Chapter 8: Crap!
After another eighteen hours in the Puddle Jumper with McKay, Lorne would have expected he'd be more than ready to launch the other man out the rear hatch. Thankfully that hadn't turned out to be the case ... an occupied Rodney McKay was a totally different beast than the one Lorne had travelled to Lantia with.
No, all he'd had to put up with was the occasional snippy complaint at the additional work he'd caused the scientist with his caveman approach to engineering extraction.
Evan had shrugged and let it flow over him like water off a ducks back ... and after he'd shared the gruesome facts about death by drowning – as far as he knew them, and of course embellished to make it perfectly clear what Rodney had risked by delaying them – the good doctor had mercifully dropped the subject.
"How's it coming McKay?" Evan asked when they were only two hours away from the space gate that would take them back home.
"I've done as much as I can here," Rodney announced, moving into the forward section and throwing himself wearily down in the co-pilot seat.
Evan glanced at the other man, frowning at the almost visible cloud of exhaustion hanging over him. The Major had rostered a few hours of sleep for each of them during the trip back but half the time Rodney had skipped his in favour of working on the amplifier and now it was showing on his face. Not that Lorne expected to be looking much better. The walk under water and under pressure along with his physical efforts while in the mining station had taken more out of him than a few hours of sleep in twenty was going to put back.
"Get some rest McKay," Lorne ordered. "That wasn't a suggestion this time," he added when Rodney made to protest.
Muttering to himself about bossy pilots and something about Sheppard knowing better than to question his sleeping habits, Rodney nevertheless complied. He stretched out with a weary sigh on the only vacant bench not strewn with the evidence of his work on the ancient device.
Rodney was all set to start worrying about how Atlantis was going to be able to use the amplifier and the Stargate to find Sheppard ... all those concerns about the sheer number of Gates in the Pegasus system and how long it was going to take to dial enough of them, not to mention the likely range of the amplifier that could see them hit on the right planet and still not find John ... but tiredness won in the end.
Lorne glanced back into the rear section a few moments later, smirking when he saw that Rodney was already asleep. "So much for not questioning your sleep habits McKay," he muttered with a chuckle.
Glancing at the HUD he sighed. Only an hour and forty minutes to go ... one hundred minutes that were probably going to feel like a thousand. The only good thing was that once he'd gotten Rodney and the amplifier back to Atlantis his part of it would be done. Lorne fully intended to head straight for the sack and leave the technical stuff to the scientists.
oOo
John came to feeling groggy and disorientated. For a moment he couldn't remember where he was ... until the hard concrete floor and the lingering headache brought it all back to him. He'd destroyed the last receptacle of Aperio and taken what he thought might be his first Zat stun for his troubles ... not bad for a day's work.
"Ah, you rejoin us," a different voice greeted John's return to consciousness. This one was cultured too but with an oddly gentle edge ... not the kind of voice you'd expect a kidnapping mastermind to have. Not that kidnapping was what this was about ... John wasn't expecting them to be delivering any ransom requests for his safe return.
Opening his eyes and wincing as light assaulted his sight, John squeezed his eyes closed again for a moment and then had another go. Okay – better. With a groan he rolled over, noting quickly that he and the other man were the only occupants of the small room he'd been dragged to. That meant there were now at least three people that Sheppard would have to get through in order to escape. Ninja man, voice over guy, and the man in front of him. Eyes adjusting, John got his first look at one of his captors.
The man was around the forty mark, on the shorter side of average height, with a lean almost effeminate build. None of that was overly interesting to Sheppard. What was interesting was the fact that the man was wearing a suit ... a business suit advertising more than anything else could have that he was a native of Earth. What was someone like that doing all the way out in the Pegasus galaxy? And how the hell had he got there in the first place?
"You know, a bed or a chair would have been nice," John complained as he sat up, rubbing at a sore spot on his arm. "That floor isn't exactly comfortable." Looking at his captor more closely, he took in the details. Everything about him was dark ... his hair, eyes and skin tone suggesting maybe European or Middle Eastern descent. Even his clothes were all black ... the only thing that stood out was the tiny gold pin attached to the centre of his tie shaped into a symbol John didn't recognise although it did look like some kind of bird.
"I apologise," the man replied. "These facilities are somewhat ... Spartan ... but I expect even this room is the height of luxury compared with some of your prior jails."
"Maybe," Sheppard dismissed lightly, deciding now wasn't the time to be worrying about just how much these guys knew about him. Sitting when his host was standing only accentuated the disparity of his current situation so as soon as he felt stable enough, John got slowly to his feet.
Much better – now he had the upper hand on looking down at the other man.
His host seemed amused by John's ploy even as he moved to sit behind the large desk, the only piece of furniture in the small room.
Looking around curiously, Sheppard spied the darkened window dominating one of the walls. Frowning, John turned his gaze to cover the entire room ... it was nondescript in a way that just didn't add up. The place had been stripped of every defining feature, which left the Colonel with a host of unanswered questions centred on what these people could possibly be hiding. Time to find answers to some of those questions.
"You got a name?" he asked his host, crossing his arms and leaning casually against the wall opposite the window.
"You may call me Vulture," the man replied as though bestowing a great honour.
"Vulture?" John quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "I'm guessing that's not the name your Mother gave you."
"It is both name and rank," Vulture replied. "I would not expect one such as you to understand the origins of our beliefs."
"Your beliefs?" Sheppard repeated. "Is this the part where you try to convince me your quest is noble ... something about the ends justifying the means?"
"The fundamental order of the universe supersedes all other concerns," Vulture's tone was complacent. "I am sorry you were stunned, but your actions in destroying the Vessel of Ma'at were a sacrilege to our order."
"Your ... 'vessel' was already broken," John pointed out. "You know how these things go ... it was only a matter of time before it stopped working completely."
"The vessel has existed for millennia," Vulture shook his head sadly. "We knew it had been damaged by its journey through space but still ... I would not have believed it could be destroyed had I not seen it for myself. My mistake was in allowing you access ... your power is truly great indeed."
"What power?" John played the dumb card with inner amusement. They had no proof ... unless they'd somehow taken a recording of what was going on inside John's head which as far as he knew was still impossible.
"You would have us believe you had nothing to do with its destruction," Vulture commented. "In time you will appreciate how easily we can see otherwise." The man's face took on an uncomfortable and regretful expression before he continued. "No matter ... I regret my companion's outburst of anger. Ma'at teaches her beloved that harmony and balance are the way of truth but Snake is somewhat new to the order. He is still learning to put this into practice on a daily basis."
"Vulture ... Snake ... I'm sensing some kind of pattern there," Sheppard smirked, hoping to get a rise out of the man. All the ... niceness was starting to get on his nerves. Sadly John was more comfortable with being captured by the 'beat you up and torture you for information' brand of hostage taker. This guy was so far outside of that box Sheppard was struggling to get a sense on where this was all going, not to mention being able to predict what might happen next.
"If you are truly interested I will tell you more of our order later," Vulture said. "For now there is something I wish to show you ... the only saving grace in the destruction of Ma'at's vessel is that through Ma'at's guidance we were able to access the vast store of knowledge contained within."
"Please tell me you didn't plug that thing into anything," John said weakly, that sense of impending doom resurging with a vengeance.
"It was Ma'at's will," Vulture replied. "Through her guidance were we able to learn much, including the fact that you and you alone hold the key to understanding and embracing the true path. As Ma'at's first beloved I am the Keeper of the Path. It is my responsibility to follow her instruction."
"I hold the key?" John was hoping against hope that when the other man said Ma'at he was speaking of whatever entity these guys had decided to worship. At the back of his mind though the sneaking suspicion had started to form. "The key to what?"
"The key to Ma'at being reunited with Re-Horakhty – master of life, the creator," Vulture explained as if surprised John didn't already know that. "Re-Horakhty is her greatest supporter ... it is not possible for each to exist without the other."
"And let me guess," John said sarcastically. "Ma'at told you that Atlantis knows where this Re-Hora-whatever is and that I could speak to her to find out for you."
"Humanity is struggling Colonel Sheppard," Vulture replied. "Wars both on Earth and across two Galaxies that test the ethical and moral fibre of mankind and continually find us wanting. Without order there is chaos and destruction – you have seen this for yourself. With Ma'at and Re-Horakhty reunited we will be able to make use of things still yet hidden under the ice. We have only scratched the surface of what the Creators, through Re-Horakhty's hand, left for us."
"Antarctica?" John felt the chill run down to the base of his spine. "Aper – sorry, Ma'at wants the Ancient outpost?"
"The information we found in her Vessel speaks of defensive systems that will allow our planet to achieve peace," Vulture began. "And that is only the beginning."
"Don't," John held up a hand, shifting away from the wall and approaching the desk intently. "I've already read that mission report and let me tell you, it didn't end well. Absolute power corrupts absolutely ... you would have heard that one before." John let his eyes meet the other man's as he strove to open his eyes to the real truth. "I don't know what exactly that Ancient device showed you. But what I do know is that most of it is a lie. It's not Ma'at's vessel – it's a storage device – a machine created by the Ancients. It doesn't contain the teachings of someone to worship. I know because we're the ones who trapped it in there after it tried to sink the city and everyone in it."
"It might have begun as what you describe," Vulture allowed. "But Ma'at was able to use that to bring her message to a wider audience."
"The only message it'll bring is the one that says we're totally screwed," John shot back angrily. "It's evil Vulture ... and it'll take over everything if you let it. You have to delete everything you copied off that device ... hell, destroy every machine that's had any kind of contact with it. Count yourself lucky it hasn't gone further ... trust me, you don't want to meet Aperio face to face."
"It is already too late for that," Vulture replied, not troubled by John's empassioned speech. Reaching under his desk he flicked a switch.
John's eyes were drawn to the window in the wall ... to the light flickering on the other side. When it settled Sheppard realised that instead of one there were two rooms on the other side of the wall. Ninja man and another figure, probably Snake, were standing in one, dressed in black body suits with fluorescent lines and dots tracking each limb. Even their hands and feet were covered, the outfits topped off by hoods and goggles covering their eyes. They were moving strangely, their gestures making it clear that they could see something their audience couldn't.
What he saw in the second room had John's blood running cold. It wasn't possible but his eyes were delivering the image to him in real time reality.
Aperio, standing in the room, appearing as real as John himself. She'd swapped her Ancient dress code for the Egyptian equivalent and looked every inch a Goddess.
"Crap," John muttered. This was bad ... this was really, really bad.
oOo
"Wake up McKay," Lorne nudged the other man with his boot, a little firmer since the first time had little effect.
"Umph ...," Rodney made a sleepy, shuffling sound before opening his eyes abruptly. "What – how?" his eyes sharpened as he registered his surroundings.
"That's right," Evan said with a smirk. "We're back. Woolsey wants a heads up asap so get a move on."
He slapped the rear hatch opener to reveal Teyla and Ronon waiting for them, along with an eager Radek Zelenka who rushed up the ramp as soon as it was lowered enough.
"Don't touch anything," Rodney greeted his fellow scientist. "I'll come back and you can help me transport all this after the debrief."
"So you found it," Teyla said with a relieved smile.
"We found it," Rodney returned with a small smile of his own. "I'd be further along in preparing it for integration with the Stargate if Lorne hadn't ripped it out of the wall ..."
"Hey!" Evan glared at Rodney. "I thought we agreed to let that go."
"You agreed," Rodney replied, impatiently waving his hands for Radek to move out of the way.
"And I suppose you would have preferred to drown?!" Lorne shot back, moving past Rodney and Radek, and out of the Jumper. Nodding to Teyla and Ronon he led the way across the bay towards the stairs leading up to the control room.
"Well ... no," Rodney said, hurrying to keep up.
"It seems there is much to tell us about your time on Lantia," Teyla commented, sharing an amused smile with Ronon.
"It does," Richard Woolsey walked out of his office and greeted both men with a nod. "Shall we?" he motioned to the conference room.
Lorne did most of the talking, describing the events on Lantia in a concise manner ruined only by Rodney's continual additions of unnecessary detail.
"So you found what you were looking for but effectively destroyed the mining platform in the process," Woolsey concluded.
"We hurried along something that was always gonna happen," Lorne clarified. "There was considerable structural damage that already had some of the station under water."
"He's right," Rodney surprised everyone by agreeing with Evan for a change. "I did some analysis of the data I took from the communications room ... the pressure inside the unsubmerged part of the station was almost at critical anyway. Within a couple of months - maybe less - that breach would have ruptured."
"Then it's lucky Sheppard decided to get himself captured this month instead of later in the year," Woolsey said snidely. "I take it you can integrate the component into the Stargate as planned Doctor McKay?"
"Yes," Rodney said promptly without thinking. His face took on an uncomfortable expression as he rushed into further speech. "Ah ... well, yes eventually, but I'll need to ah – research a few things first and um ... replace some of the conduits that got broken when Major Lorne ri - removed the device."
"Then I suggest you get your best people on it right away," Woolsey said. "Doctor Zelenka can assist."
Lorne was tired enough that he didn't pick up on the looks being exchanged by Sheppard's team as Rodney stuttered through his explanation of what was next. Evan couldn't help the yawn that took over, glancing at Woolsey apologetically when he'd recovered. "Sorry."
"Get some rest Major," Woolsey said lightly, turning his gaze to Rodney. "You too Doctor." The look on Rodney's face said there was little chance he'd be listening to that suggestion but Evan was actually glad to make what he'd always intended to do next official.
"Thank you," Lorne said, getting to his feet when Woolsey did.
"Keep me informed Doctor McKay," Woolsey said as he made his way from the room.
"Me too," Lorne said as he headed for the door on Woolsey's heels.
"Not so fast Major," Rodney's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"McKay?" he said with a clear warning in his voice for the other man to get on with it.
"I need you to talk to Atlantis," Rodney rushed out.
"Rodney!" Teyla exclaimed, her expression incredulous at her teammates apparent lack of discretion with John's secret. Ronon folded his arms over his chest and loomed in that way of his, but otherwise kept silent.
"Oh relax - he already knows," Rodney shot back. "Atlantis spoke to him in a dream too." Turning back to Evan, he repeated his first statement. "I need you to talk to Atlantis again – only awake this time."
"I can't talk to Atlantis Rodney," Lorne retorted impatiently.
"Well, someone has to and right now you're in the hot seat," Rodney insisted. "She promised us more instruction once we found the amplifier. How did you think that was going to happen?"
"You're the scientist McKay," Evan pointed out. "Wouldn't it be better if she instructed you directly?"
"Maybe," Rodney agreed. "But it was a struggle for me to get even as much as I did the first time ... this is too complex and I hate to admit it but I don't have that level of control."
"And you think I do?" Evan shot back.
"Yes," Rodney said simply. "Atlantis does too – otherwise she wouldn't have chosen you."
"Rodney is right Major Lorne," Teyla said encouragingly, accepting that Evan had been brought into the secret by necessity. "John will understand the need was there."
"Let's just get him home," Ronon looked at Evan intently.
Evan didn't really need their encouragement – he wanted to get Colonel Sheppard back just as much as they did. He just wasn't sure they weren't all over rating his gene expertise ... something he'd be finding out sooner rather than later from the looks of it.
"Can I at least take a nap first?" Lorne sighed, rubbing a tired hand over his face.
"Two hours," Rodney offered. "That's how long it'll take me to move all the amplifier parts and everything else I need down to the Chair room."
"I thought we were going to use the Stargate?" Lorne frowned in surprise.
"We are," Rodney agreed. "But it'll be easier to access and link everything in from the Chair ... trust me, you'll be able to do this."
"Fine," Evan muttered, shooting the other man a pointed look. "But if I end up with my brains leaking out my ears I'm blaming you."
"Ah ... of course," Rodney replied. "That's ... well, technically you should blame Sheppard since he's the reason we're doing this, not that I'm saying you will, you know, suffer any ill effects because you won't ... at all ...," he trailed off with a weak half smile.
"McKay," Lorne sighed before smiling ruefully. "I get it ... sit in the chair, help Atlantis find Sheppard, bring him home ... piece of cake."
Rodney actually grinned at that, appreciating the Major's casual manner under the circumstances. "So ... two hours?"
"Two hours," Lorne agreed before spinning on his heels and leaving Sheppard's team standing looking after him.
Authors Note:
Forgot to add when I posted the chapter an apology for not replying to last chapter reviews yet - I totally forgot to do it beforehand and now I'm having issues with fanfiction and can't see to reply to reviews. I WILL do so as soon as the site lets me but in the mean time THANK YOU to everyone reviewing - your comments really do make my day!