Chapter 32: You're stuck up there?!
"Okay," I whispered once I'd stepped from the elevator. "Which way?" I looked at my laptop and traced a path from my present location. According to the schematics the Imperium room was accessible via an isolated lift which lead only to that section. Having only one way into and out of the room made sense if the Ancients were trying to protect the project from discovery by the Wraith. Turning to my right I hurried down the corridor as quietly as I could. The facility looked very Ancient in design, although more aster than Atlantis. Rodney believed it had been built during the height of the war which supported the theory of Project Imperium being conducted there.
The ground shook a few times during my journey, urging me to go faster. Taking the second lift and then walking down a narrow corridor I eventually reached the right room a few minutes later. I wasn't surprised to find the door sealed shut with an Ancient access panel nearby.
"Please let this work," I muttered, reaching out a hand and swiping it across the panel. "Damn!" I complained when it didn't open. I stood back from the door and thought for a moment. The Wraith weapon room on Atlantis had required both the ATA gene and the Wraith gene because the weapon had required both for its activation. Maybe this room was similar - except this project required not just the Wraith gene but Wraith telepathy too. Remembering how the Wraith technology had required a more aggressive approach to accessing systems I placed my hand on the panel and concentrated hard, pushing my mind forcefully at the system as I'd learnt during my journey in the Wraith Dart. The panel lit up and the door slid open silently.
"Sabina, report?" John requested before I'd set foot inside the room.
"I've made it to my destination," I reported cryptically. "I'm about to proceed through."
"Acknowledged," John replied. "Doctor Weir convinced the Chancellor to evacuate to Atlantis ... I'm heading outside to organise the groups from this end."
"Okay," I acknowledged. "Be careful."
"You too ... Sheppard out."
I turned back to the room and shone my torch inside. Hoping the lights would come on once I was inside I cautiously stepped through.
The room was quite small, even for an Ancient lab. In the centre of the room on a circular dais was hopefully the device I'd come looking for. I walked up to the dais, dropping my pack on the floor as I leant closer to get a better look. It wasn't as big as I'd imagined it would be ... smaller even than the inventory devices. This one was also circular, but instead of being a cone with the top flattened off, it was a flat disc about 2 inches thick. Around the outside were the usual Ancient markings as well as thin slots through which the insides of the device could be seen. I was careful in picking it up not to accidentally power it up. Glad the device had turned out to be something I could easily carry, I took off my jacket and squatted down to carefully wrap it up before putting it in my already overloaded pack. Standing back up I looked around the room and noticed for the first time an access console in the far corner. The ground shook violently, knocking me to the floor - that one felt much worse than all the previous tremors. Pulling myself back up again I tried to make contact with the others.
"John," I tapped my earpiece and called.
"Sabina," John sounded like he was running. "The Stargate has been swallowed up by the magma ... "
"Crap!" I said irritably. "What's the plan then?"
"Elizabeth will send the Daedalus once she's worked out what happened," John said. "In the mean time we're headed to the Ancient ship to see if Rodney can get it working. What's your status?"
"I have the device," I told him. "There's an access console here too that I need to check out before I head back."
"Why?" John demanded.
"Because it strikes me as odd that it's here when the device looks completed," I retorted. "I don't want another Doranda - who knows what else was on that database if I'd only taken the time to search a bit deeper. I only need a few minutes to connect and do a quick search."
There was silence for a few moments before John replied.
"Rodney says it will take a while to assess the status of the ship - he could use your help but he said another ten minutes won't make a difference."
"Okay, I'll be quick," I acknowledged.
I put my hand on the access console and did the whole Wraith aggressive bit ... my effort was rewarded when the console activated. Connecting my laptop I searched quickly through the contents - the database was small enough for me to be able to copy it straight to my laptop. A few minutes later I was finished and packed up.
"John," I contacted the others again.
"Go ahead," John replied.
"I have everything I need," I reported, "and I'm headed back to you."
"See you in a few," John responded.
Running down the corridor I'd made it to the isolated life when the whole complex shook violently. Once again I found myself on the floor as an ominous creaking sound issued from within the elevator shaft. Jumping up I hurriedly swiped the access panel and shifted from foot to foot impatiently as I waited for the lift to arrive. The ominous creaking sound echoed again, followed by the even more ominous sound of something rushing past my floor. Holding my breath I winced as a few moments later a loud crashed echoed back up the shaft, bringing with it dust that made its way out from under the closed doors.
Coughing slightly I looked at the elevator in horror. "Crap!" I yelled. Somehow I just knew that John was gonna make this my fault ... because I hadn't gotten out when he'd first asked.
I tapped my earpiece and said hesitantly "Ah John, I have a ... slight problem up here."
"What is it?" John demanded.
"That last tremor shook things pretty badly up here," I said. "The, ah ... the elevator must have come free from its tether ... it's currently in a mangled heap at the bottom of the shaft."
"You're stuck up there?!" John accused heatedly.
"I'm stuck up here," I confirmed.
"Hang tight," John ordered. "I'm coming up to get you."
"Negative!" I cried. "I have the city schematics ... I'll find another way to the hangar."
"I said I'm coming to get you," John growled.
"Look you said it yourself ... that volcano could blow any time," I reminded him. "It'll be quicker if I head out now instead of waiting around for you."
There was a pause ... when I didn't hear anything I called again "John?"
"I've got the schematics here," John said grimly. "There's an access shaft south west from your position – it leads straight down to the hangar level but you're gonna have to crawl through a narrow tunnel to get to it and it looks pretty small."
"Acknowledged," my voice trembled slightly at his words.
"Just take it slow ... you've got plenty of time," John encouraged me. "Call me when you get to the access shaft."
"Okay, I'm on my way," I took off down the corridor, heading in the direction he'd indicated. The access panel was clearly evident and I quickly pried it open, sticking my head inside to see what I was in for. John had been right - it was small – there was no way that John would have fit. Pulling some rope from my pack I tied one end to the pack and the other to my ankle. I looked into the tunnel and realised that light was also going to be a problem. I rummaged around in my pack again and came up with some duct tape which I used to strap my torch to the inside of my wrist. As ready as I was gonna get I took a couple of deep breaths and then I squeezed myself into the tunnel on my stomach. The torch on my arm provided plenty of reflective light even though its direction followed my arms movements instead of pointing straight ahead. I wriggled my way forward, dragging my pack behind me. It took a long time to make progress and I was feeling a pretty hefty load of claustrophobia and anxiety before I finally spied an entrance ahead of me.
When I'd wriggled far enough I pointed my torch arm down the shaft. Ah hell - that was a long way down! Closing my eyes I forced myself to breathe deeply and focus on the first phase ... getting the rest of the way out of that tunnel was going to be difficult. The ladder was only a step to the side of the opening – I turned carefully onto my back so I was looking up the shaft and edged out a bit more. Reaching up for the highest rung I could manage I pulled my upper body out of the tunnel slowly – I had to move my grip up the ladder a few more rungs before I was out of the tunnel enough to move on to phase two.
I wrapped my arms tightly around the ladder rung and then swung my legs out of the tunnel. The sudden addition of my body weight and the weight of my pack pulled me down sharply and I grunted with the effort to maintain my position while I scrambled to gain my footing. Panting at the exertion I stood for a few moments to regain my breath. The pack was pulling down hard on my leg so I carefully leant to the side of the ladder, holding on with one hand. Lifting my foot slowly I got my ankle up high enough to grab the rope. I pulled the pack up carefully and looped one arm through the strap. Putting both feet back on the ladder I swapped hands so I could swing the pack up and get the other arm through a strap as well. Luckily the rope was long enough that I could just leave it tied on at both ends.
"John," I called in to report my progress. "I'm at the access shaft and about to start climbing down."
"Acknowledged," John responded. "Remember - slow and steady."
"Okay," I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I rested my forehead on the nearest rung for a few moments, breathing slowly and evenly.
"All right," I psyched myself up. "Time to start climbing ... you can do this – just don't look down." The torch arm idea had worked well up until that point but now my torch was pointing up when I really needed it to point down. There wasn't any way I could correct that because I'd put enough tape around the torch that I was gonna have to cut it off once I'd finished with it. I'd just have to grin and bear it ... a tough ask because I could feel the darkness pressing down on me and I hadn't even started yet.
Step by careful step I made my way down the ladder, counting the levels to take my mind off the fact that it was a long way to fall.
"How're you doing Sabina?" John's voice comforted me in the darkness of the access shaft.
"I'm half way down the shaft," I puffed, my voice shaking slightly. "It's pretty dark in here John."
"You're okay," John reassured me. "Keep going ... I'm waiting for you at the bottom."
"Talk to me," I kept stepping down one rung at a time.
"What about?" John asked.
"I don't know," I said irritably. "I'm a little occupied here – you think of something! And make it good because I've still got a long way to go and this place is starting to freak me out."
John cleared his throat before beginning to speak. After the first few words I realised that he was reciting something ... his voice rumbled through my ear and made me shiver as though his lips were there, connected to me. Moving in a steady rhythm I let his words carry me down the ladder in the darkness.
"Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.
The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me ... and be my love."
John's voice trailed off and I took the few remaining steps to the bottom of the shaft in silence. I took a couple of deep breaths before turning towards the opening to the shaft – it was another tunnel like the one I'd wriggled through at the top. Removing my pack as before I made my way into the tunnel.
"Christopher Marlowe?" I asked John in a muffled voice as I moved forward.
"The Passionate Shepherd to his Love," John admitted. "Kind of appropriate on a number of levels don't you think?"
"It was beautiful," I complimented him. "The poem and the delivery." When John said nothing in response I added "I thought I was the only one obsessed with literature."
"English double major in college," John said, sounding much closer now.
"And yet you've been reading War and Peace for over a year," I pulled myself forward and finally spotted the exit just ahead of me.
"I only had room for one book," John reminded me. "I'm following a strict daily quota on pages."
John reached into the tunnel, grabbed my arms and pulled me the rest of the way out. I threw myself into his arms and held on really tight.
"You did good," John said into my hair. He let me rest there for a few minutes before pulling back. "We have to get back to the ship ... I don't know how much time we've got left." I looked at my watch and realised I'd been gone for over three hours. That trip down the ladder had been long and my knees trembled slightly with fatigue.
John dropped me off with Rodney before heading back to the Control Room with Norina to make sure all her staff were evacuating too. I noticed that Rodney had gotten main power back on line so that all the sections of the Control Room were powered. He assigned me the task of checking the power systems for breaks. We'd been working silently for a fair while when John checked in.
"Rodney, come in," John said.
"Go ahead," Rodney replied.
"Looks like there's a lot of new vents opening up - a lot of ash going into the air," John reported. "They're headed towards the settlement. We don't have time to wait for the Daedalus. How are those engines coming?"
"I'm not even close," Rodney scoffed.
"Well, then, I guess we're all gonna die," John informed him matter of factly.
"Oh, you're doin' that on purpose!" Rodney protested heatedly.
"What?" John said nonchalantly.
"You're creating an impossible task that my ego will force me to overcome," Rodney explained indignantly.
"Oh, yes, yes, that's exactly what I'm doing," John replied in a tone that said he meant the opposite. "It has nothing at all to do with saving the lives of these people. It's all about you." John's voice turned angry as he ordered "Now get your ass back to work and fix those damn engines!"
Muttering to himself about arrogant Colonels who had never appreciated his value, Rodney turned back to the control crystals he was checking and kept working. I turned my face away so he wouldn't notice my silent laughter.
"Sabina," Rodney called briskly. "I need you to go down to Engineering ... when you get there I'll relay what I want you to do."
"No problem," I agreed, checking the ships schematic to work out the best way down there. "I'm here Rodney," I reported in about five minutes later.
Rodney talked me through the various checks he needed done – it was a little creepy being down in Engineering by myself and I was grateful when Rodney said he had enough and for me to head back up to the Control Room. The earthquakes were getting more violent – the last one shook the ship enough to send me careening into the wall.
"John?" I tapped my headset but only got static.
Running into the Control Room I called out to Rodney "I can't raise Colonel Sheppard on the radio."
"As I was just explaining to these two," he gestured to Doctor Beckett and Norina who had arrived while I'd been elsewhere, "there's too much interference. Look, the atmosphere is heavily charged with electromagnetic energy. This baby's ready to blow."
"The Taranan people are all on board except for the last group that Colonel Sheppard was escorting," Doctor Beckett said.
"Teyla and Ronon?" Rodney asked reluctantly.
"We've lost contact with them as well," Carson admitted.
"Right," Rodney said hesitantly. He turned back to the wall panel he'd been working at before I'd interrupted him. Knowing there was nothing else I could do to help, I found a spot out of the way to sit quietly and worry about John.
"Alright," Rodney announced, closing the last wall panel. "Tell the people to get on the floor and secure themselves."
"What about the others?" I asked quickly. "We can't do anything until they get here!"
"We don't have time to wait," Rodney said impatiently. "I think the eruption is imminent. We're ... just about ready."
"Ready for what?" John's voice came from the doorway. I jumped up and ran over to greet him, smiling delightedly. John touched a hand to my cheek before urging me to walk back into the room with him.
"Oh, thank God!" Carson said in relief.
"What took you so long?!" Rodney smiled happily.
"Just about ready for what?" John repeated the question he'd just asked.
"To activate the shields," Rodney said like it was obvious.
"You said the blast from the eruption would wipe out half the continent," John pointed out.
"It will," Rodney agreed lightly, "and after four point one seconds of those extreme temperatures and pressures, our shields will be depleted."
"Well, as much as I'm all for living for another four seconds ..." John drawled sarcastically.
"That's not very much time for anything, Rodney," Carson pointed out.
"It's plenty of time to open a hyperspace window," Rodney spread his arms out and grinned, like a magician pulling the rabbit out of a hat. When everyone just stared at him blankly, Rodney blinked in bewilderment. "What?" Rodney demanded. "That's my plan. Didn't I tell you about that?"
"No," Carson said pointedly.
"No, you didn't," John's tone was less than forgiving.
"Well, you were too busy running around looking for people," Rodney said in agitation.
"Well, tell us the damn plan!" John demanded heatedly.
It was a classic Rodney plan – bold and risky and so completely outside the square I don't think anyone else would have ever thought of it. While Rodney went about finalising what was needed to implement it, I stood quietly with John and tried to think positively.
"We're good to go," Rodney finally announced. "Let's head to the Bridge," he added, turning and hurrying out the door.
"Where's the P.A.?" John asked when we got there.
Rodney pointed to the Captain's chair in the middle of the Bridge. "Arm of the chair," he said, taking a seat at another console.
John sat down in the Captain's chair and activated the P.A.
"Alright, folks, all chairs and seat backs into your upright and locked positions," he said jokingly. I took the seat closest to his, fighting the nervous desire to laugh.
"Don't hold your breath," Rodney advised. "It could happen any time in the next half an hour."
The ship started to vibrate while we sat as calmly as we could manage. I noticed that both Carson and Norina had their eyes closed and Rodney was hanging on to his console grimly. I turned to John and saw that he was looking at me.
"If this doesn't work," I looked at him with love in my eyes, "I have no regrets."
"This will work," John said firmly, "but back at you."
"Oh please," Rodney muttered.
"Shut up Rodney!" we turned in unison and glared at him.
"What!" Rodney demanded. "No passionate kiss?"
"You're just jealous Rodney," John drawled.
"May-" Rodney began before holding up a hand. "Something's happening – hold on!"
We felt the floor of the hangar explode and the ship shake violently as the pressure underneath the hangar built up – the force of the explosion shot the ship upwards hundreds of metres into the air. I don't think any of us realised the hyperspace window had activated until everything suddenly became still. Ahead of us the large view screen revealed a wonderful sight – we have arrived safely in space.
"It worked!" Doctor Becket exclaimed.
I stood with John admiring the view of stars and the welcome sight of the Daedalus hovering in space nearby.
"I told you it would work," John nudged my shoulder and smiled when I looked up at him.
"You did," I agreed, turning back to the view and leaning my head against his chest.
"You really are a genius," Norina smiled over at Rodney. Rodney was strangely quiet, still clinging to his console and staring fixedly at nothing. "Rodney?" Norina called.
"I'm good," Rodney said quietly.
It was a relief to be beamed aboard the Daedalus for the six hour trip back to Atlantis, even more so when we were greeted with pleasure by Ronan and Teyla. I was so tired but none of us could relax – the adrenalin of coming so close to death ... again ... was still affecting all of us.
Back on Atlantis Dr Weir filled us in on the bad news – in our absence a Wraith Hive ship had been detected on long range sensors. Doctor Zelenka believed it would get to Atlantis within three weeks. I briefly filled Doctor Weir in on what I'd found ... I'd need to do a lot more investigation before I could report on whether any of it was useful.
Doctor Weir finally finished up the debriefing ... I followed John wearily to his quarters and fell on the bed face down.
"Just leave me here," I muttered into the pillow.
"Come on," John pulled me up and helped me into the bathroom. Even a shared shower wasn't enough to get my system moving – the long day plus all the exertion of getting to and then climbing down that access shaft had taken almost everything I had.
John guided me back towards the sleeping area and sat me down on the bed. "You okay?" he asked in concern, squatting down in front of me.
"Yeah," I slurred. "Tired ..." I leant forward and put my head on his chest. "You're warm ..." I muttered, rubbing my nose into his shirt. "Feel ... safe with you ... gonna sleep now, 'kay?" I nestled into his chest and let myself relax.
"Okay," John agreed with a fondly amused smile.
Authors Note:
I was a bit hesitant to put the Christopher Marlowe poem in this but it was just so perfect for that moment ... while I can't imagine John Sheppard from season 3 as seen in the series reciting poetry to anyone (especially when he apparently couldn't even tell Teyla that he has feelings of any kind for any one ... at all!!) I don't think it'd be out of character for a John Sheppard comfortable in an established relationship. I also don't think it's out of character in terms of Sheppard's abilities etc ... after all he could have chosen to take any book for entertainment and he chose War and Peace!! I'm actually a bit nervous about this chapter even though I was looking forward to getting the story this far - what do you think??
The next seven chapters all taken place between Inferno and Allies ... so all new everything!! I'll edit and post at least a couple a day. Hope I didn't put you off with the John Sheppard fluff stuff from this chapter!