Authors Note:
Thanks to my loyal reviewers PinkBug, EmSyd, chevron7 and Allie108. I laughed when I read your comment, chevron7, re who's availability Ronan was asking about. I was thinking Ronan would try to judge John and perhaps intimidate him a bit as well since he was the one who'd offered Ronan a place on Atlantis - so even though I meant Sabina it would actually work either way!
Chapter 10: Did you at least get something interesting off the database?
My job on Doranda was going to be similar to what I imagined Daniel had done in the early days of SG1. I wasn't going to be involved in anything to do with the weapon – instead I'd be searching the database there attempting to find out more about the Dorandans, their connection to the Ancients, and whether there were any other weapons or technologies mentioned that could be useful for Atlantis.
I was so excited that first day, almost bouncing in my anticipation of riding a Jumper through the gate for my first real mission.
"You're like a kid at Christmas," John teased, grinning at my antics.
"At least I'm not jaded like you," I retorted.
"When you've been through the gate as many times as I have," John drawled, "all the planets start blurring into each other."
"I can't imagine ever getting to that stage," I said, making myself comfortable in the back section of the Puddle Jumper along with the rest of the research team.
The trip was short and before I knew it we were flying over the devastation that was Doranda. My face fell as I realised there was little chance that anything of the Dorandan culture had survived beyond what was at the Ancient outpost. We had to climb down into the facility via a metal ladder which led straight into the main lab. The entire building seemed to be dominated by the central lab containing various consoles and a window showing a cylindrical room with some kind of device inside. Just off from the main lab was another smaller room that contained a single console – this was where I set myself up to access the Dorandan database.
"Stay in this room," John instructed me. "I'll be close by but keep your radio on," he checked to make sure my ear piece was in place. "Call me if you need me."
"I'll be fine," I said confidently. "Go – help Rodney." John nodded reluctantly before leaving me to my work.
I didn't get much done in the whole scheme of things that first day ... just enough to know the database was big enough that I wouldn't be able to copy the whole thing to my laptop like I'd hoped. I'd have to come up with some criteria to narrow my search or risk being distracted by the variety and colour of the information stored there.
Rodney and Doctor Zelenka had much more success. They discovered that the outpost was, as Rodney put it, the greatest discovery of all time. It appeared that the weapon was powered by a power source of such magnitude that it would make ZPMs obsolete. It had come too late for the Ancients to win the war but Rodney was confident he could complete their work and perfect the technique.
We returned home for Rodney and his team to do the necessary analysis of the command code. I was impatient to get back to Doranda but had to wait a few days before Rodney was ready to return. As before, I headed off to the smaller lab while the rest of the team converged on the main lab. That became our pattern over the course of the next week as research and simulations were conducted to determine if the system could be powered up safely.
"This place is amazing," I commented to John a few days later when he came to check on me.
"I know - Rodney's practically jumping up and down in excitement out there," John said, gesturing vaguely out the door.
"No - not just space-time vacuum energy, although that is pretty cool," I said. 'This place was prototype city for the Ancients. There's reference to a whole bunch of failed projects here. I think this is where the Ancients concentrated their efforts towards the end of the war - they were desperately trying to find ways to defeat the Wraith. I've linked the weapons research inventory device to the database here and I'm streamlining my search parameters ..." I broke off when I noticed John was grinning at me delightedly. "What?" I demanded.
"Nothing," he said. "It's just that you're so ... cute when you get all scientific. Are you sure you don't wanna join Rodney's Mensa chapter?"
"Very funny," I turned away so he couldn't see that I was amused by his comments. "Did you come in here for some reason other than to annoy me?"
"Yeah," John turned serious. "Rodney and Zelenka are about to try a controlled power-up of the system. Do you want to come watch?"
"Nah," I said. "You go ... I want to keep searching the database."
"Okay," John turned to leave the room. "Keep your radio on, just in case," John added before disappearing out the door.
Shaking my head fondly I turned back to my work. I was trying to find references to 'defensive' weapons as a priority - given the way the Wraith tended to punish with force of numbers any planet that attacked them I had decided that an effective defence against that kind of tactic would serve us better in the long run. I'd been at it for a few days and was starting to think there wasn't going to be anything other than the reams of stuff I'd found on shields (all requiring a ZPM to power them so probably useless to us for the moment). When my laptop started beeping I tapped at the keys not really expecting anything. The computer had stopped on something called project Imperium. As the Ancient text scrolled across my screen the words 'powered control' and 'telepathy' jumped out at me. Feeling a tingle of discovery I realised that I was finally on to something.
"Attention all personnel," Rodney's voice coming through my earpiece jolted me to awareness. "Stand by for power-up on my mark. Three, two, one, mark ..."
Ignoring the weapons test, I punched in some commands to transfer all the data on the project I'd just discovered from the Dorandan database to my laptop. There was a fair bit of data there and I couldn't help shifting from one foot to the other nervously as I waited for the transfer to complete.
"Sabina," John's voice came through my earpiece a few minutes later. "We're evacuating to the Jumper - get moving."
"I'll be there in a minute," I replied, watching the copy bar that indicated I still had about a tenth of the file left to copy.
"Now Sabina," John ordered sternly.
"On my way," I acknowledged, almost bouncing up and down as I waited impatiently. The copy bar hit the edge and my transfer completed. Quickly unplugging my laptop and unhooking the Ancient weapons inventory device I grabbed both and juggling them awkwardly, ran to the door.
John was pacing at the top of the ladder leading down to the outpost when I climbed up breathlessly a few minutes later. Grabbing the Ancient device impatiently from my arms he motioned for me to precede him towards the Jumper.
"What happened," I asked as I threw myself into one of the passenger seats next to Rodney. The other researchers were standing in the back section, strangely quiet compared to the buzz of noise that had accompanied our arrival. Rodney was sitting there with a shaky hand pressed to his face.
"Collins," he mumbled sickly. "The power levels were overloading and then ... something happened ... Collins was in the access tube ..." Rodney drew to a halt, leaving it to my imagination as to what had happened to Doctor Collins.
I raised an eyebrow at John as he turned from the pilot's chair to check on Rodney's condition. "Dead," he confirmed quietly.
I put a comforting hand on Rodney's shoulder but otherwise made no acknowledgement of the news. We made it back to Atlantis safely; John and Rodney disappeared immediately for an emergency meeting with Doctor Weir and the others. I spent the remainder of the day transferring and organising all the data I'd gotten from the Dorandan database so far.
"You broke your promise," John accused. It was later that night and I'd just arrived at his quarters for the evening.
"When?" I asked in confusion.
"On the planet," John persisted. "You said before I agreed to let you go on the mission 'the minute you say leave, I'll come back here without protest' but you didn't."
"But I did leave when you said," I insisted, surprised he was quoting me - did the guy memorise everything I said?
"No - you finished your download, unplugged your machines, and then left with a heap of equipment weighing you down," John clarified.
"But that only took a few minutes," I protested. "Was I supposed to leave everything behind?" I had thought I'd done exactly what he'd asked and now I was confused that he saw it differently.
"Yes you were," John said sternly. "When I said evacuate, you should have dropped everything and left."
"But it was only a few minutes," I pointed that out again.
"Even a few seconds could be the difference between escaping and being trapped somewhere," John pointed out. "In any evacuation the first rule is always to save yourself first - everything else can be replaced."
"I didn't know I was supposed to do that," I complained. "When did we make that rule?"
"Its standard operating practice," John pointed out. "It was part of the theory you studied during basic training."
"Oh," I said in surprise. The boring stuff ... that I'd skimmed through just enough to pass my tests. "Well how was I supposed to remember something I read once almost a year ago?"
"You really didn't remember?" John asked in a more reasonable tone.
"No," I insisted. "I thought I was doing the right thing - that weapon's inventory device plus what I copied off the Dorandan database probably isn't replaceable. I thought it was my responsibility to ensure we didn't lose them."
"Okay," John said reluctantly. "I'll let you off this time ... but if I ever order you to evacuate in the future you'll drop everything and run to the evac point the second I tell you to."
"Of course," I agreed easily.
"Did you at least get something interesting off the database?" John asked.
"Yes!" I'd almost forgotten my discovery in the horror of what had happened to Doctor Collins. "I found details of a project called Imperium – that means 'Control'. I don't know for sure but my first thought is that they were looking at defensive methods to stop the Wraith from using their greater numbers against the settled planets."
"Sounds interesting," John commented. "You should probably fill Doctor Weir in before you pursue it any further."
"Will we be able to go back to the planet?" I asked curiously, sitting down at the desk John had positioned in an alcove to the side of his bed. "There might still be something useful in the database."
"Not for a while, if ever," John said. "We might be able to send someone to copy the rest of the database though."
"There's lots of good stuff on shields in there," I pointed out. "Even without additional ZPMs we might be able to do more with the city's shield."
"Interesting," John commented, clearly no longer paying full attention to what I was saying. He made a move towards me but was halted when his door alarm beeped. "What now?" he muttered as he went to answer it.
"Harry K Daghilian," I heard Rodney's voice from the doorway. Luckily my position at the desk was mostly hidden from view behind the floor to ceiling column that sat in the middle of the room for no particular reason that I could see.
"Who?" John questioned.
"He was a scientist," Rodney said. "Worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. He was only twenty-six years old. Accidentally irradiated himself while performing a critical mass experiment on two half-spheres of plutonium. Took him a month to die. While his body was slowly shutting down from radiation poisoning, you know what he did with his last thirty days, hmm?" Rodney waited a few seconds for John to respond. When John said nothing, Rodney continued. "He worked. He tried until his last breath to understand what had happened to him so that others could learn from the tragedy, so that his work, his death, wouldn't be rendered meaningless. Now, have you considered what would have happened if they'd just shut the Project down after that."
"This is different," John replied when it seemed that Rodney had finished his long spiel.
"Is it?" Rodney's voice rose slightly in volume. "Collin's death is a pointless waste of life unless something comes of this, and I am not sure that I can ... " Rodney's voice shook as if he were swallowing tears. "I think I know what happened," he said more confidently.
"Let's hear it," John invited seriously.
"Can I come in?" Rodney asked.
"No," John refused, obviously remembering at that point that I was waiting for him. He didn't tell Rodney I was there and I agreed with the sentiment, knowing that Rodney wouldn't be pleased to learn how much of the conversation I'd already overheard.
Deciding Rodney deserved some privacy I plugged my IPod earphones into my ears and leant back to listen to some music while I waited for John to finish his conversation. After a few minutes, John moved away from the door, rubbing a hand over his hair as he frowned in deep thought.
"Is Rodney okay?" I asked, shutting off the IPod.
"He's struggling with guilt over Collins," John admitted. "Rodney's not military, despite the experience he's gained here. He's not used to ordering people to do things that end up getting them killed."
"It hasn't been that long since Doctor Lindstrom either," I pointed out.
"No ... I think Rodney feels that he should be able to put this sort of thing behind him ... it'll take him a while to accept that you never put it behind you," John's face was troubled with memories he'd probably never share with me. He blinked before focussing back on me "He wants me to speak to Doctor Weir for him."
"Are you going to?" I asked.
"He asked me to trust him ... said he'd earned it," John seemed to be still considering his options. "He has come through for us in the past," John admitted.
"So you'll talk to Doctor Weir tomorrow," I deduced that John would go into bat for Rodney, despite his misgivings.
"Yeah," John agreed, moving towards me again. "Now where were we?"