Radek was getting increasingly nervous. He felt uncomfortable in the burgundy scrubs that Beckett had given him to wear before the MRI. The procedure had seemed to take forever. Radek wasn't claustrophobic, but the small space and the loud noise had left him somewhat unsettled. He pulled his arms around himself in a gesture to get warm as he waited for Carson to get back to him with the results of the MRI.
The events of the last two days were only starting to sink in. As Radek processed what had happened, the more gruesome scenarios rose in his mind. The Wraith would not have let them go without good reason. Nothing he could think of was remotely pleasant. The possibilities of what they could have done to him made him shudder. Carson seemed to take forever to look at the images from the MRI, Radek thought. He knew that the news was going to be bad, but he wanted to know, he needed to know. Everything was going to be better than imaging one thing more horrible than another.
The door to the infirmary opened and Carson came in. He wasn't smiling and Radek knew that he wasn't bringing happy news.
Carson walked up to him and sat down on the nearest chair. He looked like he was going to say something, but then didn't.
"What is it?" Radek asked, finding the tension unbearable.
"There was a spot on your MRI. We don't know exactly what it is. It's a shape...it doesn't look like any naturally grown tissue. But it's really too soon to tell. I want to run a CAT scan to get more information." Carson informed Radek.
oOo
Elizabeth had made her way down to the infirmary following Carson's call on the radio. She was not surprised that he was still working. She had told him to take it easy for a while, but with his friends injured, he could not rest until he was assured that they were going to be all right.
She entered through the open door to his office. Carson was sitting at his desk, reading something.
"Dr. Beckett?"
"Ah, Dr. Weir. I appreciate you coming down here. I need to talk to you."
"Is this about Dr. McKay?" Elizabeth thought the mysterious events surrounding Rodney's survival and return to Atlantis.
"No, it concerns Dr. Zelenka. It might even be a matter of security for the City."
"Okay." Elizabeth replied, slightly sceptically.
"I examined him to determine to cause of his black-out and seizure. When I ran an MRI, I found a foreign object near his brain stem. We are still running tests, but so far we have determined that the object is actively emitting an energy signature."
"Is it sending a signal?"
"We don't know. We just know that it is active in some way. There are a number of tests we could run, but Radek needed some rest. I'm keeping him in the infirmary for now and I've starting him on anti-seizure medication. Until we know how the object is affecting him, it's the safest thing to do." Carson explained.
"Is there a chance this thing was there before the mission to Athos and we just missed it?" Elizabeth asked.
Carson shook his head.
"Unlikely. Radek described a sudden onset of headaches and flashbacks. If it had been there before, he would have experienced symptoms before. It's likely that this is some form of Wraith technology we haven't encountered before. Maybe it serves as a locator beacon, or it has some other function we are currently not aware of." Carson concluded.
"So, whatever it is, it is malicious. Can you remove it?"
"Dr. Biro has training as a neurosurgeon, but the location of this implant, for a lack of a better word, makes removal next to impossible with Earth technology."
"You said Earth technology. Is there a possibility using Ancient technology?"
Carson hesitated. "There might be, but it's theoretical at best. We are still sighting the Ancient medical equipment." Carson said, well aware of Elizabeth's new research policy.
Elizabeth nodded. "If it comes down to it, it may be our last resort. Because if the implant is really a homing beacon for the Wraith, we can't allow it to continue transmitting."
Carson hated to agree, but knew she was right. When it came down to it, risking Radek's life on an untested procedure was worth the risk when the lives of the entire expedition were at stake.
oOo
The lights in the science labs were still on when Dr. Weir went to seek out Dr. Jamison.
She found the anthropologist in the biology lab. The scientist looked up when Dr. Weir came in.
"Dr, Weir? What can I do for you?"
"I was hoping you could run a quick check for me. The Genii interface. There is a possibility that the Wraith have gotten a lead on our position."
Dr. Jamison paled.
"Do you think they are on their way here?" She asked.
"It's possible. Could you check into their position? I know this is normally Dr. Warren's job, but I guess he has called it a day."
"Yeah, he has signed out around seven." Dr. Jamison replied. "The device is in the computer lab. Follow me." Dr. Jamison led the way down the corridor.
She punched in her key code and they entered the computer lab. Dr. Jamison turned on the monitor of the computer the device was connected to.
"We have been trying to study the mechanism the Genii device is based on. We hope that it will help us to find more ways to scan for the Wraith ourselves."
"Doesn't Atlantis do that for us?"
"Yes, in a way she does. But only to a limited extent. You see, her scan radius is limited. We don't pick up the Wraith until they are almost here. This device uses an entirely different mechanism to monitor the Wraith ships. We don't think the Genii could have built this on their own. It is probably Ancient or Wraith. If it is Wraith, a device designed to monitor an entire fleet suggest a hierarchy of some sort."
Elizabeth nodded, once again thinking that there were entirely too many frivolous projects going on.
She looked over Dr. Jamison's shoulder.
"I'm scanning for ships now." A second later, the scheme flickered into view. "There it is."
"I don't see any ships moving into the direction of Atlantis right now." Dr. Jamison said. "But the ships this device lets us see are certainly not all the Wraith ships out there."
"Is there a way to look specifically for ships coming from Athos?"
"I wish there were. We have been trying this for two months now." Dr. Jamison said regretfully.
oOo
Radek was trapped. He couldn't move his arms and legs. Raising his head, he could see that they had been secured in leather restraints. Radek started to panic. What had happened? He couldn't remember.
A Wraith appeared on his field of vision. He smiled down at him. Suddenly everything was bathed in a bright blue light. Radek had to shut his eyes; it was so bright it hurt. When he felt the Wraith's touch on his forehead, his eyes snapped open. Now there were two Wraith. One of them was holding a thin metallic cylinder, hardly thicker than a needle. Radek could feel his heart hammering against his chest. Suddenly, he felt a sting at the side of his neck and a wave of cold washed through him. Like an icy cold, heavy blanket, it settled over him, immobilizing him, suffocating him. Radek wanted to scream, but he had already lost his voice.
Radek jerked awake, his scream echoing in his ears. His heart was beating far too fast and he was struggling for air. He didn't notice her approach, but one second later, the night nurse on duty stood next to his bed.
"Dr. Zelenka, are you all right?"
He tried to get enough air to speak.
"Yes, nightmare."
"Can you breathe okay?"
Radek thought it was obvious that this was not the case.
She handed him a glass of water. Radek took a few sips.
"You need anything else?"
He shook his head. He still felt woozy from the anti-seizure medication Carson had given him. Although Carson told him that this was normal, he still resented the feeling.
Radek put the glass back on the night stand and leaned back on the pillow. The only good thing about having to spend the night in the infirmary had been getting to see Rodney. With all the shock and worry about him after his return from Athos, no one hold told him about Rodney's wondrous return. So when he had walked into the small ward, he had been stunned to see Rodney sitting at the major's bedside. But as good as it had been to see Rodney; he was worried about his friend. Although Carson had told him, after some prying, that Rodney was well on his road to recovery, Rodney was quiet, withdrawn and depressed. Not at all like him. He had barely acknowledged Radek's presence. Not that Radek expected much consideration from Rodney, but at least a snarky remark about his bad luck on his first mission would have been in order.
oOo
Elizabeth entered the control room when the night shift was already on duty. The staff looked up when she came on. She realized that it was a seldom occurrence to see her up this late.
"Private Reynolds, can you scan the area for any approaching ships?"
Private Reynolds looked surprised, but complied. She went over to the Ancient terminal and entered the search parameters.
The display brought up the grid. At the outer edge was a red dot.
"Is that a ship?"
"Yes, that's right. I can't tell what it is. But it's likely that it is Wraith."
"Yes, and it wasn't on the Genii device." Elizabeth said gloomily.
"A scouting Dart wouldn't"
"Radio Carson. We have an emergency. It's a homing beacon."
TBC