Rodney stood to one side and watched as his team and Carson disappeared through the 'gate in order to deal with what Sheppard had called the "Michael situation". The wormhole shut down, and Rodney ignored the curious glances from the Marines on guard duty as he stared at the now-silent 'gate.
After his disastrous encounter with Michael in the mess hall, Rodney had done his best to steer clear of their new lieutenant lest he make the situation worse. John hadn't come out and said anything, but Rodney was convinced his skittish behavior around Kenmore had been part of the reason Michael had figured out the truth of what they had done to him.
Still, he never expected Sheppard to bench him from a mission.
Rodney looked up from the laptop when he saw John walk into the lab. He started to make a sarcastic comment but choked it off when he saw Sheppard's serious expression. "What's wrong?" he asked instead and closed the computer.
"Michael," John replied and stopped on the other side of the work table.
Rodney felt a shudder run down his spine at the name. He'd been a nervous wreck during his brief encounter with Kenmore in the mess hall. His heart had been pounding so loud that Rodney was sure Kenmore could hear it. And then, when Michael had asked about the Wraith text on the tablet he held, Rodney had nearly dropped the computer as he stammered through what he had hoped was a plausible explanation.
"Umm, what about him?" Rodney asked.
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "You took your radio off again, didn't you," he said with a sigh.
Rodney glanced at the earpiece sitting on his desk. "I needed to concentrate," he said, glancing at the closed computer. He had been meaning to tell John for weeks about the data dump he and Zelenka had orchestrated. But between missions, and then everything with capturing Michael, he hadn't had a chance.
"Well, if you had your radio on, you would have known Michael tried to escape," John told him.
Rodney felt the blood drain from his face. "He escaped?" he asked and glanced at the door to the lab.
"We caught him," John said. "But it's obvious we can't keep him here any longer. Beckett wants to take him to the alpha site and continue the treatments there."
"So we're going too?" Rodney asked.
John glanced at him, then pursed his lips and looked down at the computer. "Not we," he said. "Just me, Ronon, and Teyla. I need you to stay here."
Rodney crossed his arms and scowled across the work table. "Why?"
John stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? In case you weren't paying attention, Michael tried to escape and killed Sergeant Cole in the process. He's dangerous, and I don't want anyone else caught in the crossfire."
Rodney stared at Sheppard in disbelief. "But you're taking Teyla with you?"
"Only because I have to," John replied. "Michael seems to trust her. Beckett hopes that will help him adjust to the new treatment protocol."
"I can take care of myself," Rodney argued.
"I never said you couldn't," John replied. "But this is a volatile situation. Until Beckett can get Michael under control, I'm not taking any more chances."
Rodney considered that for a moment, then shook his head. "If things are so bad, why are we even offering Michael this, this second chance?"
John sighed and sat on the other side of the work table. "Because Carson convinced Elizabeth he can adjust the dosage of the retrovirus enough to prevent another incident."
Rodney snorted at the word 'incident'. "But you don't think it will work."
"I don't know if it will work or not," John replied, and Rodney heard the hesitation in Sheppard's tone.
"How long?"
"How long for what?"
"How long will you be gone?" Rodney clarified.
"Not sure," John said. "If Beckett gets good results with the increased dosage, it might only be for a few days."
Rodney uncrossed his arms and poked at the computer in front of him. "I don't like this."
"I'm getting that," John said. "But you still need to stay here." He stood from the table and added, "You said you wanted to finish the programming or whatever for your prototype emitters. Here's your chance."
Rodney grumbled under his breath. "Fine," he replied to John. "But you're helping with the prototype tests when you get back. No arguments."
"Deal," John replied with a smile. "I'll see you in a few days."
Rodney waited until John was gone, then blew out a frustrated breath and turned to the laptop waiting on the work table.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth said.
"Hmm?" Rodney replied. He shook off the memory and looked up at Elizabeth standing on the balcony above him.
"Was there something you needed?" Elizabeth asked.
"No." He glanced at the silent 'gate, then stepped toward the exit. "I'm umm, I'm going to …" He pointed behind him. "I'll be in my lab."
Rodney left the gateroom without a backward glance and headed for the nearest transporter. He tried to tell himself he wasn't worried about Sheppard and the others, that John, Ronon, and Teyla were more than capable of taking care of themselves. But visions of a Wraith hive ship exploding in front of him kept dancing in his head, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Sheppard's plan with Michael would backfire.
"Stop it," he ordered himself as he entered his lab, letting the door close behind him. "They'll be fine."
Rodney sat at the work table, opened the laptop and stared at the information about the link he and Radek had found. He tried reading a few of the entries but soon gave up when he realised he hadn't remembered anything he had read. His imagination kept circling back to Sheppard and any number of worst-case scenarios, preventing him from focusing on the information in front of him.
He stood from the stool and paced from the work table to the door and back again, trying to burn off the nervous tension. Sitting and reading would not be enough of a distraction, he realised. Rodney turned back toward the work table and caught sight of the Ancient transformer he'd found on Rivas sitting on the shelf behind the table.
"Emitters," Rodney muttered to himself. "Maybe Sheppard had the right idea."
Thanks to everything that happened with the jumper sinking and their trip to Aegina, not to mention missions to planets with buried Ancient cities, Sheppard and Weir possessed by dying soldiers in a long-forgotten war, and oh yes, the Genii trying to kill them again, he grumbled to himself, the data dump about the link wasn't the only thing he'd been neglecting.
Though Rodney was loath to admit it, Zelenka's ideas on how he had compensated for the increased pressure while Radek and Sheppard rescued him from the sunken jumper had provided the key to his new plan for the emitter software. Unfortunately, his first idea of using the information had failed in simulations, but he'd been too busy to find another solution.
He sat in front of the computer, closed the file with the data dump, and pulled up the simulation data. He reran the simulations and shook his head when the simulated cloaking shield collapsed under the barest strain.
"It has to be something with the harmonic bridge," he muttered. "There must still be something off with frequencies."
He pulled up the software program, rechecking his code. He scanned the code twice before he found the problem.
"Idiot," he chastised himself when he found the obvious error. "You didn't account for how the blended frequency would interact with the emitters themselves. No wonder it failed."
He shook his head and started typing. "Good thing you found this before Zelenka. Otherwise, you would never live down the humiliation."
Michael wreaking havoc in the city, and Sheppard leaving him behind faded into the background as he worked on the new program. Lines of code filled the screen as the new program took shape, and Rodney lost track of time.
With one last flourish, Rodney sat back on the stool. "Yes," he said to himself with a self-congratulatory nod. "That should form the harmonic bridge to allow the shield and cloak to work in concert." He glanced at his watch, surprised when he realised he'd been working on the emitter program for several hours.
When was Sheppard due to check in? he wondered as he scanned the lines of code and double-checked his math. He'd kept his radio on but hadn't heard anything from Elizabeth or the control room about the status of the mission to the alpha site.
"Maybe no news is good news," he said to himself and booted up a second computer.
Rodney ran one last check of the software, then fed the data into his simulation program and sat back as the computer ran a series of simulations using the new code. He was contemplating heading to the mess hall for coffee and something to eat when the lab door whispered open, and Radek walked into the lab.
"Oh!" Radek said and stopped in surprise, just inside the door. "You are here. I thought you had gone to the alpha site with Colonel Sheppard."
Rodney scowled at the fresh reminder he'd been left behind and glared at Zelenka. "I decided my time was better spent here," he replied. "Was there something you wanted?"
Radek hesitated for a moment, then held up the file folder in his hand. "Doctor Moore has the final report on her recent mission to M28-169."
"And?"
"She believes the planet is worthy of further study," Radek replied, walking over to the work table. "They found evidence of several life forms living under the ice sheet unknown to our science."
"And she checked the Ancient database?"
Radek nodded. "It does not appear the Ancients were aware of any life forms on the planet either. Doctor Moore believes if we can learn more about how these creatures survive in such harsh conditions, there could be some interesting applications for treating hypothermia or other medical conditions."
Rodney snapped his fingers several times and held out his hand for the folder. Radek handed over the file, and Rodney skimmed the report.
"You used part of the program from the rescue jumper to create a bridge balancing the different frequencies of the shield and the cloak," Radek said, studying the computer screen over Rodney's shoulder.
"Do you mind?" Rodney replied, looking up from the report with a glare.
Radek stepped back, and Rodney closed the folder, setting it to one side. "And yes, your ideas for compensating for the underwater shield integrity might have provided some minor assistance with the emitter program."
Radek shook his head. "How does it work in simulations?" he asked with a glance at Rodney.
"Still waiting to find out. I had just started the simulation program when you barged in here like you owned the place."
"I didn't know you were here!"
Rodney had a scathing retort on the tip of his tongue when the computer pinged and lines of code scrolled up the screen. "Never mind, it looks like it's done." He sat forward on the stool and skimmed the results of the test.
"Well?" Radek asked.
Rodney pushed back from the work table. "The simulations all look stable."
Radek stepped forward and looked at the computer. "Yes, yes," he replied, scrolling through the various diagrams and charts. "I think you're right." He stepped back from the table. "With the updated program, I think we could try a few tests using the prototypes," he hinted.
"May as well," Rodney said more to himself than Zelenka. It would pass the time, he added to himself and tapped his earpiece. "McKay to Major Lorne."
"Lorne here. What's up, Doc?"
"Zelenka and I are ready to run some practical tests on the prototype emitters. To do that, we need access to several Wraith stun weapons."
"Now?" Lorne asked.
"Is that a problem?" Rodney glared at the ceiling.
"You are aware of what's been going on today, aren't you?" Lorne asked, and Rodney heard the note of impatience in Lorne's tone.
"More than aware, Major," Rodney replied, his tone curt. "But that doesn't stop the wheels of science."
There was a pause over the radio, then Lorne said, "I'm in the middle of dealing with the after-action reports from Michael's attempted escape. You're still working out at that building on the north pier?"
"The silo, yes."
There was a pause over the radio, then, "Fine. I'll send Thompson out there to meet you."
"We need to run a variety of tests," Rodney told Lorne. "Make sure he brings at least four or five stun rifles."
"Just what are you planning to do, Doc?"
Rodney pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to hold his temper. "I need to test the integrity of the prototype shield and the cloak emitters, Major. And while I could have Thompson shoot at it with a P-90, the stun rifles are probably a safer option at this stage."
"Whatever you say," Lorne replied. "I'll let Thompson know. Lorne out."
Rodney tapped his earpiece and picked up the laptop computer.
"The stun rifles will only give us so much data," Radek said.
"I know that," Rodney replied. "But since the only other particle weapon we have access to is currently running around with Sheppard on another planet, this is the best we can do."
"Umm," Radek said.
Rodney stared at Radek. "What?"
"We might have another Wraith weapon we can use for the tests," Radek replied.
Rodney set the computer on the work table, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at Zelenka. "Excuse me?"
"A Wraith weapon," Radek explained. "We might have one."
"And just where did you find a Wraith particle weapon?" Rodney asked with a scowl. "And more to the point, how am I only hearing about this now?"
"Doctor Tsao came to me while you were on Aegina. His team managed to pull one of the weapon arrays from the dart we scavenged from Thenora. I've been trying to repair it."
Rodney felt the jolt in his stomach at the reminder of what else had happened on Thenora and clenched his jaw. "You're saying we've had this weapon for almost two months?" he asked in a low growl. "When were you going to tell me this, exactly?"
Radek took a hurried step back, holding out his hands. "It doesn't work," he explained. "At least not yet."
Rodney twisted his lips into a grimace. "But you think it might work?"
Radek shrugged. "It was severely damaged when the dart crashed. I have made some progress reconstructing it, but the work is slow. Many systems have an organic component that I have yet to figure out how to repair."
"Unbelievable," Rodney muttered under his breath. He picked up the computer and turned to Zelenka. "Once we're done with the emitter tests, show me what you've done so far. I'll sit down and figure out where you're going wrong."
Rodney heard Zelenka grumbling in Czech under his breath and grinned. "Let's go," he said, walking out of the lab.
He led the way back to the transporter, waited just long enough for Radek to join him, then tapped the section of the map near the silo on the north pier. There was a brief hum, and the doors opened a moment later onto an atrium with hallways leading away from the transporter in two different directions.
Rodney turned down the right-hand hallway and ignored the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the evenly spaced floor-to-ceiling windows as he planned how he wanted to run the prototype tests. He would need data from several different real-time scenarios comparing the results against the computer simulations to determine if his cloaking shield idea would work in practice as much as on paper.
"Have you thought about moving these experiments to the mainland?" Radek asked as he followed Rodney down the hallway.
"One step at a time," Rodney replied. He didn't mention anything about Doranda, but a quick glance at Zelenka's face, and he knew he didn't have to. "Let's make sure the emitters can take the strain from the stun rifles first. Then, once the weapons array from the dart is repaired, we can think about more practical tests."
Rodney stopped outside the set of double doors for the space he had commandeered for his emitter experiments and waved his hand over the sensor. The doors slid open, and Rodney walked into the room, mentally turning up the lights.
The stack of crates from his last attempt to test the emitters still stood in the middle of the room. A series of six tripods stood at strategic points around the boxes, a meter or so out from the room's walls, each with one of the prototype emitters mounted at the top. Rodney passed the stack of crates as he crossed the room and walked over to the work table pushed against the wall opposite the door. He set the laptop on the table and powered up the naquadah generator and the mainframe computer standing next to the table.
"Once we've shown that the emitters work against the stun rifles, I'll talk to Elizabeth about scaling up the tests. Assuming, of course, we can figure out a way to mount that Wraith weapon of yours onto a jumper." He glanced at Radek, then turned back to the computer. "Might be useful for more than just a few emitter tests, too," he added under his breath.
"What was that?" Zelenka asked.
"I said, turn on the emitters," Rodney ordered. "I'll get the new program loaded into the mainframe while we wait for Thompson to bring the Wraith rifles."
Radek studied him for a moment, then shook his head and walked over to the nearest tripod. He flipped a series of switches on the board mounted at the tripod's base, glanced up at the emitter, nodded, and moved to the next tripod.
Rodney watched him power up the first emitter, then plugged the laptop into the mainframe computer he had built to run the prototype emitters.
"Doctor McKay?" Thompson called from the doorway. "Major Lorne said you wanted some help with some sort of test?"
"Yes," Rodney replied, never looking up from the laptop as he transferred the emitter program to the mainframe. The laptop signalled the transfer was in progress, and Rodney glanced at Thompson walking across the room. "I told Lorne we needed at least five of the stun rifles," he said with a frown.
Thompson balanced the three Wraith stun rifles in his arms against the edge of the work table. "This is all we had in the armoury," Thompson explained. "Colonel Sheppard assigned the rest to the Marines he took with him to the alpha site."
Rodney ignored the twinge in his stomach at the reminder of where Sheppard was and why he needed so many of the stun rifles.
Radek stepped back from the last emitter and walked over to the work table. He opened a second laptop, pulled up a graphic profile for each emitter, and studied the screen for a few seconds. "Emitters are powered up and ready," Radek reported.
Rodney grunted and typed a series of commands into the mainframe. "We'll test the cloak and the shield separately, then try the new program to combine them."
Radek nodded and rechecked his laptop. "Ready when you are."
Rodney tapped the enter key for the mainframe and glanced at the emitter array. The tips of the emitters glowed, and he heard a low hum as the light increased. The air in the center of the room rippled as the cloak engaged and the crates disappeared.
Zelenka studied his laptop for a moment, then nodded. "The cloak is stable," he said and turned to the center of the room. "There does not appear to be any discernible distortion," he added as he walked around the edge of the room, checking the boards attached to each tripod. "I do not see any fluctuations in the harmonics."
Rodney walked around the other side of the room, alternately checking the other boards and watching the center of the room. He stopped a few paces from the door and reached out his hand.
"Whoa, hey, Doc!" Thompson exclaimed. "Should you do that?"
"It's perfectly safe," Rodney told him.
Rodney heard Thompson hiss in a breath as he held his arm in the field and felt the energy of the cloak tickle the hairs on his arm. "How are the readings?" he asked Radek.
Zelenka walked back to the work table and checked his laptop. "Still stable," he replied. "No spikes. No drops."
Rodney nodded, stepped through the field, and stood next to the stack of crates. The field shimmered around him, and Rodney tapped his radio as he looked up. "Radek?"
"Reading you," Radek replied. "The cloak is still stable."
"I can see you and Thompson, so I think we got the frequency right. Drop the cloak. We'll try the shield next."
Rodney tapped off his radio, and a few seconds later, the distortion in the air vanished as the cloak collapsed. He walked over to the work table and checked the laptop recording the data on the emitters.
"Emitters are back in standby," Radek said. "No recorded power fluctuations from the generator."
"Good," Rodney replied and typed a new command string into the mainframe.
The emitters glowed brighter as a high-pitched buzz filled the room. The air in the middle of the room shimmered again, but there was a solidity to the illusion this time. The crates remained visible, but there was a faint distortion to the air surrounding them.
"Does the shield always sound like that?" Thompson asked as he walked around the edge of the room.
"It is difficult to say," Radek replied with a distracted glance at Thompson as he studied his laptop. "We are usually on the other side."
"Shield powered up and stable," Rodney said, ignoring the conversation.
"All readings are nominal," Radek reported walking around the room's perimeter.
"All right, let's see how well this works," Rodney said, reaching for one of the stun rifles.
"Umm, sir?" Thompson said, picking up the stun rifle. "Maybe I should do that?"
Rodney studied Thompson's face for a moment, then pulled his hand away from the weapon.
"Fine," Rodney grunted.
He thought he heard Radek snicker and tried to glare at him, but Zelenka turned away and focused on the second laptop on the table.
Thompson readied the rifle and aimed at the shield. He glanced at Rodney and Radek.
Rodney checked the computers one more time, then nodded to Thompson.
"Fire in the hole!" Thompson called and fired the stun rifle.
The shield glowed where the stun beam impacted it, and Rodney watched the ripples cascade around the shield as it dispersed the energy. The last ripple faded on the far side of the shield, and Rodney turned back to the laptop, checking the readings. "The shield is holding."
"There is a lag in the energy disbursement," Radek said, pointing to a graph on his computer screen.
"That's still within the parameters," Rodney replied. "But I can tweak it some more." He sat and typed a string of commands into the mainframe.
"Okay, get ready to shoot it again," he said to Thompson. "This time, fire several shots in quick succession."
Thompson readied himself and nodded. "Fire in the hole!" he yelled and fired five quick shots at the shield.
This time, the shield glowed even brighter as the ripples of energy raced around the barrier. The last of the ripples faded, but it took several seconds for the shield to return to its near-invisible state.
"Is it supposed to do that?" Thompson asked, lowering the rifle.
"It's fine," Rodney replied as Radek checked the computer recording the test data.
"Better," Radek said, looking from the laptop with a nod. "There is still a lag, but it is well within our estimated safety range."
"In that case," Rodney replied, "time for the real test." He sat in front of the mainframe and engaged the cloak, leaving the shield in place.
The air around the crates shimmered, and then the boxes vanished.
"Wow," Thompson whispered. "That's … cool!"
"The shield and the cloak are now both working," Rodney said. "How are the readings?" he asked Zelenka.
Radek checked the laptop. "Nominal readings," Radek replied. "Both the cloak and the shield are active, and there does not appear to be any harmonic dissonance." He looked over at Rodney and smiled. "I think it works."
"Of course it works," Rodney retorted. He hid his smile of triumph as he studied the center of the room.
He had actually done it, Rodney thought to himself. He had done something even the Ancients hadn't thought possible.
He walked around the perimeter of the room, ostensibly checking the boards for each of the emitters, but in reality, he just wanted to savor the moment. A working shield and cloak, he congratulated himself. Too bad Sheppard and the others weren't here to see it.
He shook off the disappointment that he couldn't share his achievement with his team and walked back to the work table. "It won't do us any good if it can't stand up to enemy fire." He checked the readings on Radek's computer and turned to Thompson. "Hit it with a single shot," he ordered.
Thompson glanced from the rifle in his hand to the middle of the room. "You're sure this is going to work?"
"You just fired multiple times and watched the shield absorb the energy," Rodney retorted with an impatient glare. "It will work."
Thompson pursed his lips, then blew out a breath. "Stay here," he said and walked around the room.
He stopped halfway between the work table and the door, glanced at Rodney and Radek, then at the center of the room.
"Happy, now?" Rodney asked.
"I'm not taking any chances with ricochets," Thompson said. "I'd prefer not to have to explain to Colonel Sheppard that I shot one of you by accident." He set his feet and aimed the stun rifle at the center of the room. "I'm ready when you are."
Rodney glanced at Radek, who nodded.
"In your own time," Rodney said to Thompson.
Thompson stood with the rifle raised for another moment, then called, "Fire in the hole!"
The shield lit up in a brilliant burst of energy as the stun beam hit it. Rodney instinctively ducked and raised one arm against the bright light.
"Whoa!" Thompson exclaimed as he lowered the stun rifle.
The energy rippled around the shield's surface for several more seconds and finally dissipated on the other side.
Rodney knew how Thompson felt but used the excuse of checking the data streaming across the laptop's screen to hide his shock. Even during the worst of the Wraith attacks on the city the previous year, the shield had never reacted with such force.
Probably just an effect of the cloak interacting with the shield, Rodney thought and lowered his arm as the light faded. "Shield integrity held. And the cloak remained in place," he said as he studied the data on the laptop.
"There is something off with the power readings," Radek said, pointing to one of the graphs on the computer. "All emitters recorded a sharp power spike, but only a modest amount of power was drawn from the generator."
Rodney glanced at the graph. "The emitters are still within the levels we predicted."
"The upper end," Radek replied.
Rodney waved off the objection. "We can worry about that later. The important thing is that the harmonic bridge worked. Both the shield and the cloak held under a live-fire situation."
He rechecked the data, nodded, and handed Radek one of the stun rifles.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Radek asked.
"What do you think you're going to do with it?" Rodney retorted. "We need to know what happens if the cloaking shield is hit by fire coming from more than one direction."
"Cloaking shield?" Radek parroted.
Rodney waved his hand toward the middle of the room. "What would you call it?" He didn't give Radek a chance to answer but walked him over to a spot on the opposite side of the room from Thompson. "Just stand there and shoot when I tell you to."
He heard more muttered Czech as he walked back to the work table but ignored it. Rodney picked up the last stun rifle and glanced from Thompson to Zelenka. "One shot each," he said. "Ready?" He waited until Thompson and Radek nodded. "Now!"
Rodney fired at the middle of the room and was ready this time when the shield flared. He watched as the ripples of energy joined and spread around the edges of the shield, and the flashes of light slowly faded.
He would definitely need to do something about the bursts of light anytime something hit the shield, Rodney decided as he leaned the rifle against the work table and checked the laptop.
"Well?" Radek asked.
Rodney scanned the new data. "That can't be right," he muttered to himself.
"What is wrong?" Radek asked and walked over to the work table.
"The generator's power is barely within the expected window."
Radek frowned. "That cannot be. The energy must come from somewhere. If it is not the generator -"
"Should the emitters be doing that?" Thompson asked.
Rodney looked up at the emitters and noted the bright glow at the tips. As he watched, the glow dimmed and then winked out. He turned back to the computer and waited until the readings for the emitters returned to their base levels.
"That's why we're doing this," he said. "In order to make adjustments to the emitters or the harmonics software, I need data. Anomalies are to be expected at this stage."
He double-checked the readout on the computer, picked up the stun rifle, and shooed Radek back to his position.
"Last test," Rodney said. "We each need to fire several times and make sure you scatter your shots across the shield."
"You are not concerned about the low power output?" Radek asked.
"Not really, no," Rodney replied. "Maybe the stun rifles don't cause enough strain on the shield to draw the power we thought they would."
Radek considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose that could be possible."
"Great. Glad you agree," Rodney replied. "Now, can we get on with this?" He waited for Radek to nod, then raised his stun rifle and said, "And … Fire!"
Rodney heard the other stun rifles discharging, and the shield glowed brighter with each hit. He fired several times, then stopped and raised his hand, shielding his eyes from the blinding light coming from the shield.
"Rodney …" Radek drawled as the shield continued to glow even though no one was shooting at it. "Something is not right."
"Yes, thank you. I can see that," Rodney retorted and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He dropped the stun rifle on the end of the work table and studied the laptop computer. Every graph was pegged at the top of the scale.
"The light from the shield is still increasing," Radek said from where he stood at Rodney's elbow.
Rodney squinted at the shield. "This is bad. Very bad. We need to get out of here. Now."
"What's wrong?" Radek asked.
"I don't know," Rodney said. He glanced at Zelenka and saw the mix of confusion and fear in Radek's expression. "This should not be happening."
He typed a series of commands into the mainframe, glanced at the glowing shield and shook his head. "The shield isn't dissipating the energy," he said with a glance at Zelenka as he tried a different set of commands. "For some reason, the emitters are feeding the excess energy back into the shield instead of dispersing it."
He hit the enter key and glanced back at the shield. As far as he could tell, nothing had changed. The shield still glowed a brilliant white, and the graphs tracking the emitters were all pegged at the top of the charts.
"We need to go," Rodney said. He unplugged Radek's laptop from the mainframe and shoved it into Zelenka's arms.
Radek clutched the computer to his chest. "Have you tried -"
"We don't have time to argue about this," Rodney told him. "I tried disconnecting the cloak, resetting the harmonic bridge, and shutting down the emitters. Nothing worked."
"If the emitters continue to feed into the shield -" Radek started to say, but Rodney spoke over him.
"The energy is going to feed back into the emitters, and eventually, the whole thing will explode," Rodney finished. "Glad you've finally caught up. Now let's go!"
He picked up the stun rifle he'd been using and gave it to Thompson, then unplugged his computer and turned toward the door.
He had taken a few steps when Radek clasped his arm. "The generator," Radek whispered and glanced at the portable naquadah generator under the work table. "If the naquadah generator explodes too …" He stopped, his expression full of fear. "It could destroy half the city."
"I'll stay," Thompson said. "You two get clear. I'll disconnect the generator and be right behind you."
Rodney was tempted to take Thompson up on his offer and run, but he knew it wouldn't be a simple matter of turning off the generator. He needed to power down the generator and the mainframe. Hopefully, that would slow the energy feeding into the shield. It wouldn't prevent the explosion, but it might contain the damage to just the silo.
"I'll take care of the generator," Rodney replied.
"Sir?" Thompson asked. "I don't think -"
"Tick-tock," Rodney retorted. "Go already. He shoved his laptop at Radek and turned back to the work table. "Those computers have all of the data from the tests. You're going to need it …" He paused and swallowed. "We'll need that information after all of this is over to figure out what went wrong."
Radek took the second computer, and Rodney saw he wanted to say something else. "Get out of here," Rodney ordered with a glare.
Thompson looked like he wanted to argue, but after another glance at Rodney, he nodded. "Yes, sir," he said.
Thompson adjusted his grip on the stun weapons and pushed Radek toward the door. "We need to move, Doc," he said to Zelenka as they skirted around the glowing shield.
Rodney waited until they left the room, then turned back to the mainframe. He typed in a series of commands and blew out a breath when the mainframe shut down. "That was the easy part," he muttered.
He glanced at the shield, hoping it would dim as well, but if anything, the ripples were brighter than ever.
"Time to go," he told himself, reaching for the naquadah generator under the worktable.
Rodney shut down the generator and disconnected the cables connecting the generator to the emitters. He stowed the generator in its carrying case and stood. The glow behind him intensified, and Rodney tried very hard not to think about the transformer explosion.
The case was bulky, not to mention heavy, and Rodney gripped it with both hands as he sidled past the tripods and ran for the exit. Once in the hall, Rodney waved his hand over the door sensor, waited for the silo doors to seal, then jogged up the hallway toward the transporter. He didn't run into Zelenka or Thompson and took that as a sign Thompson had made sure they both got clear.
"You can do this," he said to himself, and adjusted his grip on the case. "Almost there."
He was several meters from the silo and had started to believe he would actually escape when he heard a deafening explosion behind him. The shock wave threw him off his feet, and Rodney groaned when his back slammed into the wall. The lights flickered, then went out, and Rodney started coughing as smoke filled the hallway.
After several long seconds, Rodney uncurled from his ball, surprised he was still alive. His ears rang from the explosion. He couldn't see anything, thanks to the smoke filling the hall, irritating his eyes. He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to take a deeper breath but only ended up coughing again.
Once the fit passed, he pushed himself up until he was half-lying, half-sitting against the wall and glanced up and down the hall. Glass from several of the windows had been blown out. Part of the ceiling behind him had collapsed, and more smoke poured from the silo through the crumpled and bent remains of the double doors.
Rodney spotted the case for the generator several meters away and crawled over to it as he tapped his earpiece. "Mc-McKay to Control," he said around another coughing fit.
When there was no response, Rodney tried again, "McKay to Ze …" He paused to catch his breath. "McKay to Zelenka. Radek? Come in."
Radek didn't reply either, and Rodney groaned. If no one could hear him, no one knew he needed help. Someone had to know about the explosion, he told himself, glancing up at the ceiling. How long would it take Elizabeth to send someone to investigate?
Rodney hunched over, trying to catch his breath as more smoke filled the hallway.
"Get back to the transporter," he told himself.
Rodney tried to stand but only ended up coughing harder from the smoke. He settled for crawling along the wall but still found it hard to breathe.
"Keep the windows on your left," he told himself as he slowly crept up the hallway. "Transporter can't be that far away."
He crawled another few meters before another coughing fit overwhelmed him. His lungs burned with every shallow breath, and Rodney realised he couldn't see the windows through the smoke. He kept coughing and sank to the floor with his back against the wall.
"Rest a minute," he told himself, closing his eyes. "Just for a few seconds, then get back to the transporter."
"Doctor McKay?" a voice called from down a long tunnel, and Rodney felt someone shake his arm. "Come on, Doc. You don't want to do this."
Rodney was vaguely aware of something pressed against his throat, then the voice said, "Thompson to control. I have a medical emergency. Hello?"
Rodney tried to explain that the radios were out thanks to the explosion, but the only sound he made was a cross between a grunt and a cough.
"Damn it," Thompson growled, and Rodney assumed Thompson had figured out the truth. Rodney sagged against the wall and felt Thompson shaking his arm again. "Stay with me, Doc."
Rodney heard a low grunt and someone coughing as arms were wrapped around his chest, and he was dragged down the hall.
"Almost there, Doc, just hang on."
There was comforting darkness surrounding him, and Rodney decided to let himself sink into it. Just before he faded away, he heard the soft whoosh of a door opening and a voice saying something about a medical team.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Elizabeth leant against the balcony railing and stared at the water far below. She'd had reservations about the retrovirus ever since Sheppard had been infected but had kept her eye on the larger prize. If it did work, Carson's plan could end the Wraith threat once and for all. That was something worth taking a few risks. Or at least she had thought so at the time.
Then Michael had found out the truth and tried to escape, killing one of the Marines in the process. Where was the line drawn? she asked herself. Or had they crossed it long ago?
Beckett and Sheppard had made a convincing argument that Carson only needed more time to perfect the treatments. Elizabeth had listened and had eventually allowed them to convince her there was still a chance the retrovirus could work. They just needed more time.
"You know, you may be able to make him look like a human, talk like a human, but he'll still be a Wraith. Nothing you do will ever change that."
"Your experiment didn't work. We should kill him right now."
"Was Ronon right?" Elizabeth asked herself. "Was the idea of the retrovirus doomed to failure?"
She considered her options and shook her head. General Landry and the IOA had given their blessing to the test. Still, Elizabeth was keenly aware of what would happen if she had to report that the retrovirus hadn't worked as hoped. Ever since the committee had tried to force Rodney back to Earth after the Doranda fiasco, she had known the IOA would use any excuse to shift blame onto whoever happened to be handy.
Elizabeth stood straight and gripped the railing with both hands. "So don't give them the chance," she told herself.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the salty tang of the ocean air, and slowly exhaled. She would find the solution, she told herself. She always did.
Elizabeth stepped back from the railing and was about to re-enter her office when a deafening explosion and a blinding beam of light shot up from one of the buildings on the north pier. A few seconds later, the entire balcony shook, and looking out at the neighboring tower, Elizabeth saw thick smoke rising into the air.
"Doctor Weir?" Chuck said over the radio. "Sensors are detecting some sort of explosion -"
Elizabeth turned back toward her office and tapped her earpiece. "I know," she said over the radio. She hurried through her office and stopped at the main control console. "What can you tell me?"
Chuck shook his head. "Not much. The explosion came from the north pier -"
"Where Rodney was conducting his emitter tests," Elizabeth finished for him.
"Yes, ma'am," Chuck replied, his expression grim. "The explosion knocked out the power in that area. Radios are down, and we can't get any sensor readings."
"Elizabeth!" Radek exclaimed as he hurried into the control room, clutching two laptop computers.
"Radek, what happened?" Elizabeth asked, glancing behind Zelenka. "And where is Rodney?"
"We were testing the emitters," Radek said. "Something went wrong with the test. The shield was no longer dissipating energy." Radek paused and pushed up his glasses. "When we realised there would be catastrophic failure, Rodney ordered me to leave with Sergeant Thompson while he remained behind to try and salvage the naquadah generator."
Elizabeth felt a jolt in her stomach at the thought of one of the naquadah generators caught in an explosion.
"Doctor McKay must have been able to get the generator clear of the explosion," Chuck said, checking his board.
"How can you be sure?" Elizabeth asked.
"Because we are still here," Radek replied. He set the computers on the edge of one of the consoles and checked the laptop plugged into the control console. "The sensors are down near the silo," he reported a moment later, "but the rest of that section appears to be intact." He looked up at Elizabeth. "There is likely extensive damage to the section with the silo. We need to send teams back there to look for Rodney and Sergeant Thompson."
"Thompson?" Elizabeth asked. "He was there too?"
"Yes," Radek nodded. "He was helping with the tests."
Elizabeth clenched her hands behind her back. "Alert Doctor Cortes and Major Lorne," she ordered. "Tell them what's happened and that we need rescue teams geared up and headed over to the north pier."
"Yes, ma'am," Chuck replied and tapped one of the tiles on the control board.
What else can go wrong today, Elizabeth asked herself as the technicians behind her scrambled to organise the rescue teams.