Takes place after The Seige III.
STUNNED
"Colonel, Rodney, respond please!" Weir turned from the communications console and exchanged a worried look with Beckett.
A second later there was a hiss of static and gasps as whomever was on the other end of the transmission obviously tried to catch his breath to respond. In the end, he didn't and the radio went dead again.
"I'll put a hazmat crew together," Beckett said, running from the control room. Within minutes he and two members of his medical staff were making their way towards Rodney and Sheppard's last known position. The two men had been exploring the west pier when they had apparently run into some sort of trouble.
As Beckett rounded the corner, he could see the two men slumped on the floor. Rodney was gasping for air. The colonel wasn't doing much better and was leaning against the wall, his eyes glazed and unseeing.
One of the medics began setting up oxygen as Beckett knelt down beside Sheppard. Tapping the man gently on the cheek he asked, "Colonel?"
With effort, Sheppard focused on the Scott's face, half hidden, as it was, by the orange suit the physician was wearing. "It's…I just…" He waved vaguely at the nearby door. "the room…I can't…" he trailed off, obviously losing his grasp on the here and now.
Beckett glanced at the closed door of the room Sheppard had indicated as he checked the Colonel's pulse, worriedly. It was fast but strong beneath his fingertips, and he could feel the Colonel's shaking. "He seems to be in shock," he said to his staff. Noticing that Sheppard's eyes were tearing, he began automatically making a mental list of the various poison gases and other substances that were known to cause eye irritation. "This could very well be airborne." He turned so he could see the medical tech through his face shield. "How is Rodney? Why don't you have the oxygen set up yet?"
"He's um…"
"He's what, man? Spit it out."
"He's hyperventilating, Sir."
Beckett jerked his head back in surprise. "He's what?"
"Hyperventilating."
"Well, give him a bloody paper bag then!" snapped Beckett.
Rodney snatched the brown bag out of the tech's hand and held it to his face with both hands as if his life depended on it.
With a quick glance at Sheppard to make sure the man was in no immediate danger, Carson looked at the door curiously. Checking to make sure his suit was functioning at a hundred percent, he walked over and palmed the door open. He stood there, staring, until the door finally snapped shut in front of his face. As he turned to face the group in the corridor, his knees gave out and he slowly slid down the wall.
"Sir? Sir? Are you okay?" ask the medic who had taken over the monitoring of Sheppard's vitals.
Beckett just shook his head from side to side, dazed.
The medic gave a quick glance at Sheppard before getting up and crossing over to his boss. "Doctor Beckett?" he asked, peering through the suit's face shield. There was no response.
"What the hell?" asked the tech who was still attending to Rodney.
The medic shook his head and stood up. Taking a determined breath he reached for the door control.
"No, wait, are you crazy?" said the tech. But it was too late. The door slid open and the medic looked in. "Well, what do you see?" he asked impatiently after a few seconds had passed.
"Octopi."
"What…as in octopus? Are they in some sort of tank or something?"
"No. They're stacked up in rows. There must be hundreds of the things," said the medic.
"Thousands," wheezed Sheppard, still staring distractedly into space.
The medic shrugged, confused by everyone's response. "They're not alive. They look, I dunno, like they're rubber, or maybe plastic." He looked down at Beckett who was mumbling. "What's that, Sir?"
"I don't bloody believe it," Beckett repeated a little louder.
"Drones," wheezed Rodney, now that he had his breathing better under control. "They're drones."
"There were here. Right here. Under our nose. The whole time," said Sheppard. Tears coursed down his cheeks as he shook from a combination of mirth, disbelief, and amazement.
END