Chapter Twenty-One
There was a few minutes of silence as everyone digested the truth about the Wraith and since I had the time I pulled a tablet out of it's casing in the wall and began to draw the plan's I had for the carts while hoping that there were other mechanically inclined people that could help me make all of the adjustments necessary.
"You said that the Wraith then experimented on other humans to try and make it easier to feed on them?" Teyla asked, sounding lost as what she had thought about the Wraith was torn down in her eyes. Pausing in my drawing I looked up and nodded,
"Yes. However it was looked down on by most of the other Wraith's so in the end it was only one Wraith scientist who attempted it. Apparently however it just ended up giving the humans telepathic awareness of the Wrath as well as some physical enhancements. In order to combat this the Wraith scientist released the humans back with their own kind thinking that it could be bred out of the humans. I'm not quite sure what happened after that but I do know that some of the earlier subjects went crazy because they could hear the Wraith in their heads and either killed themselves, were killed by others who thought them mad or thrown off their home world by the others. " I said, setting down the tablet as my plan's were now drawn out.
"Okay okay that's a lot of unexpected information but we can get into all of that later. Right now we have nine days until the Wraith hive ships get here and we need to be focused on saving Atlantis and all of the people living on it. Randy, you mentioned a defense satellite?" John said in a way that made it seem like he was trying to keep Teyla from saying something but I went along with it because I knew he had his reasons and I trusted him.
"Yes, the Lagrangian Point satellite. Although they are very large they have very little internal space with only a control room accessible via an Airlock that is only capable of docking a single Puddle Jumper. Its power requirements are also fairly low, to the point where its primary weapon could be run using a single Naquadah generator. Each satellite carries one Lantean beam cannon and through one continuous shot it is able to split a Hive ship in half." I told him using the computer screen to bring up the various information so I could show them what I was talking about.
"Okay, is there any way to know what needs to be fixed on it?" Rodney asked as walked forward and began to flip through the various blueprints for the Satellite.
"No. There's been no one out to check on it since it was left out there before the War." I told him as I handed Doctor Weir the tablet showing her what I wanted to do with about 180 of the transportation carts which would leave 60 carts for us to still use as transportation carts after we killed off the attacking Wraith.
"You want to modify all of the transportation carts this way?" Doctor Weir asked me as she looked over the drawing I had given her.
"No, only about one-hundred and eighty of them. That will leave us sixty fully workable carts to use after we defeat the Wraith. I'm hoping to get some help with all of the mechanical engineering though." I replied rocking on my heels as I enjoyed the feeling of being able to focus, it made me feel like I was really connected to the world around me again.
"Okay let me take this to my room to give it some further thought. Why don't you and Doctor Beckett get started on whatever you're trying to do with the Wraith DNA and I'll send a small team to the Lagrangian satellite to see if it's fixable. A weapon like that will be a big help against the Wraith. Oh but before I go Randy, do you happen to know any planet coordinates that the Ancients might have hidden a ZPM on?" Doctor Weir asked, causing me to purse my lips in thought.
"Not off the top of my head but if you give me a minute I can pull up at least a handful of ones starting with the planets closest to us that have the Stargate." I replied.
"Good. Do that. Everyone else I know you all have places to be so let's leave Doctor Beckett and Randy here for now and get to work and everyone- remember what we learned about the Wraith stays between the seven of us for now." Doctor Weir said as she turned to leave the bio lab.
"Well-I guess I'll talk to you later." Rodney said giving me an awkward wave of his hand but I rolled my eyes and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into a quick but tight hug and placing a kiss on his cheek before waving to him as he stumbled backwards in surprise before he waved back with a red face and walked out of the room.
"I will see you later Randy." Teyla said giving me a nod as she walked out of the bio lab followed by John who gave me a very familiar look which made me stick out my tongue causing him to smile as he walked out.
"I would like to start by seeing exactly what the Wraith's DNA is all made up of if I may." Doctor Beckett said quickly and I gestured him towards the far wall where I had the computer still running through the program as I kept my gaze on Ronan who was steadily nearing me.
"Are you okay now?" He asked in a way that made it sound like a statement.
"Yes. Much closer to being who I was before coming here." I replied honestly to which he just nodded his head and then I noticed his gaze move over my face resting on my lips for a second before he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before turning and walking quickly out of the room causing me to blink in confusion as I stared at his swiftly retreating back.
"So all of this is just within the Wraith's DNA?" Doc Beckett's voice asked from behind me, causing me to shake off my surprise and turn around to get back to work.
Below here the episode 'The Brotherhood' takes place with some tweaks of course =)
"Randy Sheppard, please report to my office right away." Doctor Weir's voice said in the comm that I had started wearing since Carson, as Doc Beckett insisted I call him, and I had begun to work together seven days ago.
"Why don't you take a break Carson? I'm sure there's plenty of other things you want to do." I told him just staying long enough to see him nod in agreement before I transported myself up to Doctor Weir's office.
"I hope I get used to that." Doctor Weir muttered more to herself than me as she jumped when I appeared in her office.
"There's a Wraith dart arriving within the hour and I think that it should be destroyed before it gets here otherwise there's no telling what information it could relay to the hive ships." Doctor Weir said composing herself.
"Agreed. I'll destroy it before it arrives." I replied promptly. Doctor Weir nodded in thanks and we walked to the main control room so I could see the dart from the computer screens.
Using my now well honed telekinetic skill I grabbed ahold of the dart and shredded it and the Wraith inside before tossing the remains of both into the nearest star so it would burn up and leave no evidence of what had happened behind.
"Good job Randy. Okay everyone get back to work we only have three days until the hive ships are on top of us and if we don't find a ZPM on Dagan we will need every advantage we have to keep this place and all of us safe." Doctor Weir said and I heard the noise of people talking and moving start up again.
"Randy I'm ready to take your blood now if you want to stop by here real quick." Carson said over the comm.
"On my way." I replied, I was going to transport but I saw a look on Doctor Weir's face that told me she wanted to talk so I started walking towards where they had set up the medical wing.
"Is it strange for you? All of this?" Doctor Weir asked quietly as she started walking with me.
"Very but I'm getting used to it. And it's a lot better now since I don't have a hundred various thoughts running through my head within any given second." I replied honestly as we made it to the medical wing and I walked over to the bed Carson had ready for me.
As Carson stuck the needle into my arm I felt something odd. It was like Rodney was hollering for me and there was a swirl of multicolored lights and I was suddenly standing on what I quickly guessed was the planet Dagan as I was right between Rodney and Ronan.
"What the?" I asked in surprise and disbelief as I registered the situation me and my brother's specialized unit were in.
"Randy? How in the world did you get here?" John asked from behind me, causing me to turn around to answer him but my eyes caught sight of the ZPM in the hands of a woman who was wearing the same clothes as the group of men who were pointing guns in our direction.
"Later. For now I'll be taking that!" I told the woman using my telekinesis to take away the guns from all of the guys that were surrounding us while I walked forward and kicked the woman in her very surprised face knocking her backwards and telekinetically catching the ZMP that flew out of her hands before turning my attention back to my brothers group that had been sent to Dagan to pick up the ZPM.
"I honestly don't know. I was just with Carson getting my blood drawn and-look see the needles still in my arm." I said pointing to my right arm where there was a half-full needle sticking out of my arm.
"Is there any chance you can get us all out of here and back to Atlantis now?" John asked curiously, causing me to blink and then shrug.
"I dunno but I'll give it a chance. Everyone grab hold of each other's shoulders." I said figuring if it did work it would be easier to carry them all back if they were touching.
They did as instructed and I grabbed ahold of Ronan and Rodney's hands and took a deep breath in focusing on Atlantis and the Stargate room then with a slightly sickening twist in my stomach and a flash of multicolored lights I felt myself move. I attempted to keep down my lunch as my stomach rolled and blinked looking around me to see if I had brought the others back home with me.
"Well that was...different." John said as he patted himself to make sure he was all there.
"Agreed." Teyla said. I was just happy that I had managed to bring all of them back to Atlantis but I felt the world around me begin to sway, closing my eyes. I focused on breathing slowly and deeply and after several long moments the nausea faded and I was able to stand up and open my eyes.
"You okay sis?" John asked as I realized I was now the center of the group's attention.
"Yeah it's just odd. I guess I can now teleport wherever, whenever." I said trying to get the attention off of me and onto my new ability.
"You should probably get back to the Doc." Ronan said, not giving me a chance to refuse or transport myself there as he scooped me up in his arms and started carrying me towards the medical wing.
"Here Rodney." I called back as I sent the ZPM to him so he could get started on hooking it up.
The rocking motion combined with Ronan's natural wood's in a rainstorm scent and the drained feeling of teleporting to a new planet and back with four other people along with me quickly put me to sleep in his warm arms however I was still conscious enough to feel the change from Ronan's arms to the cool of the hospital bed before I fell into a deep sleep.
Yawning, I stretched out before slowly peeling my eyes open and glancing around me not seeing anyone I used my enhanced senses and was surprised to discover that except for the steady beeping of the various machines in the hospital and the faint hum of Atlantis it was quiet. There didn't appear to be anyone awake at least in my vicinity so maybe it was nightfall and most of Atlantis was asleep?
*Well now that we had the ZPM to power the shield I'm sure everyone was more relaxed and able to sleep.* I figured as I shut off the machine I was attached to before pulling off the various patches that were placed around my chest so the machine could record my heartbeat and sitting up slowly.
The sudden need to pee hit me as I slid my legs over the edge of the bed and I knew I had to teleport or I was in danger of having an accident. Looking around I saw a small notepad and pen sitting on one of the nearby desk's so I telekinetically pulled it towards me and wrote a quick note so no-one would freak out if they came looking for me.
Teleporting to the bathroom in my room I took the opportunity to shower and change my clothes, deciding on a pair of shorts and a tank-top grabbing an extra large sweater just in case I got cold. I was getting ready to teleport back to the hospital area when I realized I could be alone for a while before anyone checked up on me.
Not enjoying the thought of being bored out of my skull I decided to go check in with Doctor Weir and see how soon the Wraith would be arriving in Atlantis and then look around to see if there was anything else I could do before it was time. Happy with my new plan I tied my sweater around my waist and decided to go to the mess hall for some coffee and fresh fruit to enjoy before I checked in with Doctor Weir.
Appearing in the mess hall I saw John sitting by himself enjoying what looked and smelled like a wonderful cup of coffee, sneaking up behind him I poked his ticklish spot and he jumped up, the cup of coffee flying into the air.
Laughing I used my telekinesis to catch the cup and make the cup catch all of the coffee and I put it back on the table John had been sitting at.
"I see you're feeling a lot better." John said, rolling his eyes but smiling at me.
"Much better. Apparently teleporting outside of Atlantis can be extremely exhausting, who knew." I replied with a smile as I gave him a hug before heading for the kitchen.
"Hey, is there any chance you know how to make chocolate? None of the books you brought with you had that in them but I had the cocoa beans gathered and stored together just in case." John said as he picked up his coffee and started walking with me.
"Yes I do. Remember my two year long stay in Nicaragua?" I asked as I stopped to get a cup of coffee before we entered the kitchen.
"Not really." John replied as he sipped his coffee and leaned against the wall while I sipped my coffee and then put it down to start shelling the cocoa beans.
"It's the place that I sent you those pictures of the beautiful rainforest and me standing above the active volcano." I told him as I opened the storage container in the wall so I could just start putting the seeds in there as I unshelled the beans.
"Oh yeah I remember that! I had that picture laminated and took it with me when we had flying exercises." John recalled as I used my telekinesis to quicken my progress.
"Really? I didn't know you kept a picture of me with you." I said surprised. I saw John shrug out of the corner of my eye as I continued to unshell all of the cocoa beans.
"I liked to brag about you to the other guys.." John muttered, sounding a bit embarrassed but also proud which made me smile as I focused all my attention on getting through the large amount of cocoa beans that needed to be unshelled yet.