WHIRLWIND - by NotTasha
You guys are so good to me. Thanks so much for the reviews!

PART 11: BABBLE

Ronon shouted in frustration and rage. He was too far away to get a good shot, and had been able to hit only one of the three ships, but it did little to slow its trajectory. The three darts, like bullets from a gun, crashed full speed into the Meeting Hall.

The building exploded. Wood and debris scattered everywhere, impacting into the already devastated streets. The last building still standing on Colo disintegrated before his eyes in a hail of wood and flying pieces of Wraith technology.

He ran barely flinching as the fragments came at him. He jumped over the scattered debris. He changed his direction as a huge piece of dart engine crashed into his path, rerouting himself to stay on course once he was around it. He ran toward the disaster even before everything had settled. He ran to save his people, to dig out McKay yet again, to find Beckett, to save them for he hadn't managed to protect them.

His chest tightened at that thought and he pressed himself to a faster speed, barely hearing the chatter over his radio in his determination to reach the others.

He had failed them.

It took a moment for him to realize what was just before him in the midst of all the destruction and shimmering in mauve the shield a dome.

He let out a laugh, little more than an exhale. The shield had worked. Ronon slowed, seeing no reason for the rush anymore. Everyone was safe and sound. He felt proud of the physicist and a little chagrinned at himself.

And then he saw it.

One dart, nestled at the base of the dome, had escaped annihilation on the shield. He picked up speed.

He could see the pilot within the dart. He could tell that it was alive.

Voices buffeted his ears as he closed the distance on the crashed ship. He could hear Sheppard calling for McKay or Beckett to respond, and there was a din over the radio, excited, frightened voices. Someone's radio must have been on within that dome.

The dome seemed to thrum resentfully. He reached the wrecked dart that leaned against the seemingly substantial wall.

Over the radio, he could hear Beckett calling for McKay. He didn't chance lifting his head to look inside the dome. He let the babble fade.

There was movement within the wreck. He approached it carefully but quickly, his weapon extended and powered it up.

The Wraith was struggling, trying to free itself from its seat. It never saw him. Ronon didn't care if it was afraid. He didn't care if it was surprised. He didn't need it to see him. It didn't need to know what was coming.

He wanted only one thing a clean shot.

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Beckett unfolded from his protective position over Albion and looked in disbelief at the world above. The building was gone utterly gone, leaving the insides untouched.

"Good God in Heaven," he exclaimed, gazing around him. The Colo had ducked down, huddled into whatever holes they could quickly find. Daylight flooded them, tinted in a rosy hue. They now had a view the leveled town, the smoke that rose from the fields, and the gray-black clouds. A Wraith dart, looking mostly undamaged, smoldered just outside the dome.

Fernald, one of the few people still upright in the room, stood in a crouch. He looked ready to jump in any direction if someone would just shout for him to do so.

Beckett returned his attention to his patient, and Albion smiled up at him, looking pale and weak, but alive. Ames cringed beneath the bench. The area was alive with chatter.

With a realization, Beckett gasped and switched his gaze to the Wraith 'bomb', grateful to find it exactly as they'd left it. "Thank God," he whispered. "Thank God." The last they needed was to flood the dome with some sort of paralyzing agent.

"Beckett! McKay!" Sheppard was shouting over the radio.

Cueing his mic, Beckett responded, trying to keep the quaver from his voice, "We're fine. The shield held. The Wraith device is untouched." He searched, trying to find McKay.

"Rodney?" he called as he moved past Fernald and covered the short distance to where he'd last seen McKay at the shield device.

Carson found him, tucked in beside the apparatus, rolled on his side and trembling. "Rodney?"

"Fine" was the frustrated response. "I'm fine." With a gasp and a shudder, he tried to push himself upright.

Beckett was beside him in an instant. "Easy now," he said quietly, offering an arm, and helping the physicist to sit up. Instantly he noticed that the state of the bandages around his shoulders and back. He'd replaced them the day before, but blood was spotting through again. "Oh Rodney, what did you do?"

"I was just trying to" he stopped and gasped. " to get out of the way." He glanced up. "The shield held." He smiled then, looking confident. "I told you it would."

Rodney was panting, closing his eyes and looking queasy. Beckett gritted his teeth, frustrated and concerned, hating himself for not being able to do much of anything for his friend.

"How are you feeling?" Beckett tried again, his voice quiet.

"Gimmie a minute, okay."

"A minute, then," Beckett agreed, keeping a strong arm on Rodney, helping him sit up. "Just be still for a bit."

Rodney let out a slow breath and seemed to come around. "Be still?" he gibbered. "We were just kamikazed!" He staggered, shoving down on Beckett's shoulder and struggling to get his feet under him.

Carson helped, wishing he could have forced Rodney to stay down instead. Why the hell was he allowing Rodney to get up? No doctor in his right mind would allow this. It's madness, he decided.

As he helped support the physicist, he gazed to the dart that leaned against the dome, so precariously close to them. Around the craft, the dome seemed to hum.

"Everything's fine, Rodney," Beckett tried to assure. "The shield held and"

"Fine? Did you say fine?" Rodney kept his weight on Carson's shoulder as he stood, trembling. "Because, I know I've been better!"

I'm sorry about that, Carson thought, unable to speak the words. I'm so sorry. Unable to meet Rodney's gaze, he watched the dart.

The Wraith pilot leaned limply in his seat. From his perspective, Beckett could see little of the creature, but it didn't stop him from realizing that the thing still lived. He considered what injuries it might have suffered from the crash and decided it chances of survival were little to none.

"We're still alive," Carson tried. "They haven't gotten us yet."

"Matter of time," Rodney said, gazing around for a moment and then flinching away, as if even the filtered sunlight hurt his eyes. "The building's gone," he stated, wonder in his voice.

Carson stood, slowly, keeping a steadying hand on Rodney. As he came to full height, he glanced to Fernald who kept nearby. The kid stood with his arms crossed over his chest, trying to look sharp and strong. Around them, the Colo babbled like a brook.

McKay just gazed at the shield device, inspecting the displays. With a groan, he moved toward it, his step uneven.

Beckett caught a motion out of the corner of his eye and turned. The Wraith moved, his hand reaching toward his chest. "No!" Carson gasped.

A blast sounded, loud.

Beckett flinched but couldn't take his eyes off the sight as the Wraith jerked violently and went still.

With a racing heart, Beckett tried to understand, but Ronon appeared, just outside their dome. Dex stood, aiming his weapon at what was left of a Wraith pilot.

"Oh, thank God" McKay sighed, watching as well. "We could have if that thing had set off the self-destruct that could have been bad. Very bad."

Carson found that he was holding his breath, watching as Ronon closed on the blasted creature. The Satedan moved purposefully, checking to ensure that the thing was truly dead. Once he was convinced, Dex turned and gazed in at them. He nodded sharply, seeming glad to find them both alive.

Beckett waved in return. McKay returned his attention to the device.

Ronon, satisfied, turned and headed in the direction of the fields.

And for a moment all was peaceful. Carson smiled, hoping, as he gazed upward through the dome and into the now visible clouds, searching for Wraith ships.

The clouds were low, hiding the sky. It wasn't good weather for fighting spaceships.

"We are in so much trouble," McKay muttered.

"But the shield worked," Carson commented helpfully. "Perfectly!" He listened on the radio as the various groups reported in. His smile increased. "We're still here. And our people made it through."

Rodney leaned on the shield device. He groaned and tsked and muttered as he checked the readouts. "Yeah, but for how long," he said with a sigh.

"McKay," Sheppard's voice crackled over the radio. "Report!"

Looking annoyed as hell, McKay declared, "We still have power, but it's going fast. We will NOT withstand another attack like that." He pressed a hand against his head as he leaned against the device. "Can you just keep them away from here."

"Yeah, good idea," Sheppard responded, a sarcastic tone to his voice. "We'll remember that as we're trying to keep from getting ourselves blown to bits."

Rodney lifted his head. "You do that," he commented. He seemed nervous, anxious. He stared through transparent shield in the direction of Sheppard and the others, his hands clenching and unclenching. He took a half step toward the edge of the shield, as if itching to join them.

Then after a moment, Sheppard had a softer tone. He sounded concerned. "You know, next time they come back, they'll probably open fire on the shield. Now that they have a good look at what they're dealing with, they'll have an idea of how to attack it."

"Yes, yes, I know," McKay snapped. "We're a veritable display case, a delicatessen here under glass." He continued to survey the displays, poking the keyboard. "I'll keep the shield working for as long as I can! Just don't let them ram us again!"

"Got it," Sheppard replied. And then after a moment, he asked, "How many more ships do you think they have?"

"It's a hive, Colonel," McKay said tiredly. He sagged, his head down, showing every inch of weariness. "They have plenty."

"You said they'd pull back and give us a window, give us a chance to retrieve one of these downed darts," Sheppard reminded. "Think that'll happen any time soon?"

"I don't know," McKay responded, blinking at the device in front of him. "How are they doing with the cables and the Gate?"

Radcliff's voice joined the conversation. "We've been pretty busy, sir," she said, sounding out of breath, "But we've made good progress. Should get it together soon."

Sheppard added, "I think we have a good candidate for our ship. One of the darts came down nice and easy. We managed to get rid of the pilot without putting any unnecessary holes in it. I'm going to go check it out."

"Good," McKay responded quietly, closing his eyes tightly and starting to sway.

Beckett was at Rodney's side in an instant, catching one of his elbows and catching him before he took a tumble. "Rodney," Beckett cried.

Rodney's feet skittered for a moment, and he huffed, pulling away from Carson's caring touch. "I'm fine," he growled.

"No, you're not!" Carson snapped back at him. "Any fool could see you are not fine. Now, you're going to sit down before I have to knock you down myself!"

Beckett was surprised by Rodney's lack of snappy comeback. The physicist just sighed dejectedly.

Quickly, Beckett maneuvered McKay to the bench where he could sit. "Just for a moment," Beckett promised as Rodney sighed. "We got a bit of a break here. We'd best take advantage of it."

"It won't last," McKay mumbled. "More darts are just around the corner. They've sent out a few scouts, but you know more are coming. It's like we're poking the beehive." He snorted as if something he'd said was funny. "Have I ever mentioned that I'm allergic to bee stings?"

"Yes, Rodney," Beckett responded in a kindly tone.

"Deathly allergic," he sighed, looking away. "The darts -- we've been I mean, the Colonel and the others have been able to take them down, but for how long? There's too many of them. Sooner or later"

"We're not giving up," Beckett pledged. "We're going to get through this one way or another."

"Just keep thinking that," McKay muttered. Defeated, he attempted to lean back, without success. Miserable, he moved a hand to help support himself, and it brushed against the hand-shaped piece of Ancient equipment he'd examined earlier. He picked it up and glared at it.

Beckett said nothing immediately, watching the sky, wondering how their people were doing. The radio announced their progress. Apparently the dart was in one piece, but didn't want to power up immediately. The electromagnetic pulse hadn't worn off. They'd have to wait until the ship shook off the beam that had knocked it silly.

"Have you figured out what that is yet?" Beckett asked finally, as Rodney continued to scrutinize the device.

"It's useless," Rodney grumbled. "It has no power source. It has no discernable use. It's incomplete, ineffective. It's like a useless limb, part of something that" He paused, and his bleary-looking eyes became sharp as he considered. "Wait wait wait"

"What?' Beckett responded, hopefully.

Rodney's gaze seemed to eat up the thing as he turned it this way and that, then snapped his fingers. "Fernando!" he called.

The kid turned to him, looking perplexed.

Rodney snapped his fingers again and Fernald came to attention, and hurried to his side.

"What is this?" McKay demanded.

If the boy looked puzzled before, he looked completely flummoxed now. "I don't know," he explained. "I have no idea."

Rodney grimaced. "Wonderful. Look, does it look familiar at all? " When the kid didn't reply immediately, he raised his voice. "Does anyone know where this came from?"

McKay made an attempt to hold the device aloft, but stopped the moment he tried to lift his arm. Beckett made a move to help, but Fernald was first, grabbing the thing from Rodney's hands and energetically thrusting the piece upward for all to see.

There was a low murmur in the room as people commented to one another, but no one made a response. Ames drew back.

"Oh, come on!" McKay snapped. "It's part of a larger device, and I'm thinking big very big. Someone had to have seen it."

Nobody spoke up.

Rodney sat forward, his arms resting across his knees, but his eyes scanning the crowd.

Fernald glanced to Ames and then slowly lowered the piece, giving it a good look. "Now" he started, paused and cleared his throat nervously. "Now that you mention it"

"Yes, yes" Rodney encouraged.

"It looks sort of like that key on that ah EMP gun," Fernald stated, struggling to remember what the strangers had named the device. "But a lot bigger."

"Yes, yes" McKay went on. "So, can you tell me, do you know of anything in this town, ANYTHING that it might belong to? It would be big really big. Might look a lot like that EMP Gun."

Fernald watched Ames as he responded with, "Well, there's the Star Finder."

"The Star Finder?" Beckett repeated, looking at Rodney in wonder.

The name annoyed the physicist. "Oh, I doubt that it's for looking at stars," McKay muttered.

The kid shrugged. "But the Star Finder is big -- too big to be a gun. The Ancestors used it to point at the heavens."

McKay smiled, a liveliness returning to his expression. "Pointing at the stars? And you've seen it do this?"

Fernald said glumly, "The Ancestors are gone. They were the only ones who could use it."

"Not the only ones," McKay declared, poking a thumb at his chest. "I could definitely make use of it."

"It's not yours to take!" Ames shouted suddenly, leaping toward McKay.

Beckett stepped forward, blocking him from getting any closer. "Back up, son," Carson ordered, his usually friendly brogue taking on a darker tone.

Ames insisted, "It is a sacred relic, a tribute to our Ancestors. It is not a tool that you can take to pieces like you've done to the others. Tools are for digging in the dirt! This is too great for human hands."

Rodney gave Ames a disgusted look. "Hey, kid," he called. "You think you could show me where this thing is?"

"Ames built his home around it," Fernald said, pointing at the man.

"Why does that not surprise me?" McKay asked.

"It's in his back room," Fernald went on. "No one sees it, but he brought me there to fix the roof once. I saw it." The kid kept his eyes on Ames. "He told me to keep it a secret."

"Traitor!" Ames hissed, lunging at the kid, who flinched away.

Carson dug in as the Governor's assistant shoved at him.

"It is mine!" Ames insisted. "It has belonged to my family since the beginning of time! This is why we have kept it safe from prying eyes! You abuse our Ancestors! You spit in their faces by destroying their sacred relics!"

"Wait a minute. Aren't you the one who bartered away the precious ZPM that was given to you by the Ancestors?" McKay pressed.

"It was to save us! The Ancestors wanted us safe and I was trying to save us!" Ames insisted. "The Wraith promised not to harm us." He tried to get around Beckett, but the doctor had no intention of letting him pass. He turned to face his people. "Don't you see? They are the ones that have caused this destruction! If we'd only given them to the Wraith as we promised, our town would be whole. We would be safe!"

Incredulously, McKay stated, "They left a gas weapon behind for you. Sure, it's probably just going to paralyze you, but that's just about the same as 'dead' when the Wraith come calling."

Rodney grimaced as he shook his head, continuing, "But let's pretend that didn't happen. What about the tornado? I mean, come on, your town's in pieces because of a tornado, not because of anything we did. If you'd kept your ZPM"

"You will not have our Star Finder!" Ames asserted. "We should have given you up to the Wraith. If we do that, the creatures will go. That's what the Wraith want. Certainly that tank can't harm us. I have seen only a strange hollow container." He looked beseechingly to his people, but they returned his entreaties with disbelieving stares.

Fernald, bowed his head, speaking softly, as if unsure if he were allowed to speak, "We never should have listened to you, Ames. I knew. I mean, I'm just a dumb kid and I knew it was a bad deal from the start. The Wraith are monsters. Who would make a deal with them?"

Beckett sighed, remembering another deal that had been made with the Wraith. "You're not a dumb kid, Fernald. You might be one of the smartest of the lot."

"Well, I wouldn't say THAT," McKay commented. "But he's definitely smarter than SOME. Is someone going to show me where it is?" he asked. He crooked a thumb over his shoulder, "Because it's not like we have all day."

With Ames still shoving to get past him, Beckett turned to give McKay a look. "Rodney, what do you think you're doing?" he quizzed.

Ames grumbled, "You're not going without me! It is my home! I have every right to be there!"

"Nobody's goin'!" Beckett insisted.

"Look, Carson," Rodney paused, and pointed to the object in Fernald's hands, "If that's what I think it is, I can't NOT go."

"Rodney, you can barely stay on your feet," Carson told him. "You're not going anywhere."

McKay closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath. "This Star Finder of theirs, I'm betting it's another EMP weapon. A big one."

"Aye, I can see that'd be useful. Send Sheppard."

"I need to see if I can get it operational," McKay returned. "And Sheppard's checking out that dart. We still need to get a dart in the air if we're going to flip that Gate. Sooner we accomplish that the sooner we can leave. Meanwhile, someone has to check out this weapon."

"Well, you won't go without me," Beckett told him.

To that, McKay waggled a finger. "You're staying here," he insisted. "You need to watch over your " he indicated Albion. "patient, and you need to bring the shield back online after we're out. Oh, and let us back in after I've figured out that weapon. That would be good."

"I don't like it," Beckett told him.

"You don't have to like it," McKay countered. "And we don't have time to argue. The Wraith will be back any second. Give me your jacket."

Beckett frowned, realizing that Rodney had lost coat his earlier, and was running around shirtless with nothing but bandages to protect him.

Rodney snapped his fingers impatiently.

Carson scowled at the gesture, but pulled off his jacket. "So, if we get a bigger EMP weapon, what does that mean?" he asked, as he helped Rodney into the coat. "You'll be able to knock even more of those machines from the air?"

Rodney smiled as he gingerly pulled the coat into place. "I'm thinking about going after the hive."

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TBC - ooo! That'd be cool