Sheppard's arm and shoulder ached from the constant tickle of energy bleeding through the sensor. He hadn't changed positions since he sat down two hours earlier. He slowly stood up and pushed the chair to one side. The sound of scraping on the floor caused both Elizabeth and McKay to jump.

"What's wrong?" McKay turned with the probe poised mid-air.

"Nothing, Rodney. Just a little stiff." Sheppard slid his left hand onto the control pad as he slid the right off.

"Are you alright, John?" Elizabeth walked over to stand in front of the console. She flipped the cover of her PDA closed.

"My arm went to sleep." He rolled his right arm around and flexed his fingers. He saw her worried expression. "Just tingles, that's all."

"Interesting." McKay frowned at the Colonel.

Sheppard suddenly stopped moving his arm and let it drop to his side. His eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Elizabeth was now very concerned.

His face turned to her, but his eyes were focused on point somewhere beyond her. Even when she moved out of his line of sight, he continued to stare. Then his eyes started moving as if watching some imagined film. His expression hardened.

"Rodney, sooner than later would be good." Sheppard's voice was now strained.

McKay frowned at him. "I haven't found anything yet. I don't want to blow the place up or kill you by stumbling around in here."

"What is it?" She moved closer.

"There's another cruiser coming." Sheppard stood up again. "It's close."

"How close?" Elizabeth asked.

"Too close." He touched his transceiver. "Teyla, Ronon, there's another cruiser on the way. Get to the Jumper. Lieutenant, get everyone in and get out of town."

"Yes, Sir." They heard the Lieutenant's voice. "What about you and the others?"

Sheppard shook his head once. He hoped Teyla and Ronon were almost there. "No time. Go."

Elizabeth saw he put a lot of effort into keeping the weapon under control while talking. She activated her transceiver "We'll be fine, Lieutenant. Go as soon as you have everyone on board."

"Yes, Ma'am." They could hear the noise of their people running into the Jumper before the transmission stopped.

"Rodney?" Elizabeth glared at McKay, who was still watching Sheppard.

"Yes, yes. Sorry." He turned back to the crystals. "How long do we have?"

Sheppard closed his eyes for a moment and tiled his head to one side. It reminded Elizabeth of someone listening intently.

"It dropped out of hyperspace inside the system, but it's slowed up." He opened his eyes. "Five, seven minutes tops."

McKay's probe hesitated for a split second before touching another connection. "Great. All the time in the world."

"Take your time, Rodney." Sheppard moved the chair away. He stared at the HUD, which changed to show the cruiser.

Elizabeth saw his eyes lose focus again. She slid the PDA back into her pocket and continued to watch, occasionally looking over at McKay and up at the HUD. Except for his eyes, Sheppard didn't move. He was staring at the display, but not seeing it, she was sure. He blinked and looked at her then tilted his head toward the door.

"Elizabeth, Rodney. Go stand over there."

McKay turned. "Why?"

"It's almost here." Sheppard was breathing faster than normal. The panel closed, the HUD disappeared and the light in the room dimmed.

McKay walked quickly to the door, keeping an eye on Sheppard as he went. Elizabeth joined him. An almost inaudible hum emanated from above them. They stared at the ceiling as the sound intensified then died immediately. They heard Sheppard hit the floor an instant later. He was on his knees, one hand on the floor and the other clinging to the edge of the console.

"John!" Elizabeth rushed over to him. McKay followed with one last glance up.

Sheppard was breathing fast and trembling. When they knelt next to him, Sheppard shook his head. He rocked back and turned to sit, leaning against the base of the pedestal. His eyes were tightly closed and hands clinched into fists.

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth touched his arm and received a shock. "Ow! What was that?"

"He's probably charged from the energy coming through the controls." McKay held his hand-held sensor out to scan the Colonel. "How do you feel?"

Sheppard's breathing was beginning to slow and the trembling subside. He exhaled heavily and looked up at them. "Whoa! What a rush!"

"Besides that, how do you feel?" Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.

He closed his eyes for a moment then nodded. "I've been better, but I'm okay."

McKay suddenly looked up. "What about the cruiser?"

"Gone."

"Any more out there?"

The Colonel shook his head. "No."

"Are you sure?" McKay persisted.

"Yeah." Sheppard tried to pull himself up, but couldn't get his muscles to work quite right.

"Stay there for a minute." Elizabeth tentatively put her hand on his arm. When he nodded, she moved her hand to take his pulse. It was racing almost too fast to count, so she dreaded to think what it had been.

McKay retrieved his data pad. He scanned the pedestal then turned to the panel again. He reached out to touch the ATA sensor but thought better of it. "Can you open the panel again?"

"I'm fine. Really." Sheppard looked at Elizabeth as the panel opened. A moment later, the door slid open as well.

"What about the weapon?" McKay began to work on the crystals. "How…? Uh, Why didn't it…?"

"I used the energy to destroy the cruiser." Sheppard dodged the question.

McKay turned to stare at him. "Well, I know that. Why didn't it…reload…recharge?"

The Colonel thought for a moment. "I didn't want it to, so it didn't."

"Why didn't you do that earlier?"

"I had no idea what was going to happen earlier. This time I did." Sheppard raised a shaky hand. "I've been making this up as I go, Rodney. You're the expert here."

Before McKay could respond, their comms crackled and they heard Teyla's voice. "Dr. Weir?"

"This is Weir. Go ahead, Teyla." She kept her eyes on Sheppard.

"We will land in the square in…" They heard Harlin say something. "…three minutes. The cruiser has been destroyed. Is everyone alright?"

"Yes. We're all okay." She looked closely at Sheppard, who was still breathing fast. "We could use a hand in here, though."

"We will be there as soon as we can."

----------

Ronon and one of the Marines gently took Sheppard's arms and helped him up. He was not able to support his own weight on rubbery legs. They slowly walked him out of the Temple and into the Jumper parked outside.

"It is a miracle, Dr. Weir! Truly." Wyndan walked with Elizabeth. McKay was close behind. "We cannot express our gratitude to all of you, and especially to Col. Sheppard for risking his life on our behalf. We would have been vulnerable to the last Wraith cruiser if it had not been for him. Keeper Cernan could not have survived the first attack and been able to protect us."

She slowed as they neared the ramp and smiled. "Thank you, Governor Wyndan. We are happy that we could help."

"We all hope that Col. Sheppard quickly makes a complete recovery." He indicated the silent crowd filling the square. They stayed a respectful distance from the Jumper.

"I am sure he will. With your permission, we will return in three days to continue negotiations. And, Dr. McKay will come as well to finish repairs to the Guardian." She watched as Ronon carefully lowered Sheppard into the seat behind the pilot's chair. Teyla hustled Ronon aside and peered closely at the Colonel.

"You would be most honored guests. Please, if he is able, ask Col. Sheppard to return with you. We wish the opportunity to express our gratitude to him." Wyndan bowed low, and all of the Arunians bowed with him.

"I am sure he will if he is able, Governor Wyndan." Elizabeth nodded to Wyndan as they approached the ramp. "We must go now. I want our doctor to ensure Col. Sheppard is not injured.

"Yes, of course." He bowed again and stepped back. "May the Ancestors protect you."

Elizabeth walked up the ramp with McKay. Saunders was already sitting in the back. Harlin motioned his Marines to board. Moments later, they were airborne and on the way to the Gate.

----------

It was late the next afternoon when Elizabeth smiled at the man standing in the doorway of her office. "So, Carson finally released you?"

He rolled his eyes as he entered and crossed to the chairs against the wall. The good Doctor had insisted both Sheppard and McKay stay in the infirmary overnight for observation. McKay was released early in the day, but the Colonel was required to stay a few extra hours. The long exposure to the energy from the console left some lasting effects. The lack of muscle tone and accelerated heart rate had worried Beckett.

"Yes, I did." Beckett appeared next to Sheppard. "With instructions to take it easy for a couple of days."

Beckett came into the room and sat down in front of the desk. She looked closely at Sheppard. "How are you feeling, John?"

"Good. I'm good." He grinned and wiggled his fingers. "The pins and needles are just about gone."

Beckett gave him a disbelieving look. "He's very lucky. From what Rodney told me…"

"What did I tell you? Oh, yes, the weapon." McKay and Zelenka entered. McKay clutched a data pad in one hand. He sat next to Beckett in front of the desk as Zelenka sat next to Sheppard. He rubbed his fingertips together. "You know, I still don't have all the feeling back."

"Do you know what kind of weapon it is?" Elizabeth tried to keep a straight face.

"It uses electromagnetic radiation." McKay answered smugly.

Sheppard raised both eyebrows. "Light? It's a laser?"

"Yes, yes. Very good." McKay was a little disappointed.

Zelenka smiled broadly. "That's what's so exciting. It is much like a laser."

"I didn't see anything, though. Aren't lasers normally colored?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, but it isn't like any laser we know." McKay broke in. "I need to study it further, but it looks like the Ancients found a way to use most, or all, of the spectrum of the Arunian sun in a single, coherent beam."

"It appears that the Temple is one big solar energy collector." Zelenka added.

"Wouldn't it take a lot of power for something like that?" Beckett looked from Zelenka to McKay.

"Yes. The weapon only needs to be used every two or three hundred years." The astrophysicist became more animated. "It has all the time in the world to charge its batteries. It's to the ZedPM what the old Laclanché cell circa eighteen-sixty-something was compared to the modern day alkaline copper-tops."

"But isn't that a step backward in technology? The Ancients had ZPMs when they came here, didn't they?" Sheppard asked.

"You'd think, but as long as the sun shines, they have the energy to power the weapon." Zelenka spoke first.

McKay continued. "There may be dozens, hundreds of different weapons, shields and power sources out there. God knows what else we'll find."

"We think the weapon cannot be used too frequently in too short a period, but, the Wraith don't know that." Zelenka frowned. "We hope."

McKay looked at Sheppard. "You did such a good job at demolishing the fleet yesterday it's unlikely that they would risk coming back too soon."

"Does that mean the people there are unprotected right now?" Elizabeth became concerned.

"No." Sheppard answered before the scientists could. "There was enough energy left to take out at least a couple more ships."

"Really?" Zelenka turned to look at him. "How do you know this?"

The Colonel shrugged. "It…

"Talks to you, right?" McKay interrupted. "Just like the technology here."

"Really?" It was Elizabeth's turn to raise an eyebrow.

Sheppard tilted his head a fraction to one side and nodded.

"That's so not fair." McKay grumbled.

"How did it destroy the ships?" Elizabeth decided she should change the subject.

"We've been studying data from the attack. The weapon seems to target the power source of the Wraith ships." McKay said, not taking his eyes off Sheppard. "Or, did you do that?"

"No, no. It did that all by its self." The question started Sheppard thinking.

"Well, that isn't surprising, really, considering it isn't needed for hundreds of years at a time and the sophistication of the users." McKay observed. "It would be kind of hard to pass down the skill from one generation to the next if one didn't actually get to practice."

"Rodney, have you ever found a recognition transponder on the Jumpers?" Sheppard suddenly asked.

"No, why?"

"I think the Guardian recognized the Jumper. That may be how Atlantis knows the Jumpers before they even come through the Gate and takes control."

"That's logical." McKay suddenly sat forward. "Oh, my God! Are you sure? We were flying around in the Jumper with that thing fully charged! You could have shot us down."

The others in the room were startled. Elizabeth turned to the Colonel. "John, is this true?"

"No." Sheppard looked from Elizabeth to McKay. "I'm not absolutely certain, Rodney, but I am pretty sure. Anyway, I had enough control over the firing sequence to stop it if necessary."

McKay stared at him for a few seconds then accepted the statement. "Well, very good."

"Rodney, do you think you can find the problem with the Guardian and fix it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course. It will just take some time." He paused and looked at the Colonel. "I'd appreciate

your help. Don't want to set it off by accident."

"Sure."

Elizabeth smiled and stood up. "Good. Teyla, Peter Saunders and I return to Arunia with you to continue the trade negotiations. Carson can join us and offer the gene therapy. Is two days enough time to get ready, Carson?"

"Aye, I think so." Beckett nodded. He glanced at McKay and Sheppard. "And, at least I'll be on hand if either of these two try to kill themselves again."

The End