Title: Uninvited Guests
Genre: Drama
Author: Phoenix Fangor
Summary: Destiny drops out of FTL and an incoming wormhole raises a number of questions for her crew.
Pairings: Rush/OC
Rating: T
A big thank you to my beta readers TheSoliloquy and Anne McSommers.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the plot, and Callista.
"Well, it's not Ancient. That much we figured out. The material, the design - it's completely different," Doctor Volker told Doctor Rush as they approached the massive sand-buried ship.
"It's not emitting any radiation or E.M. fields. It's basically dead," Doctor Caine added.
Doctor Volker handed Doctor Rush a scanner.
"Have you been inside?" Doctor Rush asked, walking past Doctor Volker, and towards the ship.
"We've located what looks like a hatch but we haven't figured out how to get in. We'll probably have to cut it open."
"How much time would that take?" Colonel Young asked.
"More than we have," Dr. Volker said morosely.
Colonel Young glanced as his watch, "We're pushing it as it is." He looked at Lt. James and said, "Lieutenant, let's pack it up."
"Yes, sir."
Dr. Rush continued to fiddle with the hatch, touching wires from the scanner to the hull. "No, just-just give me a couple of more minutes."
"A few minutes is gonna make a difference?" the Colonel asked, questioning the scientist's common sense.
"Well, it might."
"All right, I'm willing to push it if you are." Colonel Young motioned to Dr. Volker, "Take your team and head back to the Gate."
Dr. Volker looked passed the colonel at Dr. Rush, who was still prying at random crevices along the hatch.
"Are you sure?" Dr. Volker asks, directing his question towards the scrambling scientist.
Dr. Rush assures Dr. Volker they would be right behind them.
"There was more on that tape than you showed Callie, or anyone else for that matter," Colonel Young said once the others were out of earshot.
"Oh really? And what would that be, exactly, Colonel?" Dr. Rush asked, defensive, and acidic. He turned toward the colonel, and slowly began walking back towards him.
"How about your verbal abuse of Sergeant Spencer not 20 minutes before he killed himself?"
"You spoke with him as well, did you not? Half the crew heard that! What makes you so sure our conversation was different?"
"I'm his commanding officer!" the Colonel said harshly.
"Yes, and I'm her lover."
"Is that what this is about now? Defending her honor?"
"No. This is about defending her, which you so clearly failed to do. You aren't fit to lead this crew. You resigned your position as S.G. leader because you didn't want to make the hard decisions, the life and death decisions. Those people deserve better than you for a leader. Callista deserves better than you."
Dr. Rush suddenly felt pain radiating from his nose. He realized quickly that the Colonel had punched him, and with quite a bit of force. He raised his arms in defense as the Colonel punched him again, harder. Dr. Rush swung at the Colonel and hit him in the jaw. Dr. Rush was lying on the ground before he even realized the Colonel had punched him a third time. Instinctively, the Doctor clutched a rock, and swung it hard against the Colonel's head, as he lunges at him. The men rolled on the ground, struggling with each other furiously. The Colonel also grabbed a rock, and bashed it against the doctor's temple, stunning him. Firmly in control, the Colonel dragged the doctor to his feet.
"Are we done?"
"We'll never be done," Doctor Rush said viciously.
Without warning, Colonel Young slammed his head into the Doctor's, and dropped him to the ground. He stood there for a moment, staring down at the man, contemplating what to do next. He glanced at his watch and realized he could not get back in time if he dragged the doctor with him. With a sigh of relief or perhaps resignation, of which he wasn't sure himself, he walked away.
In the control room, Callista checked the clock for the nth time and realized Doctor Rush and Colonel Young had yet to hear if everyone was back. The gate would be closing any minute. She abandoned what she was doing and went to the gate room.
As she entered the room, Lt. James and Dr. Volker and the others returned.
"Where's Doctor Rush and Colonel Young?" she asked Volker.
"Doctor Rush is still checking out the ship…" he said nervously. "They'll be along soon, I'm sure."
Callista gave Volker a long skeptical look.
"Rush said they'd be right behind us." Volker said more determinedly.
"But they aren't responding on the radio?"
"No…" he admitted.
"Lieutenant Scott, I want to go through. I'll hold the gate open."
"No. No way, it's too risky," Scott said, shaking his head. The ambient light from the gate played shadows across his face eerily.
"What, so you'd risk losing both your commanding officer, and your best scientist?" she goaded.
"She's got a point, Scott…" Eli said from the console.
"How much time until we jump back into F.T.L.?" Scott asked skeptically.
"Three minutes and counting," Brody announced.
"Do it," Scott ordered. The gate shut down moments later. As the chevrons locked, everyone cleared the immediate area.
Callista grabbed the necessary equipment from Volker, and ran through the open gate.
"I'm through! Shut it down!" she yelled into the radio. She jumped to the side of the platform, quickly dialing the Destiny. As she scanned the horizon, and there was no sign of movement. As the event horizon settled, she stuck her arm through.
"What's our time?" she asked over the radio.
"45 seconds and counting."
Callista ran through the different radio channels, trying to get a response.
As she flipped back to the original channel, the radio crackled, "ten seconds until scheduled jump. Doctor Young, I hope this works a second time."
"It's a safety mechanism… it has to work," she said. She silently counted the seconds as they ticked away. She closed her eyes and anticipated the possible dismemberment of her left forearm and hand, forcing herself to breath.
The time for automatic shutdown came and went and the wormhole seemed stable. Callista opened her eyes and gazed out over the sand dunes, see nothing but more sand.
"Doctor Young, do you see them?"
"No," she responded, "I will report back as soon as I see them, or in five minutes, whichever comes first." She set a timer on her watch.
"Okay, we'll be waiting," Lt. Scott said over the radio.
Callista stood as still as she could, breathing slow measured breaths, as she fought the clenching of her chest, and the fraying of her nerves. Her imagination ran wild with thoughts of her uncle and Nicholas injured and unconscious, just over the sand dune, or even as far as the alien spacecraft, three clicks away. She felt tears welling in her eyes.
"It's just sand in my eye…" she lied to herself. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. Time seemed to stretch out. She felt like she'd been standing there for hours, but her watch had not produced a single sound.
Colonel Young ran up and over the far sand dune, alone.
"Callie!" he shouted, waving his arms a bit.
"Where's Doctor Rush!" she shouted back, concerned.
He shook his head as he continued to jog toward her. "There was a rock slide…" he said, short on breath, "Callie, I'm sorry. He's dead."
"No. No, no no. You go back and get his body… We have the time," her voice shook.
"He was buried alive in the rock slide," he said, looking past her, his voice was strong but hollow.
Her eyes widened in shock. "You're lying!" She stared him down as best she could. As he approached, she put a firm hand on his chest. "Go back, and get him, or I will strand us all three here together," she said, slowly pulling her arm out from the event horizon, incrementally.
"He was never good for you, Callie."
"I don't care!" she pushed on his chest as much as she could; the ring on her thumb caught her attention momentarily. The next thing she knew, she was tumbling on the deck of Destiny's gate room, being crushed by Colonel Young's body.
"NO!" she screamed, pushing him off of her. She scrambled to her feet and the event horizon was gone.
"Where's Rush?" Wray asked.
"He didn't make it," Callie heard her uncle say; "There was a rockslide."
Suddenly, the ship jumped back into F.T.L.