Chapter 11

The door slid to the side without a sound, and Corynn stepped through. She twisted around, shutting the door firmly behind her. She saw Rodney watching her, his face tight with worry. She gave him quick smile, then turned towards the inner access door.

She closed her eyes, mentally adjusting her metabolism. As she took a few moments, regulating her breathing, relaxing all her muscles, reducing her heart rate, her mind flashed back to her childhood. She and Ethan had often challenged each other, each trying to hold their breath for the longest amount of time, without falling into hibernation. Ethan had always won, able to fully function – walk, run, move - without drawing a breath for a full ten minutes. Corynn had never even come close, with eight minutes the best she could ever do. And that had been excruciatingly difficult. Now, with the lives of these people in her hands, she hoped that she could do it once more.

Rodney had warned her that the gas was not only lethal, but the room would be frigidly cold. Corynn tugged on the gloves, loaned to her by Colonel Sheppard. Rodney had already given her his jacket. She could still feel the warmth of his body, smell the faint traces of his scent on the clothing. Reassured, but not quite sure why, she put her hands out, knowing that the time was now. Taking a deep breath, and holding it, she shoved the inner door to the side.

Corynn was immediately assaulted by the cold. Frigid was an inappropriate term; it was far beyond freezing. She paused, the shock of the temperature almost making her draw in a breath. She fought the urge, shaking with the effort. Finally, feeling like she had regained a bit of control, she turned and shut the inner door. She caught Rodney's terrified gaze, but ignored him. She couldn't be distracted by the scientist now.

She turned, her eyes burning from the gas. It was impossible to see in here, between the swirling mist and the lack of lighting. She stepped forward, realizing that it was really hard to move. It was the pressure; it would slow her down. Mentally counting the steps, hoping that she wouldn't crash into anything, she forced her way forward. One. Two. Three. Four.

At ten, she stumbled, flailing her hands out in front of her to try and slow her fall. She let out a low 'ooomph', but managed to keep from sucking in the gas. She had landed on something…soft. In horror, she realized that her fall had been broken by a body. She scrambled away, terror taking hold of her, her heart rate suddenly jumping.

'Don't breathe! Do NOT breathe!' she chanted to herself. Shaking, realizing that her body was starting to feel the lack of oxygen, Corynn closed her eyes. She had to keep moving. She could feel the gas around her, could feel the increasing pressure as more of the poison pumped into the room, building in intensity with no where to go.

She rose to her feet, suddenly aware that she had lost her bearings. She shuffled forward cautiously, feeling her toes slide into the body. She took a step over the poor soul, mentally cursing her cousin, and then resumed her counting. Her lungs were beginning to strain, and her heart refused to slow down. Her muscles had started twitching, fighting against the increasing pressure that seemed to crush her.

Eleven. Twelve. Her eyes leaked tears, welling from the caustic mist, which froze almost immediately on her cheeks. Still, she made her way across the room, unable to see or hear anything, except the hissing of the gas and the thrumming of her heart. The cold was starting to take its toll on her, her body shivering uncontrollably and her fingers becoming numb. Even her eyes were starting to freeze, with blinking becoming more and more difficult.

Finally, she hit the far wall. Let out a silent prayer of thanks, she ran her hands across the surface, searching for the levers Rodney had described. Nothing. She bent down, looking lower, and then reached up. Her arms trembled from the exertion, and now her lungs were screaming. She was getting dizzy, lack of oxygen leading her down the road to unconsciousness.

'Not yet! Not yet!' she thought fervently. She rose up on her toes, remembering that Rodney was at least four inches taller than she. She nearly passed out in relief as her hands swiped across a section of ribbed metal. The vents! Now, for the lever.

She traced the outline of the vent, then felt the small lever on the lower right hand side. Sending a brief thank you to Dr. McKay for his precise instructions, she pulled at the lever. Her hands, even encased in John's gloves, were nearly numb from the cold and slid off the small apparatus. Off balance, she fell forward against the wall. Once more, she nearly inhaled, but managed to stop at the last moment.

'You can do this!' she thought. Her mind was starting to get hazy, and her entire body was trembling wildly from the lack of air and extreme cold. She knew that she could only hold her breath for a few seconds more. She had to do this…now.

She reached up and relocated the small lever once more. Ignoring her shivering, ignoring the black cloud that was stealing across her eyes, ignoring the fact that she was going to die, Corynn tugged at the lever once more. And was enormously grateful when the metal actually moved. She fell against the wall and pulled with all her weight, and was rewarded with a slight 'clank.' The vent had opened.

Corynn sagged to the floor, unaware that her face was covered with a thin layer of ice, that her eyes were caked over with frozen tears. As the gas hissed it's way out the vents, she fell to her side. Her body clamored for air, for warmth, for relief from this torture. Her eyes were barely focusing, and her hands – what hands? – were completely numb. Still, Corynn pushed herself up once more, knowing she had one more thing to do.

Then she could die.

oOo

Rodney stood frozen at the window, his eyes trying to pierce the thick fog of gas that permeated the entire room. Corynn had been inside for five minutes, and he was terrified. She should have been done by now; it should have taken less than three minutes to enter the room, cross to the opposite side, locate the vents and pull the lever. He glanced at this watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. Six minutes. Something must have gone wrong.

Anguish raced through him. He watched in horror as fine cracks started appearing across the protective glass, appearing as delicate as a spider's web. They had less than three minutes to vent this gas, or the room was going to explode, and everyone on board would die a horrible, gasping death. His mind churned, knowing that even if he was brave enough to enter the room without protective gear, and he survived the cold and the lack of oxygen, and he managed to get to the vents and open them, that the gas may still escape. The pressure inside was enormous, by this time making you feel like you were walking underwater.

Suddenly, the white mist of the gas seemed to lift. As Rodney peered closer, he found he could see the dim outlines of consoles, the familiar shape of chairs and computer monitors. His face drained of color when he realized that there was someone – a body – on the floor. For a moment, he thought it was Corynn, and his heart nearly stopped. Then, as the room cleared, he could see the dark hair and blue uniform of one of Caldwell's men. A combination of relief and regret flowed through him.

His eyes swept the almost clear room, and he gasped. Corynn was slumped on the floor, directly below the access panel to the control crystal. Her face was pale, her aqua eyes closed. She was still – far too still.

Overhead, the lights flickered back to life, and Rodney could hear the hum of the engines. The xenon gas, still escaping from the lines, abruptly cut off, and the remnants of the poisonous vapor were sucked out the now-open vents. She had replaced the control crystal, restoring power to the Daedelus. Rodney could feel the ship maneuver, and realized that Caldwell was in pursuit of Tristan. His radio crackled – John's voice? – but Rodney ignored it. Instead, he raced to the doors, pausing only a moment as a little voice reminded him the room had been filled with poison gas just a few short seconds ago. He shoved the voice down, and slammed his hand against the door access. He entered the decon room, waited an interminable amount of time for fresh air to blast over him, and then he was entering the control room.

"Corynn? Corynn!" He knelt down by the woman's side, his hands shaking as he peered at her face. Her eyes were tightly closed, her lips a pale blue. He gently pulled her towards him, then laid her down on the floor. Cold radiated from her body, and there was no sign of life.

Frantically, McKay keyed his radio. "I need help down here!" he roared. He vaguely heard Caldwell respond, his complete attention returning to Corynn. Ignoring his fear that she had poison gas in her lungs, he bent down, fitting his mouth over hers. He cringed at the icy feel of her lips. Gently, he blew his warm breath into her, watching her chest as it rose and fell. Over and over he did this, pausing occasionally to listen for a heartbeat, to place his fingers against her frozen neck to feel for a pulse.

Then, she gasped. He drew back as she exploded, coughing violently, her body shaking with the cold. Rodney sat her up, propping her against the console, watching in concern as her face turned from a pale blue to a bright red. She shuddered and gasped for air, the coughing slowing down by degrees. Finally, breathing hard, her voice little more than a rasp, she spoke.

"…worked?" Corynn reached up, rubbing at her blood-shot eyes, her gloved hands trembling.

Rodney nearly laughed with relief. His eyes left her face for an instant, his gaze wandering around the control room. All the indicator lights were lit and green, and the ship continued to hum beneath him. Behind him, a trauma team rushed into the room, armed with blankets and oxygen.

"Of course, it worked," he answered. She only gave him a whisper of a smile as the medical team moved in, covering her with a warm blanket. Rodney just stepped back, watching as they carefully lifted her on to a gurney. One of the medics fitted an oxygen mask over her pale face, and then rolled her out of the room. Wiping one hand across his face, the scientist moved to follow, his heart still pounding. As he rushed down the hallway, it suddenly occurred to him that he was alone.

Where were John and the others?

TBC