Deadly Intent
Chapter 28
"How the hell did you get here? And this matter is none of your business, O'Neill."
Jack scratched his head. "Ah, but it is my business when it concerns the well-being of my favourite city and its kindly folks. As to how I got here. Well if you'd bothered to look over the balcony, you would have seen that the Stargate is active. Believe it or not, we sure have come a long way in hologram technology in recent years. Kind of reminds me of Star Trek. You know the holodeck from The Next Generation or that holographic doctor from Voyager that looked an awful lot like Richard Woolsey. As for me, I'm currently standing alongside General Landry in the SGC while my holographic image is projected through to Atlantis. Cool ain't it?"
O'Neill's hologram flicked for a second but apart from that it was pretty realistic. "Anyway I was just having a friendly visit to see some old pals when Hank told me all about your delusions of grandeur and your desire to take over the military out there. Now we can't have that while poor Sheppard is lying in his hospital bed, no more than a few floors below your feet."
Trumble spluttered. "What are you talking about you old fool. Sheppard is dead!"
"I take great offence at you calling me an old fool, Trumble. I'm neither old nor a fool. I would say that title should go to you after your recent behaviour."
By now Trumble's face was a deep red colour, almost purple. "How dare you speak to me like that, O'Neill! I'm a General and I have the blessing of the I.O.A.!"
"Excuse me? If I remember correctly you made Brigadier General only a couple of years ago. As I'm a Major General, I think I still outrank you. As to the I.O.A., they have assured us that they didn't give their blessing for you to interfere in the military affairs of Atlantis base. You were only supposed to go as an observer while Doctor Ross made sure Colonel Sheppard would be fit for duty after his busted leg incident. And speaking of Sheppard, don't you think your reaction was a little premature concerning yesterday's…incident?"
By this time Trumble was having difficulties breathing. He gulped in a lung full of air and spluttered. "I saw him go over into a deep and inhospitable chasm. What was I to presume? I still don't believe you anyway. This could all be a ruse to stop me from taking command."
Jack's hologram looked amazed before he turned to listen to someone near him. Eventually, he turned back to face the repulsive officer again. "Think what you like Trumble. Now don't you make me come out there and sort you out 'cause that would make me really, really angry seeing as I've got a lovely dinner date lined-up with my favourite Colonel who currently on base and not commanding her ship."
Trumble looked like he was about to say something but kept his mouth shut for once. Jack looked beyond him and was relieved to see both Colonel Lorne and Mr Woolsey now standing directly behind the man. So instead of addressing Trumble, he spoke directly to them. "If Trumble tries to take command of the military, then you have General Landry's and my permission to arrest him and throw him in the brig until the Daedalus arrives. After that, he'll be returning to Earth to face the consequences."
Mr Woolsey stepped forward. "Thank you, General. We will keep that in mind."
"Well, I'd better go as Doctor Lee is looking a bit concerned about the amount of energy this connection is costing us on our recently found ZeePM. Give Sheppard my regards and hope he makes a speedy recovery." With that, the hologram winked out and the Stargate shut down.
Trumble's mind was a whirl at the sudden change of events. "Sheppard's really alive? If so I wish to see him for myself as I still don't believe you."
Colonel Lorne stepped forward. "Believe what you like, sir. We rescued him during the night."
"Yes, Colonel Lorne and the others did a fine job. The Lieutenant Colonel will be in charge of the military until Colonel Sheppard is back on his feet." Woolsey added. "Now if you'd kindly go back to your guest quarters or the mess hall…"
"No, I will not. You will take me to the infirmary immediately. I want proof that Sheppard is indeed alive," Trumble demanded. Then we'll see how long he continues to live. He may have lost his plan to command Atlantis, but he still needed to remove Sheppard. The man just might be aware that he'd been pushed into the abyss. Of course, he could always frame Carpenter, if necessary.
Woolsey exchanged a quick look with Lorne before saying. "I'm sorry, but the Colonel is only allowed to see close family members and friends at the moment. He went through quite an ordeal and is still recovering."
"Ha! Just as I thought." Trumble huffed as he stormed out of the control room. He would find that useless female doctor he'd come with and get her to supply him with the truth about Sheppard. If the man was still alive, then he would have to see about getting into the infirmary and finishing the job.
Lorne sighed. "Well, that went better than expected. Thank goodness General O'Neill was willing to step in, even though it was just his hologram."
"Remarkable wasn't it. I honestly didn't know they had the power."
Chuck overheard Mr Woolsey's comment and added. "When they dialled in they told me it needed to be quick. As luck would have it, the General was already on his way so I didn't have to call him. Apparently, they found a ZedPM that had been buried in Antarctica near the old base. The item became exposed, what with all the melting ice in recent years. Unfortunately, it turned out to be nearly depleted, but it gave them enough juice to dial out to us and a bit more, I think."
"Thank you for the information, Chuck." Woolsey looked thoughtful as he turned to Lorne. "Let's go to my office for a minute," Once there the two men gratefully sat down before Woolsey continued. "We need to keep that man away from the infirmary. He must not know about the Colonel's current condition."
Lorne nodded in agreement. "I'll inform the staff and have some guards posted at the entries. Can't we simply push him through the Stargate and back to Earth already?"
"I'd love to, but McKay is concerned about a number of dial outs we've made to Earth in recent days. He said our ZeePM will be critically depleted unless we cut back. So I guess we'd best wait for the Daedalus to return in a few weeks time."
"Oh joy," Lorne muttered. Then something else came to mind. "What are we going to do about Lieutenant Becket? Trumble wants me to throw the book at him for refusing to fly him back to Atlantis."
Woolsey knew there would be more problems. "Right, I think it's time you gave me the complete lowdown on what exactly happened out there. Gather up the key witnesses, including Lieutenant Becket for a debriefing. Please, don't involve Trumble. I'd like to get his version of the events in private later. I've already spoken to Ronon, so he needn't attend at the present time. Oh, but make sure that visiting geologist…er…Dr Finnegan and Corporal Carpenter do. We'll convene in an hour's time in the conference room. Now, I'm going to the infirmary to see if anything has changed. Then I'll be preparing my personal condolences for Doctor Stein's family in Germany."
"Yeah, poor man. That was a horrible way to go. Well, I'd better go and see about organising the debriefing." Woolsey nodded his agreement. As Lorne got up and started to move out of his office, he turned back. "I sincerely hope the Colonel's pulls out of whatever is wrong with him for Teyla and the children's sake," he added before leaving Woolsey alone.
Evan also had something else to deal with, something that would involve the geology department.
oOo
Beth was in a really difficult and unusually stubborn mood, which had her current childminder Carla Blake frustrated to the point of screaming. To make matters worse, Torren wasn't being much better. It had been bad enough for the children to have woken to find their mother absent and a relative stranger looking after them. Now it was even worse as Teyla had yet to turn up even after two hours had gone by since they had gotten out of bed. The children had simply refused to eat or be entertained by the young nurse.
In the end, Carla had contacted the infirmary to explain the situation. That had been some twenty minutes ago now and still nothing. The nurse knew it was probably difficult for Teyla as she was no doubt finding it hard to leave the Colonel's side, even for a moment. From all accounts, there had been no change in the Commander's condition, which had everyone who knew about it very concerned.
Beth finally had enough. She stood in the middle of the room and screamed at the top of her lungs. "I want my momma!"
Carla was at a total loss. Normally, she was good with kids, but this little madam was something else. "Beth, how many times must I tell you? Your mother is busy. I'm sure she'll be along as soon as she can."
The nurse watched in despair as the girl started to cry and Torren looked like he might. The door of the quarters suddenly whooshed open and Carla turned, hoping to see Teyla enter. Instead, it was Ronon and Amelia Banks.
"Oh, am I glad to see you two," Carla murmured. "I can't seem to calm them down or get them to do anything."
"Yeah, guess that's understandable. We'll take over now."Ronon assured her, having to speak loudly over Beth's crying.
Nodding in relief, Carla prepared to leave when Amelia told her. "Teyla sends her thanks. I'm sorry you've had such a rotten time."
Carla smiled. "I'm sure they aren't normally like this."
"No, they're not," Amelia replied as she bent down in front of the children and pulled them to her. She turned to the little girl who was finally calming down. "What has you so upset, Beth?"
The little girl chewed on her lower lip and looked directly up at her Uncle Ronon. "Momma's wasn't here and…Atlantis is so very…sad. Now you're here and not our daddy."
Torren looked at his sister and realised what she was implying. Also looking up at Uncle Ronon, he asked. "Has something bad happened to daddy?"
Ronon threw Amelia a quick glance. He hated this kind of thing as he wasn't good with words. Thankfully, his lady love was much better. The very perceptive children needed to be told something, so Amelia told them. "Your daddy has had an accident, which has your momma and everyone else a little worried about."
"Is he going to die?" Torren asked in a quivery voice.
"Oh no, the doctors believe not. He has some injuries, but they are not too bad. Your daddy…, Oh god, how do I explain this to them? "Your daddy is not…talking to us right now. He seems to be in his own little dream world."
Beth frowned. "Is that why I can't feel him anymore?"
Amelia knew all about their connection through their ATA gene. There had always been a strong link between the two of them. Some theorised it was because of their link with the city. Others claimed the bond was formed because the Colonel had saved the little girl from certain death. Whatever, there was no doubt in Amelia's mind that Beth needed reassurance. "Most likely, sweetheart. The doctors are doing all they can to understand why your daddy isn't responding to us. There has to be a good reason and I'm sure they will get to the bottom of it."
Amelia words seemed to pacify the children for now. They even allowed Ronon and herself to take them for a late breakfast.
oOo
Teyla knew she should have returned to the children ages ago, but she wanted to be there to hear the results of the brain scans and other tests the doctors were currently carrying out on John. She had spent hours with him, simply holding his hand and willing him to look at her and say something, anything. She had talked quietly about how much she loved him and that he needed to get better for the children's sake and hers, of course. There had been no reaction from him, whatsoever. The only thing that had happened, his body appeared to relax for a while and he actually seemed to be asleep. However, it was difficult to tell because his eyes remained half open. Because of the possibility of them drying out, a nurse had applied drops at regular intervals.
Just over an hour ago they had wheeled John out for a battery of tests and now every sound had Teyla on edge. Rodney had joined her at one point but hadn't stayed very long, claiming he needed to do some research. Mr Woolsey had been by and had apprised her on the latest developments concerning Trumble. How she detested that man. She had also asked Ronon to stay away from the man as attacking him would only make matters worse for John. Thankfully Ronon had agreed.
Deep in thought, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Carson appeared in front of her and quietly called. "Let's go into my office for a minute, love."
Teyla's heart pounded and the baby kicked, obviously not liking his mother's reaction. Teyla tried her hardest to calm her nerves for her unborn child's sake, but it wasn't easy. She sat down in front of Carson's small desk and waited for him to speak.
"Well, the good news is there's no sign of actual brain damage which could have been caused by a fall or any other reason. The blood tests have also come back clean, meaning he wasn't bitten or poisoned by anything he may have ingested. "
Teyla silently thanked the Ancestors for that small mercy. "And the bad?"
Carson simply shook his head. "There's absolutely no explanation as to why he's not responding to any stimulation whatsoever. As we've said before, even pain. We can do what we like to him and he simply doesn't react. I spoke to Rodney earlier and he said he would search the Ancient database for any information on that planet and any possible reason for what's happened to John."
Teyla looked thoughtful. "When Rodney came by earlier he spoke of not feeling so…with it as they approached the valley where John was. Apparently, Evan's reacted was even stronger. Could it be something to do with their ATA gene?"
"Aye, that's a distinct possibility. But if so, why is he still being affected and how the heck do we get him back?"
TBC
