Ah...the dreaded expositional chapter, heavy on the angst...
DOWN CAME A SPIDER
By TIPPER
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CHAPTER FOUR: DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
Sheppard stood in the stasis room, staring at his friend hidden behind the smoked "glass" of the stasis field, his jaw tensed to the point of painful. It had been three days since the attack, three days since he had tossed his friend into the chamber, three days for the brilliant minds of Atlantis to find a solution….
Three days for them to come to the conclusion…there may not be a way to save McKay.
The scientist was half bent over, leaning against the back and left hand side of the chamber, hands pressed to this sides of his head, fingers prying at the "legs" of the metal spider (as they had come to call it) attacking him. His eyes were screwed tightly shut, his mouth showing teeth gritted against the pain, his face flushed and tight, the frozen trail of blood from his nose glistening in the pale light.
It was almost unreal, like seeing a gruesome image in a movie, frozen forever in time, or a painting or photograph of some terrible, unthinkable torture being inflicted. The problem was—this was real. Worse, this was his friend. His closest friend. And it was still happening to him in there. McKay was not frozen—he was trapped in there, feeling a pain which, for him, was essentially endless.
The colonel let out a shaky breath, fingers gripping and releasing at his sides.
He had never felt so completely helpless before in his life. Everything about this was outside of his control, outside even of his ability to think of an idea to help. He could do nothing but wait while Zelenka and Beckett and all the other scientists and engineers and doctors worked feverishly to save his friend.
There was no military solution, no half-cocked last minute save that could be done, nothing to do….
But wait.
While his friend suffered.
"Damn it, McKay," he whispered.
"Colonel Sheppard?" Teyla's soft voice carried across the room, and Sheppard closed his eyes. He had expected either Teyla or Elizabeth to come down at some point. He knew he had been haunting this room, unable to stay away, and they were getting worried. But if McKay had any sense of his presence here at all—even though Zelenka assured him it was impossible—then he wanted to be here.
"Yeah," he replied hoarsely, turning around to look at her.
"Doctors Zelenka and Beckett are ready to display their findings. Doctor Weir has called us all to a meeting upstairs."
He grimaced, already knowing from the looks on Beckett's and Zelenka's faces over the past few days that the news probably wouldn't be good. He had wanted to threaten them, force them to find a solution, to make them figure it out, but they weren't McKay. McKay's ego always came through in a pinch. Zelenka, brilliant as he was, was not as quick or as willful—which is why he would always be second place.
"Okay," he said, once again forcing back the defeatism trying to drown him. He was not giving up, not while McKay was still alive. "I'll be right there."
Teyla nodded and, without looking towards the stasis chamber, turned and walked out. Unlike Sheppard, she had taken one look at McKay's face inside the field and had refused to look upon it again. Her eyes, when in this room, would see everything except the scientist. Ronon, on the other hand, had walked right up to the field, knelt down, and pressed a hand against the solid wall between him and McKay. The former Runner had stared at the scientist for a moment, growled, and stood up, almost like a grizzly bear rearing up on its hind legs. He had turned to Sheppard, Teyla and the other people in the room and, with a snarl, informed them that they were not going to lose McKay to some "stupid Wraith toy." He'd then turned to Beckett, who was trying to calibrate his machines to read data inside the field, and demanded, "you got the transmitter out of me. Now get that thing off of him." And with that order, had turned and left. Beckett just stared after him with his far too expressive eyes, sighed, and returned to his work.
Fact was, none of them—Teyla, Ronon, nor himself—was willing to accept McKay's loss. Not yet.
Which might be why he was so damned afraid to go upstairs. Terrified of what they were going to say. Terrified that, in fact, they might not have a choice.
Taking in a deep, fortifying breath, he took one more look at McKay, gave the scientist a reassuring smile (just in case), then turned and left the room.
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Elizabeth sat down in her chair, doodling lightly on the notepad by her hand, drawing circles around circles. The action was automatic, unthinking. Her attention was clearly far, far away from this room.
Zelenka and Beckett's assessment had taken three days to make, mainly because their equipment had taken that long to register any real details with the time delay. What normally took milliseconds to scan, took almost two and a half days with the stasis operating at its greatest possible time dilation ratio. Beckett could tell sooner that McKay was alive simply based upon the information provided by the stasis chamber diagnostics, but as to the Wraith tech and what it was doing to him, that was much harder. Zelenka's scanning of the device itself, meanwhile, was as complicated as if the metal spider were sitting on the far side of the Grand Canyon from his equipment. Filtering through time made even distances of that size seem like nothing.
To make matters worse, as soon as the metal spider had latched onto its target, much of the information McKay had downloaded about it onto his laptop got scrambled—much in the same way the data from their hive "ally" had broken down after it had left orbit. All that was left intact was McKay's rapidly typed notes and a map of the links he followed when searching for a way to destroy it. For the last two days, two of Zelenka's best computer engineers had been working to decipher the scrambled information, with McKay's notes as a guideline. They hadn't slept, as far as she knew. In fact, none of McKay's scientists had slept. Zelenka wouldn't let them.
When Elizabeth looked up to finally see Zelenka enter the room, moving at a slow hobble on his cane, her doodling stopped.
She already knew they had failed.
The Czech sighed, sliding into a chair next to Doctor Beckett, and removed his glasses to rub at bruised looking eyes. Carson saw the Czech's expression as well, and turned a frightened expression to Elizabeth. She just shook her head, and started drawing circles again.
Not long after, Teyla, Ronon and, finally, Sheppard filtered in, taking the remaining seats. As a group, they turned to the expedition leader, and Weir sighed. Like Sheppard, part of her really did not want to start this ball rolling.
"Okay," Weir said, clearing her throat and looking up, pushing the pad away from beneath her hand. "Thank you all for coming." She looked down at the pen still in her fingers, "Obviously…this has…caused…" She paused, pursing her lips. Swallowing, she sighed and looked up. "Let me begin by telling you that, no matter what is said here today, we're not going to give up on Rodney until every avenue is extinguished. That being said, I also know…that none of us want to prolong what is happening to him. If…keeping him in that chamber only results in his pain being drawn out…" She trailed off, looking down again. No one said anything, which she took as a good sign. Nodding, her eyes lifted, this time to meet their gazes.
"We've all had some time now to study what has happened to Rodney, and to try to make sense of it. Before we get into the details of what can be done, however, I wanted to start by asking, first, why you think the Wraith did this? I have my ideas, but I would like to hear yours."
"Why else," Ronan said gruffly, shrugging, "to kill McKay. He's a threat to them now. More so than even Atlantis is. They wanted him gone and dead, and so they sent that," his lips lifted in a snarl, "thing to do it."
"Yes, but," Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, "why that device? Why not just send something that would kill him instantly?"
"To punish him," Teyla replied, her own tone very even. Her eyes were unfocused, not meeting anyone's gaze, not even Elizabeth's. "And to warn others away from his hubris."
"Hubris?" Sheppard snapped, "What the hell does that mean?"
Teyla sighed, and turned to look in his direction. "I do not mean that Doctor McKay's ego put him in this position, Colonel." Her voice was even-toned, unconsciously falling into her most formal tone. "I meant that, in the eyes of the Wraith, Doctor McKay's daring to learn so much about their technology—to the point he was able to use it against them—is, to them, hubris." She swallowed, her eyes shifted away, "With this attack, they are warning us from thinking we can get the better of them, and to make us fear them more."
"Ha," Ronon snarled. "It won't work."
"No," Teyla agree soundly, looking up and actually meeting the Satedan's eyes for the first time since they had been told what happened, "it will not. Even if we lose Doctor McKay."
"We're not losing anyone yet," Elizabeth reminded them. When she had their eyes on her again, she gave them a single nod, then turned to the rest of the room. "My thoughts about the matter were similar. But I did have one fear, which I hope Doctor Zelenka can assuage." She looked at Radek, who tried to appear confident as he sat in McKay's usual chair, "Radek, can that device…download information from Rodney? Take information from him somehow and transmit it?"
Zelenka's eyes widened momentarily, then, swiftly, he shook his head. "No, the device is not that complicated. Even if the Wraith had such technology, which, from what I have seen, they do not, the metal spider does not have that capability. No…what Doctor McKay has inside his head is not being transmitted to the Wraith."
"Thank goodness," Elizabeth said, releasing a small sigh of relief. Straightening her shoulders, she looked around. "In that case, we can focus solely on how we're going to get Rodney out of there. Carson? You—"
"Wait," Sheppard said, anger boiling behind his usually calm eyes, "Do you mean to say that, if it turned out that that thing was able to copy his knowledge, that it would make a difference."
Elizabeth's green eyes focused on his, clear and filled with sadness. Then, quickly, she ducked her head, looking down at her notepad before answering.
"You know it would have, John," she replied quietly. "And you know why as well."
Sheppard sucked in a harsh breath, shutting his eyes, trying not to explode in fury at the idea. Logically, yes, he did know. But he was never one to think purely based on logic. It was the main difference between him and Elizabeth—and also the main reason she was the leader and not him.
"Now," Elizabeth said, looking up again and once more focusing on Beckett, "Carson, what can you tell us?"
Beckett was watching Sheppard, his own emotions clear on his face. Like the colonel, Beckett would not have accepted anything less than moving mountains to save their friend, not matter the cost. Turning to Elizabeth, his blue eyes were accusatory and hurt. Elizabeth met his gaze with remorse, but not apology. Beckett sighed and looked down. Clearing his throat, he started to speak, his voice almost a monotone.
"Well, I'm afraid that I do not have much good news," he said. "The spider machine has managed to wind around Rodney's skull and down his spine, penetrating his brain and nervous system at definite points, stimulating those areas which will cause Rodney the most pain. It is truly the most insidious device I have ever seen. There is no question in my mind that its primary purpose was to punish without mercy in the most horrific way possible." He shivered slightly, taking another deep breath before continuing.
"That being said, Rodney and Colonel Sheppard's quick actions with the stasis chamber stopped it from embedding too deeply. As it stands, the spider machines is only barely touching most areas. If it could be shut down now, or instantly upon Rodney's release from the chamber, I should be able to extract it without any permanent injury. However," he grimaced a little, "if it is not shut down instantly—if even as little as one minute passes—the damage to Rodney will likely be irredeemable. At one minute, I'll still be able to extract the spider, but Rodney will suffer brain damage and will probably experience pain for the rest of his life. At two minutes…I probably will not be able to extract it at all, and he will die, horribly and in pain." His eyes had dropped again to his papers as he had continued his speech, and he looked up again now to indicate he was finished.
"So, then…it's possible to save him," Sheppard said. "If we can shut the device down now."
"Yes." Carson looked up, then to Zelenka. "If we can shut the device down now."
Radek looked at him, his eyes telling them nothing. Slowly, his head turned to look in Elizabeth's direction. The expedition leader was leaning forward on the table, resting on his arms. Her eyebrows lifted as he found her gaze.
"Well?" she asked, "Can we?"
Zelenka's eyes fell.
"No."
"Why not?" Ronon growled.
"The device has no shut off mechanism," the Czech began, speaking slowly, as if weighing his words carefully. "Thus, the only way to shut it down is to cut its power. Normally, to do that, we would locate the power source and either pull it out, or render it inert with an electromagnetic pulse. Problem is," his eyes narrowed, "the machine does not have a normal power source."
"Not normal?" Sheppard asked. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Zelenka took in a deep breath, "that part of the power that the machine is drawing on right now…is organic."
"My God," Elizabeth's eyes widened. "you mean, it's alive?"
"Yes—in a way. It has living tissue inside it. Worse…it's now pulling part of its power from Rodney himself."
That caused complete silence for a moment, until Sheppard spoke again, asking quietly. "How is that possible?"
"We know that much of Wraith technology has an organic base. They've managed to integrate living tissue with machinery in ways…we can't even imagine. Rodney is…was…"
"Is," Sheppard stated plainly.
Zelenka nodded, "…is working on schematics for a weapon that will take advantage of that mix of matter, finding a way to disable Wraith technology via the living tissue. It is really quite fascinating, he—"
"Radek," Elizabeth said quietly, calling him back.
"Yes, yes, what I'm trying to say is," he pursed his lips, his eyes looking down at his notes, "that Rodney himself has become part of the power source for the spider machine. The discs at the end of the larger tendrils are drawing power from McKay's own strength. Even if we shot an electromagnetic pulse at the thing, and found a way to kill its own living matter energy source at the same time—"
"It wouldn't completely stop it," Elizabeth supplied. "Because it would still have Rodney to feed on."
"Correct," Radek agreed, "in fact, it might make it worse. We believe it was intended to switch entirely to feeding entirely on Rodney if attacked in that manner. All it would do would be to make it even more impossible to shut down."
Sheppard's eyes were wide, determined. "But…but there must be something we can do."
"In less than a minute?" Zelenka replied. "If what Carson says is true…I can't even shut down my laptop in less than a minute."
"Well, what if…" Sheppard's eyes moved around, finally landing on Beckett, "What if we killed Rodney as well. Like we did with the Iratus bug when it was latched to my neck?"
The physician shook his head, "No. Even if we did 'kill' the machine and Rodney at the same time, I would still have to extract it before reviving Rodney. The extraction will take several hours at least, at which point…" He trailed off, not needing to say more.
"What about the Daedalus?" Teyla asked suddenly. "It should be on its way back from Earth, now, yes?" She looked to Elizabeth, then back to Zelenka. "Could they use the beaming technology to…to extract the machine? As it did with that…snake like creature which took over Colonel Caldwell?"
Zelenka shook his head, "The Goa'uld was a single, living entity. It wrapped itself around Caldwell's brainstem in a very specific way, one earth science has known and studied for years. We have detailed schematics on exactly how and where it inserts itself. This device, we have no such detail. Moreover, it's far smaller—a number of the metal strands it has embedded into Rodney are even invisible to the naked eye. I doubt even Hermiod's math skills would be enough to ensure that, if we tried to beam it out, it would either leave a lot of itself behind, or take pieces of Rodney with it." He grimaced, while next to him, Beckett just closed his eyes at the thought.
"So, what you're saying is," Sheppard said quietly, "you don't think there is a way to save him."
Beckett didn't answer. Zelenka, however, shook his head.
"No!" Ronon suddenly slammed a hand down on the table. "There has to be a way!" His glare was so enraged as he stared at the two doctors, Zelenka even shrank back a little. The Satedan rocketed up out of his chair and leaned over them, staring them both down. Zelenka ducked his head, but Carson met the harsh gaze undaunted. "Find a way!" Ronon demanded. "He'd do it for you!"
"Yes, he would try," Carson replied softly, standing up himself to face Ronon. "Just as we have, lad. I promise you, we have done everyth—"
"That's crap!" Ronon crossed his arms, "He's still down there. He's still alive. He's given you time to figure it out. So figure it out!"
"There's nothing medical I can do, until that machine is turned off," Beckett stated firmly. "I'm sorry."
"Then you," Ronon shot out a finger at Zelenka, "find a way to shut it off!"
Radek still did not look up, probably figuring there was no point, and not wanting to see the anger in Ronon's eyes. Instead, he just stared downwards at his notes, eyes skimming down them for probably the millionth time. The Satedan stared at him for a moment, his brow shifting from fury to disbelief.
"No...no, you can't give up," Ronon said then, his voice sounding almost strangled. "I thought you people never gave up." He looked to Elizabeth, "You said…you said…we wouldn't give up."
Elizabeth just stared back, her eyes wet. "We don't want to, Ronon. But sometimes…" She shook her head.
The Satedan just stared at her, then, slowly lowered his eyes. Still trembling a little from unused adrenalin, he slowly sat down, his eyes wide and fixed on the table in front of him.
The tension in the room was almost tangible, weighing on them all as they hoped Zelenka or Beckett would suddenly say something else, come up with something more, give them even the smallest kernel of hope….But Beckett stayed quiet and the Czech was almost as frozen as McKay, appearing unable to say another word on the subject. An internal struggled seemed to be being waged behind his worried eyes, as emotions obviously warred with logic.
And then Sheppard cleared his throat.
Four pairs of eyes turned in his direction.
"You know," Sheppard mused, his now quiet voice feeling almost intrusive inside the room, "McKay…did believe there was a way. Ronon's right—he put himself in that stasis chamber because he thought...no, he knew...you could find it." The hazel eyes lifted and came to a rest on Zelenka.
Zelenka lowered his head, sighing heavily. He nodded. "McKay's idea…was to buy himself time, in case there was a way. But that's as far as it went—there is nothing to indicate that he had himself found a way to destroy that infernal machine. He would not have had the time to discover it anyway, not in the short time he had."
"No, that's not true," Sheppard asserted, warming to his topic. "He did find a way. I saw it in his eyes. He knew how to stop that machine."
Zelenka shook his head. "I very much doubt that, Colonel. What you saw was probably just—"
"You don't know him like I do," the colonel insisted, leaning forward. "You see him in the lab, working at a normal pace. I see him in the field, when he has to come up with ideas in even less time than this. And when he has that idea…I know. And he did. He had the idea."
Zelenka grimaced. "Yes, but think about this. He was probably thinking about stopping the machine before it attacked him. That we could have done, now that we know how it works. But not now that it has attached—"
"No, no, he knew. He said it would get him. He expected to trap it in stasis with him. I don't think he anticipated the pain, but he knew it would get him."
Zelenka's grimace grew into a frown as he considered this. Finally, he sighed. "Look, Colonel, even if he did think of something…something none of my team has considered in the last three days, he did not leave us any clue of it. We—"
"That's not true, either," Sheppard replied, smiling a little. "He left two clues."
Zelenka's eyebrows lifted, waiting. The colonel lifted his hand and held up a finger.
"He left you his laptop—specifically told Torrens and Atchison to save it for you, and you alone."
"Yes, but, the information on that laptop was—"
"Scrambled, I know. But McKay's additions, mapping and notes were not."
"They are not much use without the information connecting them."
"Maybe," Sheppard said.
Zelenka's eyes narrowed, "Maybe?" he snorted. "What, you think you can do better than my team?"
"No. I don't. But…see, McKay also left us a second clue." And he held up a second finger. "Right before I hit the control to freeze him, he said—"
"Carter will know," Elizabeth said, recalling Sheppard's words from three days ago. She stood up, facing him. "Do you really think she can help?"
"Carter?" Zelenka repeated, a strange look on his face. "Colonel Carter? Of the SGC?"
"Who's Colonel Carter?" Ronon asked.
"Rodney's equivalent back on Earth," Zelenka supplied quickly.
"I don't think she'd agree with 'equivalent,'" Elizabeth said, her lips lifting in a tiny smile. "Not sure Rodney would either."
"They do have a little bit of a competitive thing going," Sheppard explained.
"Well, Rodney does," Carson noted. "I don't think Colonel Carter's all that worried he'll—"
"Yes, well, point is," Sheppard interrupted, "Rodney's last thought was that she would know how to help him." He looked to Elizabeth, "And I think it's worth it to ask if she can."
The smile that had momentarily touched her lips at the thought of McKay and Carter sparring again faded, and Elizabeth looked back at the colonel. She saw the desperate need for hope in his eyes, knew it was reflected in her own, and nodded. Turning to Zelenka, she raised her eyebrows.
"Is that all right with you, Radek? Can we show this problem to Colonel Carter?"
Slowly at first, then more affirmatively, the Czech nodded and smiled. "Yes...yes! If anyone can see another way out of this, Colonel Carter is the one who can do it."
Elizabeth smiled. "Okay then." She stood up, "Let's give her a call."
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TBC...