(I promised folks two parts today, so here's chapter two...!)
DOWN CAME A SPIDER
By TIPPER
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CHAPTER TWO: SINGLE PURPOSE ENTITY
Elizabeth didn't move, afraid to even twitch, as the strangest looking object she had ever seen floated barely two inches away from her face. It was made up of essentially three pieces. The central piece was a sphere about the size of tennis ball...or maybe a cricket ball. It was made of a silvery alloy, similar to that used for Wraith ships, and had that same strangely iridescent quality. She wasn't even sure if it was solid—knowing how the Wraith Dart canopies could disappear at will.
Out of either side of this central sphere emerged a number of long, curved strands, each about twelve inches in length. They had uncurled from the ball as it had jumped directly in front of her, stretching out like the legs of a daddy long legs in either direction. And at the end of each strand was a small disc, about the size of one of Beckett's heart monitor discs.
The object—for they really didn't know what it was yet—floated in front of her, bobbing up and down, hovering almost like a hummingbird before a feeder. Looking past it, she could see Major Lorne and several other guards pointing guns in her direction, waiting for it to move. They knew, though, that if they tried to take it down now—they would kill her as well.
With nothing else she could do, she just stood there. Waiting.
Suddenly, the object buzzed and emitted a white light right into her face, causing her to wince and flinch, closing her eyes instinctively. The touch of it prickled the skin on her forehead, as if someone had shot an toothpick into it.
Then the pain was gone.
The buzzing stopped, and she dared to open an eye.
The object hovered a second longer, then, in a blink, it was gone.
Zelenka nearly leapt back a foot as it had apparently jumped in front of him, barely keeping his balance as he tried to stay off his hurt leg.
Elizabeth emitted a short gasp, watching as the same bright light lasered in on the Czech's forehead. Zelenka whimpered, but didn't move.
In a second, it was done. And was in front of the Canadian tech. The poor boy tried not to flinch as it shocked him as well, but the plaintive, soft "ow" was not lost on anyone.
The guns following it never had time to shoot—it was like trying to shoot a fly. Until it stopped, it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye. It seemed to leap from place to place almost without motion.
Shakily, Elizabeth reached up and tapped her radio, to answer the desperate questions of McKay and Sheppard over the link.
"It appears to be scanning us," she said quietly, still somewhat afraid to even speak lest she draw its attention again.
"For what?" Sheppard demanded.
"I have no idea." She shivered again, thinking about the sharp pain, "But I don't think it's found it yet."
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McKay had connected into every single sensor and scanner in the city, focusing them all only on the object that currently had the entire Gateroom and Control Room in thrall. The two other scientists with him were carefully monitoring the city's power and control systems, checking to make sure nothing was being compromised or damaged by the object's presence.
"It's definitely Wraith technology," McKay informed Sheppard, who was pacing around behind him like a caged panther. "And Elizabeth's right, it's looking for something."
"What something?"
"I don't know yet. But, if it's scanning people and not machines, that would suggest…." He trailed off, frowning at something on the screen.
"What?" Sheppard stopped pacing, moving to lean over his friend's shoulder. "You've got something?"
"Yeah...I think I've hacked into its hard drive. It's got a very simple brain—which makes sense considering how small it is. I'm surprised it wasn't more protected. Probably means it's only programmed with one purpose in mind. I just…hang on." He typed some more, and more windows filled his laptop screen. To Sheppard, it was a mess of numbers and what looked like Wraith programming language—in other words, total gibberish. McKay's eyes skimmed down the information with incredible ease, telling of just how familiar he had become with Wraith technology.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Lorne's voice suddenly shouted over the radio, causing both McKay and Sheppard to jump. "Don't let it get away!"
Gunfire exploded across the radio, and McKay winced, turning down the volume on his speaker as Sheppard started pacing again. The colonel's hands fisted and released, but he knew damn well that, with the city in lock down, he couldn't get up there to help.
Shattering glass was audible again, and Lorne yelling at his men to chase it. The window at the top of the stairs led out onto the main balcony, and Sheppard guessed they were now climbing through it, going after the object.
"Major!" he called, "What's happening?"
"Sir," Lorne's voice was punctuated by heavy breaths, "It's escaped back through the window! We're trying to see where it went, but it's disappeared."
"It's seeking by sound," McKay said softly, "that's how it found us, even through the cloak. Like a bat. It can't see or sense us, but it can find us by echoes. Like searching for a submarine in a deep ocean." He was rambling, talking to himself mostly, but Sheppard was listening, despite also hearing Lorne's description on his end. He had perfected the ability to "listen" to two things at once, particularly when McKay was around.
Speaking of Lorne, Sheppard realized the major had finished his recitation of the object's activities.
"So, no one was hurt?" Sheppard said finally, mentally tuning back in.
"No, sir. Everyone appears shaken, but fine. It scanned the people here, but, from the looks of it, didn't do anyone any damage."
"Even so, inform Doctor Beckett and—"
"I already have, Colonel," Elizabeth's voice chimed in. "He is instituting a quarantine here until he's given us all the all clear. Meanwhile, that thing is still out there. I'm standing on the balcony outside of the Control Room with Major Lorne, and I can't see it anywhere."
"If McKay wants to give us back access to the sensors," Zelenka chimed in, "we could—"
"No need," McKay said, his voice tight. "I know where it is." He looked up at Sheppard, who was watching him intently. The colonel knew that tone of voice all too well. McKay swallowed, then added, "I also know why it's here."
For a heartbeat, neither man moved. Sheppard almost didn't want to ask.
Elizabeth, however, probably because she couldn't see McKay's stricken face, had no such compunction.
"Why is it here?" she asked over the radio.
"It's looking for me," Rodney replied quietly.
And suddenly, the scientist was in motion, typing furiously into the laptop, his eyes shifting across the screen.
"What? You? Why you?" Sheppard demanded, moving to stand right over McKay, knowing full well he was getting in the scientist's way.
"Because they're scared of me, why else? Now, Move!" McKay shouted, pushing Sheppard back to refocus on his furious typing. But Sheppard wasn't about to be daunted, and pressed in again, coming around the front of the console to stare at McKay.
"What? What the hell does that mean?"
"Think about it!" McKay shouted back angrily, then twisted around to yell at the two scientists with them "Send power back to the Control Room. Tell Beckett the quarantine isn't necessary. The object was only taking DNA samples from the people up there, while also "listening" to the City. Their keeping quiet while it did so did the damn thing a favor! Damn it!" he returned to his hasty typing, "There has to be a way to stop it…" he muttered, fingers flying over the keys.
"McKay, are you sure?"
"Don't ask stupid questions," the scientist snapped back, clearly losing his patience. "I don't have the time; that thing has a one track mind and once it finds me it'll…wait…wait…that's it..." He started typing faster, his eyes brightening with an idea. And for a second, Sheppard thought everything was going to be all right.
"Sir!" one of the scientist's shouted. "Sir, it's coming here! It's nearly to this room!"
"What?" Sheppard turned and dashed to her side, looking down at the City layout she had called up. Sure enough, even with the lockdown, the object had somehow found a way inside and was now shooting down the corridors, straight to their position. "Damn it! How did it find us!" He pulled his 9MM, moving to stand in the corridor he knew the object was coming down.
"I told you," McKay answered. "Sound! When Zelenka sent the power here, this room powered up. It was like a beacon of noise. All the object had to do was stay quiet for a while. It must be programmed to assume I would be nearest the areas with the highest concentration of complex noise. Crap," he continued to type, then looked up. His eyes were scared. "How close is it?"
The scientist just looked up, her face stricken. "Close."
McKay swallowed thickly, and returned to his typing. Suddenly, with the same sort of frozen motion he made when he realized he couldn't stop the Arcturus Weapon from exploding, he looked up. "Oh God…I don't have time to finish explaining..." Shaking his head, he looked to the two scientists. "Atchison, Torrens, don't let anyone touch this laptop except Zelenka, you hear me!"
And Sheppard saw it. The silver ball careened down the hallway, straight towards him. He started firing—but the bullets were far too slow, like trying to hit a supersonic pinball.
McKay grabbed his datapad and backed up, hesitating in the open doorway on the far side of the room. The two scientists had also backed up, pressing themselves against the curved walls.
"Rodney! Get out of here!" Sheppard shouted.
But it was too late. The object zipped past the colonel—it would have gone through him if Sheppard hadn't ducked at the last minute. It jumped in front of the first scientist, the woman, took a sample, then shot towards McKay, hitting him with the same white light. The object emitted a high pitched whine, then hit McKay with a blue light in the right shoulder as the scientist fell backwards towards the door.
"RUN, YOU IDIOT!" Sheppard shouted, dodging around the consoles to get to McKay and grabbing his left arm, propelling the man out of the room before the object could do anything more.
It galvanized the scientist into motion, and he and Sheppard both started running down the corridor, but not quick enough. The object's silvery color shimmered, changing to an almost black color—it had found its target.
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TBC...
Oh, and, no, in response to the question, I've never written SG-1 before, so I know there is going to be some serious kissing up I have to do, hoping you guys don't lambaste me for characterizations of Carter, et al. I don't watch SG-1 with any intensity, but I have watched 48 Hours and Redemption a large number of times and...well, let's just say I'm hoping for the best...