THE WHITE ROOM - Part 13
Voices and faces swirling chaotically in his head, John ran toward Lantea, or at least the way he thought would get him there. He knew very little at this point, but he knew he needed to be back with her, under her watchful eye. Determination filled him like it hadn't in a long time. But then it felt like he'd been struck by lightning and his body went rigid, hanging for a second before dropping limply to the floor. His mind didn't really process the smell of ozone or the uncontrolled muscle twitches just before he lost consciousness.
oOo
Purdie watched Sheppard drop to the floor just seconds after hitting him with the zat gun. He couldn't believe his blind luck at being the first one to find the prodigal colonel. He looked around quickly to make sure he was alone and then hooked his hands under Sheppard's arms, dragging him down the hallway. One turn later, he went a few feet further to the door being held open by Kel. As soon as the unconscious Colonel was clear of the door, the Asgard closed and locked it.
"I see you were able to find Colonel Sheppard before the security forces."
Purdie panted from the exertion and excitement of his kidnapping spree. "Yeah, got lucky this time out. It's about time something went our way."
"When you have recovered, place him on the exam table and we can run the sequence we discussed earlier. It should give us the needed information."
Purdie nodded, beginning to grin. "And then we just dump him somewhere for them to find. It's not like he can tell them what happened. His leaning heavily on the loony side lately has its advantages."
"Yes, so it would seem. I will get the equipment ready. We should have time to complete our task while they are searching for the Colonel." Kel walked back to the array of equipment at the head of an exam table in the center of the room.
Purdie decided he'd recovered enough and bent over, dragging Sheppard until he was lying next to the table. He then took the next several minutes to get Sheppard up and onto the table, grunting and moaning the whole time. "It wouldn't hurt to have some help, you know," he complained when he was finally finished.
Kel just looked at him with his big dark eyes. "What would you suggest I do? I am not exactly built for heavy lifting. Our bodies are more designed to house our superior intellect."
Purdie snorted. "Oh, and he's modest, too," he mumbled to himself.
Kel ignored him as he checked the controls of the machine. "I would suggest you restrain him. He will need to be awake for the procedure and I doubt he will lie still."
Purdie nodded. "My pleasure." He grabbed some restraints from a drawer and proceeded to secure Sheppard's wrists and ankles to the table, leaving very little slack for movement. "That should hold him," he muttered to himself when he was finished. Purdie then took some wires slung over a hook on the back of the machine and began attaching them to the Colonel's head, pressing the adhesive pads to his skin. One pair was secured to his temples, one pair to his forehead, and the third pair just behind his ears. "Ready."
"I am ready also. See if you can wake the Colonel."
Purdie nodded and leaned over the unconscious form, tapping him lightly on the cheek. "Time to wake up Sheppard." When the man did not stir, Puridie slapped him harder, leaving a red handprint on the Colonel's face. "Sheppard, wake up!" he said loudly.
John mumbled and began to shift around. When he pulled on the restraints and had his movement restricted, his eyes flashed open. "No . . . no . . . Lantea," he cried, now beginning to struggle hard against the tight bindings.
"Okay, he's awake now, and very unhappy," said Purdie. When John shouted, even louder than before, Purdie began to look worried. "We need to keep him quiet."
Kell gave a small nod. "I agree, but we cannot sedate him"
Purdie grinned as he shifted his gaze around the room. 'I can fix this," he said as he saw what he needed. Moving quickly across the room, he grabbed a light sheet and cut a strip off one end. He then returned and folded it over in the middle, shoving it in Sheppard's mouth and tying the gag behind his head, even as the pilot tried to pull away. "There, that should shut you up."
"Crude, but effective," commented Kel. "We are now ready. You will need to monitor Sheppard so you can warn me of any problems. He will feel a certain amount of discomfort." Kel reached out and turned a knob over to the right.
Sheppard immediately tensed, closing his eyes tightly as he grunted His body stiffened with his back arched slightly off the table.
"He is resisting," said Kel a few minutes later and then twisted the knob further to the right.
oOo
Rodney came around the corner so fast, he almost ran into Ronon. He yelped as he came to an abrupt stop. "Ahh, Ronon! Anyone the size of a small mountain needs warning lights and alarms."
Ronon creased his brow as he looked down at the scientist. "Who are you calling small?"
"See, obviously you missed the part about being a mountain. Believe me, that makes a huge difference. Any sign of Sheppard?"
"Not yet. I'm heading back the other way. He isn't in this section."
Rodney's jaw moved up and down a time or two as he pointed to some of the doors along the hallway. "Did you check in these rooms? He could be here somewhere."
"Not here, McKay," Ronon called as he continued around the corner. Rodney stood there a few more seconds before following Ronon.
oOo
The pain ran through Sheppard like a flame following a line of gunpowder. It began in his head and spread down his spine. The images and noises seemed to rise to new screaming heights as the pain continued to escalate higher and higher. John fought it, trying to push it away, but then he faltered and the fire seemed to explode in his head. His world was crashing in and he was being crushed by the pressure. He cried out against it, seeking the friendly faces from before. They weren't there. He needed Atlantis, but she wasn't there either. The evil ones that had hurt him before were hurting him again. His pain and fear began to give way to anger. He wanted them to stop. He wanted to go home and they were stopping him.
John was beyond rational thought, so the decision to fight was not a conscious one. It was born of instinct and need. It was crude and unfocused. But he was going home to Atlantis and he was tired of hurting. He had no idea what was happening, but it began to build within him, guided by something deep inside.
oOo
Purdie watched as John's body slowly eased back down on the table, his brow still furrowed in a deep frown. John grunted slightly before opening his eyes. Purdie tensed, sensing that something had changed. The dark eyes seemed to look right through him before rolling back in the pilot's head as he moaned loudly. A few seconds later, his body went rigid again.
"Oh," said Kel, just before sparks began spewing forth from the control panel of the machine. The small alien began frantically trying to turn off the machine while trying to keep from being hit by the little bolts of electricity periodically arcing out of the panel. The lights flickered off and on several times.
"What's going on?" yelled Purdie, racing around to stand beside the Asgard. "What's happening?"
Kel continued to jerkily try to work the controls as he continued to avoid the sparks. "I believe the Colonel may be fighting back."
Purdie looked scared and confused. "Sheppard's doing this? How is that possible?"
"I am not certain, but the machine will not shut down." As he finished speaking, the front of the panel blew out in a shower of sparks that flung both man and Asgard back several feet.
Seconds later, Ronon, Teyla, and several soldiers burst into the room, lights flickering once before going out and the machine still sparking. Rodney and Carson followed a few moments later, going straight for Sheppard while the others checked on Purdie and Kel. Low emergency lighting made the room seem spooky, sparks occasionally leaping from the panel with a hiss.
"Carson?" said Rodney as he watched the physician check Sheppard's pulse.
"Aye, he's alive," said Carson, relief on his face. Ronon and Teyla came up behind the two men just in time to hear Carson.
"What were they doing to him?" asked Ronon angrily.
"I don't know, but let's get him out of this mess," said the doctor. He immediately began pulling the electrodes off Sheppard's head after making sure they wouldn't shock him. Teyla began removing the gag, while Ronon and Rodney worked on the restraints.
O'Neill came in and stopped as he surveyed the room. "I hope someone paid the insurance bill on this place. We've got power problems on this whole floor. What happened?" He looked over to see Sheppard's team as they finished releasing him from the bonds and electrodes. "What's Sheppard doing?"
"Being experimented on," said Rodney angrily. "What kind of a base are you running here, General? We're –"
O'Neill held up his hand. "Don't start with me, McKay. I'll get you back to Atlantis as soon as you people have your stuff together. Just try not to lose Sheppard this time."
"The Colonel won't be going any where for a while," said Carson. "I don't know what they did to him, but his pulse is weak and he's completely unresponsive. I'll need to take him to the infirmary and stabilize him before we move him to Atlantis."
O'Neill nodded and turned to the soldier next to him. "Get a med team with a gurney down here to help move Sheppard." He then walked over to where Kel and Purdie had been propped up against the wall, both surrounded by soldiers. "What in the Sam hill have you two been up to in here?"
Purdie rubbed the side of his head where a bruise was already becoming visible. "Research that you people are too short-sided to see the value of. We could accomplish great things if we were just left alone to do it."
O'Neill scowled at the man. "Well, I figure your great accomplishment the next few years will be cleaning toilets and trying not to become some bully's prison wife." He turned to Kel and shook his head while making a clucking sound with his tongue. "And I don't imagine Thor will be too happy with you."
O'Neill turned to one of the soldiers. "Are they all right?"
The man nodded. "Yes, sir. Just a little bruised and banged up, nothing serious."
"Good. Lock them up in separate cells for now. I'll question them later to find out what the heck they thought they were doing."
"I could help with that," offered Ronon.
O'Neill raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I'm sure you could. But then I'd probably get in trouble when the authorities saw what was left of them. But thanks, anyway."
Ronon nodded, looking down at the two like they were scum under his feet. "Let me know if you change your mind," he said, ending with a menacing growl.
Purdie ducked away from the Satedan and tried to scoot closer to Kel, who just shook his head sadly.
O'Neill nodded once as he turned to go. "I'll do that." As he walked back across the room, he saw them loading Sheppard onto a gurney and he paused to watch. Beckett was making sure the Colonel was settled comfortably before they transported him, even though he was unconscious. Memories of a time when his team had been carefully looked after by Janet Frazier ran through his mind, making him slightly sad. Sometimes he missed those days. Looking at the pale, almost lifeless form of Sheppard, he also realized that sometimes he was glad those days were behind him.
"I'm really getting too old for this crap," he muttered to himself as he followed the gurney and Sheppard's team from the room.
oOo
The group coming down the hall reminded Rodney of a funeral procession, making him shudder. He walked beside the gurney with a very still Sheppard, who Beckett had hooked up to IV. The doctor had wanted to keep the Colonel hooked up to the monitors they'd had on him the last hour, but Lam refused to let the doctor take that much of her equipment to another galaxy. She had argued that Sheppard was stable enough to transport until Carson had finally agreed. While the ill man's vitals were low, they were not immediately life threatening.
Ronon walked behind Rodney, his hand poised over his gun in case anyone tried to take Sheppard from them or stop their journey. The man was in full protection mode . . . no, make that full pissed protection mode and everyone with any intelligence was steering clear.
Carson was on the other side of the gurney from Rodney, constantly checking and rechecking the Colonel. He had mumbled to himself for the last hour about letting the Colonel get into such a state and scolding himself for letting the man ever leave Atlantis. There was no missing the fact that Carson was on a huge guilt trip.
Teyla walked quietly behind Carson. She had said almost nothing since they had found the Colonel, just stared at him sadly. Rodney had a feeling there was some guilt there too. Okay, so the whole team was having a "why did we let him leave" guilt crisis combined nicely with a "can't we kill these bastards" need for revenge. Heightmeyer would have a field day if she got hold of them any time soon.
They finally arrived in the gateroom and assembled at the base of the ramp. Their bags had already been delivered and lay in a heap at their feet. A few seconds later, O'Neill came through the door.
"You're ready to go. I talked with Elizabeth a few minutes ago, updated her on what's been happening, so she's expecting you. I'll tell you what I told her. We were just trying to help and I'm sorry things got so out of hand. I'm not sure how Purdie and Kel's intentions and behavior managed to stay below radar so long, but they'll be held accountable now. And Rodney, Hermiod said that he'll be contacting you later today with information about how they downloaded that stuff into Sheppard. He thinks he's got it figured out."
Rodney nodded. "Have they told you anything more?"
O'Neill shook his head. "No, but I'm going to spend some quality time with them after you leave. I still may come to Atlantis when Hank gets back, but for now I need to take care of this mess from here. I should hear from Thor later today."
Teyla came forward a step, facing General O'Neill. "We realize that you tried to help Colonel Sheppard and for that we thank you. We also appreciate your stepping in and trying to protect him when it became clear he was in danger."
O'Neill stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor for a few seconds before raising his eyes to meet those of Sheppard's team. "I appreciate that, but, truth is, I dropped the ball on this one. I'll do whatever I can to help fix the situation, just ask."
Rodney was tired and frustrated and, for once, only had one thing on his mind. "We want to go home."
O'Neill nodded. "Can't blame you for that." He looked up at the window to the control room. "Dial Atlantis, Walter. These people want to go home."
TBC