Time Capsule
Chapter 11
Carson entered the meeting with slumped shoulders, his stance defeated. Elizabeth felt her concern for the physician increase, and made a mental note to have Beckett speak to Dr. Heightmeyer as soon as possible.
He took a seat next to John, then raised his eyes, waiting for the meeting to begin. McKay was babbling a mile a minute into his headset, shaking his head and pacing back and forth. Carson couldn't catch everything Rodney said, and found he really didn't care. After a few more minutes of barking orders, Rodney keyed off his headset, and turned to the others.
"Okay, well the good news is that we got a lot more information than I expected. Apparently, this Brenna compressed her files even more than I thought possible. It'll take time to access them all and examine the data, but really, we did quite well." Rodney paused, rubbing his hands together excitedly, and Elizabeth tried to stop a smile; it was obvious that Rodney was dying to jump in and swim around in all this new information.
"And the bad news, Rodney?" John asked, glancing at the silent physician next to him. At this, Rodney paused, then strode closer to Carson.
"I'm afraid we really drained the resources maintaining Brenna and the other three. Her power will be gone in about two hours," Rodney replied, his tone softening as Carson's face fell.
The physician held Rodney's apologetic gaze for a long moment, then came to his feet. He turned to Elizabeth.
"If you don't mind, Dr. Weir, I would like to spend some time with Brenna before she's…." Unable to finish, Carson waited for Elizabeth to nod quickly.
"Dr. Beckett. I want Dr. Amrubi with you when you contact Brenna. Agreed?" Carson shook his head at Elizabeth's request, then walked from the room.
"Dr. Weir, if I could…?" Rodney asked eagerly, and Elizabeth bowed her head at McKay. He scurried from the room, unaware of the looks exchanged between John and Elizabeth.
oOo
Carson stood in the near-dark of the circular room. Although he had promised Dr. Weir that he would have Dr. Amrubi nearby when he contacted Brenna, he
was alone. En route to the room he had decided that he wanted the last moments he shared with this woman to be private. Now, as he walked to the four obelisks sitting silent on the dais, he raised the circlet. Taking a deep breath, he carefully placed it on his brow. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on Brenna's image.
Nothing. Around him Carson could feel the coolness of the room, hear the intermittent crackle of lights as they received a short burst of power. He swayed slightly, the fear that he had lost the opportunity to see Brenna one more time clenching his heart. He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands tightening into fists as he willed the circlet to make the connection.
"Carson." Brenna appeared before him, her image barely visible. She reached out a hand, and Carson felt like he was being caressed by a ghost. He refrained from shivering, and instead focused on her face.
"Thank you for being here, Dr. Beckett," Brenna said softly, her smile tremulous. She reached over and took his hands in hers.
"My time is short. I need to tell you two things before I'm gone. Can you hear me?" she asked.
"Aye, lass, I can hear you," Carson said, surprised that his voice sounded so even. He tightened his grip around her hands, and she gave him a shaky smile.
"Please tell Dr. McKay and the others that I did my best to send not only my information, but that of the others. A lot of it will be missing; as I said, I only have access to the histories. Still, I did manage to get a little bit of technological data to you. Have Dr. McKay look into the history of Atlantis. There is something you should know about the ocean city." Brenna paused, her voice rising and falling, some of her words almost completely lost. Her image flickered and danced, and for a moment, faded from Carson's sight.
"Brenna!" The woman's figure reappeared at his shout, and Carson gave a brief prayer of thanks.
"Carson! You must listen. When you and I became linked, I also increased your abilities to use your ATA gene." Brenna gave a reassuring smile at Beckett's look of dismay. "You will retain control, Doctor. However, you should notice some of the technology available to you on Atlantis, and elsewhere, responds more fully to your commands. This power is nothing to fear, Carson. It is yours to do as you wish."
He stared at the woman, reassured by her tone and her smile. "Thank you, Brenna. For everything. I cannot tell you how much I'm going to miss you. I wish…I wish.." Carson stopped, unable to continue.
"I, too, wish I could stay. It is not to be. I am thankful for our time together, Carson. Brief though it was." Brenna gave his hands a gentle squeeze, then stepped back. She reached up, removing the circlet from her brow, then dropped it to the floor. The connection broken between them, Carson watched her fade from view. Suddenly, he was in the control room, alone, the overhead lights dark. Emergency lighting from the corridor weakly entered the room.
Carson Beckett carefully removed the circlet from his head, and placed it gently on the obelisk. He stood a moment, his head bowed with sadness, his face streaked with tears.
"Goodbye, lass."
oOo
Dr. Beckett gazed at the sweet baby girl, a smile crossing his features as she grabbed his finger with one tiny hand. Patches of dark hair covered her scalp, and her eyes were a deep, warm brown. She lay quietly on the examination table, carefully surrounded by soft quilts and fluffy pillows.
Carson leaned in and listened carefully to the child's heart with his stethoscope. She wrinkled her face as he placed the cold metal against her chest, and kicked her legs in protest.
"Now, now, lass, this won't take but a moment of your time," Carson cooed at the baby, and she rewarded him with a toothless smile. Satisfied with his findings, he carefully lifted the child up, cradling her against him. Bouncing her against his chest, he walked her over to her mother. Carefully, he laid the small bundle into the woman's arms with a smile.
"No worries. She's as healthy as a horse," Carson said, causing a smile to cross the woman's features. He tickled the baby's chin once more, then watched as mother and daughter exited the room.
"You know, you're really very good with children, Carson," Laura Cadman remarked as he began folding the bedding. "Why haven't you ever gotten married?"
Dr. Beckett paused a moment, surprised at Laura's bluntness. Maybe some of Rodney had rubbed off on her when she and the physicist had shared McKay's body. He considered her question, then gave her a quick grin.
"No one's asked me – yet," he teased, his lilt growing deeper as she snorted in response. Pillows and bedding straightened out, he crossed over to his office, unconsciously brightening the lights as he entered. As Brenna had promised, his abilities with the ATA gene had increased dramatically. New and previously inaccessible Ancient technology came alive with the tiniest thought, let alone a touch. Carson had been thrilled to discover various medical devices in his own infirmary, and willingly tested them all for Dr. McKay. A power he had once feared and rejected had been transformed, becoming an invaluable tool he wielded regularly.
Carson sat at his desk, eyeing the piles of paperwork. Laura was propped against his doorway, her arms folded across her chest.
"Guess you can't join me for lunch, huh?" she asked.
Carson paused as he reached for a file, looking at Laura's disappointed eyes. Surprising himself, he rose from the chair, removed his lab coat, and reached for her hand. He returned her delighted smile, leading her out the door towards the mess-hall.
"Lass, I always have time for you."
oOo
Dr. McKay's eyes widened in astonishment. On his computer screen, Ancient characters scrolled by slowly, allowing him time to decipher them into English. He hit a key, causing the characters to pause, and re-read one of the sentences. Twice.
"Oh my God!" Rodney whispered. He unhooked the connections, slammed the computer shut and raced out the door, his mind spinning.
Elizabeth and John were laughing quietly over something the Colonel had said when Rodney burst into her office. The scientist's face was red from exertion and excitement, and he sagged into a chair, his computer tight against his chest.
"Rodney! What's wrong?" John demanded, concern immediately on his handsome face. Elizabeth stood up, her hands on her desk.
Rodney remained silent for a moment, trying to organize his thoughts. "As you know, I've been reading through the histories, specifically those regarding Atlantis."
Elizabeth slowly nodded. "Brenna told Carson that there was something you should know in those writings," she offered.
"Well, she wasn't kidding. Apparently, Atlantis was nothing more than an…an… outpost, for lack of a better term. I mean, think about it. It really is only a city – a small one, compared to others that we've seen or even compared to those on Earth. We've always regarded Atlantis as the last stand for the Ancients, and for the people who resided here ten thousand years ago, that was true."
"What are you getting at, Rodney?" Elizabeth asked.
"That's just it – it was only an outpost. Kind of like a military fort on the outskirts of civilization in the Old West. When the Wraith attacked them, time and time again over the years, the people of Atlantis made a conscious choice to not contact anyone for help. They were afraid that their entire race would be wiped out."
John looked baffled by Rodney's explanation. The scientist paced nervously for a moment, then turned to the Colonel.
"We know that the Ancients sank the city, and escaped to Earth. We assumed it was to save themselves, but that was only part of it." Rodney paused, his hands rubbing nervously together.
"Apparently, there are more of these outposts – more Atlantis', spread throughout the universe. The Ancient's escaped to Earth not only to save themselves, but to protect the other outposts."
"Wait – you're telling me that there may be more Atlantis' out there? How many?" John demanded.
Rodney shook his head slowly. "There could be hundreds – thousands, even. But that's not important.
John and Elizabeth exchanged a glance. Not important? They watched the agitated scientist pace rapidly within the confines of the office, his brow wrinkled as he concentrated.
"Okay, these histories are ten thousand years old, and things can change drastically over that time. I mean, look at Earth's history. But still….." Rodney paused, then stood still, his blue eyes on John and Elizabeth.
"There's a sentence in Brenna's histories that gives a twelve-digit gate address. I believe it's to the Ancient's home world."
The End