A BEE IN THE BONNET
By NotTasha
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PART 3: 10 METERS or 32.8 FEET

Sheppard stopped at the Rodney's lab first, looking for any sign of McKay. He paused at the physicist's room, knocked and called the doctor's name, but there was no response. It was possible that McKay was sulking within his quarters. He considered using the ATA gene to force open the locked door, but instead decided to look elsewhere first. If the man wanted to be alone, Sheppard wasn't about to intrude.

He meandered about the complex, checking on the more of the known labs, thinking that McKay might have wanted some space. As he looked, John tried to figure out what he was going to say to the man. "About the letter…" no… that wouldn't do. It would probably be best to say nothing about the thing, he decided. Just talk to McKay a bit, make sure that he was okay.

Hell, of course, he'll be okay. McKay was a big boy – he didn't need any coddling. He'll be fine. But Sheppard realized that the words would have put McKay in an unpleasant mood – and nobody wanted to be around that. He was searching for McKay to ensure that the rest of Atlantis wasn't left to feel the wrath of an unhappy genius. There was nothing quite so obnoxious as McKay in a truly surly mood – everyone would pay the consequences.

Aw, but it wasn't that, was it? Sheppard thought as he strode down one of the long hallways, out into one of the lesser-used arms of the complex. McKay, knowing his bad mood, may have gone to one of the remote areas. John just wanted to check on his friend – make sure he wasn't too depressed or out of sorts – wanted to make Rodney feel a bit better about himself. That wouldn't be too hard, would it?

Sheppard sighed, and girded his loins… ready for a struggle as he rounded yet another corner, toward one of the exposed balconies.

He wasn't prepared for the sight that met him.

"Major!" McKay called, spotting Sheppard at the same time that John saw him. He was standing near the railing that overlooked the ocean. "Come here… you really must see this!"

Sheppard strolled in cautiously, wondering at Rodney's good mood. The ear-to-ear grin was certainly not what he expected. "McKay," he greeted guardedly.

If Rodney noted Sheppard's careful tone, he made no notice of it. "Look! Do you know what this is? Do you have any idea what this is?" and McKay held out something in his hand.

"It's that thing Ford found," John replied, recognizing the odd gewgaw and wondering what sort of bee McKay had in his bonnet this time. "Except it's glowing now."

"Yes, exactly," Rodney replied. "I was able to activate it. It was really rather simple once I realized…" and he paused, making a face as he cut off his sentence and restarted. "Do you have any idea what it does?"

"Ah," Sheppard pondered and then shrugged. "I suppose old ladies wear things like that."

McKay snorted and said, "Hardly…" and he looked up at Sheppard, grinning. "Watch this." McKay held up the pin with one hand and squeezed it with the other. And he was gone.

Simple as that. There was a strange "Shrumph" sound, and the astrophysicist disappeared. "Doctor!" Sheppard shouted, darting out one hand to feel the space where Rodney had been a moment ago – nothing but air. "McKay! Rodney? Where?" A tap on his shoulder, and John spun around to face the gleeful doctor. "What the hell?" he shouted at the overly-happy Canadian.

"A personal portable transporter system!" McKay declared, holding the device between finger and thumb.

Fascinated, John reached toward the device in McKay's hands, but the scientist snatched it out of his reach. "How's it work?" Sheppard asked, his eyes still on the device.

"Pretty good, actually," Rodney returned, smiling still, tipping back to his heels.

"Come on…" Sheppard returned, grinning too. It was hard not to be infected by the doctor's good mood. And the possibilities of such a device were astounding. "That little bit transported you?"

"Instantaneous, as far as I can tell." He held the device before him, nodding as he spoke. "It doesn't have the range of an Asgard transporter. No, not by any stretch. It's range appears to be about 10 meters."

"About 30 feet?"

McKay sighed his face pale and sweaty with excitement as he spoke, "If I had meant 30 feet, I would have said '30 feet,' wouldn't I? 30 feet is about 9 meters. Whereas 10 meters is approximately 33 feet."

"32.8 feet actually," John corrected.

"I was rounding up," Rodney clarified.

"I was rounding down to 30 feet," John added. "Come on, how did it do that?"

Rodney shrugged. "I can't completely explain it, at least not yet. I must do more study." He tipped his head thoughtfully, as he considered exactly how the thing might function and where he might commence his next line of research. "Truthfully, it goes against everything I know. The fact that something this small functions at all is approaching the 'dancing hamster' thing -- but it works." He shook his head in wonder. "Makes me a bit thirsty, though. You wouldn't happen to have any water on you?"

John shrugged, lifting his hands from his sides. "Not on me, no."

"I'd better find some soon," Rodney commented, carefully holding the 'bug' in his hands. "I wish we had brought some Dr Pepper to Atlantis. I could really go for a can of that right now. That and Mr. Pibb. I really used to like Mr. Pibb. High caffeine content. Can't get it most places. Think anyone brought some here?"

"Not that I know of," Sheppard responded sharply, holding out his hand. "Come on, hand it over. I want to try it out."

Rodney kept his hand around the device, for a moment longer, then tipped it into Sheppard's outstretched palm, too excited about the discovery not to share it. "It really is amazing. I was thinking about calling it a PPTS for 'Personal Portable Transporter System', but the 'bee' is easier."

"Bee?" Sheppard held it to his face. "Guess it does kinda look like a bee. You come up with that?"

"Ah," McKay paused and then admitted, "It was Lt. Ford who first mentioned the resemblance."

John grimaced. "I thought I told him he wasn't allowed to name things anymore. Do you think the personal transporter will only function for one person, like your personal shield?"

McKay shook his head. "I don't think so. I did a bit of research on it and was able to find a line or two concerning it in the ancient texts. It's Ancient Technology – no doubt there. Someone must have dropped it at some point on that planet, but it truly is fascinating because…" and he stopped again before restarting and stating, "It should work for more than one user."

"What happened to it?" John asked.

Stymied, McKay asked, "What happened to what?"

"That glowing green turtle… the personal shield. You ever figure out how to recharge it?"

"Interesting that you should say that," McKay leaned forward, as if whatever he was saying was the most interesting matter possible. "I found a unit in the lab that seems to be designed as a re-charger of some sort. I've been trying to get it to reenergize the personal shield, but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. It's curious because the texts seem to indicate that it should work. I just haven't been able to initialize the correct sequence. Possibly it …" He stopped, then said abruptly. "What's important is…" And he jabbed a finger at the bee in Sheppard's hand. "…this thing works!"

Sheppard examined the device. "So, how do I get it to transport me?"

"Oh, you just press the transparent disks inward and…"

A roaring sound filled Sheppard's ears as he held in the 'wings' of the device and felt as if he'd been lifted off his feet – flying. The sensation quickly ended as he was dropped. The next thing he knew, he was struggling on the floor, atop a body that was wildly flailing its arms and legs.

"Get off me! Get off!" McKay demanded as he shoved at the pilot.

Surprised, Sheppard found himself on the floor, with McKay struggling to get out from under him. Trying to get his bearings, he rolled, managing to get out of the embarrassing position in spite of McKay's thrashing.

"For the love of God!" McKay cried. "Why'd you do that?"

Sheppard jumped to his feet, and with a startled sound. "Why the hell did that happen?"

Frustrated, Rodney brushed at his shoulders and scowled as he sat up. "Because you didn't listen to my instructions."

"Yeah, well," John shrugged one shoulder. "I was afraid the explanation was going to get rather long winded."

Rodney harrumphed, not speaking immediately. Sheppard's comment seemed to flummox the scientist for a moment. McKay covered, using the time to get to his feet. "Well, sometimes it pays to listen," he muttered petulantly.

Realizing the shortness of his comment, John asked with a lighter tone, "So what happened? Why'd I end up running headlong into you?"

After a frustrated sigh, McKay explained, "When you are pressing on the disks…" and he paused to lift a finger at Sheppard as if he expected the pilot to go off 'half-cocked' again. "You must also focus on where you want to go."

"Oh," John returned. "A mental component."

"Yes, a mental component. It could also have something to do with the ATA gene, but that's not important right now. The mental component is! That's why you ended up on top of me. You were talking to me at the time, so your focus was on me and then… whamo!" and he slapped his hands together for emphasis

"I see. So, it's always a good idea to think about where you're going before you start."

"Always a good plan," McKay continued. "Well, this little … embarrassment… did teach us one important fact … besides the 'listen to what Rodney says' thing."

"What's that?" John asked as he picked at the glowing device and dropped it again in his palm, enjoying the weight and shape in his hand.

"Apparently, it has some sort of a failsafe that keeps you from hurting yourself. You're not going to reconstitute inside something solid."

"Like you?" Sheppard nodded in understanding. "Otherwise, since I was talking to you at the moment…listening to you…" John clarified. "I might have ended up… materializing inside of you?"

"It wouldn't have been comfortable."

"Not for either of us," John commented and both men cringed at the idea. "Thank God for failsafes…"

"Yay, verily," Rodney responded.

"How'd you figure it out what it did? Researching those ancient texts?"

McKay returned a childish smile. "Actually, I activated it purely by accident. I'd managed to turn it on." And he waved a hand to get past the explanation. "And was in my lab, holding it, thinking that I'd really rather be in my room, and the next thing I knew ... shrumph … I was standing in my quarters."

"It's just off the lab…" John continued. "So you were within the 30 foot limit."

"Exactly. Now you can imagine my shock? So, a bit belatedly, I admit, I started doing some research here because I then recalled I'd read about a device capable of acting as a personal transporter."

John squeezed down on he wings and imagined himself standing by the railings. With a rush of sound, the world seemed to change around him and he ended up exactly where he imagined. "Too cool," he murmured as he took in his new view of the world.

"Yeah… cool…" McKay conceded, as he glanced about frantically at the spot where John and been, then turned to find him. He gave Sheppard a perturbed look. "Okay," Rodney continued, "So I was…"

And John clutched the device again, focusing about 30 feet down the corridor and the doctor was cut off mid-sentence as the world seemed to de-constitute again and reform at his new location.

"This is great, McKay," John said with a laugh. He tried again, materializing further down the hallway, then further. He looked toward McKay and saw him grinning lopsidedly at him. He took a step toward the scientist. Then, with a smile, he stopped and zapped himself closer, and then closer, finally reaching the doctor again in a series of leaps. "Okay, that's fun," Sheppard declared.

"Yeah, yeah, it's endless fun," Rodney told him, "But it's my turn again, so hand it over."

"Can you transport through something?" John asked, nodding to the wall beside them. "Get to the other side?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "As long as you think clearly about where you want to go, even if you're not sure about what's there, you should be able to…"

John didn't hear the rest of what McKay was saying. With a 'shrumph', daylight and the chattering physicist were turned to darkness and quiet. John grinned, and turned about in the blackened room. "Oh, this is so cool," John muttered, aware that he hadn't yet found a better descriptor for the thing.

He stepped forward in the darkness and slammed into something. "Damn it," he grumbled, pressed against a counter or a chair or some sort of unfathomable ancient technology. Maybe they'd found a new room – filled with incredible, almost indecipherable wonders!

Light suddenly flooded the space as a door was thrown open and Rodney peered in at him. "Major," he said tiredly, "Would you come out of there? Or do you need a moment of privacy?"

Sheppard let out a grumble as he stepped out of the closet and back into the hallway. "You know, you're right. It does make me thirsty." John smacked his lips, feeling a dryness to his mouth.

"It possibly has a dehydrating effect," Rodney realized. "I believe the transportation somehow leaves behind a… residue...water... whatever."

"Getting a bit hungry, too," Sheppard added.

McKay nodded. "Exactly! I was going to say the same thing. I think it's making me a bit light-headed."

"That'd be the manly hunger," John told him, getting a disgusted look from McKay in return. "How many times have you used this thing?" John asked.

"That'd be ten times," Rodney responded. "It's all in the name of science and research!" he quickly defended, then leaned upon the railing feeling suddenly weary. "Come on, give it back."

"Aw, you've been playing with it for an hour now. I want a chance." And Sheppard held the device mockingly away from Rodney. When McKay didn't pursue, John glanced at it and decided, "It doesn't seem to be glowing quite so brightly anymore."

"Possibly running low on power," Rodney told him.

"Think we need to stop using it?" John asked, knowing that his voice betrayed him – because, damn it, he wanted to play with it some more.

"We're researching… still researching," McKay told him, with a smile.

"I like that kind of research," John told him. "So, you find out anything else we need to know about this thing?"

"Not much beyond the fact that it was used as an emergency means of escape."

"But it's only good for 30 feet?"

"Well, I suppose it could get you out of a prison cell. Or, if you're being attacked, it would be enough to get behind your attackers."

"Ah, so it could be used both as a means of defense and offense." Sheppard nodded, understanding. "Pretty clever."

"It can be used for rescue. Someone could transport to where a captive is being held and get him out of there."

"It can handle more than one person?" John asked.

"According to the texts, it was designed with that in mind. The Ancients were really quite concerned about rescuing captives. Fascinating really, because…" and Rodney stopped again.

Sheppard grimaced, realizing finally why McKay kept cutting himself off. That damn letter. Rodger Dodger and his poison pen … "Look, McKay… about that letter."

McKay's face went a shade paler. "What? What letter?"

"That one that Ford had… listen… you know that guy was full of crap, don't you?"

"Of course. Of course. Nothing new to me, right? Now, let's test this function. We both need to be touching the object," Rodney told him. "Otherwise it may think that I'm attacking you. I might get my arm ripped off when you dematerialize. Ha ha." He spoke quickly, not letting any time for John to get in a word. McKay grasped John by the wrist, holding his hand still so that he could touch the device, too. "We must be certain that we focus on the same thing," he continued at a rapid pace. "That black mark on the floor should do fine. Do you see it?

"Yeah," Sheppard responded, finally getting a chance to speak.

"Okay. I'll end up standing to the left. You focus on materializing on the right," McKay decided.

"Fine."

"Remember, you're on the right. I'm on the left."

"Gotcha."

"Your right."

"Okay."

"To clarify, your right as you're facing it. We'll be facing in the same direction as we're currently…"

"I got it, McKay."

"Let's do it!"

Okay, Sheppard thought. McKay seemed to be dealing with the whole 'letter' thing okay – kinda.

"Let's do this!" McKay repeated impatiently.

"Here we go," Sheppard stated, "One… Two… Three…" And John focused on ending up just to the right of the black mark as he pressed down on the disks. The whooshing sensation returned. It was an exhilarating sensation, like flying… like falling.

In the beat of a heart, he had moved ten feet up the hallway, to the right side of the mark. He staggered for a moment, strangely off balanced. "What the…?" His arm, that had been supported a moment ago, was free.

He spun around on the deck. "McKay?" he called. "McKay?"

"Rodney?" he shouted, but there was no answer. He was alone in the hallway.
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A/N: ooops...