Title: Alien Devices
Author: SlayersGrl
Summary: The team finds an Ancient outpost on a deserted planet. Strange devices
and an unexpected encounter may provide them with exactly what they've been
looking for. But are they willing to pay the price?
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any of its characters... I'm simply writing for entertainment and because the plot bunnies won't leave me alone.
Author's note: I seemed to have misplaced Aiden & Teyla… It's like watching little children. They wander off as soon as you take your eyes off them…
And I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Between working almost 40 hours a week at my "part-time" job, going to school, and having my computer eat my USB drive (which contained all of my fanfic and current schoolwork), I've been extremely busy. I'd much rather be working on this story than coding my database application… but such is the way of life…
Chapter 6: Research
Ford impatiently paced the hallway, glancing at his watch every few minutes. He knew it took awhile to get through base security, but if it took any longer, his food would get cold. He sighed in frustration. He would have preferred to go get his own food off base, but since he and the rest of his team were still confined to the mountain that was out of the question. So he had gone with Plan B: bribe one of the base personnel to get it for him.
His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his much sought after meal. He eagerly grabbed the bag and inhaled the sorely missed scent of fast food. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting this," he said as he handed the man the previously agreed upon price.
Then the lieutenant raced off towards his quarters to enjoy his meal. He had tried to get the infirmary staff to agree to let him bring something to Major Sheppard but they had adamantly refused. Although he was sorry the major couldn't join in, it certainly left more for him.
As he opened the door to his temporary quarters, he could hear two voices in the room. He had left Teyla with Teal'c while he had gone to wait at the elevator. Now it appeared that Teal'c was in the process of trying to explain the concept of television to Teyla.
"But why are there so many channels?" Teyla asked as she breezed through the channels at lightning speed. "Surely they could never hope to watch all of this at once."
"I have found that the Tau'ri like variety in their lives. They prefer to have many options available to them," Teal'c replied.
"How do you know what you want to watch?"
"There is a manual called "TV Guide". It lists each program and what channel it can be found on."
"So, you must read a manual to use this TV?" At this point, Teyla had paused on a random station running a car commercial. "And you say children use these things?"
"Quite frequently actually," Aiden interrupted as he set his bag on a nearby table. He then began unloading its contents: several individually wrapped burgers and a few paper containers of fries.
"I do not understand what purpose this "television" serves."
Teyla stopped her random channel surfing to investigate what Ford was doing. He noticed her look of trepidation and quickly assured her it was good food. Then he answered her question.
"It doesn't really have a purpose, I guess. It's just entertainment. Of course, we don't really have alien life forms threatening to destroy us at any moment…."
Teyla nodded her head in understanding and then examined her burger. She glanced over at Teal'c. "And you enjoy fast food?"
"I'll admit it does take some getting used to…" he replied before picking up his own selection and returning to his seat in front of the TV. Ford quickly joined him and grabbed the remote.
Teyla was amused to see that he immediately began flipping through the channels in the same manner she had. She shrugged at the many oddities of life on Earth, took a cautious bite of her hamburger, and sat down to watch the colorful box that offered a glimpse into life on a planet untouched by the Wraith.
Meanwhile, Jack had cautiously approached Carter's lab. He was expecting to hear angry voices but, to his surprise, the two scientists appeared to be actually working together. He walked into the lab to find the two bent over Carter's laptop calmly discussing some test results.
In fact, they were so absorbed in their work that they didn't notice he had entered the room. Only Daniel looked up from the book he was reading and acknowledged his presence with a nod of his head.
"Well, they're getting along better than I had expected…" Jack commented as he moved to stand next to Daniel.
The archeologist chuckled at that statement. "You should have been here earlier."
Jack then noticed the large quantity of materials spread out over the majority of the workspace in Carter's lab. There were highly complicated-looking test results mixed in with old books and alien artifacts collected from other worlds. He always wondered how the scientific half of his team ever got anything accomplished in such a work environment, but they seemed to thrive on "organized chaos".
Clearing his throat to gain the attention of the other two people in the room, he asked, "So, have you made any progress yet?" He was quite pleased to notice the scientists jump in surprise at his question. They both finally looked up from staring at the computer screen.
Carter gave him a sheepish grin before replying. "Well, we have several promising leads. We've started running a few simulations to estimate how much power we can generate with the materials we currently have."
"But?" Jack asked when she hesitated to continue.
Rodney added what Sam was reluctant to say. "But we don't have the time. We have until 1500 tomorrow before we become officially overdue to check in and Atlantis begins to plan a rescue mission."
"Right…" Jack says, fully understanding the implications. "Well, keep working on a solution. I'm sure you'll think of something." The looks on their faces told him they weren't quite as confident in their abilities to solve this particular dilemma. But Jack had faith. They had yet to fail to produce results, even if sometimes the answer didn't appear until the last moment. "I'm gonna go try to get some sleep. And I suggest you all do the same. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day…" He then headed off to his quarters, his thoughts already wandering to what might happen if they didn't succeed…
Bright and early the next morning (a little too early to properly be called 'morning'), the general calmly strolled down the quiet halls of the SGC, several cups of coffee balanced precariously in his arms. He figured that since he couldn't really contribute to the work they were doing he could at least bring them some much needed caffeine. As entered the lab, he was hardly surprised to find the three of them in the exact same places he had left them.
This time they all noticed his arrival, even though Jack attributed that to the unmistakable scent of hot coffee. Daniel practically attacked him to get his cup, while Sam and Rodney weren't far behind. Jack noticed that Rodney took a moment to inhale the distinct scent before taking a large gulp from his cup. He could swear the man had a look of reverence on his face for the warm brown liquid in its small Styrofoam cup.
Rodney glanced up to notice the general giving him a quizzical look. He immediately realized he must have looked a little strange just then. "We ran out of coffee weeks ago," he said as explanation.
Jack nodded his head in understanding. Then he took a moment to study his former 2IC. She looked absolutely exhausted. Her eyes were red from both lack of sleep and staring at a computer for too long. "Carter, I thought I ordered you to get some sleep."
She stared blankly at him for a moment as if the concept of sleep had slipped her mind. He was rather certain it had. Then she smiled ruefully. "Actually, you didn't sir. You clearly said it was only a suggestion."
"Oh, well apparently I should have made it an order." Then he settled himself on one of the chairs and decided it was time to get an update on their progress. "So, what do you have?"
Jack then proceeded to listen to the several different avenues they had been researching. Unfortunately, nothing sounded too promising; especially with the limited time they had left. Why did everything always end up being decided by time?
"So basically you have nothing?"
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry sir."
Jack sighed, sharing their feelings of frustration. "Too bad they can't just go back the way they came," he wondered out loud.
"We can't," Rodney replied. "There's too many risks involved, especially for Major Sheppard."
"But what if we could reduce some of those risks?" Sam countered. "You said the device was working with no adverse effects originally."
"So if we isolate the cause, we could prevent the same thing from happening." Wheels already turning, Rodney grabbed the device from its position on the laboratory table and rushed out the door with Sam right behind him.
Jack turned to Daniel and motioned towards the door. "Shall we?" The two then followed at a more reasonable pace, glad to finally be doing something constructive. They just hoped they were finally moving in the right direction.
