AMONG THE STARS - by NotTasha
PART 5: BABOON HEART
They followed Rix through the hallway, to find another doorway and another room. Both Teyla and Sheppard recognized the device in the center of the room, and they smiled. Oh, Sheppard thought, this is going to make a certain scientist very happy.
"Our power comes from here," Rix said, standing near the doorway. "Don't know how it works exactly, but this is the place." He gestured to the ZPM unit.
"Yeah, looks like you may be right," Sheppard returned. He cocked his head as he smelled the air that came from the room. It seemed fresher than the last room. Of course that meant nothing – this room must be kept ventilated due to the power unit. Or maybe, Rix or Zeno had been in this room sometime in the near past. Still, it was a difference from the last place they'd visited.
"You don't come here often?" Sheppard asked, just to see what the answer would be.
"Nah," Rix responded, tossing his curly hair. "Why would we? We got nothing to do here." He turned, almost pressing them from the room. "You want to see something pretty impressive?" he asked.
John looked to Teyla, and stated, "Who wouldn't?"
"Come on!" and Rix stepped clear of the room, waiting for the door to slide shut before he headed back toward the ladder.
John lingered with Teyla a moment, wishing he understood exactly what was going on with these people. He had the distinct impression that they'd best get the hell out of this place as soon as possible. Something was rotten in Denmark.
And for a moment, Sheppard pondered if Rix knew a similar phrase that was popular in the Pegasus Galaxy.
"Where are you?" Rix queried from somewhere ahead of them. "Teyla? John?" He came back toward them, smiling broadly when he caught sight of them in the curved hallway. He gestured, calling, "Let's go!"
So they went.
Soon, Rix had them back into the airlock. Teyla and Sheppard needed to descend the ladder, as Rix stayed at the top. Once they were all within the central core, he punched another control. The door to the hallway closed, and the ceiling opened. There were two layers of hatches that opened as one unit, revealing another segment of the central core with the ladder continuing.
"Up!" Rix declared and they climbed up. "You guys are going to love this."
They traveled through the airlock, closing the double-door behind them before the next set could be opened. And then went through another. When they completed the third segment above the control level Rix paused and looked down on them, grinning. "You ready?" he asked, and without waiting for a response, he opened the panel above, revealing a great black speckled slate instead of yet another white tube.
He chuckled as he climbed up and out, and waited for them. Sheppard stopped and look around in amazement once his head was clear of the airlocks. "Wow," was all he could get out as he quickly scrambled out.
He offered a hand as Teyla made it to the top of the ladder and they were soon standing on a platform, under a great dome, surrounded by stars.
Neither said anything at first, staring in quiet wonder at the velvety blackness that surrounded them. On one side, the cloudlike supernova highlighted the 'sky'. In the other direction, the ringed planet ornamented the black. The planet and its moons looked different from this angle, dimmer, more mysterious. The sun was behind them, making the edges of its black moons glow in eclipse.
And all around them, so many stars it seemed impossible to count them.
Sheppard had been among the stars before. They'd seen several spacegates in their travels. He'd been in space. It was always cool… but as he stood, with stars all around, with the strange beauty of the supernova on one side, and the simple elegance of the gas giant on the other, a sense of awe filled him.
Teyla stood beside him. They didn't look at each other – their attention reserved for the spectacle. This stage to the stars took his breath away. He wanted to stand and stare, he wanted to turn slowly, to see everything, to be silent, to be filled with the incredible sight.
"This is the observation deck," Rix's voice cut through the quiet, and he moved about quickly in the domed space. "But I bet you've seen stuff like this all the time." He came to stand beside the control panel in the center of the room, watching them and smiling as if he thought their reactions were rather amusing.
"No, haven't seen anything like this," Sheppard admitted. "Not quite."
"No? Wow… really?" Rix was perplexed. "I kinda thought you'd seen everything."
"No," Teyla said softly. "This is very new."
"Yeah?" Rix continued. "I've been here a few times, but it gets a bit boring after a while. I mean, how many times can you see big squishy thing? It never changes." He gestured to the supernova, shrugging. "I thought you'd like to see it though."
"Yeah, thanks," Sheppard said, craning his head to look straight up. He felt giddy and a little lightheaded, understanding how McKay could find such interest in the stars.
John figured he could stay here and stare for hours, for days.
"Okay," Rix said and he went back to the ladder and began descending.
John and Teyla lingered for a moment longer, their eyes scanning the great dome over their heads, the stars that filled every inch of the 'sky'.
"Come on!" Rix called. "I want to show you the rest of the place."
"We're going to want to check on the others before we see anything else," Sheppard stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. He touched his radio, and frowned at the static. He glanced to Rix.
"Oh, I know!" he explained. "Only the most basic transmissions work. I mean, we can set off an alarm if necessary, but that's all. I think it has something to do with the whole life-sign blocker thing."
"We need to check in… now," Sheppard said, his voice low.
"That's fine," Rix responded from below, his voice sounding hollow in tube. "We'll go back to the others, and then I'll show you the living quarters and the rest."
"Fine," Sheppard returned and started down the ladder with Teyla following.
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"So?" McKay asked from his crouched position beside one of the Ironspot's tumor-like additions. "Find out anything?"
"Radios don't work."
"Yeah, we figured that out already," McKay replied.
"Nice."
"Ronon tried to call to make a report on our progress. Couldn't reach you."
"That's good to know."
"What did you find that was useful?"
"Looks like they got a ZPM," Sheppard said calmly, coming to stand just outside the ship, alongside Ronon.
McKay's reaction was as Sheppard expected – Rodney jumped to his feet, looking ready to burst his buttons. "Excellent!" He wiped his hands on his shirt, surprised to find grease. He frowned at the stain, but was too excited by the prospect that Sheppard had related. "Working? A working ZPM?"
"It does appear to be working," Teyla told him. "And we have been shown the control room, and the observation deck as well."
McKay waved a hand, as if to dismiss the last detail. "A control room -- perfect!" he asked, bouncing a little and grabbing his laptop as he made his way to the exit of the jumper-hybrid. "Does it look like I can access the database from the control room?
"How should I know, McKay?" Sheppard responded.
Rodney closed his eyes for a moment, his features seeming to say, 'I work with imbeciles.' "Fine!" Rodney bit back. "Can you at least tell me what happened when you entered the room? I mean, did anything light up or beep when you got close to it?"
"The place lit up like a Christmas tree," Sheppard explained. "Should be ready and waiting for you."
McKay smiled, and started to make his way off the ship.
"Wait," Zeno ordered, as he straightened, holding up a hand as if he meant to restrain the scientist from leaving the vehicle. He stopped short of actually touching the man – not letting on whether it was his own design, or a reaction to the protective stance of the Satedan. "Ship's not fixed yet. You're supposed to fix it."
Letting out a disgusted sound, McKay told him, "And I won't be able to with the materials on hand. I need a new control crystal, and I'm betting that my best chance of finding a replacement for it will be in the control room. So, if you'd excuse me…?" He picked up his pack and gave Zeno a scathing look.
Zeno stepped back far enough to let Rodney pass, but his expressions remained dark and unpleasant, and McKay had to brush past him to get out of the ship. Before Zeno could follow, Ronon pressed in behind McKay, narrowing his gaze at the man and allowing Rodney enough room to get down the ramp and join the others.
Zeno made a sound like a mountain gorilla and let them pass.
Sheppard watched the exchange carefully, and then voiced a congenial "Hey!" He smiled. "I'm going to need a minute to discuss things with my team, if you don't mind," he looked to Zeno and Rix, letting them know that this really wasn't a request.
"Yeah, we'll…" Rix paused, contemplating. He turned toward the exit and said, "We'll just get out of your way for a minute and…"
"Don't worry about it. We'll head to the jumper. You can cool your jets here," Sheppard told Mills with a grin.
"Great!" Mills returned. "Hey, we can have supper when you return. We'll get the dining hall set up if you'd…You said you had food?"
"Yeah, sure…" Sheppard told him. "We'll provide the feast. It's the least we can do, all things considered."
And for the first time Zeno seemed to smile – if only a little.
With a nod, Sheppard added, "Be back in a minute." And he turned, quickly stepping through the doorway and into the hall. He was a little surprised that his teammates followed without a complaint.
Nobody spoke as they made their way back into the jumper. They filed in through the dock and met in the forward compartment – leaving the rear hatch open, not just as a sign of trust, but also as a means of keeping tabs on the men within the facility.
McKay grumbled as he looked down on his Life Sign Detector, still picking up nothing. "There's something going with them," he muttered.
"Yeah," Ronon agreed.
"And I don't just mean that they're getting ready for dinner," McKay continued.
"They are not to be trusted," Teyla informed.
"They're hiding something," Sheppard added. "Why the hell are they here? I'm getting the distinct impression that they're not here by accident."
"They're lying about the ship," Rodney told them.
"What? It's not broken?" Sheppard asked.
"Well, yes, it's broken. But their explanation for what happened is completely wrong. That ship, in that state, could never function."
"Hardly looks like it could get off the ground," Sheppard told him.
"Yeah, it's a deathtrap," McKay continued. "But it's a dead deathtrap. It has no control crystal."
"Yeah? And?"
"No control crystal means that it's not going anywhere."
"The crystal broke," Sheppard concluded.
"It's gone," McKay said, folding his hands over his chest. "There's an empty space where it should be."
"Perhaps they removed it in an attempt to repair it," Teyla tried.
"Zeno says t hey never touched it," Ronon put in.
"And I rather doubt that the squirrelly guy knows anything about how the ship works," McKay told them. "Without the control crystal, the thing just won't go."
"It's a hybrid," Sheppard mentioned. "They probably figured a way to get around it."
With an exasperated sigh, McKay stated, "It's like the heart of the ship, Colonel. Can a human being survive without a heart?"
"Well, yeah," Sheppard answered. "Don't people get mechanical devices these days… and baboon hearts?"
McKay closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose for a moment. "Okay, right, people can live with replacement hearts -- transplants, Jarvik-7 and baboon hearts. Yeah, I get what you're saying. They're still hearts of some kind, but fine! Whatever! So, let's say that the control crystal is the brain of the ship, because I'm pretty sure that humans can't survive without a brain, although I have questioned this at times." And he gave Sheppard a narrow look. "But the control crystal is not really like a brain, it's really more like a heart, but you ruined that analogy."
"So sorry," Sheppard said without remorse.
"Well, just believe me when I say a jumper or jumper-hybrid won't fly without the control crystal – and the Ironspot doesn't have one," McKay tried to summarize. "What that means is, someone removed it from the ship after it arrived here."
"They purposefully disabled the ship?" Ronon asked.
"Someone did," McKay said with a sigh. "I kinda doubt it was Rix or Zeno."
"Someone else?" Sheppard responded.
"Why would they want to trap themselves on this station with nothing but tava meal and recycled pee?" McKay inquired rhetorically, and was rather glad that Ronon didn't try to answer the question. "I'm betting someone took the crystal, and left them here with a ship that won't work."
"Do you believe that they are prisoners?" Teyla asked.
"Yeah… kinda…" and McKay paused, trying to rationalize the facts. "But this place wasn't set up to be a prison. They're not supposed to be here. I think someone stranded them here."
"So," Sheppard said and nodded. "That'd explain why they were so interested in who could fly the jumper. They can't, so they won't be able to steal our ship."
"Unless they kidnap one of us!" McKay responded sharply. He touched his chest, saying, "And I'd be the most likely candidate for that! Because they'd want me around to fix things. Do you think they're going to try to kidnap me?" He looked frantically from one of his friends to the next. "I really don't want to be jumperjacked."
"It's not going to happen, McKay," Sheppard assured in a low voice, then he frowned as he looked about in the jumper. "Does Jumper 5 have a control crystal?"
"Of course it does," McKay responded. "Didn't you hear my 'heart' analogy?"
"Would it be in the same place as the one on their ship?" Sheppard went on.
"Yes, yes, yes," McKay sounded exasperated. "Their ship is built on a jumper's base. They just added stuff. The basic operating system is the same."
"So, if they were able to gain entrance to this ship, would they be able to remove our control crystal and use it for their ship?" Sheppard pressed.
McKay gave him a smug expression. "I doubt they could manage it," he returned. "Frankly, Zeno seemed more concerned about butting heads with Ronon here. I doubt he paid any attention to what I was doing."
"He's right," Ronon confirmed, trying not to pay attention to the pleased look McKay displayed at this news.
"And Mr. Obvious didn't give away where the missing crystal was?" Sheppard asked the Satedan.
McKay grumbled unhappily, and Ronon responded, "Nope. He was complaining the whole time he was in that ship. Doubt anyone could figure out where the worst problem was."
"Good," Sheppard responded quietly. "At least we got that on our side. They're not going to take our ship."
"Why are they not content with the idea of being relocated?" Teyla asked quietly. When Ronon and McKay looked at her curiously, she restated, "We asked if they might want a ride to a planet where they could continue with their lives."
"And Rix refused…" Sheppard finished. "Seems that all they're interested in is getting the Ironspot fixed. He seemed pretty concerned about the database, too, and what might have been recorded there."
"The database!" McKay exclaimed, pulling his laptop from his pack. "I got to get this set up and start the download." He tapped excitedly at the sides of the laptop, his eyes gleaming.
Ronon didn't look happy. "We should leave this place," he proclaimed.
Sheppard let out a breath, looking discontent. "What about the ZPM?" he asked.
Ronon shrugged. "Do we really want to deal with these people?" he asked. "We're just asking for trouble."
"Yes," Teyla responded. "But gaining a ZPM is well worth the effort."
When Ronon looked unsure, McKay replied with, "The ZPM could mean the difference between life and death for us the next time the Wraith show up. Let me get the download started. The information that they've gathered is … well it has to be incredible. Then, we grab the ZPM and all of us go." He looked at the others, seeing their reluctant expressions. "I mean, whatever these guys are up to, all they seem to want is to have their ship fixed, right?"
Sheppard contemplated it a moment, not liking anything about this situation, but McKay was right about the ZPM. Even a partially depleted power source might be the nudge they needed to keep the shields active in a bombardment. "We're not leaving the ZPM behind," Sheppard declared.
"And the database," McKay added quickly. "We're not leaving without all the data they've collected on the supernova."
"If push comes to shove, McKay…"
Rodney made a face, looking like a child about to throw a tantrum. "You have no idea of the value of this information! Consider the importance of the find! If I were able to download even a fraction of the…" He paused, trying to draw his thoughts together into something the 'common person' could understand. "It's important data because when a star in our part of the galaxy starts acting wonky, it sure would be nice to know if it's about to blow us to pieces. If we have this sort of knowledge, it'd go a long way in predicting this sort of thing."
"Fine! Do the download," Sheppard grumbled.
McKay smiled, and probably would have bounced around a bit in his glee if he wasn't in the confines of the jumper.
Sheppard asked, "You can fix their ship?"
"Sure, sure, sure," McKay answered. "I can borrow a couple crystals from the control room and cobble something together. Find something that'll work as a replacement – a 'baboon heart' sort of thing."
"How long will the download take?"
"An hour – two tops."
"And the repair?"
"About the same."
"Then how long to get the ZPM?"
McKay blew out an annoyed breath. "Well, the ZPM unit should have a power buffer. I just have to make sure that the buffer is charged. It should give the station a few hours of juice, more than enough to get back to the jumper and launch it with full life support."
"And if there is no buffer?"
"We have spacesuit," McKay responded, jamming a thumb toward the suit's cabinet. "Someone will just have to go in with the environmental suit, and then maybe have to deal with the loss of gravity and… the airlocks might not function… and that sort of nonsense, because whoever does it…"
"And that would be you," Sheppard told him.
"Yeah, me… big surprise there! Fine, I'll be the one who shuts down the station and grabs the ZPM after the Ironspot has launched. You know, it's a good thing we docked here because it'll be easier to detach from the dock than it would be to leave the pod, considering the possibility of having no power."
"Thank goodness for small favors."
"So, before we go too far down that road… if I could check the ZPM," McKay stated, sounding a little condescending. He jammed the laptop under his arm and popped one hand against his fist.
"Right, go," Sheppard said with a nod. "Ronon, stay with him. I'm sure one of our hosts will be more than pleased to escort you."
Ronon made a grumbling sound, but nodded.
"Fine, glad we got that settled. Now, supper." Sheppard opened a panel to check through their supplies. He thumbed through the MREs, pulling out six packets and then grabbing a few bags of water. These collected, he jammed them into a pouch. He slung the supplies over his shoulder.
As he started to shut the storage cabinet, he caught sight of the football, still under one of the forward seats. He stepped toward the cockpit, grabbed the ball, and shoved it into the bag with the rest, thinking he could use it to harass McKay during dinner.
Rodney groaned, "Is that really necessary."
"Hey, it might come in handy," Sheppard said with a wink. He stood, nodded to the others, and they left the jumper again – this time, locking the hatch behind them.
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Ronon watched McKay, wishing he'd hurry as he messed about with wiring his laptop into the space station's main control panel. McKay would tap a few keys, pause, get a contemplative look, tap a little more, and watch the images that played across the screen. He'd frown, tap again, look annoyed, tap and then slowly smile. He seemed to be satisfied with the outcome – in fact he turned to the Satedan and grinned smugly manner.
"Download has started," McKay proclaimed. "I should be able to process the entire database."
"Good," Ronon responded. "Sooner you get that done, the better."
McKay informed him, "I know you don't care about this sort of thing, but the knowledge contained in this database must be incredible. We've only been able to conjecture about what happens in a supernova. This is our first chance to find out everything – minute by minute – year by year – millennia by millennia."
"Fine," Ronon replied. "You got it hooked up, so let's get moving."
"Wait, wait," McKay responded as Ronon turned toward the door. "I have to see if I can find the crystals I need to fix the Inkspot."
"Ironspot," Zeno corrected from his position near the doorway, then asked "Crystals?" His voice was suspicious as he watched the proceedings.
"Yes, crystals," McKay said, a little pissily. "You're missing a necessary organ on your ship and I'm about to make a transplant."
Zeno looked a little lost as he asked, "And you think we've had the right part here all along?"
"Well, not exactly. I mean, you're missing a specialized crystal, but I should be able to find something here that'd work in a pinch," Rodney told him, squatting down and ran his fingers along a panel for a few seconds. He dug in his fingernails and managed to find some sort of release that Ronon hadn't spotted. After a second, he pulled the piece loose.
Ronon smiled as he watched for Zeno's reaction. Zeno was surprised as McKay revealed the hidden components of the control panel.
The scientist set the panel aside and started to look about inside the space, half crawling into it to get at what he wanted. McKay started making happy little sounds as he worked, plugging his tablet computer into the crystals – pulling one piece out from time to time – putting some back and shoving others into his pack.
The Satedan kept himself positioned between McKay and Zeno, who'd insisted on showing them the room, while Sheppard and Teyla descended to the living quarters on the station with Rix.
He didn't like this – he didn't like that they were still at the space station. This was a bad idea. He saw no reason to help these people. They should grab the ZPM and go.
There was no reason to help Rix and Zeno.
In another lifetime, back when he was a runner, he would have shot these two men on sight, and then he would have been free to do whatever he wished, alone, in this complex. It would have been easier. Another lifetime… alone.
"Okay, got it!" McKay announced, standing and jamming another crystal into his pack. I think I got what we need to fix the Ironspot."
"Get back to the ship then," Zeno told him, "and fix it."
"Yeah, yeah," McKay responded. "But first we should check the ZPM."
"No," Zeno proclaimed. "You fix the ship."
"I don't think so," Ronon put in before McKay could open his mouth. He rested his hand near his weapon as he said, "We check the ZPM, like the man says."
McKay looked between the two and scoffed, "Come on. You're like a couple of gorillas fighting for who gets to be the silverback. Look, I got to check the ZPM's buffer. If it needs charging, then I set it up. That way, while the download continues and I fix the problem with the Ironspot, the ZPM can also be charging the power buffer that'll allow us all to leave safely. See?"
He glanced to the other two, discovering that neither was really listening to him. With a sigh, he added, "I think we're planning on eating some dinner before we got too far, so let's do this check and take a break." He settled a hand on his stomach. "I could eat," he declared.
Zeno stood stiffly, oozing discontent.
Tired of it, McKay snapped his fingers and ordered, "Let's get moving! The ZPM room!"
Ronon held a smile as Zeno left the room and shuffled forward, leading them around the curved passageway to the room that held the ZPM. The Satedan kept a careful watch, even as Rodney nearly skipped on the journey.
When the door opened, McKay's eyes lit up and he stood for a moment in the doorway – just staring within. Zeno, on the other hand, held back. Ronon regarded him with sloe eyes, curious at the man's reaction. Zeno didn't want them in this room, he decided. That fact made Ronon all the more willing to enter it.
Rodney nearly pounced on the ZPM module. "It is!" he exclaimed. "It's a working ZPM!" Ronon wasn't sure, but McKay might have giggled. "Amazing! If only a lagniappe such as this would drop into my lap at every one of our missions."
Ronon smiled slightly at Zeno's annoyed and confused expression.
As McKay frittered around the controls, muttering and mumbling, spouting off stuff that Ronon was probably supposed to retain. The Satedan surveyed the room, wondering at Zeno's reluctance.
The big man's gaze glanced toward one wall, and Ronon regarded it surreptitiously. Several boxes had been piled in front of the panels, but the parcels had a staged quality to them – as if they'd been purposefully settled there.
He diverted his gaze before Zeno might catch on, and he waited as McKay finished his work.
--
TBC -..just ignore those boxes. They don't mean anything.