AMONG THE STARS - by NotTasha
PART 15: CRANE
"I mean," John went on, "It's not as if I watch those sorts of shows or anything, you know – that Queer Eye thing. Alexis was hooked on those shows. Alexis – that's the girl I was talking about. I can't count how many decent nights were ruined by watching that crap."
He kept talking because it was easier than keeping silent. Rodney was sprawled out now, one arm floating up over his head, the other tucked under him. A leg was bent and he was half turned on his side. The physicist no longer made the attempt to 'fly'. He looked dead and drowned.
If John kept talking, it made things normal -- it made Rodney less pitiful in that empty dome -- it made Sheppard think his friend wasn't so damn close to being lost to them.
"And that crap-ass show -- 'Trading Spaces'. Yeah, like I'd let those morons paint my vinyl floor instead of replacing it. What the hell kind of refurb is that? They're always painting over wallpaper or slapping some crap up and calling it art."
Sheppard checked the Life Sign Detector again, assuring himself that Rodney still lived. McKay didn't seem to be bleeding any longer, but he'd lost too damn much blood already. The freakish blobs festooned the space around him.
If they didn't get to him soon… Sheppard glanced to the life sign detector again, making sure.
"I blame Alexis for my home makeover nightmares," he continued. "Used to wake up in a cold sweat with visions of fabric swatches and paint chips dancing in my head."
"Ronon!" Teyla's voice, sharp and frightened, broke John's chain of thought again.
Dex made a rather unmanly sounding noise, full of fear.
"What? What's going on?" Sheppard asked, having pulled closer to the dome, he was blind to Ronon's current position.
"Ronon has lost his footing!" Teyla proclaimed. "He stepped back quickly and did not engage the boots. He is floating loose!"
"This is NOT good!" Ronon exclaimed, sounding like Rodney at that moment.
"We will get you, Ronon!"
Sheppard redirected the jumper, feeling a moment of regret about leaving Rodney alone. "I'll be back," he promised, and brought the jumper 'down' to the bottom side of the observation deck. His heart sank when he saw Ronon, gliding freely. The Satedan was moving slowly but constantly away from the safety of the deck.
"Okay," Sheppard decided quickly. "If I open the rear hatch of the jumper, I should be able to scoop him up and…"
"Wait…" Teyla came back. "Rix has an idea."
Ronon groaned.
"What?" Sheppard demanded, getting the jumper closer. He wondered if he could just get close to Ronon and let the man grasp hold of something. But, he'd have to be damn delicate with the maneuver. One wrong move would send Ronon reeling into space. He'd catch him, eventually, of course – he had to -- but every moment lost...
"Rix says that he has what we need."
"What? What does he have?"
Sheppard was startled when something started to move on the top of the Ironspot, and he backed the jumper, getting it out of the way, as the crane moved upward and outward, pulling itself from the roof of the Ironspot and looking rather like a waterfowl's long neck extending.
888888888888888888
Teyla watched as the Bogachiel activated the system from the co-pilot seat. He slid his hands into the controls that seem to form around his arms. "This comes in handy…" he stated, blinking and lowering his head. He twisted his arms about in the controls.
On the display, a monitor lit up, showing the big crane from a better angle. The device lifted and began moving toward Ronon. The Satedan drifted, looking small and lost in the magnitude of space, surrounded by stars.
"Used it lots of time," Rix went on. "Not everyone takes kindly to us getting on their ships, you know?" He made a short laugh and licked his lips. "Sometimes… sometimes… we need a little help getting in."
"You are skilled at its use?" Teyla asked, hopefully.
"The best," Rix returned, but his eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the monitor. "I can undo locks and stuff like that. Precision instrument!"
Teyla furrowed her brow. "So, why didn't we use this to release the central core?"
Rix stopped his movements and blinked at Teyla, his pupils looking too big for his eyes. "I… dunno…" he responded. "You asked for a suit." He offered Teyla a little smile before he returned his gaze to the monitor. "I'll catch him."
And he moved the arm purposefully forward, shoving it into the starry blackness and toward Ronon. The crane extended, turning about and making a graceful little gesture in order to snag hold of the man. Rix cocked his head, turning it further and further in one direction. "Got him!" he declared, opening the talon-like end of the crane and closing it, delicately.
He missed the Satedan by a good six feet.
"Oh crackers," Rix uttered.
"Get closer!" Ronon demanded, reaching one arm out ineffectually toward the lifted crane. His voice seemed a little higher than its regular baritone. "I can't reach it!" His trajectory didn't change and he inched along and away.
"What are you doing in there?" Sheppard's voice came on. "Either get that thing to work right, or I'm going to in and try to catch him with the jumper, and that might not be pretty."
"Huh," Rix muttered. "That should've been… I should've been spot on. Should be… okay… lemmie try again." He wheeled the crane around, extending one section, retracting another, bending the flexible arm about, in exactly the wrong direction. Mills bit his lip, and closed his eyes a moment as if to clear his vision and continued to turn his head to one side.
And Teyla watched him with sudden understanding. If Rix couldn't see out of one eye, then he would have no ability to judge distance. She looked in horror as the pirate maneuvered the crane about, bringing it around too fast, too close to Ronon.
"Hey!" Ronon shouted. "Hey! Watch out!"
She sprang from her chair, shoving Rix away from the controls. The pirate made a pathetic gasp as his arms fell from the slots. The crane stopped immediately, saving Ronon from being batted into deep space.
"Watch it, Mills!" Sheppard growled. "Stop messing around and catch him!"
"Wait… wait… I got it," Rix went on. "Really, I'm good at this. I am! Let me try again!" He leaned forward, attempting to return his arms to the controls. "I want to…"
Teyla quickly divined the easiest and most efficient way to take command of the situation, to use the controls and to keep the concussed Rix from making another attempt. She slid over quickly and sat on him.
Rix made a strange little sound, more surprised than annoyed, perhaps even a little happy as the Athosian pressed her derriere into him and shoved him with her back.
"Rix cannot see well enough to use the device," Teyla said over the radio and she grasped hold of the controls. "I will use it instead."
Ronon continued to drift. "Teyla," he said. "Hurrying might be good."
"Teyla, are you sure you can handle it?" Sheppard's voice was hard. "Seems like the device is kinda… tricky? And we really don't have time for a learning curve."
"I flew the Ironspot," she returned. "I will manage this."
Ronon would be moving out of range any moment now. She could detach the Ironspot from the Observation Deck to chase him down, but she couldn't control both the ship and the crane at the same time – and unfortunately, Rix was in no shape to help with either.
He made a little gasp from behind her, as she pressed him into the comfy chair.
If she failed and Sheppard had to perform the task with his jumper -- it would only delay McKay's rescue. They had to catch Ronon…and then John could get Rodney out of that place.
Rodney had been alone for too long – and nothing would feel right if they lost him.
She extended the arm, bringing it out further, following Ronon as he kept moving away. Sweat beaded at her forehead as she quickly taught herself how to use the crane, remembering how Rix had managed it. It wasn't as easy as it looked. The crane seemed to over-react to any of her tiny adjustments.
"Teyla?" Ronon called. She could see him on the monitor, getting smaller all the time. "Teyla?"
She was thankful that she couldn't see his face, that she didn't see the concern, the anxiety that had to be there.
He was moving too quickly. He was getting out of range. She'd be lucky if she could grab onto one of his feet. She moved the arm into position. Yes! She could do it! She'd have his foot in a second. She found the controls for the claw at the top of the crane and tried it to ensure she understood how it would clasp.
"Don't…" Rix called from behind her. He looked over her shoulder, his chin settled against her neck. His voice was soft as he said, "Don't … don't clamp onto his feet with the… claw." He seemed to be struggling to come up with the words. "You don't know… That thing'll rip his… his foot right off… if you don't do it right."
"What did he say?" Ronon's voice came back at her. Apparently, Rix was close enough to be easily heard over the radio.
"Calm down, Ronon," Sheppard responded. "Teyla will get you, all safe and sound."
"Just try to … ah… you… just need to… hook it over his foot," Rix went on, attempting to get one arm free so he could illustrate what he wanted her to do, but he was firmly trapped with his hands in his lap, beneath a certain Athosian.
Ronon kept moving away, inch by inch.
Teyla reached out the crane, getting dangerously near Ronon's leg. An error in her movements, and she might tap him enough to increase his speed. She stopped short and extended the end of crane, then twisted her wrist and curved the 'talon' around, carefully bringing the device to rest on the top of Ronon's foot. Ronon extended the foot, ensuring that it caught, and the Satedan stopped.
Teyla let out a breath, sitting back on the pirate, and just let herself relax for a moment.
Muffled, Rix spoke softly, "Teyla… Teyla… could you…move…"
Teyla stood without really paying attention, smiling at the image on the screen – Ronon captured. She'd managed it! She'd caught him!
She never wanted to have to do that again.
--
TBC - Yay! she caught him! But poor Rix... squished like that
Okay, I will now reveal another aspect of the challenge given to me. Tipper and GateBiscuit challenged me to write a 'space story'. It had to utilize the images from several 'space' pictures that they provided me with. Next, I had to have characters doing things that they normally wouldn't do. Thus, I have Ronon and Teyla doing technical things. There! Oh, and one of the pictures I had to fit into the damn story was a spaceman held by his heels on this spacecrane thing. Yeah, you try to fit that into a story! See, if it wasn't for Gatebiscuit and Tipper, Sheppard would have been inside that dome ten minutes ago! Blame them if Rodney dies.