TEN MINUTES EARLIER
Reviewing mission reports in his office, Richard Woolsey was not really all that surprised when the gate alarms began sounding. He may have jumped a little when the first siren went, not that he'd admit it to anyone. He briefly considered having the sounds lowered slightly so they weren't so… shocking.
Standing, he glanced at the list on his desk of off-world teams, his eyes immediately signaling out the names of the group he'd flagged as potential issues. He'd crossed off SGA1 earlier this morning after the Colonel and his team had successfully returned to the city from 322. Now the top seeded rank went to SGA2 who'd had a medical emergency requiring Dr. Keller. He stepped around his desk and out onto the hallway.
"Unscheduled off-world activation," Chuck announced as Richard approached. The gate tech turned towards him. "Major Lorne's IDC."
Richard blinked and tried not to sigh. Of course it was. "Lower the shield," he ordered, wondering just what had gone wrong this time.
He moved towards the railing overlooking the main floor.
Richard wasn't sure quite what he expected to be coming through the gate… he had seen a lot in his tenure as base commander… but he certainly wasn't prepared for Lieutenant Browne and the city's second in command to exit the wormhole with a very superman'esque flight. The two men landed heavily on the marbled floor, half rolling, half sliding to a skidding halt at the feet of the positioned security teams.
"Cutting it close a bit there, sir?" Browne grimaced, shoving himself up to his knees.
"You're alive, aren't you?" Evan retorted, standing.
Blinking away his surprise when the wormhole closed and no one else had come through, Richard hurried down the stairs. "Major?" he called out.
"No time to explain," the Major announced, showing Richard his palm. "Is the Colonel back?"
"Colonel Sheppard and his team returned earlier this morning," one of the lieutenants answered.
Richard shook his head, nothing their lack of protective gear and weapons. "Major, where are your… things?"
Major Lorne tapped his earpiece and pushed Lieutenant Browne towards the back of the gate room. "Major Lorne to Colonel Sheppard."
Richard stepped aside as the two men barreled past him. "Uh… Major?" he called after their retreating backs. "Major? Is something wrong? Where are the others? Major?"
The Director sighed as the two men disappeared at a half-run. Part of him wanted to follow after and demand answers, and the other half wanted to plead ignorance and wait for the mission report. He had a sinking feeling that this was going to be one of those times where he was going to have to edit heavily before sending the paperwork to the SGC.
.
.
John and Ronon were the first of the reinforcements to reach the jumper bay. They jogged straight towards Evan.
"Major," John nodded, his expression grim as he hurried up the ramp and into the jumper. "Let's get this show on the road."
"How can they freeze a planet?" Rodney huffed as came around the corner and into the hangar, waiving his arms madly at the man beside him. "It was a tropical paradise a few hours ago! I bet Keller had something to do with it."
Evan shook his head in surprise at the sight of the man hurrying alongside the scientist—Dr. Carson Beckett.
His mind flip flopped back and forth between the knowledge that Carson was back in the city, and the fact that Sheppard had brought along a doctor. Stupidly he hadn't thought about requesting a doctor; his entire psyche was filled with panic to the jumper and back to the planet. Further proof that his brain was completely off track with this entire situation. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly and this just proved his point. He needed to get his head away from his heart and concentrate on getting her back—them back—alive and in one piece. He shook off his confusion and forced himself to push the who was being rescued out of his mind. He'd be no good to her if he couldn't concentrate.
"Evan, lad," Carson nodded, clamping his hand on Evan's shoulder as they hurried up into the Jumper.
"I didn't even know you were back in the city," Evan apologized, taking the two bags Carson carried and stowing them.
"He's only been back an hour," Rodney commented as he dropped into a rear seat. "And this was supposed to be our day off."
"Aye, and I'm sure we'll continue with our day once we retrieve Dr. Keller and the others, Rodney," Carson chastised.
"Well I'm glad you're here," Evan nodded, slamming a cap on the well of panic that was churning in his gut.
Evan brushed past the others and dropped himself into the co-pilots seat. He'd had half a desire to fly the damn thing himself, not trusting anyone else with the fear he was feeling, but in this case the Colonel's uncanny communication connection with Ancient tech won the argument.
Browne slapped his hand across the rear hatch access, closing the back. The second Sheppard claimed the pilots seat, the ship began to lift off the floor.
Rodney reached beneath his seat and extracted a tablet. "It's a good thing we made these damn things standard issue on these jumpers with the way you guys plan rescue missions," he muttered, jabbing his fingers at the screen.
"Because rescue missions always give us time for planning," Ronon scowled as he balanced himself on the bulkhead between the forward and rear sections.
"I'm just saying…" Rodney turned to the Satedan, then decided better of it. Instead he shifted his attention to Evan. "The ZPM was empty?"
Evan glanced at his watch. "As of five minutes ago, it would have been completely drained."
"Well there's no information about the lab in the Ancient Database," Rodney announced, frowning at his tablet. "If they were me they would have constructed it with highly insulating materials and a better backup plan but they weren't me so I'm guessing they're working with regular Ancient construction materials and no backup plan."
"Which means?" John prompted as the jumper cleared the ceiling access and dropped into the gate room.
"Which means," Rodney glanced up, "you need to step on it."
Evan punched in the gate address. The jumper rotated towards the forming wormhole.
"There were no injuries?" Carson asked.
Evan shook his head. "Everyone was fine when we left, Doc… but when they lost the ZPM they lost their only source of heat. The air outside was closing on 100 degrees below."
The jumper shot forward, propelling them across the event horizon.
John whistled when the white world came into view. "Damn, that's one hell of a winter wonderland you've got there Major."
The world below them was frozen as far as they could see. The setting sun floated low on the horizon, adding a yellowed glow to the sparkling surface. On another occasion the artist in him may have noted the beauty. But at the moment he could see only death.
There was no way there was anything left alive.
The HUD flickered across the front screen of the jumper.
"There," Evan pointed to a structure outlined on the map of the planet. Inside the outline blinked three small red dots. The flickering lights soothed his frayed nerves like a balm. They were still alive.
"Less than two minutes," John announced, glancing at the display.
Evan bit down on the demand to go faster, knowing full well the Jumper was moving at its atmospheric limit. Guilt twisted his insides into a painful knot. They were living on borrowed time, and he'd left them behind.
As he'd done over the entire run from the lab to the DHD, Evan planned and discarded a dozen other options they could have tried to get them all back to the city. But no matter how many different variations he analyzed, splitting up and making a run for it had been the only option with the highest save percentage.
It had to work.
He glanced over his shoulder at his Lieutenant, who was hovering behind Ronon, eyes on the HUD. Browne answered with his own bleak stare. They were sitting comfortably in a jumper while their friends froze to death on the planet below.
Fuck.
As though reading his thoughts, the Colonel asked about the outside temperature.
"Minus ninety-six point five and falling," Rodney confirmed. "Dropping to negative two fifty three once the sun goes down, which is in fourteen minutes."
"And we're sure there's no insulation in the building?" John asked.
The HUD shifted into a closer view of the ancient lab, overlaying floor plans with the highlighted structural diagram. The central area of the facility was horseshoed by a half dozen smaller rooms. In the middle of the biggest area, three blinking dots were nearly overlapping.
Rodney leaned forward. "Standard materials. No additional insulation. Without shield protection its completely exposed. Stupid, if you ask me. I mean who constructs a building on a planet that's two hundred and fifty three degrees below zero in the middle of summer without an added layer of insulation?"
John glanced over his shoulder. "How cold will it get inside?"
Rodney blinked. "The same as the outside?" he said, as though speaking to a child.
John made a face. "How quickly will the inside temperature drop?"
Rodney made a quick calculation on his tablet. "If they used standard construction materials… it should be… seventy-three point two degrees below zero. Or so."
"Or so?" John quizzed.
"Well I'm not inside the building with a thermometer, now am I?" the scientist retorted.
Carson leaned into the aisle. "Extreme cold can be quite dangerous. They haven't been exposed very long, but I admit the rapid drop in temperature is a bit concerning. We may be dealing with elements far passed simple hypothermia and frostbite."
The Doctor's words hit at Evan like a punch to the gut. "How bad," he managed to ask, thinking of the deer forever frozen in position near the DHD.
Carson tipped his head as though considering his answer. Evan could tell from the man's expression that the answers were not good. The Doctor quickly shook off whatever he'd been about to say. "Luckily the Ancients have made amazing discoveries in reanimating frozen tissue," he finally said.
"Reanimating frozen tissue?" John glanced over his shoulder at Beckett. "We're not defrosting burgers, Doc."
Carson made a face. "I'm not talking about heating leftovers in a microwave, Colonel. Earth doctors have been working on reviving animals frozen alive for quite some time."
"Animals…" Ronon scowled. "Not people."
"The principle works the same as with cryogenics, Ronon, only a wee bit more… well let's just say that the Ancients appear to have perfected the technique of reviving a healthy adult exposed to extreme temperatures. Although I have yet to see it in action myself."
"Well you may be getting that chance," John said, his voice betraying too much emotion.
Evan turned towards the Colonel, then glanced at the HUD. His heart skipped a beat then added an extra stutter step. There were now only two lifesigns.
"We've lost one," John noted, indicating the presence of only two life-signs.
Carson hopped up and moved towards the back of the jumper. Ronon and Browne parted to give him access. "How much time, Colonel," he called out.
"Thirty seconds," John called out.
Evan jumped out of his seat. "What do you need, Doc?"
Carson reached into the overhead storage area. He pulled out one of the cold weather suits and tossed it at Evan. "You'll need this, Major." He threw another one at Browne, and pulled another out for himself. He glanced at Ronon. "Sorry big man, I doubt they'll fit."
Evan didn't need to see Ronon's expression to know the Satedan was not happy at being left out.
"These aren't going keep long," Carson nodded as he grabbed a set for himself. "But hopefully it will provide enough protection to get us inside and get them out."
"Wait, wait, wait," Rodney called out, snapping his fingers. He waved his hand at the Colonel. "How close can you get?"
"To the building?" John glanced up as Rodney stepped up to the console.
"Yes, yes," Rodney pointed to the HUD. "If you can get us to within twenty feet, I can extend the shield. That way we can just lower the hatch and bring them inside."
"Like your whale?"
"Yes." Rodney nodded emphatically. "Exactly."
Evan tossed the exposure suit aside and pushed into the cockpit. The building appeared on the horizon, shrouded in trees on three sides. The entire surface area was sparkling white.
"There," he pointed to the back corner where there was a small open area.
"Not close enough," Rodney jabbed at the two dots. "We need to get closer."
Evan shook his head. "Any closer and we'll be inside the building."
"Then we'll be inside the building," John nodded, swinging the jumper around and dropping it into the narrow clearing behind the building.
Evan didn't miss the guarded tone in the Colonel's voice. It usually followed a seat-of-the-pants maneuver that cut awfully close to crazy… but right now, staring at the blinking double dots, Evan was pretty sure crazy was exactly what they needed.
"You can't be serious," Rodney exclaimed, sinking quickly into his chair. "Of course you're serious."
"Well if you're making us a door, Colonel," Carson added, taking a seat across from Rodney. "I suggest you get to it."
"Brace yourself," John called out.
Evan stared hard at the still-blinking dots on the display. The explosion left a huge, smoking crater in the side of the building, but the dots didn't waiver. He let out the breath he'd been holding as the Colonel swung the jumper around and backed smoothly in through the wide, jagged opening.
"Good thing these guys made tall ceilings," John muttered, glancing up through the torn and tattered building structure.
The jumper settled onto the floor. The Colonel stood and turned towards Rodney expectantly.
Rodney picked up his tablet, his fingers expertly dancing across the screen. "Almost…and….done."
"Lets get our people," John ordered, moving quickly to the back of the jumper, with Evan and Carson at his heels.
Ronon slammed his hand down on the hatch release, dropping the tailgate. Cold air slapped across their skin. Evan swore, his breath closing around him with a misty warning. Even the walls were frozen.
"Shit," John exhaled. "Keep the engine warm," he called out to Rodney.
Crunching quickly across the frozen floor, they maneuvered through the debris towards the white layered door near the back of the room. Evan reached for a piece of debris blocking the access panel.
Carson grabbed his wrist, holding his hand. "Don't touch, Major. It's still cold enough to burn the skin."
"Right," Evan nodded, using his shoulder to shove the panel to the floor. He swiped his hand across the now exposed sensor.
The door creaked, but remained firmly closed.
John reached forward and tried the door access himself, but it remained firmly sealed.
"It's frozen," Ronon shoved at John's shoulder. "Move." He pulled his blaster and aimed a concussive blast at the door. "Now try."
John rolled his eyes at the Satedan. "Can't get through a day without shooting something…" He turned and waved his hand in front of the sensor. With a soft beep the door swung open. "Nice job, Chewey."
They hurried into the room. In the narrow band of light from the open doorway, they could make out three bundled figures piled on the frosted floor.
"Oh hell," Evan exhaled as he ran forward and dropped to his knees next to Jennifer. He threaded his fingers under the woolen strip around her neck, frantically seeking a pulse. Her skin was cold. So cold. A tiny flicker of rhythm tapped against the pads of his fingers. He held his breath, willing himself to believe she was still alive. That he wasn't too late.
"Get Ellis to the jumper," Carson ordered, turning towards Ronon. "Immediately."
Evan knew by the Doctor's tone that the missing life sign was that of the young Lieutenant.
Without hesitation Ronon hefted Ellis up over his shoulder. He covered the ground to the exit with purposeful strides.
Evan picked up Jennifer's still form. His heart nearly stopped beating when her frozen clothing creaked. She hung stiffly in his arms, frozen and unmoving. He said a silent prayer in hopes Carson was right about the Ancient tech.
Carson waved John over to help him with Sanchez. "Help me get him up, Colonel."
The two men hauled Sanchez up and dragged him back to the jumper with Evan and his precious cargo following at their heels.
.