Chapter Eighteen: Red, Blue and Yellow!
Carson sighed quietly as he entered the Infirmary, seeing that the medical team had only just rolled up with the Ancient.
"Get him on the surgery table!" He ordered, striding over to a corner of the room, before wheeling over a tray full of equipment.
His team immediately began trying to lift the huge, still frame onto the table. Carson moved forward and lent a hand from the other side.
"Turn the lamp on!" He barked at a nurse who walked past, doing nothing. A few seconds later, the large lamp, which was the same size as the table it stood above, flickered on, showering the man below it in a bright, white light.
Everyone that was standing around the table shielded their eyes from the light, backing away. "Can someone turn it down a wee bit!" Beckett ordered, turning to face the wall, the light becoming too much.
"I can't sir. The switch doesn't have a dial!"
"Well, it wasn't this bright before!" Carson yelled with a frown, slowly turning back toward the table. As his eyes adjusted to the light, his mouth opened in awe as he saw the Ancient begin to slowly rise off the table, seemingly being pulled up by the light. The body stopped dead centre, between the table and the lamp, and remained there, perfectly still.
A second later, the boy's mouth opened and he began, unconsciously, screaming in pain. The sound of his cries rang throughout the whole of Atlantis, and the Medical Team standing by were powerless to stop it.
After a few minutes, the light began to dim, and the room became quiet as the body floated back down onto the table.
Carson walked up to the head of the table, gently moving a thumb over the man's eyelid, to open it. He frowned as he saw the eye was a solid green colour. Carson looked up at the people around him, before pointing over to an IV pole. "Get him started on an IV."
The group went back to work, but immediately hit a road block.
"Doctor Beckett, we can't...the needle won't penetrate his skin..."
"Damn." He muttered, turning his back on his team. "Turn him over." He ordered, moving to his side to help.
As they heaved him onto his side, Carson glanced down at the man's back, frowning once more. "What the...who took it out of his back?!" He asked.
"No one, sir."
Carson shook his head, patting the place where the radioactive mineral use to be embedded, noticing that the skin was totally and fully intact. "Alright." He muttered, sighing, "Get him back onto his back. There isn't anything we can do for it."
"Should we hook him up to a heart monitor?" A nurse asked, standing next to him.
"No, he'll probably fry the equipment. Damn it." Beckett said again, "Alright, everyone. I'll stay, you all go and help people that can be helped." He stated, going to sit in a chair next to the surgery table, placing his head in his hands.
The team all filed out and went back to their normal duties as Carson angled his head to look up at the ancient laying deathly still, on the table.
The Scottish Doctor sighed, shaking his head. Standing up, he moved closer to the table, his hand going up to the vein in the man's neck to check for a pulse.
As soon as his hand made contact with the skin, a strong grip tightened around his wrist, forcing him to look up at the man's face in surprise.
The man's eyes were open, and the solid green colour that he'd seen in them before faded to white, before regaining their natural colour. He began to rise from his position on the table, so Carson placed the hand that wasn't in a vice-like grip on the man's shoulder, trying to push him down.
"Sir, I insist that you remain laying down!" He stated, failing, as the man swung his legs off the side of the table, pushing the Doctor away from him.
Kent slowly pushed himself off the table, standing in the middle of the room, regaining his surroundings. Facing straight ahead, which led into a corridor, he marched out of the infirmary, leaving an unsettled Beckett in his wake.
- - - - -
Samantha Carter sighed as she stared down at Lana from the Control Room. The girl hadn't uttered a word since Carson had left her, and had only drew her knees up to her chin and sat back in a corner. Carter then turned her attention to the people that were lounging around the gate room, mainly Sheppard and his men, who had taken it upon themselves to be the 'gate guards'.
"Carter, Sheppard...we have a problem."
Carter frowned, tapping her communicator.
"What is it, Carson?" She asked, turning to look at Sheppard, who had immediately looking up at her position on the balcony.
"Erm...The Ancient is up and walking again..."
Sam laughed slightly, "That's not a problem, Carson. That's great news!"
The reply came hesitantly, "Yeah...the problem is...he doesn't seem to understand English." Came the Scotsman's thick brogue, "When I told him to lie back down, he completely ignored me and walked out...I'm sorry, but I don't know where he is, now."
"Yeah. That's a problem." Sheppard replied, glancing over to Teyla and Ford. "Ford, Teyla; follow me. Sam, if you can get the girl out of her shell, we'll update you with our position."
Sam nodded her head and walked out of the Control Room. "Alright, John."
Sheppard glanced over to the girl in question, before walking out of the gate room with Ford and Teyla in toe.
"Does anyone know if we have an ancient censor on these things?" He asked after a moment, taking the game-boy like life-signs detector from its pouch on his vest. "I mean, the Wraith appear in a different colour." He added, switching it on.
"I wouldn't be the one to ask, John." Teyla replied when Ford just shrugged.
John made a harrumphing noise as they continued down the corridor. "Where the hell would he have run off to?" He muttered after a moment. Glancing down at the detector, he blinked.
"What's that red and blue dot, sir?" Ford asked, having peaked over the Major's shoulder.
"I don't know...and how can it be both red and blue?" He said, coming to a stop as he stared down at the thing.
"I think it has a bit of yellow, as well." Teyla pointed out.
Sheppard blinked again as his eyes ran over the map. "Where is that room?"
"Just up ahead, sir." Ford replied, "It's one of the only rooms that stayed locked down in the main building, when we first arrived."
Sheppard nodded, and the three of them began moving forward again. They turned a corner and found Clark strolling down it, moving further away from them, before turning left and into a chamber.
"Sheppard. We're up and moving, where are you?" Carter's voice said over the radio.
"Turn your life signs detector on and go to the yellow, blue and red dot." He commanded after a moment.
After a moment of silence, carter replied.
"Come again?"
John laughed quietly as they came to a stop near the doorway. "I'm pretty sure you heard me right, Sam."
"Hm. Alright. We'll be there in a minute. Carter out."
Once the radio cut out, John raised a fist and motioned it in the direction of the other side of the doorway. Ford nodded, silently moving over and stacking up, with Teyla following behind the Lieutenant.
John stacked up on the other side, and leaning in to wait.
Only a few moments later, Sam and Lana appeared in the same direction they'd come, moving quietly down the hall.
"Sam!" Sheppard whispered, "Stack up!"
Sam nodded and immediately pulled out her sidearm, moving behind John, and Lana lingered back.
"On my count." John said quietly, but loud enough for them to hear. "One. Two."
"Three!" He stated, swiping a hand across the access panel, which immediately turned green, the door's whooshing open. The four of them all filed into the room, aiming their weapons at nothing in particular.
Sheppard frowned as he scanned the room, which was nearly empty. In the middle of the room, on his knees, was Clark. He was in front of a large glass chamber that stood in the centre of the room.
Inside the chamber was a large muscular mannequin, wearing a skin tight blue rubber suit. It had a set of dark red boots set down at the bottom, along with a cape that hung down the back, reaching the top of the boots. Just above what appeared to be dark red pants was a yellow utility belt.
But that wasn't what had them staring. On the chest was a red symbol which resembled an S from the human alphabet. It looked as if it was embroidered, with a yellow background. The dark red which bordered it was in the shape of a crystal.
