Be Happy, chapter 9
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. I just write about them.
Author: Pajus
The Ancients have returned to Atlantis a few hours ago. Both Radek and Elizabeth could imagine a worse end of their stay in the city, but this didn't seem fair. They already planned their marriage in Atlantis and now they'll have to find something else. Maintaining their relationship wasn't such a big problem as they feared at first. During the first week back on Earth, Radek received some very interesting offers to work in various research projects - most of them in the United States, some of them even gate related. Radek chose to stay as close to Elizabeth as possible and joined colonel Carter's research group at the SGC. But his worries grew bigger and bigger. Elizabeth was sad of being forced to leave Atlantis and Radek could clearly see it.
After six weeks on Earth Radek got a new thing to worry about. The Asurans conquered Atlantis and the Daedalus was sent to eliminate the threat. The research teams around colonel Carter and dr Lee were tasked with finding a way to beam a nuke through the shield protecting Atlantis. Elizabeth came to colonel Carter's lab a few hours later. "I need to speak with you in private, honey" she said after planting a kiss on Radek's cheeck. "OK, Elizabeth" Radek led her to his office.
As soon as the door closed Elizabeth started talking about John's plan to take back Atlantis. "We need you to stall the effort of your research group. Caldwell is ordered to nuke Atlantis and anyone in it. The ZPM is tied into the Daedalus's power systems, so the intergalactic trip will take only four days. We should have the city back by then". Radek couldn't believe his ears. This was the Elizabeth he fell in love with. But he would hate himself for the rest of his life should anything happen to her. He didn't have a choice. He had to help them. "OK, sweetie. I'll help you. But you have to understand that colonel Carter is a lot smarter than Rodney. I know, how to do this, but there is a good chance I'll be discovered. If it comes to that..." Radek didn't have to finish his speech. Both knew what whould happen. He wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and kissed her as if it would be for the last time. Maybe this is the last time...
Colonel Carter, dr Lee and their research groups were basically trying to modify the frequency of the asgard beam to penetrate a shield of known propperties. Radek's idea was to rewrite the command software of the beam to ignore all commands except the activation command. The monitors showed the modified frequency to be set, but the beam actually always operated with the default settings that showed zero penetration. Then he had a virus waiting in the control system. As soon as a piece of measuring equipment was attached into the system, the virus convinced it to show exactly what it was supposed to show - zero penetration in all tests. Dr Lee was already going desperate from the lack of results when the message arrived. Colonel Sheppard and his team were successfull in taking back Atlantis. Radek felt more relief than ever before. Their plan worked. Radek carefully removed all his "tweaks" from the base computers looking forward to see Elizabeth in a few days.
"Dr Weir? The Apollo just dropped out of hyperspace" The technician on duty was happy to see more vessels were allocated here. "Thank you. Colonel Ellis? This is dr Weir. Please meet me in the Atlantis conference room". Elizabeth was really concerned this time. It was sure the Asurans were building new ships and she was eager to learn about the plan to stop them.
"Two Asgard vessels, the Valhalla and the Samantha Carter, will arrive tomorrow. All three ships will then proceed to Asuras and fire their anti-Replicator weapons. We believe that the three simultaneous strikes from different sides of the planet will eliminate all Replicators before their drones can reach us. If our plan succeeds, Asuras will be completely unguarded. Hundereds of zero point modules and thousands of drones only waiting for us to come and clain them. Questions?" Colonel Ellis finished his explaination looking around the conference room for questions. Elizabeth leaned forward in her chair and fired one away "What resources do you need from us?" "I'll need to turn the Apollo into one big ARW. All avaiable engineers and damage control teams you can spare. And I'll also need drs McKay and Zelenka on the Apollo during the mission" The colonel answered quickly and decisively. Elizabeth didn't like the idea of Radek being in harm's way again, but there was nothing she could do. The IOA ordered her to support the Apollo with all means at her disposal. She nodded in agreement and dismissed the meeting.
Elizabeth went into Radek's lab right after the meeting. She found him gathering his gear. The man she loved so much was going into battle again. He survived the first one, but this it will be far more difficult. She couldn't stop the tears when he hugged her. "Be safe Radek. I really need you alive right now" "Don't worry Elizabeth. I'll be fine" He planted a gentle kiss on her lips, took his gear and went to the beaming site.
"The Asgard have arrived, sir" the operators voice was the on of a military man - straight and without emotions. "Open a channel. This is colonel Abe Ellis of the Earth vessel Apollo. Welcome to the Pegasus galaxy" The colonel realized this will be the first time he'll see an Asgard. The big head of an Asgard appeared on the monitor almost immediately "This is commander Aegir of the Valhalla. We appreciate the welcome. What is the status of your vessel". Colonel Ellis appreciated the Argard straight-to-the-point attitude "We're ready to go, commander" "Very well, colonel. Lead the way" The Asgard voice showed no emotion at all. "Captain Willis, set a course for Asuras, maximum speed". "Yes, sir" The captain typed the commands into his console and five seconds later the Apollo diappeared in the hyperspace window.
"Begin the ARW powerup sequence the moment we exit hyperspace" McKay wasn't used to take orders from soldiers, but this wasn't Atlantis. Besides, the colonel was friendly and respected the contributions both scientists made to this mission. "Dropping us out of hyperspace. The improved Asgard plotting program worked, sir. We're in range or the ARW" Rodney could hear the relief in the captain's voice as he typed the commands and watched the progress of the ARW charging sequence. "OK. The weapon will be ready to fire in fifteen seconds. The discharge itself will take ten more" Rodney was clearly nervous this time. The Asgard shield could take a lot of pounding, but it was never tested against drones. "Weapons fire coming from the surface, sir. We have incoming drones! Estimate impact in twenty seconds. Both Asgard vessels are under fire as well" Rodney felt pure fear as he heard the captain, his only hope laid in the slowly progressing status bar. "The weapon is fully charged!!!" Rodney screamed so that noone on the ship could miss the good news. "Fire" The colonel's voice still wasn't showing any signs of emotion. Rodney got to his feet and watched the blue wave enveloping the planet's surface. But he also saw hundereds of bright yellow lights approaching at a rate he never considered possible. Ten seconds later he heard the voice of colonel Ellis again "Engage hyperdrive. Get us outta here", but at the same moment he felt the ground under his legs shaking as the first drones hit the Apollo's shield. Radek was standing in the reactor room overseeing the power distribution for the weapon. He could also feel the earthquake and also knew what it means. Suddenly the deck shook even more and Radek could hear the thundering sound of explosions. The last thing he saw was a drone punching its way through the floor and exploding twenty feet from where Radek was. The explosion was like a invisible hand that took his body and tossed him across the room. He saw Elizabeth's face right in front of him and said "Miluju tě" before he passed out.
AN : Minor spoilers for episode 'First strike'
This is my very first story. R&R please.
