Sorry for the long delay everyone. Life...
So, not completely happy with this chapter, so don't be surprised if it gets updated before I post the next chapter. But it's been so long, I wanted to get something up! Thanks for the follows, favorites, feedback and private messages!
Chapter Nine
Noise. There was far too much noise as Woolsey, Cerine, and Daniel entered the medbay. Cerine still found it difficult to concentrate at times. Nurses were rushing about, and her people were all talking at each other across the triage room, trying to make sure everyone was ok. Her omnitool was exploding with messages – what would they do next, when would they be able to go back, and more; they all looked to her for answers now. Between trying to manage everything that was going on, she also still from time to time had to consciously focus her mind to keep what she'd shared with Daniel from spilling over and rendering her all but useless. It had taken too long for her to recover the last time, to lock everything away, so that she could even begin to control her biotics again. It was only a temporary solution, as she knew she couldn't keep it at bay forever. But Daniel believed they could find a way to reverse it. He said it had been done before.
Trying to refocus on the task at hand, she turned to Woolsey. "Can you tell me how she's doing?"
"I'm afraid not. I've had no updates from Dr. Keller since they went into surgery about an hour ago," Woolsey said sympathetically. "As soon as I hear something I will let you know."
"Thank you," she replied.
"I know you have a lot on your mind, and I hate to press the matter, but your people's weapons…"
Cerine frowned and her brow furrowed. "You want us to disarm?"
Woolsey nodded and glanced to Daniel, hoping he would back him up.
"Your weapons will be secure, Cerine," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Most of them are injured, so they don't need their weapons anyway. Maybe a compromise?"
"Compromise?" she asked.
"Perhaps, Mr. Woolsey would allow Bracus to keep his weapons and stand guard here in the medbay, to watch over everyone? Then we wouldn't have everyone running around armed, and you can trust that Bracus will take care of them," Daniel motioned to the large krogan standing in the corner, arms crossed as he carefully and continuously watched over the room.
She nodded her assent. Few had fought more fiercely than Bracus on their rush to the gate, and, given the evident concern on his face for their people, she had no doubt he would defend them even more fiercely if needed.
Woolsey swallowed. He wasn't sure it was much of a compromise, but he knew better than to push too hard. "Sure, that should… that should be fine."
"Very well then," Cerine replied.
Woolsey nodded approvingly.
Cerine returned a half-smile. "My biotics can split a bulkhead anyway," she remarked over her shoulder as she headed in Bracus' direction to have him begin collecting the weapons.
"Biotics?" Woolsey asked with a questioning look to Daniel.
Daniel just sighed. "I'll tell you later."
Daniel looked to the people gathered around the table in the conference room; it was very odd seeing them all together – two different worlds drawn together and he was caught in the middle. Sheppard was engaged in trying to divert McKay's attention away from Cerine, who was asking her an endless stream of annoying questions about her armor, having exhausted her knowledge of omnitools. It was hard to believe he was back on Atlantis; it seemed a lifetime away from everything he had just left. At that moment, he really just wanted to go to bed, but there was work to be done. And they were all looking to him to make sense of it.
"I know everyone has had a long day," Daniel said, finally, "and some of you are still injured, so hopefully we can make this quick."
"If you could just explain what is going on, Dr. Jackson, that would be a good start," Woolsey said and then looked to Cerine. "But first I would like to officially welcome Lt. Asil and her people to Atlantis. I appreciate your cooperation today despite all you've been through. I know it wasn't easy asking most of your people to disarm in a strange place."
Cerine nodded. "Daniel said I could trust you, Mr. Woolsey, and I likewise appreciate your trust in us. Allowing me to station armed guards with Commander Shepard gives me a great deal of relief."
"Of course, and I assure you, we want to help. This is simply a profound moment for us. In the blink of an eye the scope of life as we know it has been changed forever." He gestured to the multiple species now sitting around the table. "Krogan, turian, asari. It is encouraging to hope that perhaps in our own galaxy there are still friends yet to be made, because we certainly need them."
"I hope so, Mr. Woolsey. In our case, friends have been our only hope," Cerine replied. She placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Tell them, Daniel. It should come from you."
Daniel nodded and sighed, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. How could he begin to explain the last five months? "Right. I guess I'll just start at the beginning."
"Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard, you are needed in the control room," Banks informed them over the intercom.
Sheppard couldn't help but laugh. "Every time."
"We're in the middle of a very important meeting. Can this wait?" Woolsey responded.
"No, it cannot, Sir, or I wouldn't have interrupted," she replied matter-of-factly.
Woolsey threw up his hands and looked directly to Cerine. "Forgive me, but I beg your patience for just a few minutes, Lt. Asil. Let's go, Colonel."
Sheppard followed Woolsey out into the hallway.
"It's always something," Woolsey muttered. "They've been here an hour, and we're hardly any closer to finding out who these people are. This is to say nothing of a discovering a new type of stargate and the signal that facility was putting out that McKay accidentally shut down."
"Another day in Pegasus," Sheppard said, trying to sound reassuring.
As they neared the control room, Banks was waiting for them at the entrance.
"What's going on?" Woolsey asked.
"I think we should discuss it in your office," she replied and immediately headed in that direction.
"Well, this doesn't sound good," Sheppard remarked.
They quickly moved to Woolsey's office and Banks handed him a datapad. "A few minutes ago we detected an Asuran warship nearing our system. It just appeared out of nowhere."
"Why didn't we detect them earlier?"
"It's explained in the message," she replied and pointed to the datapad.
"Message?" Sheppard said curiously.
"Text only. Claims to be Dr. Weir. She said they had modified the ship to be undetectable to the scanner. She says they turned it off as a gesture of goodwill," Banks explained.
Sheppard's face darkened, and his stomach knotted. He turned his back to them. She couldn't be alive, if she was then he really had abandoned her. "It's a trick. Elizabeth is dead," he said and turned back to face them. "Those sons of bitches killed her."
"Indeed," Woolsey agreed with a nod.
"They are hailing us now. I have them waiting," she said. "Shall I put them on?"
Woolsey considered for a moment then nodded.
She reached over and hit a button on his desk and Elizabeth appeared on the screen on the wall.
Sheppard's eyes narrowed and he approached the screen. "Elizabeth?"
"Hello, John. It's good to see you," she said.
"How?"
"It's a long story. One I hope to tell you soon," she said. "But we need to talk. Preferably in person."
Woolsey shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dr. Weir, if that's who you are, but we can't risk that. You are in an Asuran warship. We have no way of knowing who or what you are. If you approach Atlantis, we will take it as a hostile action."
"I think you've just found something. A signal generator of some kind?"
Woolsey cocked his head. "I'm not sure what you mean."
Elizabeth stood up from her chair and approached the monitor until her face took up most of the screen. "We have to talk about this, Richard."
"You're free to tell me whatever you like," he said.
"Not like this. May I present an alternative then?" she said.
"I'm listening."
"I can provide you gate coordinates. Send Colonel Sheppard. He can bring me back under guard. We wouldn't have to bring our ship anywhere near Atlantis."
The door to the office slid open and Jennifer rushed in followed by Sinc, both quite unsettled. They pushed past Banks and Sheppard straight to Woolsey. "Mr. Woolsey…"
Woolsey held up his hand and motioned to the screen.
She glanced and it and her face went pale. "Elizabeth?"
"Hello, Dr."
Woolsey looked to Sheppard as he pondered her suggestion. "How do I know I'm not sending him into a trap?"
"You don't. But I'd argue it's hardly more dangerous than other places he's gated into countless times," she countered.
Sheppard shrugged, he couldn't argue with that, and nodded to Woolsey.
"Mr. Woolsey, I am sorry to interrupt but," she gestured to the door, "she's dying."
"Who?"
"Commander Shepard. I've slowed it, but I can't stop it. These implants…"
"We can't fix the bloody things," Sinc interrupted. "I can't hack into them. That damned Cerberus encryption is a stonewall. If I can't hack them, then I can't fix them."
"Are those cybernetic implants?" Weir asked, curiously. "What have you found, Richard?"
"It's nothing to concern yourself with," he replied.
Sheppard stepped up close to Woolsey and leaned in. "Daniel says we can't let her die."
"We're not God, Colonel. We can't control that."
"I'm just saying that Daniel's seen… a lot. If he says we need her…"
"You have an idea that I won't like, is that it? What are you suggesting?"
"He thinks I can fix these implants," Elizabeth interjected.
Woolsey frowned at her.
"You two don't whisper well," she said.
Jennifer nodded her head in agreement.
"Whoever it is, feel free to bring her. We'll do what we can."
"Very well, Dr. Weir. Just so we are clear though. Our teams are armed with anti-replicator technology. Colonel Sheppard will be under orders to use it without hesitation at the first sign anything is off."
"It sounds like we have an agreement, Mr. Woolsey. I'll transmit the gate coordinates shortly, and I'll be waiting there in thirty minutes," she said and the video feed cut off.
Woolsey rubbed his face, mulling over the list of poor options that lay before him. "If," he began thoughtfully, "we send her with you, and they help her…"
"We can't let her come back to Atlantis?" Sheppard finished for him.
"That's right, Colonel. We can't take that risk, at least not right now. Not until we understand more."
"Her people are not going to take that well," Jennifer said.
"We'll take it poor as hell," Sinc scoffed. He jerked his thumb at the monitor. "I don't know who that was, but if you think she can help Shepard… then she's Lt. Asil's new best friend and mine as well. If that woman is dangerous, and you can't let Shepard back right away, Asil may, may understand. But I can't control Jack if you piss her off too much."
"This is our problem," Woolsey lamented. "I don't even know who Jack is. We're making decisions half-blind."
"Perhaps, we should get Daniel in here?" Sheppard suggested.
Woolsey's eyes narrowed. "No, and believe me, it's not that I don't trust Dr. Jackson, but he has spent the last several months living with these people. We don't know even know what has happened exactly, and it's possible his judgment is… clouded."
"Look, I have no idea who this woman is," Jennifer interjected. "I can tell you, having interacted with several of her people, that they have everything pinned on her. They're begging to help with transfusions and some even offered to donate organs if it would help. I don't know how they'll react if she dies. But how do you imagine they'll react if they found out there was a way possibly to save her and we didn't tell them? We need to focus on saving her first. The rest of it… we'll figure out."
Woolsey took a seat at his desk. He tapped his hand on the table and then looked to Sheppard. "Get Lt. Asil in here and Daniel. Before we go running off to the replicators, I need at least the quick version of what has happened today. If Lt. Asil and I can reach an agreement, then we'll take her, but under no circumstances are you to bring her back. Not yet. We have to find what the hell is going on here, because it's obvious that the appearance of the replicators on our doorstep is not a coincidence."
