Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters to Stargate Atlantis, nor am I making any type of profit from this story. It is a work of fan fiction, for enjoyment only.
AN: For fun, try reading the problems John's given and try to figure them out for yourself. Then read his answers!
Puzzles
By KerrAvon
Chapter 2 - The Competition
"Come on, Major. I need you to stay with me here!"
'Huh? Did I fall asleep again?' Sheppard's eyes popped open as he felt Rodney's no-longer-quite -so-gentle slaps impact his cheeks. Aloud, however, he hissed, "Beckett's not likely to approve of the bruises you're giving me, Rodney. Cut it out."
The scientist sat back on his heels, letting his breath out in a loud whoosh. "Yeah, well you've been out cold for fifteen minutes. Talk to me; Beckett and company are doing a real bang-u job of reaching us an inch at a time, and every time you fade out I don't know if…well, nevermind. I need you to talk to me!"
Sheppard sighed; he could hear the unspoken worry audibly dripping from McKay's frustrated shout. 'I don't know if…you'll ever wake up again' had been the logical completion of the sentence. The pilot gulped as he imagined Rodney's position; Alone with an injured teammate, medical help tantalizingly close but yet unavailable, an agonizing wait in the near-dark with no company, wondering if your charge…no, your friend was dying…He couldn't put the man through that. They still had those approaching Wraith to face. Together.
Setting his lips in a grim line he demanded, "Help me sit up."
Rodney sounded worried, "Beckett said to keep you still."
Sheppard schooled his voice to sound reasonable. "McKay, if you want me to stay awake, you'll help me prop up against that boulder." He gestured to a nearby chunk of what until recently had been ceiling. As the astrophysicist reached to hit his comm, the Major hastily added, "And don't ask Beckett; he'll just say 'no'." He smiled as Rodney froze, and would have shaken his head if he hadn't been sure it would explode. "Rodney, Rodney, Rodney…When are you ever going to learn that 'It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.'"
"Old Air Force saying?" McKay inquired, hooking an arm beneath Sheppard's and hoisting him into a more upright posture.
John winced as the jackhammer had babies. "Army, actually."
McKay grunted with the effort, but within a few minutes he had Sheppard firmly propped up where he had requested. Sheppard frowned in concern; there had been something awkward in the scientist's movements…"What's wrong with you?" he finally blurted when he had caught his breath.
McKay looked distinctly uncomfortable. "It's nothing."
Sheppard realized that he was in no shape to pull off 'intimidating, but he gave it a try. "McKay, level with me."
Rodney ducked his head so that John barely heard the muttered, "I think I bruised some ribs."
Sheppard regarded the other man critically. "Bruised?"
Rodney refused to meet his eyes. "Yeah. It's nothing."
Sheppard sighed. He was too tired to deal with this. If Rodney wasn't complaining, it must be serious. He looked as if he had gone three rounds with Teyla, and lost. His mind drifted back to his session with the Athosian leader the day before. He had actually won two out of three rounds, which was unprecedented in his personal experience. Once she had actually accused him of not practicing…and he didn't. Ever. He didn't really have the time, after all. But it was worth a dozen bruises a day just to watch that woman sweat…and he had to admit that his hand-to-hand was improving. Still, he shouldn't have been able to beat her, not yet…
'I wonder why Teyla's not as sharp as usual…' Sheppard was off to grab a quick shower after his workout before heading up to speak to Weir. 'Probably the fact that she's spent her whole life in fear of the Wraith, and now they're on their way here.' He broke off that thought as he noticed the paper taped prominently to his door. "Rodney, don't you have anything better to do - like save our asses?" he muttered to himself. He almost tossed it aside as he entered his quarters, then paused. 'Might be diverting. Give me something to think about in the shower.' Curiosity getting the upper hand, he opened the folded note.
"The letters from the three words below can be taken apart, unscrambled and merged to form three separate words all of which are synonyms of each other, but not of the original three words. Find them. CLIMBER MONITOR NIECE"
He frowned. OK, not a math question, but pretty much straightforward vocabulary. He pulled his sweaty shirt off over his head. 'OK, first break it down…two C's, L, three I's, two M's, B, three E's, two R's, two N's, T, two O's….' He finished stripping and stepped into the shower. He never ceased to be both grateful and amazed that the Ancients seemed to like them as much as humans did for cleaning themselves as he let the hot water cascade over stiffening muscles. His mind drifted as he ran through combinations in his head. As he stepped out and began to towel off, he muttered, "Belie, moonie…nah. It's gotta be something McKay would think of…" He pursed his lips and frowned as he pulled on clean trousers, then his face lit up. "Moron! I'll bet that's one of them. Still have B,L,T,C,C,M,N,R,I,I,I,E,E,E… 'idiot' is out - no D and I've used my O's. 'Stupid' won't work, either. 'Imbecile' will, though…That leaves T,C,N,R,E,I… 'Cretin'! of course!" Grinning and fully dressed, he scribbled the words: "IMBECILE MORON CRETIN" on the bottom of Rodney's sheet and headed for the astrophysicist's lab on his way to Weir's office.
The meeting went pretty much as he had expected; for the most part, the uninhabited planets in the Pegasus Galaxy were uninhabited for a reason. Of course, they still had that list of ZPM planets that the alternate-universe Elizabeth had given them; three out of the five were still left to check out. He was mentally running through their limited options, trying to decide which planet to visit first, when he heard pounding feet behind him.
"Major Sheppard!" came the distinctly accented call. Sighing, he paused and turned around; once Dr. Zelenka wanted you, there was no escape.
Panting, the slight Czech jogged up to the military man and thrust a piece of paper at him. "Doctor McKay…has asked…that I make certain…you receive this note." He wiped his brow as his breathing steadied.
Unfolding the message, John was somehow unsurprised to discover another puzzle. Irritated, he glared at the engineer and snarled, "Doesn't Rodney have better things to do than make up riddles, because I know I do!"
Zelenka looked uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot. "Actually, yes. He does. That's why he's asked for others to help." He finally raised his eyes to meet Sheppard's glare and proudly announced, "This one is from me."
Sheppard's jaw dropped in amazement. "You mean this is some sort of contest!"
Radek grinned cheekily. "Exactly!"
The Major tilted his head in challenge, and smiled. "Well, let's take a look, shall we?" and read what was on the sheet.
"You have 8 marbles that weigh 1 ounce each, & 1 marble that weighs 1.5 ounces. You are unable to determine which is the heavier marble by looking at them. You have a weighing scale that consists of 2 pans, but the scale is only good for 2 total weighings. How can you determine which marble is the heaviest using the scale, & in 2 weighings?"
He stared up at the ceiling as he thought and squinted one eye. "Let's see…you'd have to end up with weighing two marbles only in the second weighing…Got it!"
Zelenka's face was disbelieving as he pouted and crossed his arms. "Then describe it to me."
Sheppard smirked; this had actually taken some thought. It was easy to do it with three weighings, but two was more of a challenge. "Put three marbles on each tray; if they balance, discard them and weigh two of the remaining three - the heavier one is the one you want. If they weigh the same, then it is the third marble in that group."
"And if the first groups do not weigh the same?"
"Take the three from the tray that weighed heavier, and eliminate the rest. Then, take two of the three and compare them - the heavier is the one you want. If they weigh the same, then it is the third marble in that group."
Radek nodded and ran a hand through his unruly hair in defeat. "You are, of course, correct. I will let Rodney know to send the next victim."
Sheppard's eyebrows raised at that. "Victim?" he inquired, not certain if he really wanted the answer.
Zelenka chuckled at his response and waggled a finger at him. "I thought that would get your attention. Rodney has issued a dare to the science department; a prize to the first one to ask you a riddle that you cannot answer."
"Oh he has, has he?" Sheppard was inwardly pretty amused, but tried to project 'indignant'. 'Good job, Rodney; nice distraction.' The Major understood that while the scientists continued to work feverishly on finding a way to protect Atlantis, their subconscious minds perseverated on their impending death. A "Stump the Chump" contest gave them something else to think about, and might actually improve their ability to concentrate on the task at hand. 'Looks like he took my 'lessons in leadership' to heart.' "What if I answer them all?" he wondered aloud.
"Then I suppose you get the prize." The engineer stared at him pointedly, "Which is why I said 'victim'. I am beginning to think that McKay might not be, as he claims, the smartest man on this base." With that, Zelenka smiled blandly, nodded, and hurried off.
Sheppard felt a familiar quiver of fear dart uneasily about his stomach, which he ruthlessly squashed. Here, in Atlantis, he didn't have to hide his intellect as he had most of his life. In fact, it was regarded as a good thing to be smart. If they ever got back to Earth he'd have to resort to old habits, but that was looking less and less likely all the time. Right now he'd play this game and help McKay's team stay focussed; it was the least he could do.
TBC…
AN: Please read and review - I love knowingpeople are interested!