Story Title: Atlantis Rising
Chapter Title: The Bomb
Author: me, sigh, tired, old me
Disclaimer: I have no claim on anything Atlantis, but I do, however, claim anything original you may find in the fic.
Author's notes: Sorry but I will be gone for the next week and I may not be able to update. I will, however, try my very hardest, but I'm not promising anything. This chapter is a little (like 600 words) longer than my previous one, so take comfort in that.
Also thanks to my two wonderful reviewers CylentWind and Quezacolt! You two are awesome.
CylentWind: It's okay, I forgive you . . .this time. :p I do have a master plan . . . and I've gotten "that's so cool" and "wow" from two of my friends . . . so they approve. BTW I like emailing my reviewers to thank them . . . but you don't have your email up, so that made it rather hard, but thanks for your reviews. They are oh so very much appreciated.
Quezacolt: I will try updating every two to three days, but life is fickle sometimes and it becomes impossible. :D
You guys (or girls . . . which ever you prefer) really make this worth while for me . . . and besides it's wayyyyyyy too much fun knowing just what I have planned for the poor characters and what they are going to go through. :p Oh the joys of being a writer . . .
If there are no more interruptions . . .on with the show . . .
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Thankfully the blast was completely stopped by the shield and anything that was meant to go through didn't. Everyone, at once, breathed out a huge sigh of relief, except for Amorina, who remained locked in her position, her eyes wide.
"Well that could've been ugly," McKay said, a weak grin upon his face.
Weir nodded and turned back to Grodin, "I want to know exactly what that was."
"I can tell you." Amorina said, moving toward them. Her movements, however, were still devoid of her usual gracefulness. "It was a . . . energy absorbing bomb, for lack of better term."
Everyone looked around in confusion, not knowing what Amorina was talking about. McKay, however, squinted in concentration, his stare directed on the shield covering the gate. He clenched his fists in tight balls. In the back of his mind, he knew what Amorina was talking about, but he could not wrap his mind completely around it, and that bothered him.
Everyone else started talking at once. Technicians began system checks, noticing that energy levels were dropping dangerously fast. Sheppard moved off to a corner and began dismissing security, not seeing a reason for them being there. Weir went straight into command mode, snapping out orders as fast as people could follow, or faster, all the while attempting to question Amorina. But in all the chaos, McKay didn't move. All he could think about was Amorina's words, 'energy absorbing bomb . . . energy absorbing bomb . . . energy absorbing bomb.' And then it hit him.
"Oh that's not good." McKay exclaimed. Everyone stopped and stared at him.
"What's not?" Shepard started, but McKay didn't answer, instead he looked at Amorina.
"No, it's not." Amorina agreed, sighing in defeat, crossing her arms across her chest. "But there's not much we can do about it."
"You mean . . ." She nodded. Rodney smashed his fist on the table top, "There has to be something. Anything."
Amorina shook her head, "This has happened before and like before the shield will break. It only takes time."
"It's not a very effective shield then is it?" McKay snapped, his frustration taking over.
Amorina grew stiff in anger. "They did not know what it was. And when they figured it out, the city had already fallen."
"Well," Rodney glared, "What did they try."
"I don't know," Amorina threw her arms in the air, "Everything, nothing. I don't know."
"How could you not? You live here."
"That doesn't mean I know everything." Amorina yelled back, her voice taunt with frustration and fear. After a few depth breaths she continued, this time in a much more controlled voice, "I do know, however, that if they don't break through this time, they'll send another and another until the city is breeched."
"McKay what is going on here?" Weir asked, not appreciating being left out of the fast-paced conversation.
He, however, chose to ignore her, "But there has to be something?"
"I don't . . ."
"McKay!" Rodney turned away from Amorina and towards Weir.
"What? I'm slightly busy attempting to save all our asses here, if you don't mind."
"Actually, I do." Weir replied, "What the hell is going on here?"
"Our shield is about to be completely absorbed . . . wait a minute. Wait just a damn minute."
"What, do you have an idea?" Amorina asked eagerly, her fingers griping the side of a counsel in anxiety.
Rodney didn't answer but instead quickly grabbed the closes computer and moved it to the gate dial up station. Without out looking he directed his question to Grodin, "We can interface the computer with Ancient technology, right?"
"Yeah, in most parts of the city, but we've never actually accomplished connection . . ." Grodin started answering, before McKay interrupted.
"Amorina, I need you here." Amorina quickly moved to his side. "Can you make it work?"
"I . . . I don't know, but maybe . . ."Her face lit up before she dropped to the ground and began pulling apart a section of the unit. "It should be easy enough. Give me your computer."
Rodney handed her the cord that was dangling from the computer. At her look he simply shrugged, "It's the way we've previously hooked up our equipment to Ancient technology."
She nodded and quickly began switched crystals and chips, as well as ripping out the first wire the team had seen in Atlantian technology. Bright blues and reds and greens were yanked from their spot and landed in an unorganized hemp beside her.
"Stupid imbeciles. . .," Amorina mumbled, "They just had to go in and attempt to completely rewire everything. It was fine just the way it was." She bit her lip in concentration as she pulled out a large crystal.
"Rodney, can I see you for a moment?" Weir hissed, her jaw clamped tight in anger.
"Sure, um, Amy are you going to be alright?" McKay asked.
"Yeah, just a few more . . . OUCH! Damn it, that hurt." She replied, shaking her now singed hand. "I just need a few more minutes."
McKay nodded, even though he knew that she couldn't see him. Amorina's entire upper body had been lost to the unit, as she struggled to reach the inner core. Weir, however, grabbed McKay and pulled him off to the side.
"Rodney if you don't give me a very good explanation as to what the hell is going on, I promise you the consequences will be very severe." The look in her eyes clearly told Rodney that she was not joking and unless he wished to spend the rest of his time here, which was probably the rest of his life, doing horrible, half-witted jobs, than he'd better start talking.
"You know that communication that was sent to us?"
Weir nodded, "So."
"Well that wasn't just friendly chit-chatter. Unfortunately it was a disguise to mask the real purpose." He frowned, "Apparently this species has figured out a way drain the shield, without destroying it."
"So you mean," Weir began slowly, "That, in God knows how long, that shield, our last and only line of defense, will fail?"
"Yep, that's about it."
"And you're doing what to stop this?" Weir questioned.
"Well . . . I have a couple different theories, but who knows if any of them will actually work or not." At Weir's glare he continued, "Doctor I'm sorry but there's only so much I can do. The Ancients couldn't stop this. I highly doubt if I can."
"But you're doing everything possible right?"
"When Amorina, Amy," he corrected himself, "finishes the connection we may have a fighting chance. But right now it's not looking good."
Elizabeth thought for a moment, "Did Amorina ever mention what happened to the Ancients when their defense fell?"
"No, but after seeing the look on her face, I can't imagine it was very pretty."
They both turned watch the gate and their shield, which had ripples of red and purple. It reminded Elizabeth of when you throw a rock in a pond and the ripples of water, except these ripples would do more than just disturb the peace.
"DAMN IT!" filled the room and then an "ah ha," followed by a low humming noise, as Amorina pulled herself out of the counsel. "We're in."
McKay ran to the computer and began typing furiously. After a minute he spared a second and turned toward Amorina, who had moved to his side, "Do you have any ideas?"
"No, not that the Ancient's hadn't previously tired."
"So, I have to outsmart the Ancients? Great, that's just great." McKay scanned the lines of code, looking for any possible loophole in the design, Amorina keeping pace with him.
Throughout all the commotion, Sheppard had wandered to the balcony that overlooked the Stargate. Personally he hated knowing that there was nothing he could do. No military mind could solve this, nothing he knew would help. The only people who could stop this were McKay and Amorina. One was brilliant although a little overemotional at times and the other had give no reason to be trusted. This set up did not sit easily with him.
Weir had seen Sheppard wander toward the balcony and as McKay began working with Amorina, she moved to join him. They stood in companionable silence as the clatter of machines and voices filled the air.
"So," Sheppard was the first to begin, "I suppose I should be getting security teams ready?"
"That would seem to be the case," Weir replied, looking behind her, "I certainly hope they can pull off some sort miracle. It doesn't matter what, but I'll be damned if I allow this city to fall after only a few months."
"So, security teams posted at . . ."
"Do it." Weir answered, her concentration on the quickly fading shield. "And get all non-essential personal to a safe location."
"Yes ma'ma." Sheppard nodded, contacting Lieutenant Ford on his radio.
Yet again Weir was left in silence, aside from the commotion in the background. She wondered what they would do, where they would go if the shield couldn't be fixed. Amorina's reaction to the message had been bad enough to tell Elizabeth that whoever these unknown people were, they were not to be messed with. Her fingers gripped the cold, metal railing. If Atlantis fell, how would they defend themselves against the wraith?
She rubbed her tired eyes with the palm of her hand and sighed deeply. Looking up she could barely make out the dark night sky and the stars she knew were there. That was until the shield burned bright red and the entire complex fell into darkness.
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