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Part 12/24

-Chapter 12-

Fallout

-Atlantis – Future-

"You – did -- what?" Doctor Peterson pushed to her feet with such force her chair nearly clattered over backwards.

Rodney swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing with the motion. "That, uh, that Ancient device in my lab? I used it to send Colonel Sheppard and Ronon Dex back in time to save Atlantis?" It came out sounding more like a question.

Sylvia spun on her heel to pace the length of the briefing room and back again. Her blue eyes blazed with a barely-controlled rage that was clearly mirrored on her face. "And would you care to tell me who or what gave you, Colonel Sheppard, and Specialist Dex the authority to meddle with time?"

McKay winced at her steel-hard tone, wishing he could just make himself disappear. "We all believed it was the right thing to do." Even to himself, it sounded weak. "We--"

Sylvia didn't allow him to finish. "Did you even bother to consider the ramifications this may – will! -- have on the future—our future? Because, correct me if I'm wrong here, there will be consequences not only to this timeline in this galaxy, but also to the Milky Way and who knows if it stops there?" She planted the knuckles of her clenched fists on the table and leaned toward him. "I do not see where it says 'supreme being' anywhere on your uniform, Doctor. Is your ego so enormous that you think you can obliterate an entire course of history just because you personally don't like it?"

Rodney chose to overlook the slur to his ego for the moment – after all, the woman was trying to cope with an enormous shock – and focused instead on what he perceived to be a misconception on her part. "Actually, while we do have confirmation of the existence of alternate parallel realities from SG-1's experiences with the quantum mirror, we weren't able to do any research on establishing laws of causality or effect with regard to individual events, on how one reality can arise from or branch off another. General Hammond ordered the device destroyed before such studies could be undertaken." He puffed a disgusted breath, shaking his head over the shortsightedness of the military mindset. "But saying that this timeline will be obliterated is an unsubstantiated--"

"Doctor McKay!" Doctor Peterson's tone was a slap in the face. "If you're trying to sidetrack me from the real issue here, it won't work. You and your cohorts went behind my back to do this without so much as an encoded memo to me! You have lied to me, you have messed around with time to make it yield to your own wishes, and I have yet to hear any indication at all from you that any of you gave any serious weight to the inevitable consequences of those actions!"

Rodney snapped his gaze up to lock with Sylvia's. Since she didn't pull her punches, he didn't pull his. "Excuse me, but for almost four months we agonized over every possible reaction that could result from what we did or didn't do. It always came back to one thing: Atlantis is the last hope for saving the Pegasus galaxy, and our own, from the Wraith. In the right here and now, that hope doesn't exist anymore. We can never rebuild the city, we won't even be able to save what little is left from another attack. This galaxy is going to fall into chaos, once again being nothing more than the feeding grounds of the Wraith. Ours may be next. Tell me, Doctor Peterson, is that really the future you want for all of the people of two galaxies?"

"No, of course it isn't." Her voice was a little more subdued. She straightened and folded her arms across her midriff. "All right, I can understand that, even if I'm not yet ready to say I accept it. But am I not correct in believing that isn't the only reason why you, Sheppard, and Dex have done this? Can you look me in the eye and tell me there wasn't a personal element to all this?"

Oh, this was the part he had really wanted to avoid; the part that he knew would stick in his throat and come out sounding so totally wrong. Nevertheless, McKay nodded reluctantly. "Yes." He paused to try to gather himself, looking anywhere but at the woman in front of him. "Sheppard and I, we've been teammates ever since the beginning of the Atlantis expedition. Same with Ronon, you know, just not quite as long. And, uh, when you have that bond over a long period of time, well, you just kind of know things without anything ever actually being said." His voice went very soft. Without his even realizing it, all the awkwardness dropped away from his demeanor. "So I knew he was in love with Elizabeth. After she died, I watched him start not to care anymore. I watched Ronon in that observation room, staying with Teyla because he loved her and hoped she'd survive. When she died, he drew back into himself, emotionally returning to the Runner he'd been when we first met him." Rodney stood and leaned against the table in mirror of Sylvia's earlier position. This wasn't about him; he knew that. This was about his friends, his family, and their home. He had to make Sylvia understand that.

"So, yes, Doctor Peterson, there was a 'personal element' in what we did. But I am being absolutely sincere when I say it wasn't the main reason we made the decision to go ahead with using the device. To all of us who came here knowing we might never see or have contact with Earth again, Atlantis has become more than just a city; she is this expedition's home. Atlantis brought Elizabeth Weir and John Sheppard together, civilian and military working together for a greater good. Atlantis freed Teyla and the Athosians from the constant threat of unprotected attack from the Wraith, and freed Ronon from his slavery to the Wraith, running for his life and sanity. Atlantis brought them together the same way it brought Elizabeth and Sheppard to each other. This was a city of grandeur, of wonders; a place where friendships were forged, and relationships developed and flourished." He shook his head, lifting his hands almost as if in appeal. "How could we not try to get that back?"

Sylvia looked at him, sorrow replacing the anger in her eyes. "I know I haven't been in Atlantis very long, and that I'm still perceived as being an outsider. Elizabeth Weir has been a very tough act to follow." Now her voice was the softest it had been in the entire meeting. "All right: so a part of me agrees wholeheartedly with you and what you are doing. I apologize for accusing you of acting from rampant ego. However, the fact remains you have taken on yourself decisions you were never authorized to make. And in doing so, you have risked unimaginable damage to the very fabric of time itself." She paused, shaking her head tiredly and sadly. "What am I going to do with you, Doctor?"

Rodney swallowed hard. He'd been scolded before, but the last time he'd only destroyed five-sixths of a solar system. That was a mere bagatelle compared to his most recent actions. However, "I'm not sorry," he finally said. "I know I've done the right thing. If John and Ronon fail, there can be no worse punishment for me."

"And for all of us," Sylvia said, the underlying sharpness back in her tone. "For all of our sakes, Doctor, I sincerely hope that your plan does succeed. Because if it doesn't. . ." She left the sentence unfinished as she picked up her data pad and left the room. Her stiff shoulders and uneven gait shouted frustration and anger, an exclamation point on the end of her final, dangling threat.

Rodney picked up his own data pad, distracted. He needed space. He needed time to think, time to plan. Or, perhaps, all he needed was something to distract his mind from what was happening around him and make him feel like things were normal for a few precious hours.

To Be Continued. . .