I woke up startled. I was suddenly on guard and I wasn't sure why. There was no reason for me to be so jumpy or was there? Each time in the past that I had woken up nervous, there was always a good reason to be.
I sat up and looked over at my clock. 0412. Ugh...I hate mornings!
I pulled the covers off and stood up. I began to get dressed and finished when I tied my boots. I walked out of my quarters. I didn't have any particular place to go in mind but I just decided to walk around.
Gate activity was still down because we were still working on trying to find Koyla and Michael. Things were starting to get rather boring in Atlantis and I knew that people were going to be blaming me for that, as they usually did. I was even mad at myself for the lack of fun and travel that was happening...or not happening, as the case may be.
I walked into the mess hall and grabbed some juice. I looked up and saw a couple of people sitting at the far table. One of the people was Zelenka. I stepped up to their table and smiled as I asked, "Mind if I join you?"
Zelenka motioned for me to sit at the empty chair that sat next to him.
I sat down and asked, "Why is everyone up at this ungodly hour?"
Zelenka replied, "Couldn't sleep. Rodney's got us working all the time on that alter."
I was about to drink from my juice bottle but I froze at the word 'alter'. I asked, "Have you come across anything yet?"
He shook his head as he added, "Well, nothing that would suggest that it's a danger to anyone."
"So it's a different alter than the one I was on?" I questioned.
He shrugged as he replied, "From what we could determine."
Zelenka's friend mentioned, "It's releasing some sort of energy but we don't know what it is other than that."
"Are you sure that it's safe?" I asked.
Zelenka's friend sighed, "I guess we'll find out soon enough. We have to get back to it."
I watched as the scientists got up and walked away from the table. Zelenka looked at me before he walked away and said, "Don't worry, Ricky. We'll figure this out."
I smiled at him, unsure if he was really confident about it or if he was just saying that to appease me. I honestly didn't think that I would be able to rest until I knew for certain what that alter was for, and why it was left for us to find.
Later that morning, I walked into the infirmary. Beckett was examining the friend of Zelenka's that I had seen earlier that morning. I asked as I approached, "What happened?"
Beckett turned to me and replied, "Oh, he's all right. He has a headache, that's all. What can I do for you, my dear?"
I shrugged as I stated, "I was in the neighborhood. I thought I would see if you were free for breakfast or something?"
Beckett smiled warmly at me. "I'd like that very much. Just give me another five minutes to finish this up."
I nodded and sat down on a nearby chair as I waited. Beckett continued to work on Zelenka's friend, and soon, another scientist that was assigned to the alter walked in.
Beckett turned to her and asked, "What can I do for you?"
She replied, "I've got a bad headache. I just need something for it and I'll be out of your hair."
Beckett looked at the two of them and asked, "Both of you are experiencing the same symptoms...are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with the alter you're working on?"
The girl snapped, "Come on, Doc...just give me a shot already! It's a headache! Haven't you ever had a tension headache from having to deal with working non-stop?"
I stood up. There was something not right about the way she was talking to Beckett.
To Beckett's credit, he didn't argue back. Instead, he just said, "I'm sorry, dear. Of course. Here you go."
He gave her the shot and sent her on her way. She stormed out of the infirmary, followed by the other scientist. Beckett looked over at me.
I asked, "What was that about?"
Beckett shook his head as he replied, "I don't know...I think we better just keep an eye on them."
I nodded as I added, "I think it might be worthwhile to tell McKay too. It could be coming from that alter."
Beckett agreed and I followed him out of the infirmary and towards Weir's office to update her on what just transpired.
