(by Era Yachi)
AN: I'm enjoying the feedback. There are actually a few chapters left. Three or four. I can't decide. If you're familiar with SG1, you'll probably be able to predict how this will all turn out. If not, well…surprise. (smiles)
In the Loop
"""""""
Sheppard knew what he had to do. "How far is the 'gate from here?"
It was an open question, meant for anyone to answer. But no one on his team knew the answer. Zelenka might have, but John wasn't so sure he wanted to trust the little Ancient scanner anymore. He was seriously pissed off with everything Ancient right now.
"Too far," the hologram of McKay pointed out with an air of proficiency. "Since you obviously weren't listening, I'll say it again—you can't go back."
"Oh, really?" growled John, swinging around on the projection. "And why is that, Rodney? Can I call you Rodney? You know, you haven't exactly introduced yourself yet, so I think I'll call you Rodney. I like that name."
"You can patronize me all you want, Colonel," it shot back. "It doesn't change the fact that crossing the barrier into time field is am extremely bad idea."
"Explain. Why," said Sheppard, putting a force behind both words.
Unable to come up with a suitable response to that, Not-Rodney looked to Ronon and Teyla for support. Finding none, he let out a frustrated groan. "I already told you, you can't physically cross into the field without some substantial risk of getting yourself killed. The barrier containing the time dilation is weak, so I had to modify the contribution of power to fluctuate every fifteenth of a second. Now while most of these frequencies aren't even remotely strong enough to hurt you, there's always the possibility you'll encounter a power spike, in which case…look, it's a miracle you made it through the first time! The odds that it'll happen again are phenomenally low!"
"What kind of odds?"
The familiar blue eyes darted to the ground and back as the hologram calculated a number. "No, I am not giving you an arbitrary number, Colonel. The spikes are entirely random and have no sequential pattern whatsoever."
"Then I'll take my chances," said the colonel with a certain lack of politeness.
"So will I," Ronon harmonized, powering up his weapon.
Teyla nodded. "We are all in agreement."
"Okay, fine!" snapped Not-Rodney. "Clearly, everything I say isn't going to change your minds. So tell me, oh champions of wonder and light, what you plan on doing after that? I can't override the failsafe on the 'gate for you to dial out before the loop happens again. Do you have any idea how long it took for me to do that the last time, huh? You guys should be thanking me that I cared enough to cannibalize part of my core program just to let you dial out once."
"So that was you?" said the colonel with a touch of surprise. "Well, then…thank you. But that doesn't mean we're just going to abandon our people out there because you say so."
"Sheppard," Ronon interrupted.
The colonel turned on the Satedan and read the implication in his face. He looked at Teyla. Her face was taught with agitation, which he recognized easily. "Don't tell me," he said with a 'please-let-this-not-be-happening' way. "It is," she replied, as though coming out of a daze. "The Wraith. Many of them. I was not so sure at first, but the feeling is stronger now…"
"Yes, that would be thanks to the shielding around this station," said the hologram. He frowned at their glares—they were always glaring at him—Radek excluded, of course. "What? How else did you think I hid from the Wraith? Sun block?"
"This is bad," groaned Sheppard.
"The hero of blatancy declares," Not-Rodney grumbled. "You have less than forty-eight minutes to get them, and get back here. I hope you know what you're doing," the hologram went on—and to everyone's amazement, he said it with a small tremble, and he looked almost sick to allow them outside his protective ring.
Okay, John thought. Now that's weird.
He theorized. It was scarcely more than a transitory thought, but who was to say that this Ancient's control station wasn't more than it claimed to be? He had a hard time imagining that some computer cared enough about Rodney's team to go as far as pretending to show some human concern. He wondered if the holographic program picked up on more than just McKay's image and quirks. Maybe it adapted the dead scientist right down to his commitment to his immortal sense of heroism.
He didn't have time to think about it.
"We don't have time for this," he said aloud. "If there are Wraith around, then Dr. Beckett's group must have done something to wake them up, and if that's the case, they're bound to be in a lot of trouble."
Exploding Wraith bombs. Dammit, it was McKay all over again. The only difference was that they now had Beckett, and if anything went wrong…well, it would still go wrong. But at least he could count on the good doctor to keep any mortally injured members of his team alive reasonably enough until they got the 'gate working again.
"Teyla and Ronon, I'll meet you guys upstairs," he instructed his team before turning on Zelenka, their local expert on the art of rigging explosions. "Doc, I need you to stay here and try and buy us some time. Maybe you can stop the loop, I don't know, but try something. If we don't make it back…"
"You will," the Czech scientist said resolutely.
Sheppard half-smirked. "All right, that's the spirit. Good thinking. I'll be in contact the moment we're through."
Radek thought it odd that his jaw ached, but he did nod once, admiring the courage of the colonel for what it was. In many ways, he decided, Colonel Sheppard and Rodney were alike. After all, bravery was still bravery no matter who chose to believe it and why.
Feeling again the persistent urge to leave, Sheppard turned to head into the corridor. He was stopped by that same tingly feeling—the one he didn't like so much. This time, he had a hunch it had something to do with Rodney's hologram staring at him, like an innocent main penned up for a crime he hadn't committed. They chose to stare at each other for about ten seconds or so before breathing—on his part—became a little difficult.
Sheppard wished he could sound happy or encouraging. "It was nice seeing you again, Rodney."
The hologram's McKay-ish face perked a bit into a flattered half-grin. "Thanks," he said without ceremony. "You too, but I'm, uh…I'm not really McKay, remember?"
"Yeah, I know."
There was no point in looking back over his shoulder as he left the dark room and started to climb the rope to the world above. So he didn't. Instead, he focused on the task in his near future—saving the lives of Beckett's science and medical team. And battling the Wraith. Yeah, there'd always be them. He wondered how many he could severe in half with his P90 before he felt retribution for McKay's death.
Five. Ten. Twenty. Yeah. Twenty.
Thousand.
Abut before he went on his twenty thousand Wraith killing spree, he'd hunt down the one responsible for planting that stun bomb. That would be number one. Then he only had nineteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to go.
He should really start counting.
They survived the crossing, if 'survive' was the right way to put it. Sheppard had a hunch that hologram Rodney overrated their chances of being electrocuted in the barrier of the field, which wouldn't be surprising in the slightest. It was probably just an upshot of McKay's tendency to underestimate their chances of survival shining through the computer's reenactment of the scientist.
He triggered his radio the moment they stepped out of the dead circle of grass. Formality wasn't an issue. "Doc, you'd better be there."
Beckett's thickly accented voice responded almost immediately. "Colonel Sheppard? Oh, thank God. We'd thought somethin' terrible had—"
"Listen, doc, we don't have a lot of time," Sheppard cut in. "There are Wraith in the area, and in about half an hour, we're going to be in even more trouble."
"Aye, we're quite aware of that," said Beckett. "I'm afraid we already lost Dr. Fraser in the firs' attack. Padley, ye need tae keep your bloody arm away from your side, or I can't…I'm sorry, Colonel, but I can't work like this. Four of us are wounded, an' we keeping runnin' into the Wraith."
"What he's not telling you is that he busted up his own skull falling off a cliff," a vaguely familiar voice followed the gentler one of the doctor. "Sergeant Derksen here, Colonel. Padley stepped on one of your Wraith bombs and cracked a few of his ribs. Germani, Beaton and Howell all have bruises and fractures and like I've said, the doc stumbled over a cliff and hit his head on rock."
"Honestly, ye make it sound like I fell off the bloody Grand Canyon," said Beckett. "I'm perfectly fine. But I won't be if we don't get out collective arses back through that 'gate soon."
"I'm sorry, Carson, but that's no longer an option," Sheppard said, glancing over to his other teammates. Teyla's expression was reflective. "I've got a good source who tells me the 'gate won't work on this end. To make a long story short, unless we don't get everyone right here, very soon, the Wraith will be the least of our problems."
"Tha's not going tae be easy, lad," Beckett sighed.
"What do you mean?" John realized he'd give just about anything right now to be able to see their position. "What about the jumper Weir sent you with?"
"Damaged," came Derksen's voice. "A dart came out of nowhere and shot out the left pod. We had to pull an emergency landing about one mile from the 'gate, but she won't fly anymore."
Sheppard closed his eyes and thought, Dammit, McKay, of all the times I need a jumper fixed faster than humanly possible, now would be it. But then, if the scientist were here, they wouldn't even be having this problem. They'd still be on Atlantis, blacklisting this god-forsaken planet and burning the memory of their systems with a passion.
"Colonel, the Wraith are…gathering. They are headed for the 'gate," Teyla informed him, her voice on the edge of dread.
"Just like last time," the colonel said under his breath.
"Colonel Sheppard?"
He realized he hadn't turned his radio off, and that shook him from his quiet review. "Sergeant, in a few minutes or so, a couple of Wraith darts are going to fly over your position," he said with a somewhat gravelly tone. "You need to take cover, and as soon as they're gone, start heading in this direction. Just stick to the path and keep your back to the sun, no matter what happens. We'll meet you halfway."
"Yes, sir," came the soldier's response.
Sheppard switched off his radio. That's what he liked about Derksen—he followed orders without questioning them. Usually, that was a good thing. In this case, it saved John from having to explain to the military leader of a stranded band of scientists in the midst of a foreign world why he had to lead them deeper into Wraith territory. Derksen must have realized that he had a plan, and didn't want to make things worse by contradicting him.
"All right," he said, turning to the rest of his team. "They're gonna need our help to carry the wounded into the shield. Just like last time—wounded come first, shooting Wraith comes second. That especially goes for you," he finished, rounding on Ronon. "Bottom line. Let's move out."
And as he, Teyla and Ronon rushed of down the narrow, overgrown path that connected the 'gate to the station, part of the puzzle became clear.
The Wraith had shot the jumper out of the air. They'd woken up even before Padley stepped on the Wraith bomb. In a way, this made Sheppard worry. If not the stun bomb, what the hell had made them wake up? And at the same time, it made him feel immensely relieved—if the bomb hadn't awakened the Wraith the first time, then Rodney wasn't directly responsible. No one could blame the poor man for the existence of another hive ship. He was safe from bureaucrats and their damning fingers. Good thing. That was a really good thing.
Zelenka hovered over the faintly glowing panel, trying to separate the secondary operations from the primary. In terms of system configuration, it was very cannibalistic. He ran into several dead ends, where parts of the computer had been torn out and power from the ZPM had been rerouted to other necessary sections of the station—for instance, the part of the shield that scrambled Wraith sensors.
"You did this…all by yourself?" he asked the hologram hovering behind him. Even though he tried to focus, Radek found it hard to not think about Sheppard and his team.
"Yes," Not-Rodney grumbled. "And believe me, it was beyond the most painful thing you can imagine. Try hacking off several of your limbs and physically ripping out your veins and arteries. But of course, if I hadn't, this planet would have occupied by Wraith centuries ago."
"Yes, I see," the Czech scientist said softly, adjusting his glasses as his eyes scanned the screen. "You say you feel pain? I find that very surprising."
"Well…" The hologram actually paused. "Technically, I wasn't born…as a machine. Let's just say what I used to be, would be the equivalent of an Ancient terrorist. Figures, as soon as a real genius starts doing something to protect the planets inhabited by Wraith, they label you as a criminal and try to kill you. Barbarians."
Slowly, Zelenka looked up from the databurst he'd been inspecting. "You…are an Ancient?" he said in disbelief.
"Was," it corrected him. "Was an Ancient. My physical body died of old age, but this place…this computer actually sucked me in, like some sort of giant, sentient sponge. Eventually, I forgot about my previous life and built a great big 'super-me' with bits and pieces of memories and thoughts of the people around me."
"Is that how you incorporated Rodney into a holographic projection?"
"That's…part of it, yes." Not-Rodney leaned in over the Czech's shoulder. "What are you doing?"
Zelenka presumed the basis of that question was surprise, rather than ignorance. The computer should know exactly what he was doing, so it was obviously asking 'why' he was doing the complete opposite of what it had asked him to do.
"No, no, no, no, no," Not-Rodney said quickly, pointing to the data streaming across the screen. "You have to overload the core of the field generator, not change it."
"That I will not do," Radek replied gently. "If absolutely necessary, I will put the overload on time delay to make sure Sheppard's team has time to clear the blast. But I believe that it will not be necessary."
"Not neces—" The hologram stopped mid-sentence. "Alright, what did you find?"
"The ZPM," Radek began, focused entirely on the keypad he was now inputting new parameters into, "has very little power left to sustain the shield for much longer."
"Yes, obviously," Not-Rodney snapped.
"The way I see it, we can either let the loop continue to work over itself until the ZPM is depleted, or reverse the field so that it surrounds this control station. Nothing else."
"Have you completely lost your mind, Radek?" Rodney's projection practically squeaked.
"Not entirely, no," said Zelenka, with a slight chuckle. "No matter what happens, the ZPM will be depleted and the Wraith will awaken with the others. But if I take advantage of this, to drain the ZPM by sending the station itself into the past, just before Colonel Sheppard and the others come through 'gate to this planet, then the loop will break."
"Because…because we'll be taking the depleted ZPM into the past with us, and the time field will fail," Not-Rodney said breathlessly. "That's insane."
"But necessary," said Zelenka, flashing a brief smile. "And, if we are able to send one person with the field generator into the past, it may be possible to save Dr. McKay's life."
"What?" Now the hologram looked panicked, the corners of McKay's mouth turning down frantically. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? You don't even care that the Wraith will escape!"
"Rodney, that's not true—"
"Yes it is! You—you just don't get it, do you?" Not-Rodney shouted. "There are thousands of Wraith on that hive ship! Just in the next few days, they could kill hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people just in this solar system alone!"
"It will happen no matter what we do, Rodney," Zelenka argued, cursing the familiarity of the argument for what it really wasn't—and he wasn't arguing with the real McKay, but a ghost of an impression created by a machine. "Today, tomorrow, or even ten years from now, the time field will fail. This, this loop you have created is ultimately delaying what will happen no matter how many times you use it."
Rodney's hologram was beyond livid by now. Nothing Radek said or did would convince him against his ten thousand-year-old design. Before Not-Rodney could say anything, however, a loud hum suddenly rose from the pillar in the center of the chamber. It grew louder, and more bass gradually. Zelenka didn't need to ask the hologram what it was—he knew already.
"Stop it," said the Czech in a brash whisper, scowling angry at Not-Rodney. "Make it stop, now."
"I can't," said the hologram, angrily. "Neither can you. It's the fail-safe, and in less than two minutes, Sheppard and his team will blink out of existence."
The field generator continued to power up, regardless of their bickering. Suddenly, Zelenka broke away from the panel and dashed towards the entrance to the control chamber. Not-Rodney's voice drifted throughout the facility behind him.
"Don't do anything stupid, Radek! There's nothing you can do!"
Zelenka was struggling to climb the robe to the surface, ignoring Rodney, ignoring the blood pounding in his ears, ignoring the thrumming of the ground and vibration under his hand as the entire station came to life. When he hauled himself over the edge of the open pit, he was breathing heavily. He was not meant to be a field scientist. That was McKay's job. He still had to tell Colonel Sheppard about his plan—if he did not make it…
He staggered onto the large plain of flattened, browned grass and hurried to the edge of the barrier, where dead vegetation stopped and healthy plants grew. He saw no one through the thinly space trees. His heart dropped.
But he heard something. Radek felt a spark of relief, and waited a few precious seconds until he saw three figures come crashing through the underbrush. One of them was carrying an unconscious Dr. Beckett—that was Ronon. Sheppard and Teyla were running—or hopping—as quickly as possible with an injured man in between them. Six others, and Radek recognized Howell and Germani among them, were close behind them.
The ground was now pulsing under his feet. Any second. Any second, and it would be all over.
Running. Damn it, he was trying to go faster, but Beaton had a badly injured leg and could only move half the pace he'd hoped for the entire escape back to the Ancient's station. Sheppard's chest and lungs hurt, his shoulder and back strained under the soldier's weight. He could tell Teyla was faring no better, and Beaton…Beaton was half-conscious with the pain he was experiencing.
He knew it wouldn't matter. There wasn't enough time to make it. He could see the open clearing now, the repugnant sight of dead grass stark against the greenery. Ronon was just in front of him, labouring under the added weight of the Scottish doctor.
"We're almost there," he called out hoarsely. He didn't know if anyone heard him. They'd all be running a long time, with no rest. The Wraith were right behind them.
The ground was humming all around them. Sheppard threw his back and weight into pulling Beaton along. Teyla picked up on his urgency and matched him, but it wouldn't be enough.
It wouldn't be enough.
They hurtled through the trees, leaning on each other, stumbling, and racing for their lives.
Sheppard looked up, and saw Zelenka through the trees. The good man was watching them, worried, almost frantic. And all the more, helpless to do anything. John suddenly felt terrible. None of them were going to survive this—Beckett, Ronon, Teyla, Derksen, Beaton, Howell…the only one left was Zelenka. And Rodney. They'd have to figure out a way to finish it.
Rodney…McKay. Shit, Rodney. We could've saved you. Hell, we could have save ourselves. Now I won't even get the chance.
This wasn't even death. It was obliteration.
Damn, they were so close. Just another few seconds.
He saw Ronon spin around, to face him. They saw each other, and he thought Teyla might have joined the moment. They realized together. They weren't given enough time to say goodbye.
Beneath them, the ground roared, lighting up the world.
John closed his eyes as the world around him swallowed them all.
AN: Well…um…yeah. (hides)