Chapter Six

Rodney thumped on the commissary doors. "Hey, come on, open up." He yelled. "I'm hungry"

"Sir, I can get you anything you would like to eat." The airman repeated patiently. "If you go back to the lab I will deliver it there straight away."

Rodney thumped on the doors again. "Open up."

"Sir"

"Look, I don't want you to bring me something. I want to get my own food." Rodney snarled. "Why don't you go back to the lab and I will bring you something as soon as I get in these doors?"

"Thank you, sir. I'm fine"

Rodney gave the door another thump, but it was half-hearted. His fists were getting tender. Deciding that enough was enough he started for the manual override which was behind the wall panel to his right.

"Sorry sir, I can't allow you to access the manual controls" the airman stated calmly as he placed himself in front of the panel.

"Look, whatever your name is, I am the head scientist on Atlantis and I can do whatever I darn well please!"

"It's Dixon, sir."

"Okay Dixon, are you going to move?" Rodney looked up at the airman, and considered his options. The man in front of him was a rather solid specimen who looked like he spent most of his time in the gym.

"No sir."

"McKay!" Zelenka yelled as he came skidding around the corner in a rush.

"Ah the cavalry has arrived, just in the nick of time" Rodney murmured in an aside to Dixon. The airman just grinned down at him with amusement.

"What is this all about Radek? What is going on? Why can't I get my lunch? Why are the doors locked?" he demanded.

"We have problems with systems in commissary. Not good. Is best to close and fix." Radek said briskly and with authority.

"I could fix it"

"No, no Rodney. Your time is valuable, not for an unimportant problem like this. You go back to the lab, Dixon will get you food. You don't want to waste your time." As he spoke Zelenka was leading McKay back towards his work.

Rodney started to feel again the sense of unease that had plagued him. Something was rotten in the city of Atlantis and he was unable to ignore it any longer. For one, Zelenka wasn't behaving normally, like so many others he'd seen today. Another point, everyone seemed to be determined to keep him isolated in the lab. As he thought about it Kavanagh's words in the gateroom began to gain sinister importance; plot, conspiracy.

"Yeah, okay Radek. I really need to get that diagnostic finished as soon as possible." Rodney was suddenly agreeable. His brain was spinning with possibilities… an alien foothold situation; some kind of mental control he was immune to; funny mushrooms; strange lights in the sky: a scheme to take over Atlantis. Whatever was happening he needed to be co-operative and pretend to go along with them until he could snoop around. Then find a way to fix it.