AMONG THE STARS - by NotTasha
Thank you again for your lovely reviews. And to those who asked, yes, I am evil to the core.
PART 11: RUN!
Teyla ran to the power room, trying not to look at the trail of blood that led her. She found the place where Rodney had been shot – the floor just inside the room showed the evidence. She fixed the crystal that Rodney had removed, and entered the room.
It only took a moment for her to release the ZPM from its containment after she verified that the buffer had been fully charged -- buying them enough time, she hoped, to get them all out safely. She knew they'd be leaving this place the moment they put their hands on Rodney. Now, it was just a matter of managing that.
She'd paid attention when Rodney was around these devices, just as she'd watched whenever he fiddled with the crystals near doorways. She would not have been able to figure out which crystal needed to be removed in order to lock a door – but she could suss out where to replace a removed crystal.
Once the ZPM lifted from the system, she pulled it carefully from its mooring, holding it and wondering if she should be able to feel the power that flowed in it. It felt like nothing special to her. Still, aware of its force, she placed it into her pack, and lifted it over her arm. She paused momentarily to peer into the 'treasure room.'
It was much like the room they'd discovered on PX1-H0H, that watery wet world of moss and trees, that planet where Rodney had been left behind. The memory of that moment put her into action and she turned her back on the riches and ran from the room.
She darted back to the central core and rapped on the shut door. After a pause, it opened. Rix motioned for her to get in quickly.
Wortley's voice was evident, but muffled by the double airlocks between them. Teyla had to struggle to hear. "Get me out of here!"
"I'm working on it! I am!"
Teyla moved to the ladder, carefully handing the ZPM to Ronon.
"That shit! He did this to me!" the woman screamed.
"I'll getcha out, Wortley," Rix promised. "Just hang on a minute."
Ronon looked reluctant to move from his place, guarding Rix, but when Teyla drew her weapon on the pirate, he relinquished the responsibility, and accepted the package containing the ZPM and climbing down to the 'floor'.
"He should be dead! I had a clean shot at him." There was a thump. "He locked me up in my own home! I'll suffocate in here!"
Once Teyla was clear of the hallway door, Rix shut it, and recommenced trying to undo Rodney's work with the airlock. "He was only trying to save himself," Rix reminded.
"You! You're on their side?" Wortley accused.
"No! No, that's not right! I'm not! Well, I guess if you take things literally, I am -- right now… but… I'm trying to get you out. I really am."
"What did they promise you?"
"Nothing. Well, that's not true. They promised to let me go if I helped."
"Traitor!"
"No, no, it's not like that at all," Rix said, glancing down as Teyla who kept her weapon trained on him. "I'm trying to get you out! They'll take us all with them. Well, not Zeno, but…"
"Zeno?"
"Well, he's… they killed him."
From beneath him, Teyla gave Rix a jab, trying to quiet him down.
"You are on their side!" Wortley barked. "Zeno's dead and I will be next! You're taking the treasure!"
"No, Wortley…"
"You're leaving me and taking the Ironspot!"
Rix turned to Teyla, "Did Rodney fix the Ironspot? Is it fixed?" The look Teyla leveled at him told the pirate what he wanted to know. "Even if the ship is fixed, Wortley, I wouldn't leave you."
"You're right. Nobody leaves."
"What do you mean?"
"This ends here."
Rix paused in his frittering at the keypad. He froze for a moment and looked upward to the airlock. "You don't mean it," he cried.
"Oh Rixy, I do. I always knew this would come in handy someday."
"No!" Rix shot back. "NO!" He twisted about on the ladder, his eyes wide as saucers. "Run!" his voice came out in a strangled gasp. "RUN!"
He dropped off the ladder, landing beside Ronon. He keyed in the command and the door opened to the hallway. "The Ironspot? Rodney fixed it?" Rix asked again.
Teyla was beside him. "Yes," she responded. And before she could say any more, Rix darted into the hallway at the gateship level.
He ran the short distance to the bay, opening the door and dashed within, Ronon and Teyla at his heels. He was in the pilot's seat before Ronon could catch him.
"What's going on?!" Ronon bellowed.
"She's … she's going to blow it up." Rix squeaked, his hands playing over the controls. "She always said she would… if things went wrong. She always said she'd kill herself before she let the treasure go." He smiled gratefully as the ship came online, lights glowed, the mismatched circuits hummed. "Rodney did it… he did it…"
"Blow it up?" Teyla repeated the phrase as the rear hatch shut. It sealed the Ironspot with a sigh.
"She's got Wraith armor," he explained, quickly decompressing the bay, and throwing open the bay doors, exposing the ship to space. A spray of debris was ejected into space as he fired up the ship. "She's going to set off her selfdestruct."
Ronon grumbled like a thunder's roll.
"She doesn't keep it powered up. Too dangerous, but she always wears it. Always threatens us. Should take a few more seconds before it goes. Crackers, we're going to be close! Strap yourselves in!"
And the Ironspot shot forward, screaming out of the jumper bay as Teyla radioed Sheppard.
888888888888888888
"We'll figure it out," Sheppard promised the figure on the deck. "Just hang on a bit more. We'll find a way to get around this." He watched McKay, flat on his back and looking upward, as if it was easier than keeping his head turned.
Instead of Rodney responding, Teyla's voice spoke urgently over the system, "Colonel, you must get away – immediately! Wortley is in possession of a Wraith self-destruct system. She is about to use it to destroy the station."
"I'm not leaving…"
Rodney blinked, and then turned toward him. "Go…" he pleaded. Even from the distance and the dome that separated them, his eyes looked sharp and blue. "Go!"
"Mills is wrong!" Sheppard insisted.
"He is adamant," Teyla replied. "And terrified."
Flotsam and jetsam floated near the gateship bay, and Sheppard watched as the Ironspot jetted away. He felt his heart constrict, and uttered a strangled, "No…"
"We must go!" Teyla continued, there was a hitch in her voice as she stated, "There is nothing else we can do. Colonel…I'm sorry…"
"Please…" Rodney's voice was so quiet, it was barely heard. "You must," he insisted, watching the jumper that hovered just outside his great domed window. "Don't be stupid."
Stupid! So goddamn stupid! Everything about this was stupid! Rodney was so close! So damn close! John wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to leave his friend. He wasn't the type to run, leaving a man behind.
"Now!!" Teyla implored, as the Ironspot flashed away in the opposite direction. "There are only seconds remaining. John…"
The hopelessness of the situation tore at him – so close – but impossible to reach. What could he do? What could he possibly do?
"Go…" Rodney insisted. "There's nothing you can do. Please!"
John knew it… he knew it.
Sheppard gave Rodney one last look. He wanted to tell him that he'd be back. He wanted to tell Rodney not to worry, that everything would be fine.
But Rodney was a genius after all.
He wanted to tell Rodney that he was sorry. He wanted to thank him for…
"So long, Colonel," Rodney said quietly.
What else could he do?
With a shout of frustration and rage, Sheppard brought the jumper about and put full power behind it. He still shouted as the ship sped away, not wanting to look, but knowing as the HUD came up, that the central core had burst in bright colors, splitting and rending, splintering the space station into pieces.
As the flowerpot blew apart behind him, somehow, in spite of McKay's insistence to the contrary, Sheppard expected noise.
--
TBC - Did I mention that I might be evil?