Stargate Genesis

Episode 14

"Ragnarok Nigh"

The Attero device exploded in a burst of shrapnel as a Wraith energy weapon was discharged. Without the device, there was nothing to stop the remaining vessels of the combined Wraith fleet that had not already been destroyed from entering hyperspace and travelling to Atlantis. Rodney McKay didn't notice though, as he was preoccupied with the delicate task of not getting shot.

"Not good," he whined, hiding behind a console in the control room as marines and Wraith drones traded rounds in the gate room below. "This is not good!"

"Doctor!" shouted Major Romanoff, firing at the oncoming drones, who were quickly overwhelming the marines. "How did the Wraith drones get past the gate shield?"

"They must have used phasing technology stolen from a Vanir laboratory," said Kalel, already punching commands into his tablet. "It may be possible to modify the shield's frequency to cycle through a range of phases, preventing the Wraith from breaching the barrier."

"Will that work?" called Romanoff.

"Temporarily," said Kalel. "The technology the Wraith are employing is highly adaptive."

"What E.T. is saying is that we'd only have fifteen, twenty minutes tops before the Wraith start coming through the gate again," said Rodney. "It's pointless."

"Do it," said Romanoff, firing another round into the gate room. A flood of drones was still coming through the gate, climbing over the bodies of dead Wraith and marines. "Now!"

"It is done, Major," said Kalel, as he entered a command into his tablet.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

"It's working!" said Rodney. No more Wraith made it through the gate. The remaining drones continued to fight the marines in the gate room.

Major Romanoff emptied his clip and looked over the console he was crouched behind. As he did a drone that had made its way up the stairs leapt over the console, tackling the major to the ground. Rodney watched in horror as they grappled on the floor.

Down in the gate room, Teyla, Ronon, and a squad of marines appeared and quickly dispatched the remaining drones. Ronon scanned the room for stragglers and nodded to Teyla.

"We're clear," he said.

"Major Romanoff," called Teyla. "What is our situation?"

Romanoff stood up from behind a console in the control room, holding a knife dripping with Wraith blood.

"The Wraith possess Vanir phasing technology," he said, wiping the blade on his vest. "Kalel has engineered a temporary solution. He and Doctor McKay have fifteen minutes to make it permanent."

"Rodney?" asked Teyla.

"Yes, I'm here," said Rodney, from his hiding place. "Are you sure they're all gone?"

"Yes, Rodney," Teyla replied.

"Scary monsters are gone," said Ronon. "Time to put that big head of yours to work."

"That's unusual," said Teyla, bending down to inspect the body of a Wraith drone. She lifted its wrist, which had a bracelet shaped device attached to it. "I have never seen a Wraith with a device like this."

"They look like the phase shifting devices the Tollan people in the Milky Way use," said Rodney, walking down the stairs toward the gate room with one of the devices in his hand. "This might not be as hard as I thought."

"Can you stop the Wraith or not?" asked Ronon.

"Well, a few years ago I might have said this sort of technology was beyond us, but we've come a long way in the past few years," said Rodney, smiling. "With some help from my little friend here, I may just be able to come up with a solution."

"That is good, because I fear time is not on our side," said Teyla, turning to look at the still-active stargate.

~~00~~

Daniel pulled a shirt over his head while Vala dressed on the other side of the bed.

"This is exciting, isn't it?" asked Vala. "Aliens have invaded the lost city of Atlantis. Our two heroes must depart from the bed where they recently engaged in passionate lovemaking in order to defeat the evil Wraith and restore the city to glory."

"Are you writing a paranormal romance novel?" asked Daniel.

"I would be good at that, wouldn't I?" mused Vala.

"I wouldn't quit your day job," said Daniel.

~~00~~

Daniel and Vala arrived in the gate room to see Rodney and Kalel setting up a device about six meters away from the stargate. Teyla, Ronon, and Romanoff stood watching.

"How much time do we have left?" asked Daniel. Vala walked in behind him, still adjusting her shirt. Ronon raised an eyebrow and smiled at her.

"Oh, keep your eyes to yourself, you Neanderthal," she said.

"Kalel predicts that we have five minutes remaining before the Wraith are once again able to breach the gate shield," said Teyla.

"And I'm done," said Rodney, stepping back to admire his handiwork.

"And what is it?" asked a clueless Vala.

"Well, I reverse engineered one of the Vanir phase devices, and used it to McGuyver this device, which can send out a short range burst of phase-altering radiation. It should send whatever it hits temporarily out of phase," said Rodney smugly. "Rather genius, if I do say so myself."

"I was on the team that first engineered the phase devices," said Kalel. "Without my expertise I fear we would be helpless to the onslaught of the Wraith."

"Yeah, yeah, Roswell helped a little," said Rodney. "I'm calling it the 'Phase Blaster'."

"Please tell me you don't let him name things," said Daniel.

"We're running out of time, Rodney," said Teyla. "Whatever the device does, you need to do it now."

"Right," said Rodney, aiming the large satellite-dish shaped machine at the active stargate. "It should be ready to go. Let's save the day, then."

"Activating the device," said Kalel.

"Phase Blaster," corrected Rodney.

"Not calling it that," said Daniel.

The Phase Blaster made a dull hum, and then a wave of energy burst forth from it and straight into the event horizon. The device fell silent, as did everyone in the room.

"This should work," said Rodney, starting to sweat. "The output shouldn't be any different than radio waves; it should be able to travel backwards through the wormhole. If it hits the stargate on the other side, the connection will fail."

Suddenly the event horizon dissipated, and the gate shut down.

"It worked!" shouted Rodney. "I knew it!"

"Dial Earth!" Teyla called to the Control Room. "Now!"

~~00~~

Danesh watched as Lynn pulled the dainty brush across the canvas. She was painting a scene she had painted many times before: the view of her village from the top of a grassy hill. When she was a girl it had been her favorite place; she loved to walk to the hill and sit, feeling the wind in her hair and the sun on her face, breathing in the sweet scent of the purple flowers native to her home planet. Since leaving her village and meeting Danesh, Lynn had yet to encounter a flower with a more delicious aroma.

[Do you miss it?] asked Danesh.

"Every day," said Lynn.

[Would you like to return one day?] wondered Danesh.

"I couldn't," said Lynn, mixing a deeper shade of purple with a new brush. "You know that."

[The flowers are still there,] said Danesh. [The Goa'uld did not take that from you.]

"My mother, father, and brother," said Lynn evenly, painting the petals of the flowers, "were all that I loved in the world. Without them, the village is no longer my home."

Lynn painted in silence, remembering the last day she ever sat on the hill, before the first place she'd found serenity was ripped from her. Lynn's father died fighting with the other men, but their efforts were in vain. She was taken as a slave with her brother and mother, but they were separated when Lynn was chosen to be the host of a goddess…

She stopped, realizing that she had smeared purple paint across the roof of a cottage in the village.

[Are you alright?] asked Danesh.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Lynn, selecting a brown paint to fix the error she had made.

[I sometimes forget how much it still pains you. To have lost everyone you love…] said Danesh.

"Not everyone," said Lynn. She smiled, feeling her heart rate rise as Danesh involuntarily flooded her brain with dopamine.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Major Jessica Warren, who had appeared in the doorway.

[Damnit,] cursed Danesh.

Lynn turned around on her stool and ceded control of her body to Danesh.

[Breathe,] she cooed.

"What do you want?" asked Danesh.

"I didn't know you liked art," said Jessica, looking at the painting. "You seem too austere for that sort of thing."

"Then perhaps you do not know me at all," retorted Danesh.

"What is it?" asked Jessica. "The painting."

Danesh looked back at the easel. "It is a memory," she said.

She stood up and began to pack up her painting supplies.

"Is there something you needed?" she asked. "We are due for a debriefing with the General in an hour. Surely whatever you have to tell me can wait."

"I want to know what your problem with me is," said Jessica. "We are teammates, and we need to be able to work together."

Danesh stopped what she was doing and turned around to face Jessica.

"Well then," she said. "Have a seat."

~~00~~

Colonel Cameron Mitchell watched as Mario flew off the stage, leaving Yoshi alone on the Silph Co. building in Saffron City.

"Whooo!" he yelled, as the results appeared on the screen. He had soundly beaten Major Greer. "I told you Yoshi is the best."

"Why did you make me play this again?" asked Greer, throwing his Nintendo 64 controller down on the coffee table.

"It's a tactical exercise, Ron," said Cameron. "Did you try down-B like I said?"

"If you knew what you were talking about…" grumbled Greer.

"Is there something on your mind?" asked Cameron. "You seem even grouchier than normal today."

Greer looked up at the TV. He had chosen Mario because that was the first choice. Why Mario was fighting at all, he didn't know. He was just a plumber; what business did he have trying to be a hero in a world full of flying turtles and man-eating plants?

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. Before Cameron could respond, an alarm starting blaring in the hallway.

"Unscheduled gate activation," came Harrison's voice over the loudspeaker.

~~00~~

"It's Atlantis," said Harriman. "They are sending a video communication."

"Send it through," said General Samantha Carter, walking over to the video display. Teyla Emmagan appeared on the monitor.

"Teyla," said Sam, "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

"Atlantis is under assault from the Wraith," said Teyla gravely.

"What?" asked Sam. "When did this happen?"

"It has been several days since the first ships appeared above the planet," said Teyla. "We have been unable to dial out in that time, as the Wraith have maintained a connection with our gate since they arrived."

"We have been receiving regular status updates from Atlantis for the last several days, General," said Harriman.

"If you didn't send us updates, then who did?" asked Sam.

"As you know, the Wraith have recently incorporated Vanir technology into their arsenal," said Teyla. "It is possible that they were able to mimic a status update to Earth."

"Harriman, find those updates and see if there is anything that can help us," said Sam, before returning her attention to Teyla. "Tell me what you know."

~~00~~

Back in the Atlantis control room, Rodney, Daniel, Vala, and Ronon stood in a circle. Teyla was in her office, giving a report to Stargate Command.

"We can only keep this connection going for so long," said Daniel. "Anyone have any ideas about what to do once the Wraith dial in again?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Above them the fleet of Wraith vessels had begun firing on Atlantis again.

"We may have another problem," said Ronon.

"They do like to shoot at us, don't they?" said Vala.

"Don't worry," said Rodney. "With three ZPMs, the shield can hold against their fire."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Ronon, unsheathing his pistol.

Above them, the shield had begun to ripple, each energy blast sending a shockwave across the barrier. A moment later, one of the energy blasts passed straight through the shield with no resistance. It flew straight toward the group before passing harmlessly through Rodney's chest and into the floor.

"I'm hit!" said Rodney, clutching his chest. "Oh god, this is the end. Tell my sister I love her."

Realizing that he wasn't actually harmed, Rodney composed himself.

"I mean, that's what I would say if I were actually dying," he said.

"What in the hell just happened?" asked Vala, before another energy blast passed through the shield. This time it hit a building on the East pier, exploding on impact, sending parts of the building flying.

"They are using the phase technology on their weapons fire!" shouted Daniel.

"I'm running the phase-alternating program on the shield now," said Rodney.

"How long will that last?" asked Vala. "I'd rather not be exploded!"

"They'll see this coming and start engineering a work-around, just like they probably did with the gate shield," said Rodney. "But it should keep them occupied for a while. Judging from the accuracy of their fire, they are still trying to figure out how to configure the phasing so that the energy blasts can make it through the shield, but still come back into phase in time to hit Atlantis."

"Lucky for you," chuckled Ronon.

"Very funny," said Rodney.

~~00~~

SG-1 sat around the conference table with General Carter. Four additional chairs held hologram images of Teyla, Woolsey, Rodney, and Daniel.

"I'm recommending that you evacuate Atlantis immediately," said Sam. "You have a connection to Earth now; you might not get another chance."

"With all due respect, Sam," said Daniel, "we can't abandon Atlantis. We still have so much to learn here, and without us, the people of Pegasus don't stand a chance."

"Especially since the Vanir are no longer in the equation," said Woolsey. "I agree with Daniel; Atlantis is far too valuable to surrender. If the Wraith take over Atlantis, Earth will be their next target."

"Have you heard from the Daedalus?" asked Sam.

"Not since Colonel Caldwell left with the Athosians," said Teyla. "We assume he is monitoring the situation while remaining hidden. Any attempt to land or contact us would surely result in the Daedalus' destruction."

"We've already lost the Thor and the Vanity," said Woolsey. "There are just too many hive ships here to take on without reinforcements."

"We can send more Daedalus-class ships, but they won't be there for weeks," said Cameron.

"What about the new Elizabeth-class gate ships?" asked Rodney. "Just jump the fleet over here, blow up the bad guys, and go home."

"The only Elizabeth-class ship that isn't still under construction is the Charles Kawalsky, Rodney," said Sam. "And she is still damaged from her maiden flight. It will be weeks before the gate drive is ready to use again."

"Sorry about that," said Jessica. "I might have done that."

"It wasn't your fault," said Danesh, nodding slightly. Jessica smiled.

"Doesn't Atlantis have a gate drive?" asked Greer. "You used it to get to Earth and back, right?"

"The drive burnt out on the trip back to Pegasus three years ago," said Teyla.

"It was one of Zelenka's," said Rodney. "I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did."

"And you never fixed it?" asked Daniel.

"Never had a reason to," said Rodney. "Didn't seem worth it."

"What about the shield generator?" asked Jessica. "It has been modified so it can cloak Atlantis instead of shielding it, right?"

"Yes, but the Wraith already know we're here," said Rodney, annoyed. "If we turn off the shield, they will blow us to hell within seconds."

"Can't you just modify it again to send Atlantis out of phase?" asked Jessica.

"Well… theoretically…" mused Rodney.

"Would it work or not, Rodney?" asked Cameron.

"Yes, yes," said Rodney, "I think so."

"Thank you, Major Warren," said Teyla, smiling warmly.

"You're welcome," said Jessica.

"If Atlantis is out of phase, wouldn't the Wraith be able to just adjust their phase devices to match?" asked Woolsey.

"Unless you went further out of phase than the Wraith's devices were able to go," suggested Danesh. "Surely the great city of Atlantis is capable."

"Rodney, can you talk to Kalel and see if that is possible?" asked Sam.

"I know it's possible, I don't need a tiny sexless alien to tell me that," said Rodney. "But it will take an enormous burst of power. With only three ZPMs, we may not be able to come back into this phase once we shift out."

"Atlantis has the ability to grow more ZPMs," said Daniel. "We can just wait until more are ready, and then shift back once we have enough."

"That could take weeks!" shouted Rodney. "We couldn't dial out during that time. We'd be completely stranded!"

"It's the best option we have," said Teyla.

"Do we have your permission to proceed, General Carter?" asked Woolsey.

"Go ahead," said Sam.

"Good luck," said Cameron. "We'll be waiting for you."

"Don't stay up," said Daniel.

~~00~~

In the shield generator room, Kalel made the final adjustments, while Rodney stood with his arms crossed disapprovingly.

"Be careful!" he exclaimed. "You're going to break it!"

"I assure you, I will not break the generator," said Kalel calmly. "Despite what you may think, among my people I am an engineer of great renown."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Is the generator ready?" came Woolsey's voice over the comm system. "The shield is beginning to ripple again. We may not have much time left."

"Yes, yes, it's ready," said Rodney. Kalel closed the panel he was working on.

The room shook as something in the distance exploded.

"Turn it on, Rodney!" shouted Teyla over the comm. "The shield has been breached!"

Kalel entered a command into the console.

"Done!" responded Rodney. Within moments the air was filled with Wraith weapons fire, passing harmlessly through the room.

"It worked," came Teyla's voice. "The Wraith assault is having no effect."

"What do our power levels look like, Doctor McKay?" asked Woolsey.

Rodney looked at Kalel, who shook his head.

"Not good," said Rodney. "As I suspected, the shift took every bit of power we had left. We're stuck."

"But we are safe," said Teyla. "For now, that is enough."

An energy blast came through the ceiling and passed straight through the generator, a meter away from Rodney.

"And yet, I don't feel safe at all," he said. "Funny."

Written by Caleb Palmquist

Story by Andrew Marron and Caleb Palmquist