SHEPPARD MOON
By TIPPER
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: NEVER TRUST OLD MEN
Two hours later, they had released the trapped people in the Silver Section and nearly everyone had been evacuated. All that was left were the last of Carson's patients in the infirmary, a handful of Osheen's military...and about ten Atlantians.
Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon and a handful of other marines followed Osheen's second in command, Dorhan, back to the infirmary, picking their way through the mostly dark, rubble strewn halls. No one spoke—no one had the energy. They were intent only on getting everyone together again, so they could all leave together.
Sheppard knew Carson was now only waiting for the go ahead from Corporal Recillos in the ring room, in order to transport the last of the patients to the Daedalus. Elizabeth had already returned to Atlantis, to supervise the temporary housing of Osheen's people. Osheen himself was still here—refusing to be moved until everyone else was out safely.
The moon shook more than it stayed stable now, though nothing as violent as the tremors they felt when they first got here. Another hit as they were closing in on the infirmary halls. Dorhan stumbled, falling into a wall. Sheppard thought about helping her, but his own arms and legs felt like jelly, it was all he could do to stay standing. Looking around, he saw the others in the same boat. Just trying to hold on.
When it was done, he wiped a shaking arm across his sweating forehead, and shivered at the same time. The temperature was barely above freezing now, to conserve as much energy as possible, according to McKay. The scientist had sounded strange on the radio when he informed them that they were cutting power everywhere except the infirmary and those corridors leading to the control room and the ring room. He sounded beaten down, instead of elated, as he had when they had first arrived. Sheppard didn't like that, because he was pretty sure he knew who was behind it.
Coming around the last corner, Sheppard was happy to see the lights still on full in this area, breathing a little easier when the temperature seemed to rise a little as well. In the lead, Dorhan seemed to relax a touch as well, climbing over yet another section of fallen ceiling as they saw the entrance to the infirmary. She smiled back at the Atlantians, confident that they would all be all right now.
"I'll be glad to get out of here, Colonel," Teyla said, rubbing at her sore arms as she moved by his side.
"I know, "Sheppard agreed, shifting around some collapsed girders.
"Me as well," Ronon added from behind them, then asked, "Want me to go check on McKay?"
Sheppard slowed to a stop, turning to look at him in order to answer in the affirmative.
Dorhan, ahead of them by a few steps, reached the infirmary doors, and looked in. Her face lit in a grateful smile at whatever she saw there.
She never saw it coming. None of them did.
Something audibly cracked, and the hallways exploded in movement, undulating like waves on the ocean. Screams echoed through the infirmary as the lights flickered, then exploded within the sconces. The whole moon came alive with noise, and nothing made sense. It was like the world was melting and exploding at the same time.
Sheppard's head turned towards the infirmary doors, almost in slow motion.
The lights flashed like lightning, and Dorhan's head turned, her eyes meeting his for a split second.
The girder came slamming down, directly on top of her head, nailing the woman into the ground like a hammer.
The screams got louder, and Sheppard recognized his own among them as he slipped into the wall and to the floor.
It felt like it went on forever, the shaking. On and on and on...
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Enceladus shouted, twisting and turning, hitting controls on the consoles.
McKay held on to the pillar behind, watching with wide eyes. He'd been watching almost this whole time, absorbing everything he could, despite the old man's almost constant vicious barbs against him.
The room shook like jelly, and Enceladus moved faster...but his actions had changed, his eyes filled with a crazed sort of desperation. He was attempting something new...
Suddenly, with total clarity, McKay understood it all...and he realized with horror Enceladus was doing.
"No!" he yelled, pushing away from the false stability of the pillar to stagger into the shaking console. He landed hard on the side of it, and stared at Enceladus, "You can't!"
"Get away!" the old man spat, "This isn't yours! It's mine!"
"You'll kill them! And trap us!"
"I don't care! Now, get back!"
"No! Stop!"
"You don't understand!" But it wasn't a true statement—it was a whine. Enceladus shoved at McKay, to get to a specific crystal that McKay was trying to block.
"I won't let you," McKay shouted back, shoving hard at the old man. Enceladus fell backwards, collapsing into a heap on the trembling ground. Turning, McKay started keying in commands different from that of the old man. Working the crystals to stabilize the moon, even if only for a moment, just enough to get them all out of here.
He nearly had it under control, feeling the tremors subsiding, when pain exploded in the back of his skull.
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Enceladus lowered his now bloodied cane, staring at the unconscious man on the ground. For a moment, he looked ashamed, and even worried. Then his eyes hardened and he got back to work. Climbing over the prone scientist, Enceladus undid McKay's work and inputted his own.
He had to save Asimbabbar. Nothing else mattered now.
"I'm sorry, Osheen," he whispered.
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Caldwell stood up, stepping forward to look more closely at the moon in his viewscreen. Visible cracks were appearing in the surface, and a plume of what looked like ash had just flared out the side.
"What the hell is happening?" he demanded.
Novak's voice came over the comm, "Sir! The moon's disintegrating!"
"I can see that, Novak!" Caldwell hit his radio, "Recillos! Corporal! Come in! What's going on down there?"
"SIR!" Novak yelled, "Something's happening to the shield matrix! Hermiod—"
"We must move away from the moon," Hermiod's calm voice interjected. "Now."
"What? Why?"
"The moon's shield matrix is expanding. It's...oh dear."
The ship shook violently, and Caldwell looked up as he fell backwards, stumbling towards his chair.
"Hermiod! What's happening?"
"We are being drawn into the moon, Colonel," Hermiod replied, still absurdly calm. "The artificial gravity formed by the shield matrix expanded and is now contracting. In a moment, we will either crash into the moon's surface and be destroyed, or be ripped to pieces by tidal forces as the moon adjusts to its new orbit...and be destroyed."
"New...what? How...?"
"The moon has been released from its tidal lock. That has caused it to skip from its fixed orbit. It is now spinning out of control, but will presumably assume a new orbit soon...if it doesn't break apart first or crash into any other moons or the planet's asteroid rings. Which it probably will not, because releasing the tidal lock increased the power of the shield matrix, which appears to now be drawing power from the gravity its new motion has engendered. Unfortunately, we were not quick enough to get out of the way."
The ship shook more violently, and panels began to explode around the control room.
"Do something!" Caldwell yelled.
"I can not."
"Hermiod!"
"It is out of our hands now, Colonel."
"Then we have to abandon ship! Start beaming people down to the planet!"
"I am afraid we can not do that either. The moon's shield matrix has essentially grabbed us and is now driving us into the moon's surface at a high rate of speed. I can not beam anything while the shield maintains that hold."
"Can we use the ring platform?"
"No. The shield is blocking that as well."
Caldwell's eyes widened, and he stared out the viewscreen as the visibly shivering moon grew larger in his sight.
"Options?" he called.
"Death by impact, or death by explosion."
"What? Those aren't options!"
"Then I don't have any." Hermiod said matter-of-factly. "We are all going to die in approximately eleven minutes."
Caldwell just shut his eyes. Oh God.
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TBC...
Wheeee!