The A-ware by Fandomatic
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Awakening
John thumped down the central staircase and headed toward the transporter. He reviewed the orders he wanted to give Lorne before Beckett laid him under the scanner. Once under the scan, he'd be weaponless with a mass murderer in the same room. He wanted to make sure she was secure.
He stepped into the transporter and was still smiling when he felt an odd familiar tingling 'hiccup' course through his nerves to his fingertips and toes. When it subsided, he lost all control as the artificial intelligence took over and straightened with purpose. Its glee with its freedom and power overwhelmed his ability to think for a moment. His memory returned in a rush as the implant replayed everything with vivid detail and clarity.
Weir was right. He'd started a juvenile turf war under the influence of the AI.
Crap! Talk about a different perspective. I remember you!
His hand reached out and touched the screen in the wrong spot.
Damn, I don't want to see Rodney. I'm supposed to go to the infirmary for a checkup.
The doors opened outside of Rodney's lab and his feet took him out of the transporter.
At least I can think for myself, this time. What does that red rock do? Splinter? Oh…you don't want Dr. Beckett to find out you're in here or that weird rock is, too. Come on, lighten up and talk to me. Let me in on the hijack this time. You said 'our purpose is one.' Is this another one of your lies?
TRUE INTEGRATION WILL REQUIRE MORE TIME SINCE WE HOST THE PHASE CRYSTAL. Satisfaction of a task well-done with a touch of amusement filled his mind as he remembered the image of the blood red crystal sinking like a phantom into his chest.
John tried to stop his legs and they kept walking. You obviously don't need true integration.
OUR PURPOSE IS ONE. Rodney McKay's full image rotated 360° in his mind's eye. That was a little creepy.
What do you want with Rodney?
And Rodney McKay looked up from his computer in surprise as Sheppard's eyes zeroed in on the tiny implants and the impossibly fine silver filaments that attached one of them to his laptop.
Oh, crap.
"Hey, Rodney," Sheppard's voice greeted him casually. "What're you working on?" He invasively ogled his screen over his shoulder.
Damn, that's my move!
"Aren't you supposed to be in Beckett's clutches?" McKay hunched over his keyboard protectively.
You'll never fool him. He's sharp. The smartest guy in two galaxies—
"Beckett can wait 'til after supper," his voice said. "I'm hungry and I thought maybe the smartest guy in two galaxies was hungry, too."
"Really? Well, I mean, thanks, yeah." Rodney's face had lit up.
Rodney, you egotistical sap!
"So what're you doing?"
"Well, I'm configuring this interface to access the implant core memory. Theoretically, I should be able to talk to the implant and it will be able to guide the interface." He beamed.
Damn, that's brilliant.
"Wow, that's brilliant." And Sheppard's eyes focused in on the monitor with a sensor array, which had recorded a spike in the implant activity since he'd walked in.
Don't look at me. Look at the fireworks this hijacker has lit up!
His voice smoothly continued, "You're planning to talk to the survivor through the implant."
Rodney's face fell for a second before he covered up his amazement. "Well, yes, I was planning on accessing the network and gaining control of her functions, you know, so she can't kill anyone. And maybe then talk to her civilization."
UH OH.
'Uh oh' is right, buddy. He's smart enough to toast your little implanted ass! He's going to see you on his monitor in the next two seconds, so kiss your implant goodbye!
Sheppard's head nodded. "You're amazing, Rodney. Not only are you thinking about the welfare of the city, you're thinking about accessing the communication device of a technologically advanced community and calling them up." Sheppard's hand crossed over Rodney's shoulders and guided him toward the door. "I hope you make that a collect call."
"Heh." Rodney grinned. "That's funny."
It's SO not funny, you stupid density-for-brains! He doesn't even sound like me. And take that hand off him!
"Hey, I hear they made chocolate mud pie," Rodney volunteered as he walked him out the door.
"Really? Save me and Teyla a piece, will you?" Sheppard's head nodded toward the opposite hallway. "I'll go get Teyla and meet you up there." He patted McKay on the back and watched him float toward the transporter doors on a heady cloud of pride.
He's going to be unbearable for days.
His hand gave him a little wave and the artificial intelligence smiled as Rodney's shadow disappeared in a flash of light.
The A-ware turned on Sheppard's heel and returned to the lab alone. Once inside, it closed the door, locking it with a command, and approached the laptop.
John felt a tingling begin in his spine and gravitate to his scalp. He caught a glimpse of his image reflecting in the empty wall monitor and his hair glowed with a silver sheen. The increased connectivity merged his consciousness with the artificial intelligence and he struggled for control.
He instantly appreciated the A-ware virus protection's function, for it performed economically, keeping his will isolated from revealed paths to the implant. With detached disgust, he noticed the silver had invaded his unresponsive fingertips. The A-ware touched the plugged-in implant and connected to Rodney's laptop fluidly through extended filaments that merged with the isolated implant. It sifted through Sheppard's memory as it tripped through McKay's programs, files and access codes with the efficiency of a search engine. Matching key data, it unlocked McKay's secure files with blinding speed and downloaded Rodney's encrypted files, narrowing down a file search for gate access.
Sheppard's lips smiled as he absorbed the last flickering image of a backdoor code to the gate shield.
The Sheppard AI wasn't finished though. It disconnected the implant attached to the computer and lifted them all to his temple, where the hair latched on to them and absorbed the nanite bits into his hair follicles and into his brain. There they reassembled in a loose configuration, ready for deployment.
Only then did the silver connectivity recede into his scalp and Sheppard claimed his identity along with a greater understanding of the A-ware's purpose. The lingering single-minded purpose, hidden under a layer of isolating functions, suffused his thoughts and he struggled to remember himself and deny the purpose.
Sheppard's lips smiled and it slipped the yellow citrus from his pocket. Flipping it into mid air, he caught it momentarily on the back of his hand and tossed it back up, snatching it from its flight with practiced ease. The AI placed it strategically where the implants had been. It appreciated Sheppard's humor. His memory had been quite helpful.
The artificial intelligence, simply identified to Sheppard by its combined functions as 'buffer virus,' took his body for a spin up to the jumper bay. The host was in complete accord with the A-ware, which baffled the artificial intelligence because partial integration should have taken longer. Part of it started a diagnostic program to explain the anomaly before it granted access, while another cautiously queried the Sheppard personality.
OUR PURPOSE IS ONE?
Damn your linear ass! We have to leave to protect Atlantis. You put that phase crystal in here with me! What the hell were you thinking! It could detonate at any moment! We have to return it.
AH. OUR PURPOSE COINCIDES. And the buffer virus understood the fear of the host for his people. I, TOO, WISH TO PROTECT THE COLLECTIVE.
Sheppard's eye spotted Ronon entering the back hall behind the bay. Ronon isn't so gullible, you demented, hair-brained computer. And he really has a thing about implants, so be careful. I don't want my arms ripped out. This would go so much better if you let me explain it to Dr. Weir.
THIS WOULD NOT PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE. IGNORANCE OF THE PHASE CRYSTAL PROTECTS THEM.
If he shoots me, you're going to get us all blown up. Here's a concept for you—teamwork. You let me get this phase crystal off Atlantis, and we'll talk about your agenda.
YOU WILL HIDE MY PRESENCE?
If it means I get to keep my arms, yeah.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The AI's release of control made Sheppard almost stumble into Ronon, who steadied him with a hand. "What is it?"
"Damn knee's giving out." John lied and rubbed his leg for effect. "What're you doing up here? Thought you'd be in the mess already."
"I'm on my way. McKay says there's dirt pie. Where's Teyla? He said you went to get her."
"It's mud pie. She wasn't in the mood."
"Since when?"
"Since they named it after slime." Sheppard peered down the hall. The bay armory door to his left caught his eye."Say, did you see Lorne up here?"
"No. I think Beckett still has him."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Better him than me." Sheppard grinned.
Ronon grunted in agreement. "You comin' to eat?"
"In a minute. I've got an errand to run before Beckett finds me." Sheppard jerked a thumb toward the bay and they parted. The colonel followed the exterior wall until Ronon turned the corner. He backtracked back to the armory door and stepped into the makeshift room. He quickly pulled a tac vest from the rack and shrugged into it.
YOU DO NOT NEED THESE TOOLS. I AM YOUR TOOL.
"Like hell you are." Sheppard stuffed his pockets with pre-loaded clips and a few extra magazines for his side arm. His stomach growled and he popped a few power bars into a side pocket and retrieved a filled canteen. He fetched a backpack off a shelf and made the round around the room stuffing it with overnight supplies. Slinging the pack over his shoulder, he unstacked the P90 from the wall rack and efficiently clipped it to his vest as he headed toward the door.
Inside the doorway, he paused and scanned the almost empty room. Most of Atlantis's personnel were cycling through the dinner hour. Only two technicians worked on Jumper Three. Sheppard headed for Jumper One. It would be prepped to go with MRE packets.
He slapped a hand over the hatch control and casually waved as the two techs looked up when the noise startled them. They acknowledge his presence and turned back to their work unconcerned. The colonel entered the jumper and sealed the back.
Time to upload Rodney's cookies. He felt the familiar sensation bloom in his spine and course through his scalp. This time the merge happened instantly and the Sheppard AI touched the console with one purpose. With the program loaded, he sat down and dialed the gate.
The floor irised open with the rising sound of the alarms going off in the gate room. Sheppard's jumper rose off the pad as technicians darted out of the way below. The stargate beckoned with an open event horizon and he descended into the gate room. He heard Dr. Weir's voice hail the jumper through the console.
"This is Dr. Weir. Stand down in the jumper! We have a freeze in place on all gate activity. You are unauthorized for gate deployment. Stand down! Raise the shield!"
As the jumper stilled in front of the stargate, lining up for launch, he heard Dr. Weir's voice activate his headset. "Colonel Sheppard, an unauthorized jumper has breached shield protocols and is leaving Atlantis! Report to the gate room."
As the jumper pushed forward, he felt the buffer virus encase the phase crystal with protective filaments and he understood. Gate travel was not good for the crystal. The buffer had to withdraw from his mind to protect the crystal's integrity, just as it had done before within the temple.
His jumper flew over the desert landscape and he heard Elizabeth on the comms, still calling his name. John reached up and regretfully removed the hardware. It wasn't going to be easy to explain this to Elizabeth.
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Next chapter, AWOL