Chapter ten
They have the red and green vines on the screen, crawling over the walls and floors of Atlantis. The knots pulse and the tentacles quiver, but they don't spread further.
They can't spread further because there is a door that usually leads to the geology department, and it's looked as securely as it goes – the plants spit at it anyway.
This doesn't help the members of the geology department who are on the other side of that door or the people that could escape hardly and with several acidic burns. Nor does it look as if the doors will hold out all eternity with the thick covering of yellow sap it gained by now.
"Any suggestions how we can get rid of this plants?" Elizabeth blames Parrish, and that's okay with Parrish because he knows he is to be blamed, so he wonders not a bit that the first question is directed at him.
"It was cold and rainy on that planet, clearly below the Atlantis room temperature." Parrish suggests. "We could lower the temperature in the area, stop their growth."
"And you really think this will help?"
"I think so." Parrish says.
"Good…"Elizabeth asks Radek who sits at the same spot as before. "Can we do that?"
"Yes, we can lower temperature within a few minutes." Radek says and already starts giving the commands to the age old systems of their ancient city.
"I am going to set up a team that can evacuate the geology department…" The Security officer says and Elizabeth nods to that as well. He runs off, out of the control room and down the stairs, which is a lot like Lorne or Sheppard would react, Parrish notices.
Zelenka sighs and leans back in his chair. "I hope this works…"
o
It's more futuristic than normally, or at least seems so. The design of the hall is familiar but more clinic and white than Atlantis usually is, less homely than Atlantis could be on her worst days. Well, that only makes sense, Lorne thinks, because there are no rooms designed as living area around, not a single beach or alcove to sit in - and Atlantis is great in providing such tiny corners of comfort.
The halls go on forever, doors to the right and to the left, and it's only Rodney's scanner that tells them when they have to turn to the right to reach the central room.
"Okay…" Rodney says and stops the entire group in front of a bigger door. "Behind that one is the main hall leading to the control room…" He's calling it control room now because he hopes it IS the control room. "It has energy, so you should be able to open it with your gene…" Rodney gestures for Sheppard.
"You've got the gene too…" Sheppard drawls but moves anyway.
There is not time to argue much, as comfortable as it is for them. It's not for the others; Lathia has stopped whimpering a while back and judging by the looks of Carson that's all but a good sign.
He palms the control and thinks open very hard, there's nothing at first and he tries harder.
"Colonel…"
"I am trying Rodney." He thinks harder and frowns at the door. "I think we need more than one person to open it…"
"More than one?" Cadman echoes. "There is just one panel…" She's securing the hall behind the others and can't look on Rodney's scanner but he pulls it tighter to his chest anyway.
"Very observant, really." Rodney snaps at her and glares at the door. "Carson…"
"Me?" Beckett almost whines, really he can be brave, and is it when he has to rescue his patients in the middle of a battlefield, but opening unknown doors…
"Yes, you…" Rodney gestures for him and Carson helps Suni to lean the Major against the door before moving forward, laying his hand on Sheppard's. "Now Concentrate…"
"Not enough yet." Sheppard sighs.
"Not enough yet?" Rodney grumbles. "Really, what kind of stupid door is that," he pushes the others away and tries to pry open the panel for closer observation of the door mechanics.
"I am not sure you should really do that Rodney…" Sheppard points out after his scientist fumbles around for several minutes without managing to open the damn panel. "Lorne has the gene too and you have the artificial one… we'll try again together."
"Fine, than we'll try together." Rodney steps back and grumbles.
John lays his hand on the console first, than Carson follows and they drag Lorne, who bites down on the pain of his leg with all the willpower he has, over too, palming the panel together.
The door sighs deeply in their minds, welcoming them after a half eternity of loneliness than it slides open and reveals a long hall glowing in a bluish light.
The mile long hall is broader than those they walked till now and dominated by cluster after cluster of blue tubes on the walls ; some are dead, others merely flicker or glow brightly.
Sheppard and his gun go first, Rodney and his scanner follow.
"Wow…" Rodney blinks and adjusts his scanner. "That's… just…"
"Rodney?" Lorne and Carson come next directly behind Rodney and this time it's Lorne who asks what's going on before Sheppard has a chance.
"Stasis pods…" Rodney mutters and walks over to one of the walls. "Every single one of these tubes is a small stasis pod. The amount of energy… it's just gigantic."
"Stasis pod for what?" Carson asks, and watches Rodney. Ronon and the others fill in behind them and slowly move past.
"Biological material. Cells, seeds and such stuff."
o
The plan works and the plants still, so the, for Parrish, nameless Major who organises the event and his men gear up in hazmat suits which will hopefully keep off the acid for long enough to pry open the doors and get the people out.
Parrish can see them on the security feed, walking through the dense forest of vines from the nearest transport unit to the thick door behind which the geology department is caught. It has something off the first landing on the moon, on a green flesh dissolving moon that only holds still because they have cooled the surroundings down to a temperature close to the freezing point.
"How is it going Major?" Weir asks from beside Parrish, and the Major on screen waves lamely at the camera that's half way hid by the foliage.
"The hazmat suits seem to work, the acid has thickened and seems to be slower in reaction too." He continues his slow walk through the foliage. His men behind him carry boxes with additional suits for the members of the geology. "We are half way at the door…"
"If people are out, we can lower temperature below freezing point for a few hours…" Zelenka adds from his position at the console. "The plants should be dead after that."
"Good, very good." Elizabeth allows herself a relieved breath.
"Ma'am it's time for another contact…" Chuck calls out and she gives her okay to the dialling of the gate with a short stiff nod. Parrish sighs and concentrates back on the screen, he can't help there, he can't do a thing.
The gate comes alive a couple of moments later and the process of calling for the missing teams starts all over again, hopefully with more success.
o
The stasis tubes contain biological components, genetic material as far as the scanner can show – which isn't much because it's not much more than a slightly advanced version of the hand held sensors they usually have. Rodney hasn't configured it for something like this to begin with so he has that and his eyes.
Lorne stops counting the clusters at the walls after a few minutes, stops trying to guess what the dark dots and bubbles inside the bluish tubes could be, anything looks like a strange scene out of a sci-fi movie. Even has something out off Matrix - though he never liked that movie much, besides, the light makes his head ache even more than it already does.
"You alright Major?"
Suni asks and he shakes her concern off with a small smile that's more of a grimace than anything else.
"I am okay…" He lies and looks at the rest of his team, wounded in one way or the other. Especially Lathia status makes him uneasy; she's still and pale and blood is soaking the bandage to the point at which it's dribbling down to the floor. "How's Lathia?"
"Not good, the acid still goes on and I can't do much…" Carson explains from Lorne's other side and drags the Major on.
"Do not worry Major Lorne, Lathia is strong." Teyla consoles him and Lorne just winces in the dull pain of his next step.
"Okay, next door…" Rodney announces as soon as the large portal comes into view. The opening of this one isn't less complicated but opens with a less obscene sigh. There is another door, probably for security or lock down purposes that's smaller, but opens the same way, than they stand in a central room approximately as big as the 'lantean gate room, without a gate though.
It's more Atlantis style now, with a couple of couches or beds in the corner, furniture, screens on which the ancient coding runs and dried up room plants – that really nobody dares to come to close to after their battle with the vines.
Rodney makes a beeline for the central console in the middle of the room. It's raised over the rest of the room and he nearly stumbles over the couple of stairs because he tries to look on the screens hanging around and on the scanner at once. He curses out loud – reminding anyone that he, merely weeks ago, was shot into his gluteus maximus and Cadman giggles.
Ronon marches over to one of the couch things without much care for anything around, Carson and Suni lead Lorne into the same direction to set the Major down on one of the pieces of furniture. He's grateful to finally get off his foot and half way falls into the couch pillows.
Most of the others sit down to look after their scrapes and bruises once the door closes with a satisfied sigh and Sheppard does a last headcount, shares a worried look with his second who's watching how Carson fusses of Lathia, than follows his scientist. "Rodney…"
"Busy…" The scientist snaps, hands and eyes flying over several spots of the console at the same time.
"I see that…" Sheppard is tired too and rubs through his hair. "Have you found a way to reach the gate?"
"I have to find the schematics of this whole basis first - because the scanner really doesn't show me much more than the simple structures – have to find out where the shielding and energy signature comes from – it's possible that there is another room to control that from.." He looks up to find Sheppard glare at him and rolls his eyes. "I am working on it, okay?"
"Good…"
o