McKay looked about as red as Ian had ever seen a man turn, and he worried for a second that the guy was going to have a stroke or a heart attack or something. Then McKay blew up at him.
"Are you out of your mind! I mean, really? Did they give you any kind of psych tests before they let you put on that uniform? Because that's not the talk of a normal person!"
"Doctor, I'm-"
"No! I'm serious!" McKay interrupted, his face turning even redder. "You've got to be crazy! First, you think you're going to be able to just fly this thing into the hangar of Anubis' Ha'tak, land, and go find him and kill him." There was the briefest hesitation as McKay took a breath, and then he launched back into full voice. "And then… assuming you survive all that, you're going to blow up your only way out! Do I have that right, Lieutenant? That's the idea of someone with a death wish! Not someone sane!"
Ian scowled.
"I'm not crazy, doctor. And I don't plan on blowing up this ship until we have another way off."
"Until you have another way off," McKay snapped.
"Fine. Until I have another way off."
"And you're assuming that the explosion would destroy the Ha'tak. Which it probably won't. The Goa'uld motherships are designed to withstand explosions from the hangars – in case one of their own death gliders malfunction and blow up."
"The death gliders aren't attached to an overloading ZPM, McKay," Ian told him. "The force of the explosion of a ZPM – even one that's almost drained like this one – is considerable, and there's no way it won't do the job. It wouldn't be as effective if it were on the other side of the shields, but from the inside out, it'll blow the shit out of anything Anubis has."
McKay hesitated. He hadn't considered the ZedPM. He'd just assumed Ian had brought it because it was a power source and the SGC was always looking for new power sources.
"Fine. It might blow up the ship. How do you expect to get off, then?"
"There's a ring transporter on the Ha'tak," Ian told him. "I can probably use that."
"Maybe. If you don't mistime the explosion and blow yourself up – which would of course leave me stranded God only knows where without any hope of someone coming for me."
"I'm sorry about that," Ian told him, meaning it. "But I didn't ask for you to-"
"Which doesn't make it okay to involve me in your suicidal plot!" McKay told him. "What were you going to do to SG-4, huh? Leave them, too?"
Ian shook his head.
"They were going to be my cover…"
"What?"
"Unlike you, McKay, they would have gone along – and would have been helpful. They would have guarded this ship until I made it back and then we would have-"
"You're not going to make it back!" McKay snapped. "Anubis is going to kill you if you try to take him on. Are you so stupid that you can't figure that out?"
Ian shook his head.
"He won't."
"He's using Ancient technology!"
"No, he's not. He's using technology that he probably managed to make by observing Ancient technology. There's no way he could be using Ancient technology. It won't work for Goa'uld – no matter how powerful they seem."
"Maybe he's the exception. Did you ever think of that?"
Ian shook his head. Unlike McKay, he was fairly calm and cool. Mainly because what he was about to do scared the shit out of him and he was too busy thinking about that to be pissed at McKay for calling him crazy and stupid.
"He's not."
"You're willing to risk your life on that?"
"Yes."
McKay made an exasperated noise.
"You should have left me in Atlantis…"
"I would have," Ian told him honestly. "But you'd never have managed to make it back – and wouldn't have survived on your own until someone returned for you."
"As opposed to now?" McKay asked him sarcastically. "When I have such wonderful options as the two you're giving me?"
"You have a chance this way."
"A snowball's chance in hell…"
"Which is better than none." Ian shrugged, and suddenly had a new idea. One he hadn't actually considered. "You might even be useful…"
"Oh yeah? How?"
"It depends. What do you know about Goa'uld technology?"
McKay frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what do you know about Goa'uld technology? As much as Sam?"
"More."
"Then you could probably figure out a vulnerable spot in the mothership to rig the ZPM to…"
"What?"
"Instead of blowing the gateship, we blow the mothership directly – but then we fly the hell out before it goes up. I live. You live. We go home."
"In this?"
"Yup. Which would be helpful, since Jack's weapon probably won't shoot down an Ancient ship like it will everything else. What do you think?"
McKay stared at him.
"I still think you're crazy."
"Can you do it or not?"
"Maybe."
"Yes or no?"
"I said maybe," McKay snapped. "Let me see that ZedPM again…"
Maybe…
OOOOOOOOOO
"This is ridiculous! We cannot be sitting around here waiting for that lunatic to make the first move to eradicate us!"
Hammond sighed, but it was silent and he was careful not to allow anyone to see his frustration. He'd known that eventually the diplomats would tire of waiting – and had assumed it would be sooner rather than later.
"We have to give the others time," he said – to the entire room and not just the outspoken VIP. "We knew they'd take a while to get back, but I'm sure they're on their way and coming as quickly as they can."
"So in the mean time we just wait?"
It was sarcastic and annoyed at the same time, but Hammond knew better than to react to either.
"Yes, Sir. That's what we have to do."
"And if they failed and aren't coming?" The British Prime Minister asked.
"They're coming," Shawn said, speaking up from the corner he and Andrew had been sitting in before he could stop himself. Out of everyone in the room, he was the most worried and frustrated.
Several of the diplomats frowned, obviously uncertain why Hammond even allowed the boys to be in the room, but Shawn didn't care about their looks. He'd long since taken that page out of Ian's book and didn't really let anyone bother him like he used to.
"Cadet Adams is right," Hammond said into the silence. "SG-1 is on the way. They've never let us down before, and I'm certain they're not going to this time, either."