A/N - Thank you so much for the positive response to the last chapter, I couldn't leave poor Shep alone forever. I'm afraid I can't keep up the excitement levels of the last few chapters but I hope you'll all stick with me.
Chapter 12
Lockdown
The panels in the control room darkened as the bulkhead doors came down, sealing off the gate room from the rest of the city. Shouts came from the Irithian force as they tried in vain to prevent them closing. The Patriarch looked around, his overwhelming confidence slipping slightly. Returning his gaze to Elizabeth he shouted out above the lockdown alarm.
"You are foolish if you think you can stop us, Doctor Weir. You have just forfeited the lives of everyone in this room." Elizabeth's stomach tightened; if anyone was going to get them out of this now, it was her. It's why she had insisted on staying by the gate despite Lorne's determination to keep her as far away from danger as possible. Now he would be deep in the recesses of the city with Zelenka; if she should fall it would be his responsibility to defend Atlantis.
"I am not trying to trick you, Patriarch, I simply wish to negotiate better terms for my people."
"Negotiate?" Turning to his companions, he smiled as if she had made a joke. "Doctor, you have nothing to bargain with. I assume that whoever you have controlling the city can hear us now? Well they had better hear this; if control is not handed over to us we will begin to kill the hostages in this room, one by one, until you do; and they will not die quickly, we shall make sure their deaths are slow and painful, their screams will be heard throughout the city."
Elizabeth tried not to let emotion show on her face but she worried that she had misjudged the situation. She had been told that these people were religious, followers of the Ancients, but this man showed no signs of a compassionate religious leader; when he talked of killing and torture there was a note of glee in his voice. But she felt hope in seeing the uneasy faces of his companions.
"My men are prepared for that eventuality, they will not relinquish the city to you regardless of your tactics. All of us here knew the risk in staying by the gate." She took a step toward the staircase, her voice still calm even though she didn't feel it. "Patriarch, we could make this far easier on all of us if you will just be prepared to negotiate terms." Walking down the steps, she kept eye contact with him and felt a brief surge of triumph when he looked away.
The hooded man reached forward, placing a hand on Braen's shoulder.
"Let us hear what she has to say." Elizabeth bowed her head slightly to the man.
"Thank you, it would be a shame to see unnecessary blood shed in the halls of the City of the Ancestors." Appealing to their religious beliefs was a risky business, they could easily take offence, but she felt it was worth the gamble. All she had to do now was stall them.
ooOoo
They headed down the corridor after Iestyn, leaving a shoeless Irithian guard behind. McKay kept by Sheppard's side; he was unsteady on his feet though Rodney found the fact he was able to stand at all amazing in itself.
"Wait!" Rodney called after Iestyn. "What about McCormack and Benedict? You have two more of our people."
"They are both dead."
"McCormack made a mess." Rodney turned to see Sheppard holding out his shirt, examining the blood stains. He slowly raised his eyes, pain and confusion etched on his face. Rodney swallowed back hard, pushing down the rising sense of horror.
"What did they do to you?" he whispered.
"He will recover." Rodney turned on Iestyn.
"He'd better." Rodney gently took hold of his friends arm. "Where are you taking us?"
"There is a lower level of the city that lies abandoned. I will show you how to reach it, from there I will tell you how to find an exit out on to the planet surface. From there you are on your own, I'm sorry there is nothing more I can do. If, once this is over, I can help you return home I will find you but I make no promises."
"Run and hide?"
"Neither of you is fit to do anything else." Rodney looked at Sheppard whose eyes had once more glazed over. "The best you can do now is protect your friend." Iestyn looked away, anger burning in his eyes. "There will be fighting, it seems your city is not the only one the Genii want." He turned back to Rodney with a rueful smile. "Now please hurry, my place is with my people."
ooOoo
Elizabeth held firm. "We only ask that our civilians be spared, there is a settlement on the mainland. We wish to relocate there, all we ask is to be allowed to live in peace." Braen eyed her suspiciously but the senior priest and priestess were prepared to hear what she had to say. Glahan was a small, portly man and under other circumstances she would have found him almost comical; in total contrast the woman, Arlais, was tall and elegant and seemed almost ethereal; her hair was a perfect silver, her skin like ivory and her eyes a piercing pale grey.
"And what of your military personnel?" Glahan asked.
"It would be understandable if you would wish to keep them as prisoners but in time I would hope that you would allow them to join us. Once you hold the city and our weapons, you would have little to fear from us."
"I have heard much of you, Doctor, and I find it hard to believe that a woman such as yourself would cede defeat so easily."
"We did not come to this galaxy to fight wars, my Lord Patriarch, we came to explore, to make new allies. It is a shame that you did not seek dialogue with us before, it would have saved the lives of innocent men and women on both sides." She deliberately tried to echo the priest's way of speech.
Braen stepped forward, placing his hand on the other man's chest. "Do not listen to her, they are liars and deceivers. You heard what Kolya said, she will try to manipulate you. Do not be led astray by her untruths."
"Remove your hand from me." His voice was cold and Braen shrank back at the sound of it but Elizabeth could see anger boiling inside of him. "Is there anything you are keeping from us, Doctor?"
"I have only one request. We shall need some form of transportation; we ask that we be given four of the ships we call puddle jumpers. After all, they will be of no use to you as none of your people can fly one."
"Among the Genii there are those that can awaken the technology of the Ancestors, as well you know." Elizabeth nodded. That explained a lot; Laden Radim's gene therapy experiments had come to fruition.
"I didn't know that, actually, but it is interesting to learn."
"More lies my Lord, we should kill her now, before she poisons our thoughts any further."
"SILENCE!" The voice of the Lord Patriarch roared. "The council has given you free reign over this for long enough and I have supported you but I will not be told what to think by you any more than her."
Braen bowed his head. "My apologies. I only wish what is best for our people."
"Then you shall hold until I have spoken with the rest of the council. If I find you have harmed any of these people without my express order, you shall suffer the consequences. Remember your place." Braen bowed again but, as he lowered his head, Elizabeth couldn't help but notice the scowl of hatred that passed across his face. This was an ambitious man just awaiting his moment.
ooOoo
Iestyn led them out of the cell block and toward the guard house. On seeing him one of his men ran over to report.
"The Genii have control of both the gate and the council chambers, Sir. And some of our own troops have joined them."
"Patriarch Braen's men. Return to your post, I shall be there shortly." After dismissing the guard, Iestyn turned back to Rodney. "See this corridor? Follow it to its end; there you will find a door." He took a piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled down some symbols before handing it over to the scientist. "This is the code to unlock it. Once on the other side, you will find a service hatch to the lower level, it has been abandoned for many years. Follow the main street until its end, there you will find another guard house far grander than this one. Inside there is a staircase leading to the outside. This entrance is long forgotten and only accessible from the inside so shall not be guarded. There should be torches near the hatch, you will need them." Suddenly, gunshots rang out behind them. Iestyn grabbed Rodney and shoved him toward the corridor. "Go now!" The Irithian drew his weapon and headed to join his men.
Grabbing hold of the still incoherent Colonel, Rodney dragged him down the corridor, eager to leave the sound of weapons fire behind. When they reached the door he held up the piece of paper and hurriedly entered the code. Hearing a quiet thump behind him, he turned to see Sheppard sliding down the wall and slumping onto the floor. Bending down, he gently tapped the pilot on the side of the face, half scared of hurting him.
"Hey Sheppard! Sheppard, you still with me?" Hazel eyes forced themselves open.
"Still here," he mumbled.
"Then help me get you on your feet again." Crouching down, he pulled Sheppard's arm around his shoulders. "How can someone so skinny weigh so much?" As he braced himself and pushed upward, Sheppard let out a small cry of pain. "Sorry! Drugs wearing off, huh?" That was one more thing for Rodney to worry about. As soon as they were both through the door he slammed it shut, deadening the sound of gunfire on the other side.
The room they had entered was almost pitch black. From the brief glimpse he'd got before slamming shut the door, Rodney managed to fumble his way across to the rack of torches on the wall. He turned one on and saw Sheppard wince away from the light.
"Sorry!" He grabbed another torch and passed it to the Colonel.
The hatch on the floor had a large wheel lock on it. Sheppard rested against the door post, looking out into the dark with a sad, far away look on his face while McKay struggled to undo the rusted hatch; he rambled, a nervous habit and right now he felt he had every call to be nervous.
"I'm not cut out for this. I'm supposed to be in a nice safe laboratory, coming up with dazzling new discoveries, winning Nobel Prizes, getting international acclaim…no wait…intergalactic acclaim. Then we'd see who'd get all the girls." He was startled and somewhat relieved to hear Sheppard chuckle. "Oh yeah, that's it go ahead and laugh." The wheel suddenly started to give, screeching as it turned, and they both winced at the noise. "I'm telling you, a lot of women find a brilliant mind an extremely attractive attribute in a man. Those boyish good looks of yours won't last forever you know." The Colonel walked over to him and into the light from the torch; looking up, Rodney saw his friend's gaunt features, bruised and bloodied almost beyond recognition, and had to look away. Hoping that Sheppard hadn't caught the expression on his face, he dragged the hatch open and looked down the shaft underneath.
"Oh crap!" The ladder reached down into blackness. He looked back up at the Colonel. "Can you do this?"
"No choice."
Rodney nodded, relieved to be getting a coherent response. "No, I guess not. Should I go first? You know, in case you fall or something."
"S'okay." Rodney watched as Sheppard slowly and painfully eased himself on to the ladder, his broken hand held against his chest and the other wrapped around the ladder so he could slide it down as he descended. Rodney found himself holding his breath as he watched him take the first few steps. As soon as Sheppard was far enough down, Rodney swung himself out on to the ladder above him and pulled the hatch down over them, securing it with more ease than it had opened while holding the torch between his teeth.
Looking down, he saw Sheppard's torch bobbing about further down.
"You okay?"
"Spooky."
"What?" Rodney reached the bottom, finding Sheppard leaning against the wall, turning his torch this way and that. They were standing on an abandoned street; to either side of them buildings had been hollowed out of the rock, lamp posts that had long stood dark lined the street, faded signposts tilted on walls, doorways stood open like gaping mouths. An eerie, subterranean ghost town.
ooOoo
Among the Genii contingent of the invasion force were scientists who now worked trying to bring the consoles back to life. Elizabeth was confident it couldn't be done. Now the lockdown had been put in place, the only person who could override it was Zelenka. She had made sure that even her command codes wouldn't work, not prepared to risk the chance that she would give them up. The only other person who would be able to gain control of the city would be Rodney and he wasn't here. She thought back to Benedict, the look of utter terror and despair on the man's face, and tried to push her fear for the man who had gone to save him to the back of her mind.
Arlais and Glahan were standing in a huddle near the gate, a heated debate going on, though their voices remained hushed. Elizabeth studied the body language carefully; the two leaders were becoming agitated, clearly unhappy with what they were being told, while Braen stood off to one side, his body still and calm. Braen was the problem, she knew. The others were calculating, and she knew they would have no problem with using force if necessary, but in his eyes she could see a kind of madness, a lust for power. The conquering of Atlantis was his chance to achieve greatness and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way. His arrogance and power lust were his weaknesses.
Now they walked away from the gate, heading back toward Elizabeth. The voice of Lady Arlais, who up until now had remained silent, carried across the room. "Something is wrong."
Braen answered him. "My Lady, I see no reason to believe that. As the Genii Captain explained, the rest of the council has been taken to safety after intruders were discovered in the city. I am sure you will be able to speak with them soon." Intruders? Elizabeth tried not to betray any emotion on her face; it had to be Rodney and Sora.
"Then why could I not speak with any of our soldiers?"
"The Genii battalion is at the gate awaiting your orders; our own soldiers are busy elsewhere, protecting the council. If you would just be patient, my Lady, I am sure that they will soon have the situation under control. In the meantime, it is our job to secure Atlantis." A predatory smile crossed his face. "Shall I order the Genii battalion to come through the gate?" He moved, raising the radio ready to give the command.
"No." Braen gritted his teeth as once again he was overruled. "They stay where they are, there is no point in them coming here until we have got these doors open. Why can the Heirs not open them? Surely they should have command over the city."
"They," he pointed accusingly at Elizabeth,. "have sabotaged the city, my Lady. Yet more sacrilege on their behalf; I say let us use force." Braen was barely containing his frustration. "We cannot allow them to delay us any longer, begin killing the prisoners until one of them breaks."
"And if that does not work?"
"It will. They are weak; Benedict crumbled at the sight of his companion's blood." Elizabeth closed her eyes. She now knew the fate of both of the Atlantean hostages. She tried to push back thoughts of Rodney; she couldn't let her mind be distracted from the task in hand. "We should kill the soldiers first; the civilians are more likely to break." The two High priests looked at each other in silent communication.
Glahan sighed and Arlais looked away. "Very well. Begin."