bows slightly to him, John looks at Ronon. "How'd I wake up before Ronon?" John asked. "We had to stun him several times." He answered. "I thought it would be best that you were awake before he was." John nodded. "Probably a good idea." He stated. He looks up and sees stars through the windshield rather than the interior of a hive ship.
"Are we in space?" John wondered. He gets to his feet. "The hives have already left." The Wraith answered. "They jettisoned your ship before they jumped into hyperspace." John looked at the Wraith. "Anything else happen while we were unconscious that I should know about?" John asked. "I must return to Atlantis to help Dr. McKay complete our plan." He stated. John continues to look at the Wraith for a few moments, he then uncocks his pistol and puts it away. "Help me to wake 'em up and we'll get out of here." John ordered.
In the lab in Atlantis, the puddle has formed back into a block but it is a surrounded by a glow. "All right, lookin' good." Rodney commented. "Rodney, it's being held together by a forcefield." Radek pointed out. "I know. I just wanna give the cells time to establish their own internal cohesion." Rodney replied. "Now, we drop the field….(he types on his device and the forcefield disappears.)….and it should hold together." Natalie frowned. "Hopefully." She added. The block stays in place. Rodney smiles. "Not bad. Not bad. Structure's intact, bonds are holding." McKay comments. He laughs, then he looks at Radek and Natalie, they smile back. Then the device beeps and the block drops back into a puddle, Rodney sighs.
"Dammit!" He exclaims. "Mmm. It's no use, Rodney. You have disabled to many of the cells' basic protocols." Radek said. "It was never designed to work this way." Natalie added. "In that case, there's only one thing we can do." Rodney said. He starts to type on his device. Just then, Chuck's voice comes over their comlinks. "Dr. Zelenka?" He asked. "Yes?" Zelenka replied. "They need to see you right away in section seven." Chuck told him. "We're having some power problems in the infirmary." Radek sighs and looks at Rodney. "I should… This won't take long. Is it all right if I…?" He asked. "Just go, go!" McKay told him. Radek starts to leave the room. "You're only holding me back anyway." Rodney said to his departing back.
He looked at Natalie. "You're gonna create a human form Replicator, aren't you?" She asked. He nodded. "It's the only way." Rodney said. "We are gonna have to have some guards down here." Natalie told him. "Even if the Replicator is friendly, we need it just in case." Rodney looked at the table again. "Yes, but not until we're almost finished." He said. "Also we aren't telling Sam about it yet, just in case this doesn't work." Natalie nodded her head in agreement. They began to work. Three hours later they were almost finished. "We ready?" Natalie asked. Rodney double checked the device's readout. "Yes, call them." He told her.
"Major Lorne." Natalie said into her comlink. "Ohh, formal, what do you need, Dr. Sheppard?" He asked. "I need you to send two marines down to lab three." She stated. "Ok, but I'm coming too." Evan told her. "You wouldn't have been so formal with just a guard duty request if it wasn't something big." She looked at McKay. "They're on their way." She said. "You didn't tell them to bring A.R.G.s." Rodney pointed out. "They might guess what were doing, I mean, we are playing with a Replicator maker." She pointed out. He got her point. "So if we told them to bring the A.R.G.s they would tell Carter." He finished.
Lorne and two marines arrived minutes later. "Ok, so where is this person we're supposed to guard?" Evan asked. Natalie turned to him. "Uh, its not a person per say." She said. "Natalie, push the button on your side." Rodney instructed. Evan moved quickly, grabbing Natalie by the waist and pulled her from the table, towards him. "No one is going to do anything until I know what is going on." He stated.
Natalie and Rodney looked at each other. McKay quickly inputted stuff into the device; he had it set up so they could activate it either way, just in case they stopped one of them, a silver puddle formed on the table. Before anyone could move it transformed into a person. It's a woman, she's wearing Replicator clothing, has long dark hair and is fairly young looking. The Replicator looked at all the people around her. "Hello." She said.
"Ooook." Evan commented. He turned to one of the marines with him. "Get a couple of A.R.G.s." He ordered. The marine left, Lorne turned back to the two scientists. "Do you two know what you are doing?" He asked. "It's the only way to make the plan work." Natalie said. Evan spun her around to face him. "Did you get the okay from Col. Carter or Col. Sheppard?" He asked. Neither one answered. "Well?" He asked.
"Um, no, not really." Natalie finally said quietly. "No!" Evan exclaimed. "It's the only way Major, believe me we exhausted all other possibilities." Rodney told him. "We thought they would stop us." Natalie added. The marine came back with the A.R.G.s. "Orders, sir?" He asked. Lorne looked at both of the scientists. "Guard it." He ordered. Evan began to walk out of the room. "I'm going to tell Carter." He said then left. Both of the scientists faces, paled.
Meanwhile, in the puddle jumper, it was heading back in the direction of the nearest space gate. John looks over and sees Ronon glowering at the Wraith. "Ronon let it go." He said. "Take it as a compliment. They were afraid of you." Ronon continues glaring at the Wraith, John looks at Teyla. "Dial the gate." He ordered. Teyla hits the first three buttons on the D.H.D., but then the console beeps. "I'm detecting a hyperspace window forming." Teyla told them. "You guys forget something?" John asked the Wraith. A hyperspace window opens and an Aurora-class battle cruiser files out of it, directly in front of the jumper. John throws the jumper into a tight bank to avoid colliding with the ship and skims along the side of it. "It's an Ancestral warship!" Teyla exclaimed.
"Replicators! Dial the gate!" John ordered. Teyla started dialing. "How did they find us?" Teyla asked. "I have an idea." Ronon said, glaring at the Wraith. "You are mistaken." The Wraith told him. The console beeps. "Receiving a transmission." Teyla said. "What?!" John asked. A familiar voice comes over the radio. "Sheppard, that'd better not be you." The voice said. John stares. "Larrin?!" He asked. He activates the H.U.D. and the he sees Larrin's face. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked. "What the hell are you doing here?" John asked back.
"We picked up on seven hives orbiting a single planet." She answered. "It seemed like something big was going down, so I thought we'd stop and do a little intel." John studied her face. "Yeah, well, you just missed 'em." He told her. "I see that. Now, tell me, what are you doing here?" She asked. "And better yet, why didn't those hives destroy your puny little ship." John frowned at Larrin. "I take great offence to that—but those are all good questions, so …..we should talk." He said. "Yes, we should. Use bay three." Larrin instructed. She deactivates her comms and the H.U.D. shuts down. "Better her that the Replicators, right?" Ronon asked. John shrugged. "Let's see what kind of mood she's in." He commented.
Shortly afterwards, the jumper has docked and its rear door opens. John, Ronon and Teyla stand facing the exit while the Wraith is sitting on one of the side benches, mostly obscured by Ronon. Larrin and three guards are waiting outside. John smiles sarcastically at her. "Larrin." He said. The Wraith stands up and looks over Ronon's shoulder. Larrin backs up a step. "That Wraith'd better be a prisoner." She stated. "Now, look, I know how it looks." John said. "Kill it." Larrin ordered her guards. As the guards draw their weapons, Ronon promptly runs out of the way to give them a clear shot. John, on the other hand, draws his pistol and steps in front of the Wraith while simultaneously aiming his pistol at the guards with one hand and holding up his other hand placating. "Hey, whoa! Hey, hey, hey, no, no, no, no. NO killing, ok? Just hear me out." He told them.
A little while later Larrin is hearing John out. She is doing so in another room of the ship where John has been tied to a chair with thick plastic ropes. He looks really fed up as she walks around the chair. "So the idea is to keep the Replicator ships from leaving orbit until this McKay guy can suck them back down to the planet." Larrin said, making sure she heard right. "Couldn't have put it better myself." John commented. "And since you only have two ships…." She started. "…we needed the Wraith to help." John finished. "Hmm." Larrin said, thinking about the idea. "We figure the Replicators have close to thirty ships guarding the surface." John explained. "The Wraith bring another seven to the fight." Larrin stopped walking and looked at him. "Still not very good odds." She pointed out. "No, no, but unless we … I don't know …meet someone with access to ships, it'll have to do." He commented.
"One of the planets we trade with was completely wiped out a few weeks ago." Larrin told him. "We thought it was the Wraith but it didn't fit. They weren't culled—they were leveled." John nodded his head. "Replicators." He said simply. "Last time we worked together, I said I'd let you keep a few secrets …. (she bends down in front of him and outs her face close to his.) ….but not any more." Larrin stated. John can't help but glance down at her cleavage for a moment, then looks back into her face. "If we do this, we go all the way, no holding back." She told him. Larrin stands up and continues around the chair, John sighs. "All right." He said. "Look—your ship is still a mess. We have scientists that have the Ancient gene. Maybe they can help you soup it up." Larrin thought for a moment.
"Well, I'll have to talk to our governing council." She said. "But even if they agree to move forward, it'll be up to the individual ship captains if they wanna join us or not – and fighting alongside the Wraith isn't gonna be popular." John smiled at her. "Well, we know how persuasive you can be." He commented. "I'll start making the calls." She stated. "Oh, great." John said. Larrin heads towards the door behind him, which opens wide. "This is all working out for the best." He told her. "It's, uh …except for the part where I'm still tied up, Larrin." He said. He clears his throat expectantly, but Larrin has already gone. A guard outside swipes his hand over the wall panel and the door starts to close. "Larrin?!" John shouts. The door closes, John grimaces and sighs.
In Atlantis, Rodney is waiting near his lab and looks irritated as Radek hurries to join him. "You and I have two very different definitions of "this won't take to long." Rodney said. "I know, I'm really sorry." Radek replied. "The naqahdah generator in section seven is giving us all sorts of trouble, but it's fixed now. I'm all yours. What would you like to try now?" Radek asked. "Actually, unencumbered by the continual need to explain things to you, I've actually made remarkable progress." Rodney told him. "Oh, really?" Zelenka asked. "Mmm. The system the Ancients had in place were designed to create fully functional humanoid replicants, right?" Rodney asked. "Yes." Radek answered, frowning.
"Well ,turns out that trying to create something much simpler is—ironically – much more difficult. In the end we were forced to compromise." Rodney explained. "Wait, you're not suggesting that…" Zelenka trailed off. "Ah, I know it wasn't part of the plan but it was either this or nothing." Rodney said. He walks into the lab, Radek following. He stops in the doorway and stares in horror as Rodney stops at the side of the table, near Natalie and looks up at the Replicator. "Hello." The Replicator said. Zelenka slowly walks into the lab and stares at the Replicator with a mixture of shock and awe. There is and armed guard in the lab behind the Replicator. Rodney calmly smiles at Radek as he continues to gape. "Oh, my." Was all he said.
The puddle jumper flies over the ocean and heads towards the city. After docking, John, Teyla and Ronon make their way out of the jumper bay. "Just gonna check on McKay – see if he made any progress." John said. "I must go see Dr. Keller." Teyla commented. "Why's that?" John asked. "I was stunned." She explained. "We get stunned all the time –shake it off." John said. He and Ronon turn to walk away. "Circumstances are …..different." Teyla told them. The boys turn back to her. "How so?" John asked. Teyla hesitates, then looks around to see if anyone else is nearby. She sighs then looks at John. "I am carrying a child." She answered.
"Your what?" John asked shocked. He and Ronon walk towards her. Anxiously, she steps closer to them. "I am pregnant, John." She said. "Is this a joke?" He asked. He turns to look at Ronon, who is looking at her stomach. Seeing John's expression, he stares at him. "Don't look at me!" He said. "It just happened." Teyla commented. "I …..I don't know you were seeing anyone." John commented. "It is no-one from Atlantis." She assured him. "How …..far along are you?" John asked, looking awkward. "About three months." Teyla replied. "Three. How long have you known?" John asked quietly. "Just under two." She replied. "Two. We've been ….You let me out you out in the field when you've known you're three months pregnant." He pointed out. "I tried to tell you." She defended. "You didn't try hard enough." John said quietly, but obviously angry.
"I am more than capable of.." Teyla said but then was cut off by John. "You got stunned today." He said. "Do you have any idea what kind of effect that has?" Teyla was getting a little angry at him. "Athosian women remain very active in the community well up…" Teyla said then John interrupted again. "This is different." He said. "We get shot at, beat up, stunned. We take a chance every time we walk through the gate." John finished, hoping he made her see the light. "John…." She trailed off. "As of this second, you are relieved from active duty." He ordered. John turns and walks away. Ronon frowns after him as Teyla gapes in shock. She turns to walk away but Ronon calls her back. "Hey." He said. He smiles at her. "Congratulations, Kanan is the father?" Ronon asked.
"You knew we were…?" Teyla trailed off. "I could tell – the way you talked about him." He answered. "Yes, he is the father." She told him. Ronon looks at her sympathetically, remembering that Kanan and the other Athosians are missing. "I'm sorry." He said. "I will find him." Teyla stated. "He is still alive – I feel it." Teyla looks away form him. "We'll find him – together." Ronon corrected. He takes her hand. "I promise. Cone on – let's go get you checked up." He said. Hand in hand they walk to the infirmary. "You know, uh, "Ronon" – it's a good name ….boy or girl." Ronon commented. Teyla laughs. A little later John is walking with Sam. "So that brings the grand total to…" Sam trailed off. "Fourteen. Larrin said she can get three or four more ships." He told her. "Well, that's great!" Carter exclaimed. "Yeah." John agreed, unenthusiastically. "You ok?" She asked.
"Yeah. I've taken Teyla off active duty." John told her. "Why?" Sam asked. "She's pregnant." He replied. "Uh …ok. Who's the father?" She asked. "I never asked." He said. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "Well, it has been one hell of a day. There's one more thing you need to see. McKay has thrown us a curve ball." Sam said. "Oh, great!" John said sarcastically. "I was just thinking we need more of those today." Sam chuckled. In Sam's office, John is staring in disbelief at a video link to Rodney's lab, Where the Replicator is wandering around looking at the equipment. He turns to Rodney furiously. "This is not what we talked about, Rodney!" He exclaimed. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry, but the block idea didn't fly. This was the only way." Rodney told him. "Do you have any idea what kind of security threat this is?" John asked. "It's not as bad as you think. I stripped down it programming as much as I possibly could without sacrificing basic viability." Rodney explained.
"It can walk, it can talk, but it can't replicate or change its form or anything." Carter wondered something. "Does she know why she was created?" She asked. "Of course." Rodney replied. "Well then, she has a certain amount of self-awareness." Sam pointed out. "Yeah, so?" Rodney asked. "So"?! Honestly, I'm not sure how comfortable I am sending her to her death." Carter told him. "Death." It can't die – it's not alive! It's a programme!" McKay exclaimed. "I mean, its consciousness is just a bunch of ones and zeros. I mean you can call it "she" all you want but it's still just a thing. "It's a prop – it's a really advanced radio – controlled weapon. I mean, you don't feel sorry for your bullets, do you, your bombs?"
"All right. Still, it's weird." Carter said. "Yeah, well, at the end of the day it doesn't matter anyways, because we don't have any other choice." McKay commented. "Well, we are teaming up with the Wraith." John commented. "I guess it's that kind of mission." Rodney walks out of the office and to his lab. He comes in to find the Replicator typing on a laptop while Radek frets behind it. Natalie is on one of the laptops next to the Replicator. Zelenka hurries over to Rodney. "We have a problem." He said. "What is it?" McKay asked. "I've been going over your calculations." The Replicator said. "I thought it would be prudent for the good of the mission." Behind its back, Rodney looks at Radek, who shrugs. The Replicator turns to Rodney. "I hope you don't mind." She added. "No, no it's fine." He replied. "I think you've under-estimated how quickly the nanite cells will adapt to their circumstances." She told him. "The mass will be able to manipulate its own form before it reaches critical density." Natalie was typing away on her laptop check some calculations.
"What, are you sure?" Rodney asked. "I'm quite positive." She replied. Natalie turned to the boys. "I double-checked her work, she's right." Natalie said. "Once the nanites regain control, they will be able to halt their own collapse. At that point they will be extremely dangerous." Zelenka nodded his head. "Yeah, in other words were back to Godzilla." He said. "I may have a solution." The Replicator told them. Rodney stares at it. It smiles and turns back to the laptop. A little while later, in the conference room, Larrin has arrived and is sitting in the room with Natalie, Sam, John, Caldwell, Ellis and the Wraith. Rodney is explaining the latest plan to them. "We overload their Z.P.M.s – about half a dozen of them in a symmetrical pattern around the Replicator mass." He said. "The Force of the explosion causes the mass to compress even further, essentially creating our own Replicator fusion bomb." Natalie added. "The whole planet's gonna be destroyed in the process." Rodney finished.
"You don't mess around, do you?" Larrin asked. "All this is based on information provided by a Replicator?" Ellis asked. "We have no reason to trust it." Natalie frowns at him. "We're not trusting it – we're trusting ….(he points to Rodney, hesitating for a moment, then goes along with it.) ….Rodney." John said. He frowns as if he can't believe what he just said. Sam smiles in sympathy. "Besides, I double-checked what she did, it will work." Natalie told them. "Now, this causes a slight new wrinkle in the plan." Rodney stated. "I'll need to beam down to the core room." Sam frowns at the last statement. "Along with Ronon and a squad of marines." John added. "From there, I should be able to hack into their systems and set the Z.P.M. to overload." Rodney said. "In the meantime, we'll be keeping their ships occupied." Carter said. "The seven hives will space themselves around the planet equally and our smaller ships will fill in the holes."
"I could use you in my Chair, Sheppard. We have an arsenal of drones but none of my guys can fire them quite like you can." Larrin told John. Sam and Natalie raise their eyebrows and look at John, he shrugs and smiles sarcastically at her. "No place I'd rather be." He replied. "The hives will be dispatching sizable waves of Darts to target the Replicators' hyperdrive engines." The Wraith said. "My 302's will join you." Caldwell added. The Wraith nodded his head in agreement. "Very well." He said. "Now, while I'm working in the core room, we'll beam Fran down to the city." McKay explained. "Wait a minute: "Fran"?" Ellis asked. "It's, uh, Friendly Replicator ANdroid." Natalie told them. John glared at Rodney and Natalie in turn. "I didn't realize we were naming things." He said. "It noticed that Zelenka, Natalie and I all had names and, um …and she asked for one, so…." Rodney trailed off.
John grimaces while Sam rolls her eyes. "Lorne will be in charge while were away, Natalie is also staying behind since we'll have Rodney and Radek with us." Carter said. "Just in case something happens in the city while our two leading scientists are away I can fix the problems." Natalie added. Sam looked around the room. "All right. Let's move out." She said. The meeting then broke up. All except Natalie were getting ready to go on their ships. She walked up to her brother who was talking to Larrin. John turned to her as she walked up. "Hey, come to say goodbye?" He asked. "Yeah, and good luck." Natalie said. "Let me guess, little sister?" Larrin asked. Natalie looked at her. "Do I look that much like you?" She asked. John laughed. "Yeah, she's my sister. Dr. Natalie Sheppard meet Larrin." He said. "Nice to meet you." Natalie said. She quickly hugged her brother and kissed him on the cheek. "Take care of him." She told Larrin as she walked away.
A short time later Daedalus, Apollo and Larrin's ship exit hyperspace and join the fleet of Wraith and Traveler ships. Sitting at the weapons station on board Daedalus, Sam can't help but smile in amazement at the sight. "Wow! It's quite a sight." She comments. Beside her, Caldwell also smiles, but a little more ruefully. "I remember when the Cold War ended and we started doing joint missions with the Russians. I thought that was strange!" He told her. Sam's console beeps. "I've got confirmation from the fleet: we're ready to go." She said. "Set coordinates for the Replicator homeworld." Caldwell said to his pilot. The fleet heads out and one by one the ships jump back into hyperspace.
On the Apollo, Fran is gazing out of the window as hyperspace rushes past. It turns and looks at Rodney as he types on a computer tablet. "This is quite exciting, isn't it?" She asked. Rodney looks up at it awkwardly. "It's a bit more nerve-wracking, yeah." He replied. "I quite look forward to it." She told him. "You do?" Rodney asked. "One always whishes to fulfill one's purpose" Fran explained. Behind Rodney, Radek is frowning at Fran in surprise. "…Right. And you're fine with all this?" McKay asked. "Why would I not be?" She asked. "It's my reason for being." She smiled. "Well, I know. It's just that you're …..you're gonna cease to be." He pointed out. "Yes." She said. "Well, I just …I just imagined you'd rather keep being than, uh … uh, than not." He told her. "Certainly you're not worried for me, are you, Doctor?" Fran asked. "No, no, that would be silly." Rodney replied.
"Yes it would be." She said. Rodney turns away and walks over to Radek. "Should never have given it speech." He said. "Yeah." Zelenka replied. "Dr. McKay. We're approaching the target." Ellis said over the comms. "You need to get with Ronon and the marines." Worry shown on Rodney's face. "On my way." He said. He starts to leave the room. "Dr. McKay?" Fran asked. Unhappy about having to talk to it again, Rodney turns back. "Yeah." He replied. She smiles at him. "Good luck." Fran said. Rodney can't help but smile back at it. "You too, Fran. Good luck." He said. He leaves the room as Fran smiles proudly. The fleet comes out of hyperspace above the Replicator planet and the ships starts firing on the Replicator ships in orbit. Caught by surprise, several of the latter are blown apart in the first attack. On board the Apollo, Ellis turns to Marks. "Target their hyperdrives with the beam weapons and launch all 302's." He ordered. He turns to his pilot. "Beam the Replicator and McKay's team down to their separate coordinates." Ellis ordered.
In the city below, Fran is beamed into an empty corridor. It looks around for a moment, then heads off down the corridor. In the core room, Ronon, Rodney and three marines beam in. Ronon and the marines are aiming A.R.G.s. Ronon gestures to the marines. "Fan out. Fan out." He orders. As they spread out around the room, Rodney heads towards the control panel. "All right, we're clear." Ronon said. "Ok. This won't take more than a minute." Rodney commented. He gets to work. Meanwhile in Atlantis, all was quite. Natalie was standing on the balcony near the Gateroom. She was leaning against the railing. She was always unsettled when any of SGA-1 was away on a mission without her. She felt someone walk behind her and wrap their arms around her waist. She smiled. "Don't you have a city to run?" She teased. She turned around to face Evan. He smiled at her comment. "It's all quiet. Why are you out here?" He asked.
"I'm just worried, I hate not knowing what's happening." She said. Evan pushed a lock of hair that had blown across her face behind her ear. "Do you think their winning?" She asked. He thought for a moment. "Yeah, it's our side, we always win." He told her. She smiled. Evan pulled her to the door. "Come on, let's get the mission off your mind." He said. "What are we going to do?" She asked. "You got any good movies?" He asked. "You name it, I got it." She replied. They walked off to her quarters.
Above the Replicator planet, Wraith darts deploy from on of the hives and head for the nearest Replicator ship. They swoop along it surface, aiming for the hyperdrives. Despite the Replicator ship being shielded, the onslaught is too great and part of it explodes even as it continues to return fire, blowing up parts of the hive. Inside the hives control room, a Wraith technician reports to 'our' Wraith which is piloting the ship. "Power down in the interior section." He said. "Transferring power from non-critical systems to hull regeneration." 'our' Wraith replies. Outside, Daedalus swoops over the top of the hive and fires its Asgard beams at the Replicator ship, which explodes. Inside, Caldwell radios down to Rodney. "How's it coming, McKay? I don't wanna be doing this all day." He told him. "I'm done." McKay replied. "I've got total control of the power grid and the Z.P.M.s, and Fran is ….(he smiles as he looks at his computer tablet.) ….Fran's just about to activate."
Elsewhere in the city, Fran walks into a room containing several Replicators working on various consoles. "Hello." She said. The Replicators all look at it, puzzled. It smiles and closes its eyes serenely. The Replicators look down at themselves in bewilderment as they slowly start to disintegrate. Their dispersed cells flow towards Fran and begin to integrate with it. In the Core Room, Rodney looks at his tablet. "Its working." Rodney said. "Just hold those ships off a little longer." In space, F-302s swoop around as the battle continues. One of Larrin's fleet is attacked by a Replicator warship and is destroyed. On Daedalus, Caldwell grimaces. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up." He commented. "We just have to keep them busy." Carter told him. "I don't think they realize what's happing yet." Replicator cells stream from all parts of the city towards a large building where Fran began its work. The "super-dense blob" becomes too large for the building and the walls disintegrate as the mass expands.
More Replicator cells pour towards it from all directions. On board Larrin's ship, a technician reports to her on the bridge. "One of the Replicator ships is heading towards us at maximum sub-light. They're powering their hyperdrives." She reports. "Sheppard. Do you see that?" Larrin asked him over the comms. In the ship's weapons control platform room, John is sitting in the Chair, looking at a screen on the wall. "Yeah, I got it." He replied. He reclines the Chair, closes his eyes and concentrates. Drones head out from the ship towards the Replicator ship. Some of them are intercepted by Replicator drones but enough get through to blow the Replicator ship to bits. Nearby, a hive ship which has been under attack from another Replicator ship blows up. In the core room, Rodney looks at his tablet. "It's working much faster than I ever imagined." He commented. "When's it gonna be big enough to start pulling 'em down form orbit?" Ronon asked. "Soon, really soon." McKay replied.
On Apollo's bridge, Ellis flinches from the light from explosions outside, and the ship joints violently. "Our shields can't take much more of this, sir." Marks said. "Hopefully they won't have to – but get ready to transfer power from the beam weapons to the…" Ellis trails off and stares in amazement as Replicator cells begin to stream down out of all the enemy ships and head down towards the planet. Marks gazes at the sight. "What the hell?" He asks. Ellis smiled. "He actually did it." He commented. Above the city, the Replicator mass is now bigger than the tallest towers around it, and continues to expand as cells stream down from the sky. In the Core Room, Rodney looks up nervously as the room begins to shake. "What's happening?" Ronon asked. "It's the Replicator mass: it's so heavy, it's sinking into the planet's surface." McKay replied. "McKay, according to our readings, every Replicator nanite is now part of the mass." Carter said over the radio. "Can you confirm?" Rodney looks at his tablet. "Copy that, Sam. I'll set the countdown at…" He said. Just then the lights go out and control consoles go dark. "Did you do that?" Ronon asked.
"No." Rodney replies. He looks at the tablet, checking stuff. "It's the mass. It's collapsed the subterranean power grid. It's a blackout! We're not gonna be able to overload the Z.P.M." Rodney explained. Shortly afterwards, the Replicator mass writhes as it tries to take control of itself. In the Core Room, Rodney holds onto the control console as the room continues shaking. "Not good, not good, not good!" He repeats. "Do you want me to beam down there and help you?" Carter asked. "The power grid's been destroyed." Rodney answered. "There's nothing either of us can do." John thought for a moment. "What's the big deal?" He asked over the comms. "If you can't overload Z.P.M.s why don't we just send some nukes down there and get this over with?" McKay shook his head. "It's not as simple as that!" He exclaimed. "Look, in order to implode a mass this large the explosion has to be timed down to the nanosecond. The force needs to be exactly right. I mean, you can't just fire a few nukes down here and get the job done."
The room shakes even more violently. "Well, it's gotta be better than nothing!" John pointed out. "I have to agree." Caldwell added. "McKay, my sensors indicate that the ground around the mass is rich with neutronium." Carter told him. "Neutronium?" Caldwell asked. "It's the base raw material in the Replicator cells." Rodney answered. "It makes all the sense in the world why the Ancients would set up on a planet where it's abundant." Sam nodded in agreement. "This could be very useful, Neutronium is incredibly dense." She said. "And that helps us how?" John asked. Sam opens her mouth but Rodney speaks first. "Sam, we are geniuses!" He exclaimed. She smiles. He began to type on his tablet. "Ok, the mass is so super-heavy that it's sinking into the planet's surface." He said. "If I dial it up just a little bit, it'll attract the neutronium and sink all the way to the core."
"And the planet will exert enough on it to cause an implosion." Carter added. "Just give me one …more…" Rodney trialed off, typing on his tablet. His tablet beeps. "Got it!" He exclaimed. Outside, the mass stops writhing and sets solid as it integrates with the neutronium, then begins to sink into the ground. "Um, we need to get out of here." Rodney told them nervously. "All right, let's go! Come on." Ronon said. Rodney disconnects his tablet from the console and Ronon grabs his arm and supports him as they stumble into an open area of the room.
The marines gather around them and a transporter beam whisks them away, depositing them onto the Daedalus' bridge. "Much as I'd love to, we shouldn't stick around and watch this go down." Rodney told them. "We should tell the fleet to jump to the rendezvous point immediately. The planet's become unstable." Carter told Caldwell. Above the planet, the fleet begins to enter hyperspace. Below, the surface of the planet begins to break apart, and lava spews out of the gaps. As the last of the fleet jumps away, leaving only the unmanned Replicator ships drifting helplessly, the planet explodes in a massive fireball.
Above New Lantea, Apollo and Larrin's ship are in orbit. John is talking with Larrin aboard her ship. "Sorry you lost a ship." He said. "They knew what they were getting into." She replied. "Yeah, but still… You gonna stick around and let my guys check this place out?" John asked. "Well, they already gave us a head start when they got us battle-ready." She replied. "Besides, I have some stuff that needs to get taken care of." John looked at her. "Yeah? Like?" John asked. "Oh, nothing for you to concern your pretty little head with." Larrin told him.
"Look, um, now that we're allies and stuff, I should probably have some way, of, of contacting you – you know, for professional reasons, in case we need help again." John suggested. Larrin smiles. "I know where Atlantis is now. Don't worry – I'll stay in touch." She told him. "Col. Sheppard, are you ready to beam?" Marks asked over the comms. "Good seeing you again." John said. "I bet it was." She answered smiling. She steps back as John smiles ruefully and takes another moment to look down the length of her body before activating his comlink. "Ready to beam." He said. A transporter beam whisks him away, Larrin smiles and walks away.
Rodney, working on a console in the control room, looks up as John beams onto the balcony. "Welcome back." McKay said. "Good to be back." John replied. "How are our friends the Wraith?" He walked up to the console. "Well, they never showed up at the rendezvous point." McKay told him. "Hmm. Think they got caught in the explosion?" John asked. "I doubt it." Rodney replied. "I guess they just figured there was nothing left to talk about, so, as soon as the planet blew up, we were back to being enemies." He turned back to the laptop. "Hmm! The Wraith back to being enemies; Replicators don't exist any more; and you end your dry spell." John commented. "Hey!" Rodney exclaimed, indignantly. "All is right with the world." John said. He smiles at Rodney. "What are you working on, anyway?"
"Well, you'd be surprised to hear that removing a planet from the database is actually a lot of work." Rodney replied. "I thought you'd be pretty good at that by now." John commented. "You really just can't resist bringing up the fact that I once accidentally destroyed a couple of planets, can you?" Rodney asked irritated. "It was an entire solar system." John pointed out. Rodney sighs, then offers him the laptop. "You wanna do the offers?" He asked. "No, go ahead." John answered. "All right." Rodney said. He looks at the wallscreen showing the Replicator system. "M7R-227, you were a constant pain in the ass. It's good to see you go." Rodney pushes the enter key on his laptop. ON the screen the dot designating M7R-277 beeps and flashes, then goes out. "If only that easy in real life." John commented. "Mmm. Area 51's working on it." Rodney answered. "You wanna get a late dinner?"
"Absolutely." John answered. "All right." Rodney said. He shuts down his laptop, then looks at John. "I would have loved to have seen Ellis' face when my plan worked." He stands up. "He's such a tool." He adds. He and John head off for the mess hall. "I like him." John commented. "You do?" Rodney asked. "Yeah, good guy, excellent judge of character." He answered. "Oh I see." Rodney said, he chuckles. "I see where you're going." They disappear around the corner.
Author's note, sorry I didn't post it so quickly. I work in retail and we're gearing up for black Friday, or day after thanksgiving. I will put up an original story between this one and spoils of war. Please review I always enjoy knowing I'm writing a good story.
