John stood to one side as Rodney muttered to himself and typed something on the laptop computer. "Come on, let this one work," he growled at the computer.
The computer pinged a moment later, and Rodney scowled at the screen, then pressed a tile on the console. The emitter map appeared on the wall next to John, and Rodney studied first the map and then the computer before shaking his head.
"So much for that idea," he said.
John looked at the map, looking for whatever was causing Rodney to glower at the computer. To him, nothing appeared off. After two weeks of McKay's scientists hiking through the forest, replacing depleted ZPMs, most of the dots on the map were green. It seemed to him like Rodney's idea to reconfigure the emitters would work.
Rodney pushed the computer away and sat with one arm crossed over his chest and a finger pinching his lip as his gaze flitted from the laptop, to the map, and then the rack of now-depleted ZPMs.
"What's wrong?" John finally asked.
Rodney stood, glanced at John and then at the rack of ZPMs. "My idea isn't going to work," he explained. "The emitters here, here, and here," he walked over to the map and pointed to three of the green dots, "don't generate a large enough field to overlap."
John studied the map. "Looks like there's an emitter here," he pointed to one of the dark dots, "and we have one charged ZPM left."
Rodney walked over to the rack and picked up the last charged ZPM. "Exactly," he whispered. "There's only one left."
"Right," John drawled, thoroughly confused as to what the issue could be. "We only need to fix one more of the emitters. So what's the problem?"
"I was hoping to have one left," Rodney replied, holding up the ZPM. "But if we want the cloaking field to work, we'll have to replace that Zed-PM. There won't be one left to take back to Atlantis."
Ahh, John thought to himself. "The emitter could just be damaged," he suggested to Rodney, "If that's the case, it might just need to be fixed."
"No," Rodney pointed to another section of the map. "That's the Satedan village there. See the line of hills and the lake? Which means," he pointed to the dark dot, "that's the emitter I found before the Wraith showed up." Rodney picked up his backpack and stuffed the ZPM inside. "Trust me, the Zed-PM is nearly depleted."
John winced at the reminder of how close McKay had come to ending up a meal for a Wraith drone. He covered his reaction by glancing at his watch and then the stairs. "It's only early afternoon," he said. "Plenty of time to get the emitter fixed before it gets dark."
Rodney zipped his pack closed and slung the strap over one shoulder. "Not sure where you're going to land the jumper," he said as he powered down the console and started up the steps. "The clearing isn't that big."
"I'll figure something out," John replied and followed Rodney up the stairs.
Twenty minutes later, John hovered the jumper over the clearing and grimaced. Rodney was right, he realised. The clearing wasn't very big, and the clump of trees in the middle took up most of the open ground.
"Told you," Rodney said as if reading John's mind.
John shook his head and circled the clearing. He found another open area not far away from the emitter, landed, and lowered the rear hatch. "We'll need to hike a couple miles to get back to the emitter."
"Just what I want to do, hike through more jungle," Rodney grumbled.
John smiled to himself and led the way back to the clearing with the emitter. He walked into the clearing forty minutes later and looked around. A rocky slope angled down into the clearing in front of him while a clump of trees stood in the middle of the open area.
He's lucky all he did was collect a few bruises and bang up his knee, John thought as he gazed from the rocky slope to Rodney pushing through the last of the tree branches behind him. He could have been hurt a lot worse, John thought to himself as he studied the rocky slope. And then with the Wraith showing up … John blew out a breath and turned to Rodney.
"You fell off of that?"
Rodney looked up at the rocky slope and shrugged. "More like I slid partway and then rolled the rest until I hit the boulders." He pointed to the rocks at the bottom of the hill.
"Lucky it was your legs and not your head," John said.
Rodney grunted and walked over to the clump of trees.
"Huh," he muttered under his breath as he scanned the ground near the trees.
"What?" John asked. He turned away from the slope and walked over to the clump of trees.
Rodney glanced at him and shook his head. "The Wraith I shot. I thought there would be a … I guess I didn't, umm, I guess it managed to heal itself after all."
John studied McKay as Rodney stared at the ground. Rodney hadn't said much about what had happened when he had encountered the Wraith drone. Just that he had shot it and had taken the stun weapon before following Liam and the other children into the forest.
"If it wasn't dead, I didn't need it waking up and stunning me in the back," Rodney had told him once they were back in Atlantis.
Rodney glanced at him, then pushed aside the vines hanging from the tree branches. "The emitter is under here."
"Cozy," John said as he followed Rodney into the bower, and the vines fell back into place.
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Not when it's crowded with kids, and there's a Wraith drone prowling around less than a meter away."
John frowned at the reminder of what had almost happened. He's fine, John reminded himself. He's not even limping anymore. Just let it go. John blew out a breath and shook his head when he saw Rodney watching him.
Rodney shrugged off his backpack and knelt next to the emitter. He pressed the lower section of the emitter's base until John heard a soft click, and Rodney pried a panel open.
"Here," Rodney said, pulling out the ZPM and holding it out to John.
John took the crystal and turned it over in his hands while Rodney opened his pack, pulled out the charged ZPM, and inserted it into the base of the emitter. A bright glow emanated from the crystal as soon as Rodney had it seated in its socket.
"That's a good sign," John said.
"You'd better hope so, or two weeks' worth of work was for nothing." Rodney fished the Ancient scanner out of his vest pocket, checked the screen, and nodded.
"Well?" John asked.
"The Zed-PM is working and, according to these readings, should power the cloaking field for the foreseeable future."
"Good work. What do we do with this one?" John asked, holding up the depleted ZPM.
"Not a lot we can do with it," Rodney said with a sour glance at the crystal in John's hand. "It won't power anything back in Atlantis, and there isn't enough energy left in it to try using it in another one of these." Rodney rested his hand on the edge of the concave surface. "I'll put it with the rest when we get back to Kiroma."
Rodney took the crystal from John. "Maybe someday I'll figure out a way to recharge a Zed-PM," he said with a glance at John. "When I do, we'll have a ready supply of crystals." He stuffed the ZPM in his pack and zipped the pack closed. "I need to run a few last checks of the cloaking field back in Kiroma."
"All right," John said, holding back the vines for Rodney. "We'll head back to the city, drop off the ZPM, and say goodbye to Tiernan."
"Fine," Rodney muttered and walked out of the bower.
John frowned at the less-than-enthusiastic reply. He understood Rodney's disappointment that they wouldn't have a ZPM left to take back with them, but by all accounts, Rodney had managed to pull off yet another technological miracle with the reconfiguration of the cloaking emitters. John expected him to be gloating about the achievement. Instead, McKay acted as though the project had been a complete failure.
John shook his head and followed Rodney back across the clearing. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Rodney replied and walked a little faster.
John was tempted to push, but one look at McKay's closed expression and his stiff posture made it clear Rodney wasn't going to talk about whatever was bothering him. At least, not yet, John said to himself.
They made the trip back to the jumper in silence, and John landed the shuttle on the outskirts of Kiroma twenty minutes later.
"Let's go give Tiernan the good news," John said as he lowered the rear hatch and led the way back to the city.
They walked back through the city, and John hid a smile as Rodney stared at the electric vehicles they passed.
"Still need to talk to someone about that," Rodney said more to himself than John.
John opened the door to the glass-fronted building, and Tiernan met them as they entered the city house.
"Were you successful in restoring the cloaking field, Colonel?" Tiernan asked.
"McKay thinks so," John replied. "Rodney just needs to check a few things."
"Please," Tiernan said, motioning toward his office and leading the way across the atrium.
Cerese glanced from John to Tiernan but didn't say anything as they walked past her counter.
"Taking charge made an impression," John said once they were in Teirnan's office.
Tiernan smiled. "It seems you were right, Colonel Sheppard. I should have asserted myself a long time ago. After the discussion regarding your plan to repair the cloaking field, the council has also started debating the construction of a science center. I hope it will become a hub for scientists from across the galaxy to meet and discuss new ideas once it's complete." He turned to Rodney and added, "It goes without saying that there will be a standing invitation for you to join us, Doctor McKay."
"Umm, thanks," Rodney replied and walked over to the door in the corner.
John and Tiernan followed McKay into the control room, and John watched as Rodney typed something on the computer, then pressed one of the tiles on the console. The map appeared, and Rodney nodded. "That's better."
"The cloaking field works?" Tiernan asked.
"It should," Rodney replied. He typed another string into the computer and studied the results.
"Should?" John asked. "I thought that was the last emitter we needed to fix."
"It was," Rodney replied and pointed at the map. "All of the emitters in the new configuration are showing green, but until a Wraith comes along and trips the system, there's no way to know for sure."
"And this field will protect a sizable portion of the continent?" Tiernan asked.
"Mmm," Rodney replied with a nod. "Actually, it will cover more than I initially thought. A few of the broken emitters were relatively easy to fix, so the cloak will cover more of the landmass as a result."
He unzipped his pack, pulled out the depleted ZPM, and placed it on the rack with the others. He then powered down the computer and disconnected it from the console.
"Now it's up to you to get the word out to the people living here." Rodney handed Tiernan a rolled piece of paper.
"What's this?" Tiernan asked as he unrolled the paper.
"A map showing the extent of the cloaking field when it's active," Rodney replied. "There's plenty of land for everyone, so there shouldn't be any issues moving the villages outside the field into the protected area. Just make sure you mark the border somehow so no one expands beyond it."
"We will do so." Tiernan rolled up the map. "Thank you, Doctor McKay. Your efforts restoring the field will save thousands of lives."
Rodney nodded, stored the computer in his pack, and zipped the pack closed.
"Here," John said, handing Tiernan a radio and GDO.
"Colonel?" Tienan asked, taking the items.
"So we can keep in touch," John said. "If you have any problems, let us know."
"Thank you, Colonel," Tiernan said with a nod.
"Let's go," John said to Rodney. "We need to stop in the village and pick up Ronon and Teyla on the way back to the 'gate."
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Elizabeth closed the report on Sheppard's mission to Haven and sat back in her chair. "And Rodney believes the cloaking field is sustainable?"
John nodded. "Most of the emitters have fully charged ZPMs now. And since the emitters only draw power when the field is active -"
"It's possible the field could last for hundreds if not thousands of years," Elizabeth finished. "Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing that Teirnan's ancestors removed the crystals. If they hadn't, it's possible all of the ZPMs would be depleted now. With so many of the Wraith awake and active, the planet would be in even more danger without the cloaking field to protect them."
"Maybe," John said with a shrug, and Elizabeth could tell he wasn't willing to let those ancient Kiromans off the hook so easily.
She tapped the closed folder with a finger and studied Sheppard. "And how is Ronon?" she asked. "It could not have been an easy decision for him to make. Returning to Atlantis instead of staying with his people on Haven."
John shifted in his chair and gazed at the bowl on the end of her desk.
What else happened that you aren't telling me? Elizabeth wondered as she watched John.
"He seems fine," Sheppard finally said. "When we stopped in the village after McKay finished with the emitters, Ronon was helping the villagers rebuild the destroyed pub. I asked if he wanted to stay longer." John shrugged. "He declined."
Elizabeth pursed her lips at the answer. She let the silence hang for a moment, hoping John would elaborate, but when he merely sat staring back at her, Elizabeth mentally sighed and said, "In that case, Colonel, good work."
John nodded and stood from his chair.
Elizabeth waited until John left the office, then set the folder with his report to one side and steepled her fingers under her chin. While she hadn't been sure of Ronon when he first arrived in the city, he had more than proven his loyalty and friendship over the last year. She was relieved he had chosen to stay in Atlantis, but she wondered if Dex was as all right with that decision as Sheppard seemed to think.
"One way to find out," she said. She debated paging Ronon over the radio and asking him to come to her office, then changed her mind. "This is more of a personal conversation," she said to herself and stood.
"Chuck, I have a few things I'd like to check on. I'll be on comms if you need anything."
"Yes, ma'am," Chuck replied with a nod as Elizabeth walked out of the control room.
Elizabeth walked down the hall to the transporter, tapped the sensor, and hesitated. "Where would he be?" she asked the map on the back wall of the transporter. She stared at the map for several seconds, then tapped the section with the mess hall. "If he's not there, someone might know where to find him," she said as the door closed.
She walked into the sunny mess hall a few seconds later and quickly checked the room as she walked over to the coffee carafes. She spotted Ronon sitting at a table with his back to a wall and a tray of food in front of him. She nodded to herself as she poured a cup of coffee and wandered over to Ronon's table.
"May I?" she asked with a nod at the empty chair across from Ronon.
Ronon glanced at her and nodded, then went back to eating.
Elizabeth sat and sipped from her cup as she studied Dex. She wasn't surprised when she saw him watching her and smiled. "I wanted to see how you were doing," she said. "It had to be a shock finding a village with so many survivors from Sateda."
"I'm fine," Ronon replied.
"Still, choosing between your life here or staying with your people had to be difficult."
Ronon studied her for a moment, then said, "Never much for farming. I joined the military to help my people. I can do that better here than I can there."
Elizabeth nodded. "I also wanted to say I'm glad you decided to stay in Atlantis. You are an important part of Colonel Sheppard's team. I hope you know that."
Ronon grunted and took a drink from the water pitcher at his elbow. He set down the pitcher and picked up the hamburger on his plate.
Elizabeth sipped her coffee, waiting to see if Ronon wanted to say anything else.
Ronon held the hamburger in his hands and glanced at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth quickly finished her coffee and stood. "In that case, I'll let you get back to your meal," she said with a smile.
She backed away from the table and dropped her cup in the bin for dirty dishes on her way out of the mess hall.
"Beckett to Doctor Weir."
Elizabeth stopped on her way back to the transporter and tapped her earpiece. "This is Weir."
"I've discovered something I think you should see," Carson replied. "It's about the retrovirus."
Elizabeth felt her spine tighten at the mention of Beckett's genetic project. While she understood the strategic implications if Beckett was successful, she couldn't shake the feeling that what they were doing would cause more harm than good.
"I'll be right there," she said and tapped off the radio.
She walked into the infirmary a few minutes later and crossed to the medical lab. "Carson?"
"In here," Beckett replied.
Elizabeth entered the lab and found Carson seated in front of a microscope. Data streamed across the screen of the laptop computer next to his elbow.
"Elizabeth," Carson greeted with a smile.
"You said you had found something?" Elizabeth asked, stopping at the end of the work table.
Carson nodded and pushed his stool back from the table. "Two things, actually."
"Okay."
Carson glanced at the microscope. "I believe Rodney was right. Michael's Wraith ability to heal affected the retrovirus more than I anticipated. Even with regular injections, Michael's system was metabolising the retrovirus at such an accelerated rate that the virus didn't have enough time to permanently alter his DNA."
"And you think you have a way to solve that?" Elizabeth asked.
"I believe so. Before, we were trying to make the genetic changes gradually over the course of several days. The transformation is hard on the body. I had hoped that introducing the changes gradually, it would make the transformation easier for the patient."
Elisabeth thought back to the recordings of Michael during the first days of Carson's test. "That did not seem to be the case."
"No," Carson replied with a sigh. "I'm afraid no matter what we do, the transformation from Wraith back to human will always be difficult. Prolonging that process is little more than a form of torture. However, I think I can come up with a formula that will work in hours instead of days."
"And that will prevent them from reverting back into a Wraith?"
"That is my hypothesis, yes. Introducing the retrovirus in one massive dose should stop the Wraith's healing ability from overpowering the retrovirus long enough for it to take full effect." He glanced at the case of DVDs on the corner of the table. "And hopefully, that will also be less painful."
Elizabeth nodded. "And what was your second idea?"
Carson crossed his arms over his chest. "For this to work, we need to find a way to aerosolise the retrovirus."
Elizabeth felt a jolt in her stomach as the implications of Beckett's idea hit her. "You want to create a gas?"
"In essence, yes. A gas will work much more quickly than injections. I believe the different method of introducing the retrovirus, along with the changes to the virus itself, should be effective in curing them once and for all."
"You understand what you're saying, don't you?" Elizabeth asked. "You want to create a weapon, not unlike the one the Wraith designed for their trap on M2R-287."
Carson ducked his head and glanced at the computer. "That's what gave me the idea, actually," he admitted. "Those pods in the Wraith outpost were able to disperse the gas over a wide area very quickly. We need to be able to do the same thing."
"You know you were lucky that gas didn't kill all of you," Elizabeth reminded him.
"I know that," Carson replied. "But I also believe this is the only way we can help the Wraith and return them to their true form."
Elizabeth clasped her hands together and pursed her lips. "How long will it take to reformulate the retrovirus?"
"I'm not sure. At least a month, maybe more. Once I have the retrovirus sorted, I'll need help developing a means of dispersing it."
"All right, I'll inform the SGC of your progress," Elizabeth said with a sigh.
"It will work," Carson assured her as Elizabeth walked out of the lab.
I hope you're right, Elizabeth thought to herself.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
John left Elizabeth's office and wandered down to the mess hall for a couple of cups of coffee. Other than at breakfast that morning, he hadn't seen much of McKay since their return from Haven the previous day. Which meant he hadn't had a chance to find out why Rodney seemed less than enthusiastic about his success redesigning the cloaking field.
He walked into the mess hall, filled two cups, and nodded to Ronon walking toward the mess line. He remembered Elizabeth's question and held a quick debate with himself before walking over to Dex.
"You're sure you're okay with your decision to stay in Atlantis?" he asked.
"Can't kill Wraith if I stayed on Haven."
"That's true, I guess," John said with a crooked smile. He watched as Ronon filled a plate, then added, "If you wanted to go back, to umm, visit Orlin, or whatever, I'm sure something could be arranged."
Ronon picked up a pitcher of water from the table next to the coffee carafes. "Made my peace with Orlin," he said, and John saw Ronon's hand drift to the gold chain around his neck.
"Well, if you change your mind …" John let the sentence peter out as Ronon stared at him.
"I'll tell you," Ronon replied and walked over to a table on the other side of the room.
John waited until Dex started eating, then picked up the two cups and headed down to Rodney's lab.
He was in the hall outside the lab when he saw Radek leave Rodney's domain.
"Oh, Colonel, hello," Radek greeted with a glance at the two cups. "Rodney isn't down here," he added.
"Then what …" John nodded at the door to McKay's lab.
"Oh, I was dropping off some reports. The science teams are eager to get back to their studies on the mainland once the weather improves. I was leaving their research proposals for Rodney to review."
'Ahh,' John mouthed. "When was the last time you saw him?"
"Not since he returned yesterday. He was here last night reviewing some of the data from the cloaking shield experiments. But I haven't seen him since." Radek glanced at the closed door to the lab. "Is everything all right?"
"That's what I'm going to find out," John replied. "Here." He handed Zelenka the two cups of coffee and turned back toward the transporter.
"Oh, umm, thank you, Colonel," Radek called as John turned the corner.
Middle of the day, and he's not in his lab, John thought as he tapped the sensor for the transporter. Not a good sign.
He knew Rodney wasn't in the mess hall. "Which leaves only a few places he could be," John muttered to himself.
He studied the map and weighed whether Rodney would be in his quarters or the rec room. After a brief hesitation, he tapped the section of the map with the rec room.
The transporter opened a moment later on the hallway leading to the rec room. John frowned when he didn't hear any music coming from the open door at the end of the corridor.
"You're already here, may as well be sure," he told himself and walked down the hall.
He glanced into the room and wasn't surprised when he found the keyboard in its regular place against the wall and the room empty.
"All right, quarters it is," John muttered and walked back to the transporter.
He tapped on the door to Rodney's quarters a minute later and frowned when McKay didn't respond.
"He wouldn't still be asleep," John said. "Not at this time of day." He glanced at the door sensor for a moment, then waved his hand over the sensor.
The door opened, and John walked inside, only to find Rodney wasn't in his room either. "Where the hell are you?" John asked as he looked around the room.
He saw the walking stick Marta had given Rodney leant against the wall beside the shelf with the carved toy truck and picked up the stick. The bones and stones rattled against each other, and John remembered Rodney's comment that the Wraith he had shot was gone by the time they made it back to the clearing.
"Where did they get the bones?" John wondered as he put the stick back in its place.
He glanced at the pickup truck on the shelf, reached out a hand to pick it up, and froze when he noticed the missing challenge coin.
"So that's where you are," John muttered under his breath.
He left Rodney's quarters, stopped in his room long enough to grab the six-pack of beer from the tiny fridge in the corner and made his way back to the transporter.
He stepped outside a moment later and saw Rodney sitting at the end of the pier, staring out at the water.
"Hey," John said, stopping next to McKay.
Rodney glanced up at him, then back at the water.
A flash of silver caught John's eye, and he saw Rodney twisting the challenge coin through his fingers as he sat with his legs dangling over the side of the pier.
So thinking about something, John decided. He sat, opened one of the cans of beer, and passed it to Rodney.
"Been looking all over for you," John said.
"Umm, why?" Rodney asked. He pocketed the coin and took the offered beer. "A little early, don't you think?"
John smiled as he opened a second beer. "It's five o'clock somewhere. Besides, I think we've earned it."
Rodney shrugged and swallowed some of his beer. "What did you want to see me about?"
John shook his head and drank some of his beer. "Did you think I was just going to let it drop?"
"Let what drop?" Rodney asked with a frown.
John took another drink and glanced at Rodney. "You've been moody ever since we got the cloaking field on Haven up and running. You wanna tell me what's been bugging you?"
"Don't know what you mean." Rodney drank more beer and refused to look at John.
"I think you do," John replied. "You did a good thing on Haven. Your idea will keep everyone on that planet safe the next time the Wraith come calling."
"Too bad it's not going to do a thing to save us," Rodney muttered, and John wondered if he was meant to hear the comment.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Rodney gave him a sideways glance as he rolled the beer can between his hands. "You and I both know it's only a matter of time before the Wraith get here. My grand idea of using the shield and the cloak simultaneously was a failure. I couldn't come up with a solution on Haven that left one of the Zed-PMs available to bring back here, so we don't have any extra power to play with, either."
He finished his beer and set the empty can behind him. "The Wraith aren't going to fall for the exploding a nuke over the city bluff again. So basically, we're screwed. It seems I can save someone else's home but not my own."
"Don't give up on us yet," John said. He passed over another beer. "We'll think of something."
"You mean I'll think of something," Rodney grumbled.
John smiled, and Rodney scowled at him.
"I hate to break it to you," Rodney said, opening the beer can, "but right now, I'm fresh out of ideas."
"Then I'll think of something," John said as he finished his beer.
Rodney scoffed and shook his head. "I don't have anything handy to make another bomb," he said. "So if your plan is to blow up the horde of Wraith hive ships heading toward us, think of something else."
They sat in silence for several minutes, and John watched the white caps on the ocean as he drank his beer. He wasn't sure what they would do when the Wraith arrived. He knew Beckett was working on yet another version of the retrovirus, but John wasn't ready to put all of their eggs in that basket.
What they needed was more ships, he thought to himself. A way to take the fight to the Wraith and not just sit and wait for the inevitable to happen. Good luck finding another Ancient ship you can use, John chastised himself. It's not like the Ancients left a fleet of them just lying around for the taking.
"Assuming we actually survive another assault, is Ronon planning on visiting Haven again?" Rodney asked.
"Not sure. Maybe." John glanced at Rodney and added, "Why are you so interested?"
Rodney shrugged and took another drink. "Maybe I'm just happy for him," he said. "At least someone has a chance at a normal relationship with their family."
John set down his beer. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
"Rodney," John drawled.
Rodney sighed. "It's about Jeannie, all right? I really thought …" He finished his beer and set the empty can next to the first one. "Seeing Ronon and Orlin bury the hatchet, in their case, possibly literally, just reminded me, again, of what I lost when Jeannie walked out on me."
"You could try sending her another message," John suggested. "Sergeant Harriman knows where she lives. You could …" He stopped speaking when Rodney shook his head.
"As usual, I'm three steps ahead of you," Rodney said. "I tried sending her a few letters. I even found an email address for her. The letters came back to the SGC unopened, and she never answered the emails I sent."
John rested his arm across Rodney's shoulders. "We could go talk to her in person," he offered.
"We?" Rodney asked.
"Sure," John replied. "You said you have a niece, right?"
"Yeah," Rodney replied with a suspicious glance at John. "Her name is Addison. Or maybe Madison. Something like that. What's your point?"
"She should have a chance to meet her uncle, don't you think?"
"I think I burned that bridge about four years ago."
"Who's talking about you?" John asked with a grin. "I meant me."
Rodney stared at John. "You're not serious?"
"Sure," John said and squeezed the arm over Rodney's shoulders. "Chaguo ndugu, remember. Besides, she needs a cool uncle to look up to."
Rodney shook his head. "And you think that's you?"
"Better than you."
"Whatever," Rodney said. "If you're planning on corrupting my niece, and assuming Jeannie will even speak to either one of us, I guess I should figure out how to make my 'gate bridge idea work."
"'Gate bridge? What's that?"
"Oh, umm, I was going through some of the data we recovered from that Ancient outpost on Rivis a few weeks ago. I found some interesting information on the stargates. If I'm reading the data right, there might be a way to link several 'gates together in a sequence. If I can get enough 'gates to work together, we could use them to go from Atlantis to the SGC in a matter of maybe a few days instead of weeks."
"Can you get this to work?"
"Of course, I can!" Rodney exclaimed. "It just might take me some time to work out a few of the details."
John smiled and finished his beer. "Sounds like a plan. Can't wait to see it."
FIN
NOTE: And that wraps up the Team Rebuilding series. Have no fear, there are plenty more stories to come. Team Sheppard and the season three stories are in the works. The first story will be set post-Sateda and should be ready in late spring 2023. Hope you'll join me for more adventures!