Author's Note: Gosh, I'm almost too embarrassed to show my face again after another long delay between chapters. Hopefully you'll forgive me yet again. Thanks again to those who have left a review especially to my anonymous reviewer, your comments are always a joy to read.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Stargate Atlantis or the characters. The only things that are mine are any original thoughts or characters that you may find here. As always all mistakes are of my own making and will hopefully be forgiven.
Chapter 49
Rodney tried to distract himself by concentrating on his data-pad. He knew from his studies of the jumper how the cloak worked to deflect light waves. The sensors and even their own eyes only detected objects by the light they reflected. Stop that light from reaching the object across the whole spectrum and the object would disappear from sight and sensors alike. Knowing that he should be able to use his not inconsiderable IQ to devise a way to see past the cloak.
"Caldwell?"
Rodney's head shot up at the sound of the familiar voice. "Sheppard?" He took in the view outside the jumper and realised that they were hovering near the location of the Ancient site. He'd been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn't even noticed. Dozens of angry-looking men were doing their best to gain access to the now visible site while a few poked at a lone figure encased in a glowing cylinder of some kind. Neither the Dalerians or the Ree-Tan possessed any technology much beyond the equivalent of the Middle Ages. It could only mean one thing. The weapon had been triggered. Somehow that didn't scare him as much as the sight of the Ree-Tan attacking the building. "Oh my god." The thought of having to get past the men with the sharp pointy objects to reach his friend triggered his self-preservation gene to go into hyper-drive before his brain finally kicked back into gear and he realised the significance of what he was seeing and hearing. "The cloak. Sheppard must've deactivated it." He quickly tapped the radio. "Caldwell, the cloak-".
"Rodney?"
Of course Sheppard would be able to hear him now that the cloak was down. "Stating the obvious as always. Of course it's me. Who else did you expect?"
"Rodney."
"Teyla?"
"Yes Colonel. Ronon is with us as well. Is Doctor Weir with you?"
"I am. You need to hurry. John's hurt. Please tell me you can beam us out of here."
"That shouldn't be a problem now that the cloak is down. Hang on a sec while we contact the Daedalus."
"Should they not already know?" asked Teyla.
Rodney paused at her words realising that she was right. Caldwell knew the location of the site and Rodney had left Hermiod and Novak still working on the problem of breaching the cloak. They would've noticed it straight away if it was no longer operating. It irked him that he hadn't thought of that himself. Atlantis could communicate with both the jumpers and the Daedalus even with the shield in place. The cloak was no different. It shouldn't have blocked the signal from the Ancient site. "Normally, yes. They must be using some kind of electronic jamming same as the Wraith hive ships." It was all very interesting and he'd love to have the opportunity to examine the technology without the threat of imminent death hanging over his head but there were more pressing matters. "Colonel I need you to shut off the controls for the cloak and jamming systems."
"John's barely conscious, Rodney. Can you give us any idea what we're looking for?"
"Not without access to the schematics."
"I say we blast our way in."
"Of course you would but then that would just let the bad guys in and we all know how that would end."
"Not if we get to them first," added Ronon.
"I would agree if there were not so many of them," replied Teyla. "If the Daedalus truly cannot hear their signal-"
"Then why can we? I know I've already asked myself that question. It must be something to do with it recognising the jumper as Ancient. The site must've picked up the Daedalus on the scanner."
"It did, Rodney. Along with the jumper."
It was heartening to know he was right but it didn't bring them any closer to a solution. Not unless he could use the jumper's systems to make a connection. "Give me a minute. I've got an idea."
"Elizabeth, what can ye tell me 'bout the Colonel's injuries?" asked Carson.
Rodney tuned out the conversation as he scrolled through the data on his data-pad. They had learnt a lot about the jumpers since they had arrived in Atlantis but there were still quite a few crystals which they had no idea what they controlled. Maybe one of those held the answer.
He made his way into the back section of the jumper and opened the cover to the main crystal bank. It wasn't entirely without risk but at least they weren't lodged in a space gate this time. He could still trigger a drive-pod overload but imminent death from lack of oxygen wasn't. The latter was too close to how he imagined drowning felt for him to ever be comfortable with as a method of death. Knowing his luck it was no doubt the death that awaited him. Hopefully it would be a long time into the future. The thought of his own death reminded him just whose death was much more likely if his idea didn't work.
He wished there was a quicker way to work his way through the connections but there wasn't. His best option was to be methodical. Any other approach only increased the chances that he'd miss a connection or test the same one multiple times. It didn't make it any less frustrating though. At least he was doing something even if it didn't seem like much. The others had nothing else to do but wait and he could hear how well that was working. Ronon had taken to pacing back and forth, hand on his blaster giving the impression that he was looking for something to shoot and he probably was. He tried to ignore the image that formed in his head as Ronon passed him yet again. "Do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate here and you're not helping."
"How much longer?" asked Ronon as he stopped in his tracks and stared at him.
Rodney paused in his work and looked at his teammate. "I'm halfway through but I'm not even sure this will work."
"It will," replied Ronon.
"And if it does not we will find another way," added Teyla from her position near the bulkhead.
Rodney was touched by their confidence in his skills. It hadn't always been like that especially not with Ronon. Those first few missions after the Satedan joined the team were probably best forgotten. He turned back to his task hoping that their faith in him would be enough.
He moved on to the next connection and watched the result on the data-pad. Another failure. Did the Ancients consider this technology so simple that a set of instructions on their workings was totally unnecessary? Back on Earth even the most basic technology seemed to come with an operating manual the size of War and Peace. For some reason they assumed that the operator new absolutely nothing including the idea that it was a good idea to read the manual before operating same said technology. Of course he never bothered to read them but then he'd yet to meet a piece of Earth technology that took him more than a few minutes to understand. He wished he could say the same of Ancient tech.
He tested another connection and glanced down at his data-pad expecting to see more of the same and stopped as Ancient text scrolled across the screen followed by a translation on the next line.
"It worked. I'm in."
"We never doubted you, Rodney," responded Teyla.
"I still have to find the controls for the cloak," replied Rodney. It could still take too long. He thought about how the information was structured on Atlantis and started a search for anything relating to security. The list was longer than he liked but probably wasn't that surprising given the nature of the Ancient site. He quickly dismissed the systems he easily recognised and concentrated on the ones that he didn't. Atlantis didn't have cloaking technology, a serious oversight in his opinion considering they'd built it into the jumpers.
He paused as the image on his screen changed and he recognised details he'd seen before when running diagnostics on the jumpers. He scrolled through the data and quickly realised he'd finally found what he was looking for. Now all he had to do was find out how to turn it off. Feeling more confident that his plan might actually work he continued searching for an icon he knew he'd recognise. It didn't take long to find and he selected it with a sense of triumph. He truly was the smartest man in two galaxies. Maybe more.
He tapped on his radio. "Colonel Caldwell, can you hear me?"
"Doctor McKay? What's going on? We've been trying to contact you."
"The Ancient site was cloaked. Obviously it extends beyond the building itself and blocked our signal as well. I've managed to shut it down so you should be able to pick up Sheppard and Weir's life signs and beam them out."
"Hold on a moment," replied Caldwell.
More than a few moments passed before Caldwell was back on the radio.
"There are four life signs inside the building and Hermiod tells me there is no way to tell them apart."
"Can't you beam them all up and worry about who is who afterwards?" asked Rodney not caring what anyone thought of his outburst.
"Look again, Colonel. I'll be the one pacing back and forth while the two of you continue to debate who to beam up. John can't wait that long. He needs medical attention now."
Rodney took Caldwell's silence to mean compliance but nothing would surprise him with that man. The chip he carried on his shoulder from missing out on command of Atlantis to Sheppard was large enough for everyone to see. He suspected that Caldwell placed much of the blame at Elizabeth's feet. She had powerful friends and Caldwell no doubt knew that.
"Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard have been beamed to the infirmary. Return to the Daedalus."
Rodney sagged in relief, oblivious to the movement around him until a hand snagged his arm.
"You did well, Rodney," said Teyla.
ooOoo
Elizabeth found herself guided away from John's side as medics moved in and started the task of assessing his injuries. She didn't want to leave him but he needed them more than he needed her right now. John had passed out not long after they made contact with Rodney and he'd stayed that way ever since. She should have made him rest not let him move around operating the consoles. His wounds had started bleeding again and he had already lost far too much blood.
"He's crashing!"
She couldn't watch him die. Not now. Not ever. He meant far too much to her. She'd already known that before she'd gone to Daleria. Worrying about him when he went missing for two months had shown her that. But somehow the last twenty four hours had shown her just what she was willing to do to keep him safe. She'd give her own life before she was willing to see him lose his. A feeling she knew John reciprocated even if she only had Teyla's word for it that it was for the same reasons. Hopefully she'd get the chance to find out.
"He's back."
She nearly collapsed in relief at the medic's words and barely paid attention to the hands that guided her to a nearby gurney.
"He's in good hands, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth turned to see Keller standing by her side and wondered when she had appeared. "Jennifer."
"Let's get you checked out while Carson takes care of the Colonel."
She could only nod as everything started to fade away into darkness.
TBC
A/N: Thank goodness! They should all be safe now, right? Is that an evil plot bunny laugh I hear in the distance? Oh dear, now I'm worried.
