Attack of the Atlantean Gizmos

A/N: Sorry, it's been a while to update. Schools kept me on my toes but fear not! I'm back and with a killer plot idea. Mwa ha ha ha. …Oh and review… please?

Part 6-Complications.

(McKay's POV)

"Okay… okay. This is bad. Very bad." I stared in disbelief at the gadgets lying scattered across the tables. God… how many people did I have working on those? About a dozen? Oh we are so screwed. I hadn't even been able to work out how the first damn device worked! There are at least seven different gizmos of evil circuitry… that was what? Eight variations of doom? I was well aware I was beginning to hyperventilate but I sure as hell had a reason to. Radek's expression was still fixed in shock but he very quickly composed himself.

"Rodney… The last thing we need to add to amounting problems is panicking." I wasn't listening. Hello! These devices didn't operate like usual ancient technology; it could take weeks to figure out how the mechanisms worked. Not to mention the fact that every time someone tried to activate the first device it went berserk!

"RODNEY!" The Czech scientist hollered gripping me by the shoulders.

"I can't fix this…" I admitted. The circumstances were growing increasingly worse, not to mention we were no closer to fixing this mess than when we first started.

"Maybe that is true if you keep panicking like this. You're not doing yourself any favours." He reasoned sternly. Oh? And what was the alternative… go out and eat lunch and forget the entire thing happened?

"I've said this before but it bears repeating I just react to doom a certain way okay? I'm not some cool headed military leader like Caldwell or Sheppard!"

"Rodney…" There was that damn empathic tone again. "We'll fix this... like we have managed to fix things in past experiences. We just need to focus on dealing with the now." As much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point.

"…Yeah fine. It doesn't mean we're any less doomed though." I resigned grudgingly. Zelenka gave me a faint grin as he made his way to one of the gadgets. I looked the fiendish things over a few times, before deciding I really had to plug on with the work.

I wonder how Carson is doing with convincing Elizabeth to let us go back to the planet…

(Sheppard's POV)

I really need to take days off more often… or get the men to play paintball in an exercise to test team work… or something like that. Shooting McKay was just the kind of relaxation he needed, so what I threw Carson in for fun… he really needs to find cures to things without the use of needles. That'd be a real medical breakthrough! Nah, joking aside he hoped they weren't too mad at him. I winced at the thought… payback was going to be hell.

Ah well I had a good run. Now how did he say this thing was to pack up again? Taking the gun apart piece by piece wasn't as easy as he had at first thought. I got it finished in a few minutes and took a break and leant casually over the railing and watched the people below. Everyone was always in such a hurry and on a normal day that would be him. Hey! There was McKay again… I'd have thought he'd have gotten the message that outside the labs was fair game.

…Uh oh. He is heading to Weir's office… I'm gonna get reprimanded for this. I swear if I wasn't allowed to shoot people with a paintball gun then stargate command wouldn't have let one be sent here as a personal item. Ah well time for plan B. Sheppard's face broke out into one of his trade mark sneaky grins as he pulled out a radio from his pocket.

"Hey, you there?" I queried into my radio. The only noise I got was a constant crackling until I heard a thud.

"Sure am sir. What do you need?" He sounded pretty groggy… Heh. I bet that thud was him falling out of bed. I did tell him to remain on standby.

"Could you take a trip down to the labs and start with plan 'Cool down'?"

"McKay that angry at you sir?"

"I saw him heading down to Weir's office." Laughing could be heard from the other side of the connection.

"You're toast sir."

"Not as toasted as you're gonna be if she finds out the guns yours." There was nothing but silence on the other end for a moment.

"…The only way she'd find out if you told her Colonel."

"…What did I tell you about not using names over this frequency Major?"

"…Uh sir. Doesn't really matter. If they were to trace this frequency they'd recognise our voices anyways."

"Yeah well I didn't want to confirm it." More silence.

"…Oops."

"…Just get down there."

"Right sir."

(Dr Beckett's POV)

Aye, changing clothes when you were in the body of Dr Rodney McKay wasn't for the faint hearted that was for sure then again there was no way he'd have braved taking a shower. Then again I'd not of risked turning up to Dr Weir's office covered in paint trying to make a serious request which I can barely remember anymore. Yeah I am bloody screwed but I need to do it for Rodney and Radek's sakes… and the fact I want my own damn body back if that wasn't too much to ask. But knowing the Pegasus galaxy it probably was too much to ask. Now, getting to Weir's office would be the hard part. I wonder if the trigger happy Colonel is still out there… ah well at least he must have ran out of pink paint.

Huh. Odd. No sign of Sheppard for the entire journey. It'll make the talk with Elizabeth go more smoothly. I paused in front of the door for a moment. All I needed to say was that they needed to go back to the planet to solve the gizmos. Though right about this moment I feel ill enough to go right back and just lie in bed. My head is punding so much. Right that does it, I'm going in. I forced myself to walk up to Elizabeth's desk where she was busy typing up something, probably reports, on her laptop.

"Um… Elizabeth?" I said hesitantly. Yeah, I can tell I'm gonna make a huge fool of myself right about now. She immediately looked up from her laptop and took a swig of her coffee before smiling pleasantly.

"Hello Rodney, how are those gadgets coming along? I assume that's what you're here to talk about, right?" Oh, right she's talking to me. I'm not used to this whole being another person thing.

"Eh, not so good…." She looked puzzled for a moment before resting her elbows on the desk.

"Why's that?"

"They just aren't working." I blandly stated. Why wasn't this damn headache going away…

"I thought you said you'd be able to power them up in the labs."

"You'd think so but…" I stalled. It was beginning to get harder and harder to think while this drumming beat intensified in my head.

"But let me guess, you can't interface the equipment to the gadgets because of their unique design. I saw one earlier, it didn't look like standard ancient technology."

"…Exactly. That's why we need to go back to the planet-"

"Wait a second. You're saying you need to go back there? The wraith might still be in the area! It's too risky." Ah, I knew this wasn't going to go easily.

"But Elizabeth, we absolutely need to go. The key to solving these gadgets is there in the database I'm sure of it." She looked sceptical for a moment. Please say yes, please say yes… please get me some painkillers.

"Do you think it's worth sending a team back there to find out what these gadgets do? I know you have a tendency to get caught up in your work but… if you're certain."

"Yeah I am." I said weakly, I had to close my eyes for a moment as the room began to spin. Maybe I could take a quick trip to the infirmary before reporting back to McKay and Zelenka.

"Rodney!" Elizabeth called as she rushed from her desk. I opened my eyes wearily to find worry etched on her face, she's probably have been calling for a few moments. It's hard to focus on anything about now. "…Maybe we should get you to the infirmary." I was actually thinking that myself… wait! If I go to the infirmary she'll cancel going to the planet. For all I know these symptoms could have been caused by the body switching.

"No." I managed to croak out. "I'm …fine. Just haven't had much to eat." I lied. The look on her face showed she clearly didn't believe me. I clenched my eyes shut again and grabbed a hold of the desk to steady myself while I heard a hissing at the back of my hearing causing the ache to become more painful.

"Carson." I heard her voice faintly at the edge of my hearing as the edges of my vision turned black and I slumped to meet the floor.

(Dr Weir's POV)

"RODNEY!" I called again but to no avail, he was out cold. Carson wasn't responding from his headset which means I could only assume he was busy or something was going wrong somewhere else. My intuition was telling me the latter. "This is Dr Weir, could I get a medical team from the infirmary to come to my office immediately." Rodney lay on the ground unconscious but his body seemed to be twitching. It was almost as if he was having a small fit.

"Dr Weir come in." It was Major Lorne. Now there was no doubt there was something definitely up. Cursing could be heard faintly through the headset.

"I'm here but I have a problem. Dr McKay just dropped out cold in my office and I can't contact Carson. What's wrong?"

"That's the thing Ma'am. Dr Beckett is right here with me and Dr Zelenka, he just suddenly took ill and passed out a few moments ago. I called for a medical team." She could distinctly hear foreign mutterings in the background.

"Do you think it's a virus affecting them?"

"Dr Zelenka assures me that it isn't the case." Now that's odd… why would Radek know. Something definitely is wrong.

"Dr Weir." The Czech's voice came over the headset. "It's hard to explain. Once Carson and Rodney make it to the infirmary I'll tell you."

"Understood." I glanced back at Rodney to find him shaking more than before. The whole situation was frightening to experience and I found myself by Rodney's side praying he was okay. I can only hope Carson wasn't going through the same thing and that the medical team would hurry.