Chapter 8
"Colonel?"
Ellis turned and walked to the young woman standing at the Apollo's long range scanner. "What is it, Lieutenant?"
"The Wraith fleet we've been tracking has just jumped into hyperspace again and they've changed course, Sir."
"Where're they headed?"
"Here, Sir. Atlantis." She manipulated the scanner's controls and a dotted line appeared, tracking in a straight line from the enemy ships to Atlantis. The colonel felt a cold knot in his stomach. The couple of days spent sitting in orbit while the frantic work in the city below continued was long past being tedious. The ship's crew was accustomed to inactivity because of the trips between galaxies, but this was grinding. Other than searching for errant computers, they really couldn't even help the personnel in the city. This, however, was not the activity anyone would have wished for.
"ETA?"
"At present speed and course, Sir, thirty hours."
"Damn." He muttered as he watched the blip on the screen for several seconds then turned to another crewmember. "Beam me down."
"Col. Ellis?" Sam looked up from her computer when Ellis appeared. His expression was dark and the fact that they were still more than an hour from the scheduled shut down gave her a sudden sense of foreboding. "What's up?"
He glanced around at the number of people working at various computers in the area. Reluctant to make a general announcement to everyone in earshot, he got closer. "The Wraith fleet we were tracking has changed course."
McKay stopped to listen. He couldn't help asking, "Where are they going now?"
"As far as we can tell, here." Ellis dropped his voice lower. "They were joined at their recovery point by a cruiser. When they made the jump, there was a change in course. If they remain on the current heading, they'll be here in thirty hours."
Sam nodded. This was a whole new wrinkle they didn't need. "John, did you hear that?"
"Yeah."
"We have less than an hour before we're scheduled to stop. Are you…"
"I'm good."
An hour later, they were sitting in the conference room again. Ellis tapped a key on a laptop and pointed to the large monitor at the end of the table.
"They dropped out of hyperspace right where we thought they would. Not long after, another cruiser joined them. When they jumped back into hyperspace, they had changed course."
"Are you sure?" McKay asked.
"Yes, I am. We're still tracking them. The whole fleet is on course for Atlantis."
"The Wraith can't possibly know we're here. How could they?"
"Todd didn't know our location. He never saw the coordinates and never got a look at any computers outside Rodney's lab." Sheppard said with certainty.
McKay snapped his fingers. "Yes, and both Hives destroyed each other."
"They may have picked up our distress beacon during the lockdown." Sam suggested.
"That was two weeks ago. Why didn't they check it out then?" McKay fidgeted with the coffee mug in front of him.
Ellis tapped a couple of keys on the laptop. The screen zoomed out to show the courses taken by the Hives and the cruiser. The dotted line for the cruiser indicated it traveled a long way in the general direction of Atlantis. It appeared that the rendezvous might have been planned as the quickest jumping off point to the possible source of the beacon.
"They're coming now, that's what important." John observed. He looked at Sam and Rodney. "Can you get everything done by then? Without the cloak or shield, we're sitting ducks."
"Thank you for stating the obvious." McKay snapped. "I doubt I can even get the main operating system back online by then, much less the cloak or shield. We have at least thirty hours of non-stop work. No breaks, no powering down the system. And, that doesn't even include testing to make sure we haven't screwed it all up."
"What about using the drones?" Ellis suggested.
"It's possible, but I don't know if they'll work." John shook his head. "Besides, they'd be able to broadcast our location. We'd have every Hive in Pegasus coming to the party at full speed."
"Is it possible to get just the cloak working?" Teyla asked.
"No." Rodney looked miserable. "We're screwed. We may as well evacuate and set the self-destruct."
The table fell silent for a few seconds. Finally, Atlantis' commander spoke. "It's too soon to talk about destroying the city. We have thirty hours to figure out something."
John stood up. "Colonel, can your guys beam me back to the chair room?"
"Wait a minute, John." Sam stopped him. He didn't look that great when he was released from the infirmary the night before, and now appeared to be even more drained. She caught Col. Ellis then Teyla's eyes and said, "Would you mind excusing us?"
"Of course." They said almost in unison. They left, making sure everyone else followed them out.
"We need to do this." Sheppard was suspicious of what she was going to say as he sat down again.
"I know, but we aren't going to get very far if you collapse." She knew he was right, so was she.
"I won't."
"Colonel." Jennifer Keller entered. She'd heard enough to know what he intended to do. "This is not a good idea."
"We really don't have much of a choice, do we?" He blinked and shielded his eyes from the light when he looked up at her.
"See, the headache is bad again already, isn't it?" Jennifer watched him closely as she walked around the table to sit nearby.
He turned to Sam to avoid the doctor's gaze. "It doesn't change the fact that a fleet of Wraith ships is probably going to arrive on our doorstep in thirty hours. If we don't want to either give up or blow up the city, we have to try to get the programming fixed."
Sam considered both arguments. Finally, she stood up. "Okay, John, we'll try it your way for now. Give me about half an hour. I need to talk with Rodney and Radek. We have to revise our plan of attack."
John didn't move. "You should get everyone ready to evacuate, just in case."
"Evacuate?" Jennifer asked. "The Apollo can't hold everyone, can it?"
"No." Sam responded, suspecting what Sheppard was going to suggest.
"We can send everyone to Earth through Midway. If we succeed here, they can come back. The SGC will just have to deal with the quarantine." He took a deep breath. "Rodney and I can work as long as possible. The Apollo can take anything that can't be carried and beam us out if we don't get it done."
"Colonel." Jennifer shook her head slowly, incredulous that he would even think about attempting it.
"I don't see any other option." He looked straight at Sam, ignoring the doctor's objection.
"He's right." Sam looked at her then back at John. There wasn't enough time for the Apollo to ferry the city's personnel to a safe location. It was going to take a lot more time to get a couple of hundred people through the Gate than it took for one Jumper, but they'd have to get as many out as possible. "I'll have all non-essential personnel prepare to evacuate. The Apollo can get the rest of us out."
"Sounds good." He agreed, hoping that the time needed to keep the wormhole open wasn't going to be beyond him.
Sam nodded agreement. "When do you want to do this?"
He hadn't thought that far. "Uh, let's make sure the Wraith are coming here."
"Okay. How about we evacuate if they remain on course for the next twelve hours? Is that too long to wait?" Sam hoped they might catch a break in the programming and not need to evacuate.
"No. I don't think so." He stood up and started to walk out.
Jennifer stopped him. "I want to check you out before you go back."
He was too tired to care. "Okay."
As soon as he was out the door, Jennifer turned to Sam. "How long will it take for everyone to go through?"
"Hopefully not too long." They both knew that it all depended on John Sheppard. He was going to attempt to hold the connection for the Gate active for at least thirty minutes after nearly 24 straight hours in the chair. After that was at least another sixteen hours of programming to support then, then…the cloak, the shield, weapons? Without those things, they may as well destroy the place and leave. Sam got up and walked to the door, the thought that this city might be lost on her watch weighing heavily on her. "If you'll excuse me...?"
"Of course. I need to examine Col. Sheppard and then try to decide what we can take with us." Jennifer followed, her mind taking inventory of the equipment in the infirmary. Carson Beckett drew up a list of the most valuable of the Ancient medical devices for just this kind of event. He'd discussed it with her on more than one occasion. A lot would depend on the space allotted to her on the Apollo, and it made her heartsick to think of what they might lose. One thing she wanted to take but could not was the medical scanner. It was mounted in the basic structure of the infirmary and dismantling it would take too long.
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Sheppard spotted Teyla on the way out. He walked up to her and spoke quietly. "You need to pack a bag. We're probably going to evacuate everyone to Earth in a few hours."
Her mouth fell open in surprise. "Excuse me? What do you mean?"
"Look, this may not work. The Wraith are going to be here tomorrow and the Apollo can't hold everyone. We're going to send all non-essential personnel to Earth through the Gate bridge. You're going." Not waiting for a reaction, he walked away.
Teyla said nothing, knowing that she would not be able to argue with him. She waited for Sam. "Col. Carter? May I speak with you?"
"Good. Teyla, I'm glad you're here." Sam had a feeling she knew what happened from the Athosian's expression and Sheppard's disappearing back. "If we haven't resolved this and the Wraith stay on course, we're going to evacuate non-essential personnel to Earth."
"John told me. He said I would be going as well."
"Yes, that's right. I'm going to make an announcement as soon as we have the PA up again."
"I wish to stay. I am sure that there is something I can do here."
Sam put her hand on Teyla's arm and shook her head once. "No, I want you to go. We're going to have limited space on the Apollo, and I don't think it would be wise to have you here if we need to run."
"Definitely not." Jennifer added them. "You're evacuating with the rest. No arguments. We have to think of the baby."
Teyla knew she was defeated by the set of both women's faces. She was deeply disappointed, but inclined her head in acceptance. "Very well."
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The colonel made the announcement as soon as Sheppard activated the systems again. "This is Col. Carter. We have just learned that two Wraith Hives and several support ships are on course to Atlantis. If they maintain present course and speed, they will arrive here tomorrow. If we are unable to restore the city's systems and defenses within the next twelve hours, all civilian personnel not otherwise notified will need to evacuate to Midway and then on to Earth. I'm sorry, but there won't be enough time to allow you to take personal belongings. The Apollo will be taking as much of the vital research and equipment as possible. Department heads, prepare to be beamed over to the Apollo immediately to make the necessary arrangements."
Within the hour, the Apollo settled on the east pier. She needed to be hidden there if the cloak was activated, but could easily be back in the air and make the jump to hyperspace at the last minute if the efforts to bring the city back to life failed. The provisions brought from Earth for the city were had already been offloaded. Her crew started beaming in all equipment considered the most valuable. Even though every spare inch of the ship would be packed to tight, they knew they could take only a fraction of what they wanted. The most difficult decisions were what should go and what would have to be left behind.
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In Gate operations, time seemed to accelerate with each passing minute. Almost nothing was said, and the dozen or so people frantically working on code barely looked up. They didn't even seem to notice the activity going on around them. Sam narrowed the focus on the main operating system, cloak, shield and weapons. Everything else could wait.
"Col. Carter. This is Ronon." He was speaking very quietly.
Four hours had passed since the last break, and it was twelve since the Wraith's change in course. "This is Carter. We're preparing to stop now."
"Good."
Ronon stepped back into the chair room and waited silently for his friend to deactivate the chair. John sat with his head bowed and his hands over his eyes for a long time. He seemed to be out of breath and energy. "John?"
"Gimme a second." John got out as he waved one hand. This city was one of the things the Ancients did right. He knew her, inside and out. He knew her soul. Right now, it was impossible to find her, and climbing out of the suffocating darkness was getting harder. Finally, he released a deep, shuddering breath and stood up. Pressing his transceiver, he said, "Col. Carter, this is Sheppard."
"Go ahead, John."
"Are the Wraith still on course for Atlantis?"
"Stand by." There was a brief pause. "Yes, they are. Sorry."
"Okay. When do you want to start the evacuation?"
"We're still getting ready here. We'll try in thirty minutes."
"Thirty minutes. Sheppard out." He actually needed hours, but that just wasn't possible. John had to settle for trying to clear his head before it imploded. He stood up and pressed his transceiver to turn off the voice activation function. John patted Ronon on the shoulder as he slowly walked out of the room. "Thanks."
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"I'm going to access only the Gate, okay?" John informed them when he returned to the chair.
Sam and Rodney frowned at each other. He asked what they were both thinking. "How? Can you do that?"
"I think so."
Sam raised her eyebrows at his statement. It made sense if he could do it. He'd been keeping a lot of balls in the air at once for days. Focusing on a single function might be easier. Well, relatively easier. None of this could be called easy in any context. "When you're ready, John."
A few minutes later, Chuck turned to look enquiringly at her and Rodney. They were waiting for Sheppard to give the go ahead to dial the Gate. She held up a hand, warning everyone to be patient. No one had any idea what he had to do. She wanted him to have all the time he needed so that the wormhole was stable enough for the majority of the city's personnel to evacuate.
"Try it." To their surprise, Ronon said this.
The instructions caused a whirlwind of activity.
"Dialing now." Sam said as she nodded at Chuck. He tried the first symbol. When it encoded, he quickly completed the sequence and the wormhole formed normally. The light from it bathed the waiting evacuees in its watery glow.
"Midway, this is Atlantis. Are you ready for the evacuees?" The colonel asked quickly, half regretting she'd agreed to this.
"Col. Carter, this is Midway. We're ready. Send them through." The Apollo sent word as soon as the plan was made. Midway, in turn kept the SGC informed. Since there were far too many people to keep on the tiny space station, most would go on to Earth. The SGC, in turn, had been given time to devise quarantine provisions that would satisfy the IOA.
As soon as Sam signaled to the Marine captain on the floor below, he turned to the people surrounding the Gate's raised platform. He didn't shout, but his voice was heard quite a way down each corridor. "Alright, everyone, let's go. Quickly, please."
Teyla stood up. "I hope your work is successful and we will all return soon."
"Thank you, Teyla." Sam gave her a reassuring smile. "I do, too."
"Uh, see you later." Rodney said, unable to think of anything more appropriate.
"We'll see you soon." Beth Reynolds said as she took a small Athosian made bag from Teyla. They walked down the stairs and to the Gate. With barely a glance back, they stepped through together.
"Well, at least she's safe." Rodney said glumly. After watching Teyla disappear through the puddle, he started to pace.
The formation was a little ragged, but the forward movement was orderly and quiet. Any drill sergeant would have been satisfied with discipline shown by the mass of civilians.
Progress, even though as fast as possible, was a painfully slow shuffle. All civilian personnel not necessary to the repair efforts were leaving. The teams searching for the virus laden computer were dismantled, leaving only the military to continue. Funneling them from various corridors into the relatively narrow Gate took time, a lot of time.
The military was staying. If it came to the unthinkable, the Apollo would beam them all out and take them to the Alpha site. From there, they could to Gate to Earth. It was a risk, but one Col. Carter felt warranted. She was not willing to leave Atlantis deserted while waiting for the Wraith. It was a relief when the SGC sent word the IOA concurred with the plan. They certainly didn't need a fight on that quarter.
McKay continued to pace in a tight pattern between the consoles, tablet in hand. He occasionally paused at the railing to watch the procession inch through the puddle. Each time he stopped, he became a little more agitated.
"Rodney." Sam said when he huffed past her for the third time in about three minutes.
Radek turned from where he stood at the rail. He spoke quietly. "They have only just started and are going as fast as they can."
"I think they could go a little faster if they tried. We have less than eighteen hours to go through, oh, I don't know, half a billion lines of code." He glared at the Czech then flopped into a chair. He stared at his laptop, "I just don't understand why we can't work on it at the same time."
Both Sam and Radek decided it was a rhetorical statement and said nothing.
"Col. Carter?" Everyone looked up to see Maj. Lorne approaching with a Marine sergeant close behind. A grim, but satisfied, expression told them he had news.
"Major?" She prompted.
"We think we found the computer." He slowed very briefly to allow the sergeant to pass him, and take in the evacuation below. He nodded in her direction. "Simmons found it."
McKay snapped his fingers then held out his hands and she hurried to give him a laptop. He sat down and began to search its contents, everything and everyone else forgotten. Zelenka hovered over one shoulder, trying to see the screen.
Simmons spoke to the colonel. "It was in an unused room near one of the engineering labs, Ma'am."
"Thank you, Sergeant. Well done." Sam offered her an encouraging smile. She then spoke to Lorne. "I think we need to continue the search in case there're are any others out there."
"Will do, Colonel." Lorne agreed then turned and left with Simmons.
"Rodney?" Sam turned to the chief scientist.
"It isn't one of our computers," he replied without looking up. "They probably brought it here specifically to sabotage us. Give me a minute."
Reluctantly, she turned her attention to the exodus. More than ten minutes had passed and there wasn't even a dent in the number of people she could see on the floor below and up the corridors visible from this angle. Her eyes flicked from the Gate to the Gate controls, looking for any sign of change in the stability of the wormhole. This was going to take far too long.
"Get a move on, people!" The captain's voice boomed throughout the huge space. The movement of the evacuees sped up only a fraction. They were actually moving as fast as possible. Just as the Gate was wide enough to accommodate only a handful of bodies, there wasn't a lot of room in Midway for arrivals to quickly spread out or move through the Milky Way Gate. He felt, however, the encouragement to keeping moving couldn't hurt. "We don't have all day."
Sam looked over through the railing again. Time was dragging now. Too slowly.