PART TWELVE: THE WHITE LIGHT
"Okay," Lieutenant Che said, leaning forward over the console, "Doctor McKay, this is Lieutenant Che. There are three ships. Can you see them all?"
"Yes."
"Latch onto each and think about destroying all three—I believe that's how it works. All right, here we go," she licked her lips. "Firing One!" she shouted, hitting the first button.
A high pitched whine filled the room of the Great Eye, causing all three people inside to wince at the overwhelming sound.
McKay focused on all three Wraith darts that he could see, his mind trailing each one and merging them together.
The white light intensified around him, building in heat and pressure, to the point where he couldn't breathe because it was crushing him.
He didn't even know he was screaming as the Weapon's power burst upwards out of the room.
Sheppard pivoted on one foot, jaw dropping as he saw the massive white flare erupt upwards from some location near the heart of the City, filling each of the holes in the ceiling above with such intensity that he actually had to shut his eyes to protect them.
Above the city, the three Wraith darts didn't even know what hit them. As soon as the white light of the Weapon touched them, they disintegrated.
On the ground, the Deucalion Guard erupted in cheers.
Governor Borin fell against the side of her window, thanking whatever gods had sent the Atlanteans here.
"Damn!" Ford grinned, impressed as the whine disappeared along with the light and the Wraith darts. "Well done Doc! That was amazing!"
"Two more Wraith ships are coming up fast on the Illusion," Lieutenant Che stated formally. "They won't know what has happened to the first three until they are inside."
"How many are there altogether?" Teyla asked, trying to count the number of ships she could see through the Great Eye.
"I count nine more," Che replied, looking out from her seat, "not counting the main hive ship."
"Oh, we're taking that sucker down," Ford grinned, his eyes bright. "Keep it up, doc! Only ten more ships to go!"
Rodney barely heard Ford's voice; his ears were ringing too much. Every muscle in his body felt like it was on fire, twitching and cramping with the energy he'd just directed from the Weapon.
Oh shit. He wasn't going to survive this five times. He barely survived one!
Sheppard had returned to his digging, ignoring the weak protests from the Sergeant. The Weapon had startled him, but more it had worried him. That was a lot of power. If Rodney was standing at the nexus of that....It wasn't harmful, Ford had said, just draining, but if they had been told that by that snake of a Governor....
How could something that powerful not be harmful?
They were lying again, he just knew it. Something was very, very wrong.
"Teyla!" He hit the transmitter on his radio again, pausing in his boulder shifting, a sudden thought coming to him.
"Yes Major?"
"Did Rodney say anything else?"
"About what?"
"About anything. What exactly did he say?"
"I...Lieutenant Che, two more ships!"
"Firing two," Lieutenant Che called, reacting to Teyla's shout.
The white light burst upwards again, hidden from sight to those outside the Illusion's walls, but not to those inside. Most of the Deucalions were forced to cover their eyes from the blinding glare, but it didn't stop them from celebrating the rebirth of the Weapon.
Two more Wraith darts were obliterated just as a third passed through the Illusion.
"Catch it!" Ford yelled. The third dart had clearly seen what had just happened, and was executing a sharp turn to get out and warn the others.
"Firing Three!" Lieutenant Che responded, her fist slamming down on the third button.
Rodney channeled the power, grabbing onto the tail of the escaping Wraith ship, riding the wave of energy as it exploded up through the ship piece by piece. He saw the three Wraiths piloting it turning to look at the Weapon's force as it blew them apart. Every jolt, every pain, every explosion, he felt everything.
His agonized scream faded as his eyesight started to dull.
The hologram watched him from one side. It showed no expression at all anymore.
"Here come three more!" Lieutenant Che said, her hand already hovering over the fourth button.
"How can they not know something's wrong?" Ford marveled. "Six of their ships have just been smoked, and they still seem oblivious."
"It is our hypothesis that, when it wants to, the Illusion can block more than just light," Lieutenant Che informed them, not taking her dark eyes off of the ships. "We think it somehow inhibits their ability to communicate with each other."
"Oh."
"Teyla," Sheppard's voice came over the radio, "Back to my question. Did McKay say anything else?"
Teyla frowned, looking across at Lieutenant Ford. He wasn't paying attention, focused instead on the images around them. She took hold of her radio, trying to remember if she had left anything out, when it came to her.
"Just that he asked us not to fire the Weapon six times, unless we absolutely had to. And I think he used another of your idioms. He said he would be our, I think the name was, Sydney Carton? Who is Sydney Carton?"
"Here they come," Ford said, gripping the back of the chair. "You ready Doc?"
"Sydney...Carton?" Sheppard replied to the Athosian."That's not an idiom, Teyla. But I know that name...I think it's an allusion...."
"Doc?" Ford frowned, as McKay hadn't responded to his question. He looked down at the console as if for answers. "Doctor McKay, you ready? In a couple of seconds, three more ships will be inside the illusion's walls."
"Ford, please..." McKay's voice was very quiet, and for the first time, Ford heard the pain in it, even over the communication system, "I...I can't...."
"Firing Four!" Lieutenant Che interrupted harshly, hitting the fourth button.
McKay's whole body lifted off the chair, barely restrained by the metal now cutting into his wrists and ankles as the Weapon seared through every fiber. The purpose of the restraints was all too obvious now—without them, he would never be able to keep his body willingly in this chair.
Three more Wraith ships inside his mind, three more to grab and destroy.
Destroy....that's all it wants to do. Destroy, eradicate, annihilate, and remove from existence everything it can see....
No! Just the ships! Just the Wraith!
Oh God it hurt!
"Stop!" he begged as the light faded once more, "Stop please!"
The whine died down from the fourth shot, and Teyla frowned. For a second, she'd thought she'd heard Doctor McKay's voice asking something as the sound faded.... "Doctor, what did you just...?"
"The main hive ship," Ford breathed.
Teyla froze, staring as the massive ship touched the edge of the illusion. Four more darts covered its back, staying outside the illusion, covering the perimeter. After all, for all the mother ship knew, nine darts were already inside...that was more than enough to make sure Deucalion was defenseless and ready for the culling to begin.
Lieutenant Che's hand shook again, hovering over the fifth button.
"The mother ship, Doc," Ford said to the air, "it's entering the illusion. My God...it's massive."
TBC