Extinction Event11
A wave hit. From the outside. Silent. Deadly. A shock wave that swept through the rocks, the ground. Through every living thing.
John felt it pass harmlessly through him. Clearing his mind. Stopping the pain. Clearing his vision. He almost pulled the trigger but paused, glancing to see the blinking lights of the C4 charges stuck to the giant rock in the wall.
"Three...two..." John didn't finish as the boom erupted. He hunched, covering his ears, ducking down as the screeching ceased. Rocks flew in every direction. The big one blocking the tunnel shuddered, then splintered into several pieces. Dangerous projectiles that flew like toys across the cavern. The whole mountain seemed to shake, to groan. The grenade burst abruptly. An explosion of pale flesh and writhing eggs flew into the air in every direction. A stench made some choke, others vomit. Then all was still. Silent.
John cautiously lifted his head. Opened his eyes. Uncovered his ears. Silence. Shafts of sunlight penetrated several new holes in the rocky surface, but the way was clear. He moved to his feet, eyed the men. They were standing, brushing off debris. Shaking their heads clear.
"Good God!" Evan swore. The tunnel was littered with dead creatures. Torn to pieces by the explosions. Among the debris were shattered eggs. Little embryos trapped in slime and gore. Tiny hands outstretched, now still.
"Sir? That wasn't us. Not that first blast of...of whatever..." Jason informed.
"I know." John sprinted out of the cave but stopped short. The ground was littered with dead sub-Wraith here as well, although they had been clear of the explosions. Bodies ripped. Pulverized. Heads smashed. A line from the caves leading to the Jumper where groups lay en masse, as if abruptly collapsing and dying. It was an eerie sight. The silence was heavy. Absolute. John ran to his ship. "Get to your Jumpers! Moira! Moira!" The shield nearly knocked him backwards but he halted. "Moira," he calmed his voice, as his heart raced. "I need you to lower the shield now. Power down, sweetheart." He couldn't see her in the viewport. He ran round to the hatch. "Moira? Power down. I'm here now."
Moira blinked. She was slumped on the floor, protectively hunched over her abdomen. She staggered to her feet. "John?" The ship sparked. Hummed. Grew quiet as the shields dropped. She stared out the viewport. Stared in absolute horror.
John opened the hatch. Ran in and shut it behind him. "Moira!" He moved to the front of the ship. "Moy, are you all right? Sweetheart?"
Moira couldn't believe her eyes. The dead creatures all over the ground. Too many to count. The caves blown apart. More bodies littering the rocks. The utter stillness. She turned to him. Her face was pale. Brown eyes huge. "John...John...I...I...I had to stop them. They would have buried you alive! They were hurting the, the, the baby..." She touched her abdomen.
John set down his gun. Moved to her. Gently touched her hand there. "John junior? Is he okay?"
"Now, yes. They, they were hurting the baby, John! I could feel it! I just wanted the pain, the noise to stop, to stop. I..." She felt a wave of tears.
John tore off his TAC vest. Pulled her into his arms, against him. "Ssh, Moy. You did make it stop. I'm sorry! I should have realized their subsonic frequencies could even penetrate the ship." He eyed the controls. "The scan. You amplified the scan into a weapon. A reverse subsonic pulse," he realized, stunned. Staring at the readings on the screen.
"I...I didn't mean...I...I'm a monster, John!" She clung to him, hiding her face against him.
"No." He kissed her hair. "Not at all, sweetheart. Wow. That superpower of yours...wow. It's all right, Moira. Let's get you home. I want Carson to check both of you."
"I am! I am!" She pushed back to meet his gaze, eyes wet. "I killed them! With, with a thought! Not even a conscious one! How could I do that? John, John, I–"
"Ssh." He kissed her lips. "We all did, Moy, which was the objective of the mission. You protected our child. You protected yourself. And me. That's all that matters." He moved her gently towards the seat. "Let's go home, sweetheart."
"No! I...I killed all of them? I...did I? I...there must be more to–"
"No," he grimly informed. "I blew up the female. It was huge, Moy, twice the size of the males and loaded with, with eggs. I blew up the larvae pool. You finished the rest. S o no, there are no more of them." He checked the readout. "Not a single one is left alive."
Moira stared, aghast. "You...you...even, even the young? You...I...oh my God..."
"Colonel Sheppard, copy? Is Doctor Sheppard all right?"
"Yes, Reynolds. She's fine. Finished off the mission for us. We're going home. Dial the 'Gate. We've got the six." He eased Moira into the co-pilot's seat, slid into his. "Relax, Moy. Are you sure you're okay? How do you feel?"
"I...I don't know. John, I'm a monster! This double gene...the power...the...all of them?"
"No, Moira, you're not. Stop that right now. You protected our child, Moira." He powered the ship. Flew after the other two vehicles. "Don't you worry, sweetheart. We'll keep that between us. The gene thing. Only on a need to know basis." He glanced at her. She was hugging herself, staring at nothing. Appearing drained. Miserable. "Hey, Moy, are those elephants? No, wait. Let me think. Gompohtheres?" He swerved slightly.
Moira glanced out the viewport. "Yes. You're right, John. At least, at least I didn't annihilate every living thing." She watched the gray-skinned herd move over the plain.
"Only the sub-Wraith, sweetheart. I felt the scan. It went through me. Harmless. Cleared my mind and allowed me to act. You only targeted the enemy, Moira. Look. Life on this planet is still thriving. Don't you worry, Moira. You did what you had to do. To protect John junior. Yourself. Me. All of us. It's what I do every day, in a manner of speaking." He glanced at her again. She was staring at the plain. Still hugging herself. Closing in on herself and the baby she carried. "Moy? We can talk about it all you want. Or not at all. It's your call, sweetheart. But I do want Carson to take a look at you and the baby. Okay?"
"Okay, John." Her voice was toneless. The enormity of what she had done was a heavy weight on her. But she forced herself to be calm. To hold in her emotions. Listening to his gentle voice. His comforting words. His love and concern.
"Okay, Moira." He watched the two Jumpers enter the shimmering event horizon. "Here we go." John landed the ship in the Jumper bay. Stood and moved to the hatch. "Don't you worry, Moira. It stays between us...and Carson. He will probably need to know about it. But no one else does. I mean the double...they think it's you, not the baby. And we will keep it that way. All right?" Without waiting for an answer he opened the hatch, stepped out. The men were exiting the other two ships. "Dismissed. Reynolds, Lorne, conference room in ten." He looked up to see Elizabeth bearing down on him, inwardly grimaced.
"Sir? How is Moira?" Evan asked, advancing boldly as if he would enter the ship.
John blocked him. "Fine. I'm taking her to Carson just to be sure."
"Moira? Are you all right?" Evan called, ignoring the other man. Trying to see past him.
John's gaze turned glacial. "What did I just say, major? Oh yes. Conference room in ten. Go."
"Yes, sir." Evan's words came slowly. With a frown he turned, stepped past Elizabeth who had reached the ship.
"John. We'll just overlook the fact that once again you have superceded my authority here and just took off on some mystery mission to–"
"Debrief in ten. This was a purely military mission, Elizabeth, so no, I did not need to confer with you until now. Mission is accomplished. Threat eliminated."
"Threat? What are you talking about?"
"Debrief in ten. I need to–"
"If this was a purely military mission why do you have a civilian on board?" Elizabeth challenged. Glaring at him. Past him as Moira approached slowly.
"I needed her expertise and experience. Now, if you will excuse us I need to take Moira to the infirmary to be sure she's fine." He turned to her. "Let's go. Leave all our stuff. I'll retrieve it later." He guided her out of the ship.
"Moira? Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, seeing the pale, haggard look of the other woman. "John, what the hell happened out there?"
"In ten, Elizabeth." He strolled beside his wife. "Are you all right, honey? You don't have to attend the debrief. I'll handle it."
"Okay."
He touched the small of her back, guiding her. "Moira? I don't like this. You are too quiet."
"I don't like it either, John. Any of it. Deliberately causing the extinction of an entire species! Both of us! No one gave us the right to do that! Who knows what else I may do? I'm a monster, John! You are as well! I–"
"No, you are not, Moira, and nor am I! Stop that!"
"And you...you condone it! You encouraged it!"
"Yes. It was our mission, Moira. My job. My–"
"Genocide is your job, colonel?"
"No. Pest control, doctor." He guided her into the infirmary. "Carson!"
"Here, John! What the...Moira?"
Moira steeled herself against his kindness, compassion. Feeling a wave of tears but forcing the emotions down, down. The guilt and anger, the shock and horror making her feel sick. "We just need to check the baby. He endured a, a subsonic pulse wave from the...and then I...I used him to...oh my God I used the baby's power to..."
"No, Moira, you protected him," John swiftly corrected. Stood close as she sat on a bed. Laid back and pursed her lips together to contain the emotion.
"John, go! Go to your–"
"No. Not until I am certain you and John junior are fine," he retorted.
"All right, love. I'm sure he's fine." Carson grabbed the scanner. "Relax, love. Pulses of that frequency will affect you more than the baby."
"Well?" John asked tersely. Eyes on the baby bump as Carson ran the scanner over it.
"John! Give him a chance!" she scolded. "Well?" she echoed, causing John to smile.
Carson smiled. "Perfectly fine, love. Strong heartbeat. No stress. No distress at all. He's developing quite nicely. You have no reason to worry about him."
"And Moira?" John asked, tension easing.
"I'm fine!" she snapped, sat. Carson took her wrist into his hand. "Apart from a slight headache."
"Pulse is a little rapid, but that's understandable. How do you feel? Cramps? Pain?"
"No. None. I'm just tired," she evaded.
John frowned. "She used her superpowers to activate a nascent ship system and changed it into a weapon," he explained quietly, "as well as enduring that subsonic pulse wave."
"John!" she flared, moving to her feet.
"Really? Well, no wonder you are tired, Moira. But there should be no ill effects from that."
"But what about the baby? I...I used the baby's genes to–"
"No, love." Carson touched her arm as tears filled her eyes. "You didn't harm him at all. If anything you have made him stronger, somehow." A brief frown appeared. "Like you somehow invigorated his growth and overall health. Don't worry, Moira."
"Thank you, Carson." She sighed, pushed past John. "Go. Go to your debrief, John. I'm going to our room." She strode out of the lab.
John sighed, watching her go. "Damn it. She's really upset over this. She can't bottle it up like that. She needs to talk about it, yell at me, not blame herself. She can't hold all of that in."
"Like you do?"
John met his assessing gaze. The blue eyes piercing. "I'm not carrying a baby."