The smiling group stepped through the Gate into the Atlantis control room. Seeing Dr. Weir stand half way down the steps, Dr. Jamison waved to the expedition leader with excitement.
"Dr. Weir! We're back and I think I speak for all of us when I say that the mission has been a success. We brought back a ZPM. We have to run further tests, but we can say for certain that it's three quarter charged." Dr. Jamison grinned widely.
Elizabeth's face lit up at hearing the news. "That's fantastic to hear. I look forward to hearing your report. But first, go to the infirmary you get checked out."
"Permission to bring the ZPM to the lab first, ma'am?" Dr. Jamison asked, still grinning.
"Go ahead, doctor." Dr. Weir said, a smile forming on her face as well. This was the first piece of good news in days. With the a second ZPM, they would be able to activate the shield and the weapons' systems of the City. They didn't know how they'd hold up against a Wraith Hive ship, but it was a start. There was still a lot to be discovered, systems that they hadn't been able to activate and technology they hadn't been able to test because of power restrictions. They'd be able to make contact with Earth. She hadn't even thought of that first. She had gotten so used to being stranded; Earth had slipped to the back of her mind. The fact that the SGC had not made contact with them so far indicated that they hadn't found another ZPM on Earth. There had been plans of building a ship outfitted with the Asgard hyper drive, capable of travelling to the Pegasus galaxy in a matter of weeks, but no ship had arrived yet.
The SGC had its own problems back in the Milky Way with the Goa'uld and the Replicators, they were probably not much of a priority, and even if people were wondering why no one had heard of the Atlantis mission. The truth was that no technology from Earth would help them in the fight against the Wraith.
"Dr. Weir?" At the sound of Grodin's voice, Elizabeth returned to the reality of the control room.
"Grodin?"
"Dr. Woods has cleared the team. They are waiting for you in the briefing room." Grodin told her.
Elizabeth frowned. It seemed like they had just left for the infirmary. They couldn't possibly be back already. Shaking her head, she made her way to the briefing room.
The ten members of the exploration team were seated around the oval table of the briefing room. They all looked tired and exhausted in their rumpled uniforms, having worked through the last twenty four hours, but the satisfied smiles were impossible to miss. Elizabeth took a seat at the head of the table.
"Sergeant Markham, what's your preliminary threat assessment?" Elizabeth asked, settling in for a long debriefing.
"Negative, Dr. Weir. The outpost is uninhabited. We scanned for life signs and confirmed with complete sweeps. No signs of a battle either. It is likely that the outpost was evacuated just like Atlantis." Markham summarised.
"Dr. Jamison and I made preliminary checks of the computer systems and found no signs of manipulations that would indicate Wraith activity. Of course, a complete analysis would take several days." Dr. Warren reported.
"What are we dealing we here? Just the facts." Dr. Weir asked.
"The outpost is about the quarter the size of Atlantis, but is far less sophisticated. It seems to be some sort of shelter, laid out only to protect the inhabitants. The outpost was perfectly shielded, making it impossible the detect it from Atlantis. We haven't had a chance to examine it more closely yet, but the shield is much more sophisticated that the one we have around Atlantis. You see, the shield around Atlantis is protecting the City from attacks, but it is not camouflaging it." Dr. Jamison explained it in laymen's terms.
"Would it be possible to configure our shields in the same way? This could be a useful protection from the Wraith." Elizabeth asked. Things were starting to look better all the time.
"Possibly. I can't tell for sure now. If we take the crystals and rewrite the power distribution program..." Dr. Jamison trailed off. "The shield at the outpost was draining a lot of power. We couldn't afford to run the shield for longer periods of time."
"Still, investigate it. We might need the shield in an emergency." Elizabeth decided.
"As I already said, the outpost was designed as some sort of shelter, a sort of Ancient Bunker. There seem to be no weapon systems of any kind. We have found medical facilities and a few research labs; all appear to be designed for medical and biological research. Dr. Beckett found a hologram recording when he was there, and we think that there might be others, but so far we haven't found them. The exploration would take months." Dr. Jamison said.
"Was there any indication what the Ancients were researching?" Elizabeth asked. They might uncover something of value in the compound. But if there was something still down there in the outpost, they risked stumbling over something potentially dangerous.
"I had a chance to look at some of their research." Dr. Warren answered. "It's not exactly my field, so I transferred as much as I could onto my laptop, but as far as I can tell, the Ancients brought those wounded seriously in the war with the Wraith to the shelter to treat them. I found several pieces of diagnostic equipment."
"Hand over your notes to Dr. Beckett. He and his team can decide what warrants further study." Elizabeth said. "You are going back tomorrow morning at 0800. Lieutenants Yee and Carpenter, you can go back to your regular assignment on the security detail. I'll send Dr. Kang with you as a medical consultant to help evaluate the Ancient research."
oOo
When Elizabeth entered the infirmary, there was no sign of Carson. The only occupants were the members of her flagstaff team. Rodney and John rested in adjoining beds, Teyla and Aiden sat between them, talking quietly. Elizabeth couldn't make out what they were saying from the distance. She had come to see Carson, but now that she was there, she felt the need to talk to them. They had pulled close together after what had happened on the mission, the bond that had developed between them was closer than usual between members of a team. Elizabeth only hoped that it was enough to help them through the time ahead. It was very well possible that they wouldn't return to duty.
She walked up to them, making sure that they heard her.
"Teyla, Aiden, Rodney. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, Dr. Weir." Teyla replied with a smile.
"Better." Ford said.
Rodney just grunted and turned to the other side. Elizabeth didn't say anything.
"I just wanted to let you know, that we have now officially have a second ZPM. A team found one on the Ancient Outpost on the Mainland." Elizabeth told them.
"My people have never found any sign of an Ancient structure on the Mainland." Teyla said, sounding surprised.
"It's underground. A shield was protecting it from our scans; we only found it because of Rodney." Elizabeth remarked, hoping that this would illicit a remark from Rodney. But the scientist remained silent.
"The doc didn't even mention it. But that's great news." Ford said. "The geeks will go crazy over this."
"Well, I'll leave you to it." Elizabeth said turned towards the labs.
As expected, she found Carson in front of a laptop. He looked up when she came in.
"Elizabeth. What's happening?" Carson asked. He looked tired. Elizabeth doubted that he had slept that night. They were all being pushed to the edge.
"The mission was a success. We recovered a ZPM. Dr. Warren found some medical records. I want you to take a look at them."
Carson rubbed a hand over his face. "He brought them by earlier. I haven't looked at them yet. I'm still going over the data from the Wraith implant. Even with the Ancient equipment, I can't advocate doing the surgery. The chances that I'll be able to remove it without causing damage are next to none."
"Radek's only other choice might be to die. The Wraith will reach the pirate planet in approximately two days. We need to tell him what options he has." Elizabeth said. The thought of leaving one of her people to be culled by the Wraith was unacceptable to Elizabeth, but over the past few days, the inevitability of it had started to settle over her.
If faced with the choice herself, Elizabeth wasn't sure what she would do. Risk debilitating brain damage or face certain death at the hand of the Wraith. In the end, only Radek could answer the question.
"There might be a third option." Carson said. "Instead of removing the implant entirely, we could just disable it."
"An EM pulse?" Elizabeth asked, thinking of the nano bot incident.
"No, the implant is based on the organic Wraith technology. An EM pulse wouldn't affect their technology. But an electrical impulse would most likely disable the implant. I have run some simulation and they suggest that the impulse has to be fairly strong. Too strong to for conventional ECT. The charge needs to be localized."
"Is there a way to do this?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, I believe so. One of the Ancient devices we have been studying is capable of doing just that. The reason why I'm cautious about this, there are not few risks. There is no way of knowing what will happen when the implant shortens out. There could be some sort of failsafe mechanism that we are not aware of. The implant could overload and cause damage to the surrounding tissue. Then there is the jolt itself. Some memory loss is to be expected, but there could be lasting damage. And there is a substantial chance that the jolt could cause a fatal seizure." Carson explained.
"Radek will have to decide what he wants to do. Lieutenant Yee will go with you to the planet."
"I'll be finishing up here soon." Carson said. "I wish I had better news for Radek."
"We'll be expecting you back. Dr. Kavanaugh is installing the new ZPM right now. We'll put up the shield until you have dealt with the implant. However Radek wants to go about it." Elizabeth said.
oOo
Radek stood by the Gate to greet them when Carson and Lieutenant Yee stepped through.
Radek was unshaven and weary, but his face lit up when he spotted them.
"Carson! Nice of you to come by." Radek exclaimed.
"Are you doing okay, Radek?" Carson asked, glancing over Radek who looked like he could use some sleep and a fresh change of clothes.
"Yes, yes. Just not used to sleeping outside. The forest is very noisy." Radek rambled, obviously glad to see them.
"I'll stay be the Gate, just in case we get company." Lieutenant Yee announced and planted herself by the DHD.
"We'll be back by the tent. Radio us if there is any trouble." Carson said and led Radek towards the encampment.
"I was worried when I couldn't dial Atlantis yesterday. What happened? Was there a problem with the Gate?" Radek asked.
"No. We discovered an Ancient outpost on the Mainland and apparently we can't dial it from Atlantis. Something about having the same address..." Carson hadn't really understood that part.
"Ah yes, two Gates on one planet cannot be active at the same time. Like on Antarctica." Radek nodded. "So what is new?"
Carson settled down on a crate. "As you know, the Wraith are on the way. They are about two days from here. Rodney and I have been trying to find a way to remove the implant."
"The personal shield? Has Rodney found away to make it work?" Radek asked.
"No, unfortunately not. There are two options and I'm afraid that neither is very good." Carson said, shifting on the crate.
Radek pushed up his glasses. "Please, what can you do?"
"I can try to remove the implant using Ancient technology, but I won't be able to remove it without causing permanent damage. It would most likely debilitating."
Radek nodded. He wouldn't be able to do it. Living with a broken body and mind.
"What's the other option?"
"We don't remove the implant. I'm confident that a electrical jolt will disable it. The jolt will have to be pretty strong. Using the Ancient equipment, I will be able to direct the charge to the implant. I won't lie to you. This method is risky. The jolt could be fatal, but if it works the damage will be minimal." Carson explained.
Radek nodded again. It was not like he had a choice, if he wanted to live. "How much is minimal damage?"
"Memory loss is to be expected. Possibly continuing problems with memory." Carson tried to stay as detached as possible. He couldn't allow himself to get to close. He would be the one to carry out whatever procedure Radek decided on.
"I'll take my chances with the jolt." Radek said grimly. If his memory was permanently affected, he would no longer be able to do his job, but this would be a risk he'd have to take.
oOo
Rodney had left his lunch untouched. All he wanted to do was sleep. The constant chatter of Teyla and Aiden was grating on his nerves. He knew that they meant well, but he just wanted to be alone. Everything had gone wrong. He'd thought he could save John, the major continued to be unconscious and with every passing day, his chances of recovery plummeted. Rodney felt like screaming. He had failed John, in every way possible. That the console had blown up in his face seemed only fitting punishment.
"I think he is sleeping. He still seems to be in great pain." Teyla said somewhere near him. Did she never get bored? Rodney sighed and pulled the covers closer.
"Rodney never sleeps." Another, familiar voice replied. A voice that didn't belong in the infirmary. Zelenka! He was supposed to be on the pirate planet. Rodney gave up and opened his eyes.
Aiden was gone. Teyla was sitting in her usual chair between his and John's bed. Zelenka stood at his bed side dressed in Beckett's awful burgundy scrubs.
"Radek. What's going on?" Rodney asked, his throat parched.
"Beckett found a way to disable the implant. He is setting up the device right now." Radek replied, looking anxious.
Rodney frowned at Radek's expression.
"There are a few risks." Radek explained.
"I'm sure that it will go well." Teyla reassured him.
"I hope so." Radek said with an insecure smile.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rodney asked, realising that Radek wouldn't be in this situation if he had managed to figure out the personal shield.
"I don't want to be killed by the Wraith. But no, I don't want to do this." Radek replied.
Carson approached them from behind. "Radek. Everything is set up. Whenever you are ready."
"In a moment, doctor." Radek turned back to Teyla and Rodney. "Just in case I don't get another chance. It was great to work here. Atlantis is the best thing that could happen to a scientist. And you were the most brilliant boss I ever had, but don't let it go to your head." Radek padded Rodney's shoulder.
"I'll see you later." Rodney squeezed Radek's hand for a brief moment.
"Let's do this." Radek went to follow Carson to the end of the room where Carson has sent up the device. On of Carson's nurses was already waiting for them.
"Come on. Lie down." Carson indicated the exam table. Trying to quell the butterflies in his stomach, Radek lied down.
"Have you been taking your meds?" Carson asked, referring to the anti-seizure medication.
"Yes. They have been making me pretty sick." Radek replied.
"Good. The jolt will trigger a seizure in your brain, but since your are taking the drug, it will not manifest. We'll give you a sedative before we start. Is there anything else you want to know?" Carson asked. While he was trying to make this as easy as possible for Radek, his own fear and apprehension were only rising. The thought that he could kill Radek stifled him. There was risk in every medical procedure, but not like this.
"What happens afterwards?" Radek asked, glancing around nervously.
Carson put a hand on his arm. "We'll run some tests to make sure that the procedure was successful and to see...how you are doing. You'll be asleep for a few hours. Once you are awake, I can do a more thorough neurological evaluation. You should be out of the infirmary after a day." Carson tried to be optimistic.
Radek nodded. "I'm ready."
"Jen. Let's go." Carson advised the nurse to proceed. She swiftly injected Radek with the sedative. Radek blinked a few more times, then drifted off. Carson moved to the control console, scanning his patient once again. He checked the settings for a final time, making sure that the current had the right strength. Like most Ancient devices, it was controlled mentally by the physician. It would take just one second.
Carson took a deep breath and concentrated. He reached out to the device, feeling for it. He could sense it. He saw the scan of Radek's brain in his mind and knew what he had to do. Carson thought and directed the jolt to the centre of the Wraith implant.
"He's seizing!" Jen called out.
"Get me 4mg Lorazepam IV." Carson ordered.
The seizure passed quickly, giving Carson hope that it was just the result of the electrical charge and not the result of damage. Radek's vitals were holding steady after they had administered the drug, so Carson took his patient for scans.
The implant was still intact, but no longer broadcasting the homing signal. The MRI indicated no lasting damage and the EEG showed acceptable brain activity. His worst fears hadn't come to pass, but they wouldn't know for sure until Radek woke up.
TBC