A/N – I have no idea what powers the Daedelus, so I made it up. Sorry if I'm completely off base.
Chapter 10
The Orion landed on the East Pier with a soft thunk. Inside the huge ship, John Sheppard was grinning like a fool. Whatever crazy scheme Zelenka and McKay had cooked up had finally worked. The Orion had flown like it was brand new, responding to every command, maneuvering easily through sub-light and hyper- speeds. Now John understood why Picard seemed like a happy dude; traveling through space on a ship that actually worked was intoxicating.
"That was great!" John announced to no one particular. He was surrounded by technicians, most of whom were glued to their stations. John made a mental note to draw up a permanent personnel list to man the Ancient ship, starting with Major Lorne. He might appreciate getting command of a interstellar spaceship.
"So, any problems, Colonel?" asked a familiar voice. Rodney and Radek strode through the control room doors, both carting their laptops. They had been scurrying throughout the entire ship as the test run commenced, double-checking all the systems. McKay was positively beaming with happiness, and Radek, too, looked elated.
'As well they should,' John thought; 'thanks to these two, Atlantis now had a full-time warship as protection.'
"Not a one. She ran perfectly," John replied. Rodney bobbed his head up and down, his face drawn to his screen. The technicians around them began disembarking, and, with a sigh, John stood up to follow.
Fifteen minutes later, John and the two scientists were in Elizabeth's office, each talking over the other as they described the flight. Elizabeth just grinned and nodded, occasionally asking a question of her own, but, for the most part, letting them bask in moment. Although she remained outwardly calm, inside she was as relieved as the others; finally, things seemed to be going their way. Having the Orion in working condition was a definite reason to celebrate.
Elizabeth's eye was caught by the arrival of Teyla and Corynn. Three steps behind was Ronon Dex, looking pleased with himself. While John and Rodney had been testing the Orion, Corynn and Teyla had taken a short trip to the mainland. Ronon had remained behind, taking the opportunity to train some of John's newer men.
Elizabeth had been surprised when Corynn had asked to accompany Teyla, but had willingly agreed. The newest addition to Atlantis had been working with Zelenka and McKay non-stop for a week, and needed a break. Teyla had readily accepted, glad to have female companionship for once. Elizabeth's smile broadened as they entered her office, both chatting animatedly.
"So, things went well, Colonel?" Teyla asked. Corynn had paused next to McKay, peering around his shoulder at his laptop. Elizabeth noticed that he shifted slightly, allowing her better access to the screen. She pointed at something as it scrolled by, and he murmured a quiet reply.
"Extremely well. So-good-it's-Miller-time well," he replied happily. Teyla's confused look only caused his smile to widen. "I say we celebrate! I'm thinking barbecue! Hot dogs, hamburgs, wings – you name it!"
"Hold that thought, Colonel," Elizabeth said, raising one hand. Chatter in the room stopped as she listened to someone through her headset. After a moment, she smiled.
"Colonel Caldwell just radioed in, and he wants to talk to us." She rose to her feet, heading towards the gate room, John and the others on her heels.
"Atlantis to Daedelus. Welcome back, Colonel." Elizabeth's voice rang across the room, and, after a moment of silence, Caldwell's deep rumbling reply was heard.
"Thank you, Dr. Weir. We're about thirty minutes from Atlantis. I assume all is well?"
Elizabeth nodded, although the Colonel couldn't see her. "Very well, thanks. You'll have to change your landing site to the South Pier, I'm afraid. The East Pier is currently…occupied."
"Copy that. Is Colonel Sheppard available?"
John keyed his headset. "I'm here. Go ahead." His earlier elation had been replaced with cool professionalism. It was no secret that Colonel Sheppard and Colonel Caldwell were adversaries, with Caldwell disrespecting Sheppard's loose command, and Sheppard despising Caldwell's by-the-book protocol.
"Colonel, we picked up a refugee when we emerged from hyperspace. His ship's life-support was failing, and we received his distress beacon. He claims that…"
Caldwell's voice was cut off as John stepped forward, his voice harsh. "Did you get this man's name, Colonel?"
Silence followed for a long moment, then, through the hiss of the radio, came the reply.
"He said his name was Tristan."
oOo
Corynn blinked. One moment, she and the others had been standing in the stargate control room, listening as John argued with this Colonel Caldwell. The next, she was…somewhere else. She reached out, panicking, and found herself grasping Dr. McKay's arm.
"It's okay. We're on the Daedelus." Rodney's sharp voice sounded next to her, and she glanced up at the physicist. He looked angry, but also nervous. Corynn only nodded, relieved that the scientist was with her. She reluctantly released his arm, and glanced around. Teyla and Ronon were here, and Colonel Sheppard, but not Radek or Elizabeth.
"All right, Colonel. Now, what were you saying?" A tall man, imposing and fierce, was glowering at Sheppard, his arms crossed and his feet spread in a wide stance.
'This must be Colonel Caldwell,' Corynn thought. Her eyes roamed the room, searching for her cousin, but only finding more technicians and military personnel.
"As I was saying, this Tristan guy is bad news! He's an escaped criminal, a murderer!" John's voice had a sharp edge to it, his arms sweeping wide as he explained the situation to Caldwell. "I hope to hell you have him locked up somewhere!"
"As a matter of fact, I don't, Colonel. He was barely alive when we found him, and he's in the sick bay, unconscious." Caldwell's eyes widened as Corynn elbowed John out of the way, moving to stand directly in front of the towering man.
"It is a ruse! Where is this sick bay? I need to get to him!" She poked a finger at Caldwell, the motion underscoring her words.
Caldwell took an unwilling step backwards, and if the situation wasn't so dire, Rodney would have laughed. Little Corynn Lorell taking on the big bad Colonel – and winning. Then again, she had taken on Rodney numerous times over the last week and, more often than not, she had emerged the victor. It was really because of her input that the Orion had been repaired, a fact that Rodney was uncomfortably aware of. It would have taken him a month before the Ancient ship had been flight-worthy if she hadn't been there to steer them down the right road.
"Who the hell are you?" Caldwell barked. He eyed the woman warily, noting that she seemed completely unafraid of him, yet frantic in her need to find this Tristan guy.
Before she could respond, the lights in the control room flickered. As they all turned towards the front viewing window, the Daedelus listed to starboard. Everything in the control room went dark, screens flashing on and off and lights blinking out.
"What now?" Caldwell's voice sounded irritated, but apprehensive as well.
"Sir! All power to the engines is now off-line. Navigation, weapons, shields, life support! All systems are shutting down!" The young woman hammered at her keyboard, frantically trying to get the data she needed. Rodney quickly rounded the workstation, yanking the woman from her chair, and entering his own codes. His face was pale as he looked up.
"Confirmed. We've lost all power!" He entered some more commands, his face screwing up as he read the screen. He sat back, shaking his head, his hands trembling as he managed to read the screen before it, too, blanked out.
"McKay?" John eyed his friend. Rodney glanced up, panic in his blue eyes.
"He's taken the command crystal off-line, and flooded the compartment with xenon gas." Rodney's voice was subdued, but everyone heard the undercurrent of fear.
"What does this mean, Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked.
Rodney paused for a moment, his face screwing up. "It means that unless we get the crystal back on line, we're dead."
oOo
"Okay, McKay. Give me the details. All of them." John's voice was sharp, and he focused his gaze on the scientist.
Rodney drew in a deep breath. "The Daedelus is powered by three naquada generators, each performing a specific purpose. One is solely for the engines, sublight and hyperspeed. Another is for shields and weapons. The third is for all other systems: life support, the transporters, computers, all that stuff. All three are tied together, so that when one of the generators fails, the power from the remaining generators can be rerouted to the failed systems. Got it so far?"
Everyone in the room nodded.
"The three systems are controlled by a command crystal, one which determines which systems need power and when, and reroutes it as needed. This crystal is located in the central command center, at the heart of the ship. Your refugee" – this was directed at Caldwell – "entered the center, disengaged the crystal, and flooded the compartment with poison gas."
"Poison gas?" This from Ronon.
"It's like halon; used to extinguish any fires. Gets rid of the oxygen in the room, as well as cooling all the surfaces. Toxic as hell, but effective. Tristan apparently directed the entire supply of xenon gas into the command center. The room has safety glass, but eventually the pressure will become too much."
Rodney's computer screen briefly flickered to life, and he glanced down, his eyes quickly scanning the messages on the monitor.
"Crap!" He typed some commands in the computer, but gave a disgusted snort when the system went down again. His voice rushed, he continued his explanation.
"With the command crystal off line, and no power, the gas can't be vented. Currently, it's building up pressure. Soon, it will explode, escaping into the ship, and killing everyone on board."
"What about manual venting?" This from one of the technicians. Rodney shook his head in dismay.
"Not enough time. We have less than ten minutes! That's not enough time to get into one of the protective suits."
Suddenly, their attention was turned to the shape of a small ship flying across the bow of the Daedelus.
"My God, that's a three-oh-two!" John exclaimed. He walked to the viewing window, watching as the small ship breezed away.
"It's Tristan," Corynn stated. She was staring at Dr. McKay, a thoughtful look on her face. "Dr. McKay, I have an idea.
oOo
"This is crazy!" Rodney panted. He and Corynn were racing to the central command center, the scientist slightly in the lead. In one hand he cradled a small laptop computer.
Corynn didn't reply. She didn't want to waste her breath. They only had a few minutes, at best, and she needed all her air. This ship was huge, and without transporters, running was the only other option.
Finally, Rodney turned a corner, then stopped. Before them was a large room, surrounded by clear glass. Some kind of thick fog could be seen, permeating the entire room and pressing against the glass like a living thing. A tiny decontamination room was all that separated them from the gas.
"Okay, now, you know what to do, right?" Rodney had snapped open his laptop, and was rapidly attaching cables to the dead terminal. Corynn nodded, trying to slow her pounding heart.
"Once you get inside, cross to the far side of the room, about twenty paces. Directly in front of you should be two vent shafts. All you have to do is yank the small lever downward, and both vents should open. Then get back into the decon area. When the room clears, we can go in and replace the crystal. Got it?"
When Corynn didn't answer, Rodney glanced over to see the woman standing with her head down, eyes shut tightly. Her hands were fisted at her sides, and she was slowly breathing in and out. She remained silent for a few more seconds, her body visibly relaxing, then she opened her eyes.
"I got it, Rodney," she replied softly. They held each others eyes for a moment, then she smiled.
"Be right back," she said. She braced her hands against the decontamination door, sliding it open, and cautiously stepped inside.
TBC