Gene Warfare, by Rowana Farrin
Chapter Eleven
Sheppard allowed himself to relax a little. Only a dozen or so Wraith darts remained, drifting harmlessly through space. It finally looked as though they might actually get through this. He glanced up at the floating Hive ship. It had been silent for several minutes, despite the fact that Atlantis lay defenseless below it. Yet, it was still moving.
"Atlantis, this is Sheppard," he called.
"We're still here, John." Elizabeth's relief was audible, even over the radio.
"That's good to hear," Sheppard replied amiably. "But you do realize you still have a Hive ship heading straight for you?"
An uncomfortable silence followed the remark.
"This is not good," McKay's pessimistic tones broke the quiet.
"McKay?" Sheppard tried to keep his voice calm, but he was a little too tense.
"The Hive ship isn't decelerating!" McKay explained in a rush. "At its current trajectory it'll crash less than a mile from the city!"
Sheppard winced. That was close. "So, what's the problem?" he asked.
"The problem?!" Rodney's voice rose incredulously. "The problem is that the impact will create a tidal wave twice as big as any we've previously seen! And without a shield, the city will sink and we'll all drown! That is if we aren't crushed to death first!"
"So, fix the damn shield!" John snapped angrily. He tried to push the puddle jumper's engines to go faster, but he knew that even if he could reach the Hive, he wouldn't be able to stop it. There was nothing he could do. And he hated it.
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McKay tried to think through the panic in his brain. Certain doom twice in one day was not good for his infernal pessimism. How was he supposed to fix a destroyed shield generator in a matter of minutes? He stopped rambling as a thought came to him. Not fix the generator, replace it! That might work! If only he had enough time.
"Hermiod!" he shouted over the radio. "I need to be in the engine room!"
A flash of white light and he was faced with the impassive Asgard. "What are you planning, Dr. McKay?" he asked calmly.
"I need to borrow the Daedalus's shield generator crystals," he said urgently.
Hermiod's large black eyes narrowed. "Many of the crystals are undergoing repair," he reminded, "and they may not be compatible with Ancient technology."
"We don't have time for debate," McKay barked. "Beam me and the crystals to the damaged generator, now!"
Hermiod made a few irritated remarks in the Asguard language. A second later, McKay was standing in the remains of the northwest generator station. It was in ruins. Most of the ceiling had collapsed into piles of rubble that blocked the corridors. Only the dim glow of emergency lights and McKay's small flashlight lit the small space remaining to stand in. The generator itself was in shambles and emitting occasional annoyed sparks into the gloom.
"Oh, boy," Rodney muttered.
This was worse than he had thought. Even with replacements from the Daedalus, he wasn't sure if he could fix it, much less on a time limit. He stuck the flashlight in his teeth and heaved away some of the debris.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth called urgently, "what are you doing?"
He had to take the flashlight out of his mouth to respond. "I'm trying to interface the Daedalus's shield generator crystals with the city's," he informed her. "If it works, we should be able to get the shield working at least long enough to avoid total destruction."
"Can we help?" she asked.
"You can stop bothering me with annoying questions and let me get to work!" he replied, a little more forcefully than he'd meant.
He yanked a panel off the wall and gazed inside at the shattered crystals. "Oh, boy," he muttered again. This was going to take a lot of work.
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The Hive careened through the atmosphere, gathering momentum as it went. Fire and heat seared its side until it looked more like a fireball than a ship. Parts of it were breaking off and flying away under the stress and friction. Only the shear size of the vessel allowed most of it to remain intact through the descent.
"We're gonna crash!" Carson cried, clinging to the Wraith controls.
"So, stop it!" Ronon demanded. He was fighting to stay upright as the ship shook itself apart around them.
"What do ya expect me ta do!" Carson's accent was getting thicker with his terror. "I don' know the firs' thing about space ships!"
"Slow us down!" Ronon barked angrily. They did not have time to panic.
"I can't!" Carson wished he paid more attention to McKay's rambling explanations. Then, maybe, he might have at least thought of something useful. Not that Rodney had ever been stuck in a Hive ship making a nose dive for a planet.
The ocean was rushing towards them at a frightening speed. At least we missed Atlantis, Carson's frantic mind thought. Then, his was thrown forward by the violent impact and knew no more.
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Elizabeth ran out onto the balcony in time to see a massive trail of flames erupt in the ocean not far away. The site was breathtaking and, under any other circumstances, amazing. If it hadn't been so close. And so deadly.
"McKay!" she shouted over the radio.
"I'm working!" he screamed back.
Elizabeth watched in awe and fear as a wall of water rose in front of her. The moment seemed to be holding its breath as the terrifying force of nature rose above her. It towered over the city like a waterfall in space, poised to unleash its power.
"Rodney," she breathed, hardly daring to hope.
"I got it!" came the triumphant cry.
A wall of light rose to meet the water and the two collided in a crash of sound. Water coursed down the invisible dome in streams. The rising sun pierced through the rivulets of water, bathing the city in a crystal light. Elizabeth was sure she had never seen anything so beautiful.
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McKay sighed with relief. They really needed to stop cutting it so close or he was going to snap under the stress. He leaned carefully against a reasonably undamaged wall. He really needed to ask for a day off.
A sound echoed alarmingly in the stillness. McKay jumped and swung his flashlight around. This part of the city should be empty. His already strained mind raced through all the possible answers: loose debris, ventilation problem, Wraith. His breath caught. What if a Wraith had gotten into the city? He grabbed frantically at his side arm and starting pointing it in every direction.
"This is McKay!" he whispered desperately, "I think I have a problem here!"
He missed the answer as another sound made him jump and whirl around. His flashlight fell on a pile of rubble. The sound repeated itself, and this time. Rodney was sure it sounded like a cough.
"Hello?" he called tentatively.
Something shifted, dust scattered, and a small cry reached McKay's ears. He started and bent down on the floor, pointing the beam of light into the small crack between the floor and the recently dislodged ceiling. The light caught something that reflected it back, along with a string of familiar curses.
Rodney screamed and dropped both his flashlight and his gun. Taking a deep breath, he squinted through the dim light. "Radek?"
The figure coughed again, but managed to mumble a few more words in Czech that Rodney didn't recognize.
McKay sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. I thought you were..." he stopped when Radek coughed again, harder than ever. "You ok?"
More curses followed this question. Rodney winced at how bad his friend sounded. "Alright, stupid question," he admitted. Worry was starting to creep back into his mind. So far, Zelenka had yet to say anything in English and McKay was sure that being crushed under half of Atlantis could not be good for the man. He needed help, fast.
"Hang in there." He tapped his radio. "This is McKay."
"Rodney?" Elizabeth asked in concern. "What's going on down there?"
"I've found Radek," he answered urgently. "He needs help, now!"
"I can have the Daedalus beam a medical team to you," Weir suggested.
McKay shook his head, before he remembered that she couldn't see him. "There's barely enough room to breath in here. Have Hermiod beam us directly to the infirmary."
"Understood."
Seconds later, McKay was pushed aside as medical personnel rushed to treat Zelenka. Rodney caught a glance of him before his was wheeled away. He looked terrible, worse than Rodney had envisioned. He was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. His glasses were cracked and askew on his nose. The blood seemed to mostly be coming from a slash in his right arm. McKay caught a few lines from the nurses about "concussion" and "internal bleeding", but they were gone before he could demand more information.
Rodney suddenly felt exhausted. He sat down heavily on a nearby chair, just as Dr. Weir and Sheppard came running into the room.
"How is he?" Elizabeth asked kindly, noting how tired and dejected he looked.
Rodney shook his head. "I don't know," he confessed sadly. "He looked horrible. I don't think he even recognized me."
"He'll pull through," John assured him confidently.
"He'd have a better chance if Carson were still here," Rodney said quietly. "We've got to find him!" He stood up quickly. "If they were still alive, there's a chance they could have survived the crash!"
Weir's eyes lit with sudden hope, then she frowned. "But that means the Wraith could have survived as well."
"All the more reason to leave now!" Sheppard insisted.
Seeing the determined looks on both of their faces, Elizabeth relented easily. In truth, she had already decided to let them go, but she had felt the need to point out the risk. "Alright. Can the Daedalus transport a team inside?"
"No," Rodney said regretfully. "Whatever was blocking their signal is still active. We need to get inside and disable it before we can beam anyone in or out."
"How?" Weir asked.
"We'll use a jumper," Sheppard stated. "Go in, find Ronon and Carson, and get back out."
Weir nodded. "Take who you need. And good luck!" They were out the door before she could finish.
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"Did I mention how much I hate these things underwater?" McKay asked nervously.
"Many times," Teyla assured him patiently.
"We're almost there," Sheppard added.
The three of them, plus five well armed marines were on their way to the sunken Hive. At this depth, the water was inky black and the signal light affixed to the puddle jumper only illuminated a small area.
McKay peered into the blackness. "We should be close enough to...Woah!"
The purple mass of the Hive practically jumped into their vision. Even dead and crushed under several hundred feet of water, it was an unnerving sight.
Sheppard brought up the heads-up display. "We'll head for the dart bay."
"What if it is flooded?" Teyla asked.
"We should be able to find some kind of airlock," McKay said with little confidence. Sheppard eyed him critically and he sighed. "Alright, I think we could find an airlock. We don't exactly have many options here."
"Alright," Sheppard said jovially. "Let's find an airlock."
As it turned out, the Dart bay shield was thin, but still intact and keeping the water at bay. Sheppard landed the jumper on one of the empty docks and they all disembarked.
"Three of you stay with the jumper," he ordered the Major. "The rest, with me."
The commanding marine nodded and sent two of his men with Sheppard's team, while he remained. They moved slowly into the interior of the ship, Sheppard eyeing his life-signs detector as they went.
"Teyla, are you sensing any Wraith?" he asked suddenly.
"No," she replied. "Nothing."
"I'm not getting any life signs, either."
"What does that mean?" McKay asked anxiously.
Sheppard cut him off with a hand as he spotted a shape in one corner.
"Stay here," he ordered the marines.
"What is it?" McKay asked as he, Teyla, and Sheppard moved to investigate.
Sheppard glared at him to be quiet as the glow of their flashlights lit the slumped figure. It was a Wraith. Sheppard poked it tentatively with his gun.
"It's dead," he said with surprise.
"What?" McKay was just as shocked, "How?"
"I'd sure like to know," Sheppard confessed.
The Hive ship rocked suddenly and a door behind them slid shut with a snap. They ran back to find themselves separated from the two marines.
"McKay!" Sheppard snapped.
McKay already had his laptop hooked into the door panel and was typing madly. "It's no good," he admitted. "The ship is sealing parts of itself to prevent flooding."
"Does that mean that this hallway is filling with water?" Teyla asked urgently.
"Yes," he answered.
"So, get the door open!" Sheppard ordered. "Thompson and Rilley are in there!"
"I can't!" McKay snapped angrily. "Even if I could override the security protocols, the compartment is filling too fast to get them out in time!"
"Try!" Sheppard demanded.
"It's already too late!" McKay insisted, but turned back to his laptop.
Sheppard glared at him in fury and glanced down at his life-signs detector. Five dots registered on the screen. He watched pensively as McKay continued to work. Minutes later, two dots had winked out. Thompson and Rilley were dead and the puddle jumper was on the other side of the blocked door. Sheppard and his team were trapped on the rapidly flooding Hive ship.
TBC…
AN: I wouldn't make it that easy! ;) Thanks to everyone who's been sticking with me! I finally figured out how private messages and such work, so I'll be giving my reviewers some happy replies as thanks. Sorry that I forgot about Teyla for so long. I have a hard time writing her so she sometimes gets ignored.