Disclaimer: Don't own, and sorry for my mistake in chappie five, which is
to say, Rodney is an astrophysicist, not an anthropologist. I don't know
what I was thinking about when I wrote that. Bad information from an
untrustworthy source, I guess. My bad.
The Testing of Wills
Ch. 6
Lights went out all over the city, and doors shut when people went to open them. Everybody was trapped somewhere, and they all knew who was responsible for it. Many panicked, others tried to keep their calm, and still others tried to free themselves in order to stop this menace.
They couldn't have known it was pointless to try.
Everybody was trying something except the children, who were all huddled together, crying and screaming for help. She didn't pay any attention to them. What could children do, anyway, when the adults couldn't do anything?
"You...want us to...wait, what?!" exclaimed Rodney, and she ignored him, eyes flicking back and forth as she gave the city's computer silent commands.
"Personally, I think tha' was much too clear to be repeated." said Carson, who looked a little green.
"We don't even know you, why do you want to kill us?" Rodney asked, confused. She glanced at him before looking at the computer.
"You woke up the most dangerous species in the galaxy, and you sit here, doing nothing, asking me why I could possibly want to stop you from interfering any further. Hmmm..." she said, rolling her eyes. Rodney looked at her incredulously.
"You know I think Sheppard was right. You snuck here from Earth, didn't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't be a part of your pathetic race if the membership was free with no hidden fees." she snapped. "I don't need to be a human to memorize everything about them."
"So you're obviously a higher being than us. After all, you figured out how to use this stuff." he said, still looking floored by her revelation. "And now you're going to use this higher knowledge to kill people? And here I thought you were some monster." he practically dripped sarcasm.
"Don't patronize me, little man." she snapped, and lights appeared above and below the astrophysicist. He looked at them, confused.
"Wha—" he stopped short and froze, jaw clenched and eyes nearly bugging out of his head. Carson looked at him and then at the girl, who was not even looking at them.
"What are you doing to him?" he demanded. There was no answer, but moments later, the lights shut off and Rodney collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and curled up as he tried to dispel the pain that coursed through his body.
"Ow." he gasped out finally. At this, the young girl hacker burst into hysterical giggles, and Carson gaped at her.
"How can ye laugh? Yeh're inflicting pain. Tha's no' funny."
"I disagree. And according to your history, so does your entire race." she said, calmly. Carson rolled his eyes.
"Would ye listen to yehrself! Yeh're like some automaton! What are ye, a fecking robot?" he yelled, and Rodney winced as he tried to sit up.
"That may not be the wisest course of action, doc." he ground out. The girl looked at Carson's red face and smirked.
"I knew eventually one of you would figure it out." she said, and the two of them stopped, staring at her. And she laughed.
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Jinto looked at his friends, and then around at the walls. His friends were scared, but he knew that Major Sheppard would be looking for a way out, so he was looking for a secret door, or an access hatch, like he always saw the people from Earth crawling in. He saw one on the far wall and ran quickly to it, grabbing the handle and pulling on it. It twisted a little to the left, so he turned the handle in the hopes of opening the small door, and was pleased to watch it swing open.
"Yes." he said quietly, crawling in and closing the door behind him.
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"Yeh're a robot?" Carson asked. She giggled.
"Oh aye, Doctor Beckett, and a right good one I am, too, eh?" she replied, putting on a Scottish accent.
"That explains a lot." Rodney said. "Who made you?"
"What does it matter? They're dead." she snarled, her fingers tightening on the console. Carson watched her fingers and noticed that they were sort of...pulsing.
"What, were they naughty creators? Did you kill them too?" Rodney asked, none too kindly. The Hacker's red eyes focused on Rodney and narrowed dangerously.
"How. Dare. You." she said, through her clenched and pointed teeth. The lights appeared again and Rodney collapsed on the floor, his entire body clenching from the concentrated pain. Carson glanced between them and stepped forward.
"Stop it!" he yelled.
He didn't know who was more surprised when she did stop. Rodney or himself.
"My creators were killed by those...things that YOU unleashed." she yelled at them, bristling as she turned back to the console.
"They killed your people, so now yeh're going to kill ours?" Carson asked. "Tha' makes all the bloody sense in the world, now doesn' it?"
"..."
"Listen, li'l girl. Yeh've memorized our hist'ry, fantastic. We have been violent, yes, but we're no' all like tha'. And we didn' set the wraith on your people. They follow their own rules, so don' ye go pinnin' this on us."
She shook her head.
"You are all like that. Full of your own ideals that you want to force on other cultures."
"No!" Carson snapped, and she looked at him. "If we were all like tha', the Athosians wouldn' be here. We brought them here to protect them."
"Yeah," put in Rodney, who was just lying on the ground. Carson glanced at him.
She bleated.
"Would you stop?!" Rodney yelled. "That's annoying."
"It is an accurate description. You are all sheep. You do all the same things, the same way, and no one ever questions their place." she replied flippantly.
"Nobody here wants to die! If that makes us sheep then you're right, we are." Rodney argued back.
"Of course I'm right."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
"Stop it, both of ye. Yeh're acting like children. I expected as much from ye, Rodney, but yeh're supposed to be superior, so just shut up!" snapped Carson, from nerves and annoyance and the surrealism of the situation. She looked at him, confusion broadcasting in her demonic looking eyes.
"That is an interesting negotiation tactic, Dr. Beckett." she said.
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Major Sheppard looked at Weir as he threw down the crowbar that he and a few others had tried to use to open the gate room doors.
"It's useless. Whatever she's doing to hack the system, she's pretty good at it." he said. Weir shook her head.
"This is the worst thing that could happen to us. We don't even know who she is, and she's anticipated all of our movements, like a rather disconcerting game of cat and mouse."
"And we're the mice. I hate that." Sheppard agreed.
"We must do something, or she will kill us all." Teyla said. Then they stopped, looking at the ceiling as something thumped above them. Sheppard grabbed his gun and Teyla took up hers as well, preparing to fire at any enemy.
A hatch opened above the balcony and they watched as Jinto almost fell out.
"Whoa!" he yelped. Teyla and Sheppard raced up the stairs, followed by Weir.
"Jinto, what are you doing here?' asked Sheppard, smiling. Jinto smiled back.
"The other children were too scared to do anything. I had to do something." he explained. Sheppard nodded and then reached up to help him down.
"Good idea, Jinto, we'll take it from here." he said. Teyla put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait. You are too big. You would make too much noise." she said. Major John Sheppard looked at her and then at Weir before nodding.
"You're right. Jinto. Squirrel around up there and see if you can't find out intruder. But don't get hurt, okay?" he ordered. Jinto nodded vigorously and turned to go. "Oh, wait." he said. He jogged down the steps and went to the dialing console, reaching under it and pulling out a very familiar weapon. He brought it back with him and ignored the looks of outrage that he was getting from Weir. "It's called a zat gun." he said, showing the boy how to work it. "One shot stuns, two shots kill, and three shots disintegrate. Only shoot once, okay?" he asked. Jinto nodded and Sheppard handed it to him. When he wriggled away, they closed the hatch.
And Sheppard turned to face Weir's wrath.
The Testing of Wills
Ch. 6
Lights went out all over the city, and doors shut when people went to open them. Everybody was trapped somewhere, and they all knew who was responsible for it. Many panicked, others tried to keep their calm, and still others tried to free themselves in order to stop this menace.
They couldn't have known it was pointless to try.
Everybody was trying something except the children, who were all huddled together, crying and screaming for help. She didn't pay any attention to them. What could children do, anyway, when the adults couldn't do anything?
"You...want us to...wait, what?!" exclaimed Rodney, and she ignored him, eyes flicking back and forth as she gave the city's computer silent commands.
"Personally, I think tha' was much too clear to be repeated." said Carson, who looked a little green.
"We don't even know you, why do you want to kill us?" Rodney asked, confused. She glanced at him before looking at the computer.
"You woke up the most dangerous species in the galaxy, and you sit here, doing nothing, asking me why I could possibly want to stop you from interfering any further. Hmmm..." she said, rolling her eyes. Rodney looked at her incredulously.
"You know I think Sheppard was right. You snuck here from Earth, didn't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't be a part of your pathetic race if the membership was free with no hidden fees." she snapped. "I don't need to be a human to memorize everything about them."
"So you're obviously a higher being than us. After all, you figured out how to use this stuff." he said, still looking floored by her revelation. "And now you're going to use this higher knowledge to kill people? And here I thought you were some monster." he practically dripped sarcasm.
"Don't patronize me, little man." she snapped, and lights appeared above and below the astrophysicist. He looked at them, confused.
"Wha—" he stopped short and froze, jaw clenched and eyes nearly bugging out of his head. Carson looked at him and then at the girl, who was not even looking at them.
"What are you doing to him?" he demanded. There was no answer, but moments later, the lights shut off and Rodney collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and curled up as he tried to dispel the pain that coursed through his body.
"Ow." he gasped out finally. At this, the young girl hacker burst into hysterical giggles, and Carson gaped at her.
"How can ye laugh? Yeh're inflicting pain. Tha's no' funny."
"I disagree. And according to your history, so does your entire race." she said, calmly. Carson rolled his eyes.
"Would ye listen to yehrself! Yeh're like some automaton! What are ye, a fecking robot?" he yelled, and Rodney winced as he tried to sit up.
"That may not be the wisest course of action, doc." he ground out. The girl looked at Carson's red face and smirked.
"I knew eventually one of you would figure it out." she said, and the two of them stopped, staring at her. And she laughed.
00000000000000000000000000000
Jinto looked at his friends, and then around at the walls. His friends were scared, but he knew that Major Sheppard would be looking for a way out, so he was looking for a secret door, or an access hatch, like he always saw the people from Earth crawling in. He saw one on the far wall and ran quickly to it, grabbing the handle and pulling on it. It twisted a little to the left, so he turned the handle in the hopes of opening the small door, and was pleased to watch it swing open.
"Yes." he said quietly, crawling in and closing the door behind him.
00000000000000000000000000000
"Yeh're a robot?" Carson asked. She giggled.
"Oh aye, Doctor Beckett, and a right good one I am, too, eh?" she replied, putting on a Scottish accent.
"That explains a lot." Rodney said. "Who made you?"
"What does it matter? They're dead." she snarled, her fingers tightening on the console. Carson watched her fingers and noticed that they were sort of...pulsing.
"What, were they naughty creators? Did you kill them too?" Rodney asked, none too kindly. The Hacker's red eyes focused on Rodney and narrowed dangerously.
"How. Dare. You." she said, through her clenched and pointed teeth. The lights appeared again and Rodney collapsed on the floor, his entire body clenching from the concentrated pain. Carson glanced between them and stepped forward.
"Stop it!" he yelled.
He didn't know who was more surprised when she did stop. Rodney or himself.
"My creators were killed by those...things that YOU unleashed." she yelled at them, bristling as she turned back to the console.
"They killed your people, so now yeh're going to kill ours?" Carson asked. "Tha' makes all the bloody sense in the world, now doesn' it?"
"..."
"Listen, li'l girl. Yeh've memorized our hist'ry, fantastic. We have been violent, yes, but we're no' all like tha'. And we didn' set the wraith on your people. They follow their own rules, so don' ye go pinnin' this on us."
She shook her head.
"You are all like that. Full of your own ideals that you want to force on other cultures."
"No!" Carson snapped, and she looked at him. "If we were all like tha', the Athosians wouldn' be here. We brought them here to protect them."
"Yeah," put in Rodney, who was just lying on the ground. Carson glanced at him.
She bleated.
"Would you stop?!" Rodney yelled. "That's annoying."
"It is an accurate description. You are all sheep. You do all the same things, the same way, and no one ever questions their place." she replied flippantly.
"Nobody here wants to die! If that makes us sheep then you're right, we are." Rodney argued back.
"Of course I'm right."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
"Stop it, both of ye. Yeh're acting like children. I expected as much from ye, Rodney, but yeh're supposed to be superior, so just shut up!" snapped Carson, from nerves and annoyance and the surrealism of the situation. She looked at him, confusion broadcasting in her demonic looking eyes.
"That is an interesting negotiation tactic, Dr. Beckett." she said.
00000000000000000000000000000
Major Sheppard looked at Weir as he threw down the crowbar that he and a few others had tried to use to open the gate room doors.
"It's useless. Whatever she's doing to hack the system, she's pretty good at it." he said. Weir shook her head.
"This is the worst thing that could happen to us. We don't even know who she is, and she's anticipated all of our movements, like a rather disconcerting game of cat and mouse."
"And we're the mice. I hate that." Sheppard agreed.
"We must do something, or she will kill us all." Teyla said. Then they stopped, looking at the ceiling as something thumped above them. Sheppard grabbed his gun and Teyla took up hers as well, preparing to fire at any enemy.
A hatch opened above the balcony and they watched as Jinto almost fell out.
"Whoa!" he yelped. Teyla and Sheppard raced up the stairs, followed by Weir.
"Jinto, what are you doing here?' asked Sheppard, smiling. Jinto smiled back.
"The other children were too scared to do anything. I had to do something." he explained. Sheppard nodded and then reached up to help him down.
"Good idea, Jinto, we'll take it from here." he said. Teyla put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait. You are too big. You would make too much noise." she said. Major John Sheppard looked at her and then at Weir before nodding.
"You're right. Jinto. Squirrel around up there and see if you can't find out intruder. But don't get hurt, okay?" he ordered. Jinto nodded vigorously and turned to go. "Oh, wait." he said. He jogged down the steps and went to the dialing console, reaching under it and pulling out a very familiar weapon. He brought it back with him and ignored the looks of outrage that he was getting from Weir. "It's called a zat gun." he said, showing the boy how to work it. "One shot stuns, two shots kill, and three shots disintegrate. Only shoot once, okay?" he asked. Jinto nodded and Sheppard handed it to him. When he wriggled away, they closed the hatch.
And Sheppard turned to face Weir's wrath.