It's Not Easy being an Intergalactic Space Explorer

Chapter 3

"Curiouser and curiouser!" *

Sheppard, in a medically induced coma and now just wearing his briefs, lay on the examination table. The doctor had subcutaneously implanted several electrodes, each only slightly bigger than the head of a pin, at John's temples, along his spinal cord, on his back above the kidneys, and across his chest. The tiny, biomechanical objects would monitor Sheppard's neurologic, respiratory, cardiac, and urologic function. Any abnormalities in those systems might indicate a dangerous increase in toxin levels or, even worse, that John was rejecting the symbiote outright. The network of electrodes could also serve as a grid through which a weak electrical charge could be sent. The mild shock had stabilized a handful of subjects in the past and had given the doctor enough time to remove the organism before it killed the patient. The next step would be to collect samples from the prisoner – blood, urine, bone marrow, spinal fluid, saliva, skin and hair, as well as tissue biopsies from certain organs. The doctor also needed to isolate several proteins and enzymes in John's blood that the Wraith knew were unique to Ancients – and to gifted humans like Sheppard.

Three hours later, the doctor was finished taking specimens. After carefully checking Sheppard's vitals, he removed the two intravenous drips and, as he cut off John's underwear, his last shred of dignity. He then summoned his men. "Lay him down flat on his back inside the device," he directed, "and do it carefully." The 'device' was a large cylindrical chamber made of a clear, glass-like material. It was about 8 feet long and 4 feet in diameter. Its interior was lit with an eerie blue glow. Sheppard was sealed inside. The doctor engaged a switch and…John's body began to levitate. The doctor touched more controls and brought the container from a horizontal to a vertical orientation. Sheppard remained in position while the machine was being moved, held centered and steady within the chamber by a force field. "The scan will take less than 30 minutes to complete," the doctor explained to the others. "Afterwards, we will have a 3-dimensional image of the Colonel's physical structure, right down to his blood vessels, which will be translated into an encrypted code. The device will also filter out extraneous data and create just a 3-dimensional rendering of his electro-magnetic signature. Every human emits a unique electrical field. If we can't mimic Sheppard's field perfectly, then our plan will not work."

oooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo oooo

A mirror crashed to the floor from the force of Ronon throwing the red-haired man against a wall. The big guy seemed to be feeling no pain from the injuries he'd sustained earlier in the day. The few patrons still in the bar quickly fled. "Damn it, Ronon, he can't help us if you crack his head open!" admonished McKay as he jumped to avoid some flying glass. The man who had aided and abetted Sheppard's kidnappers was a weasel named Aric Greth. They had finally tracked him down in a tavern on the outskirts of town. He hadn't tried to leave the planet, as McKay correctly deduced, but he was definitely trying to keep out of sight.

"Stay out of this, McKay! I know what I'm doing," growled Ronon. "Now," he continued, hoisting the politician to his feet by his shirt, and lowering his voice to a deceptively friendly tone, "would you like me to keep using you to break furniture?"

The simpering man shook his head hard, 'no.'

"Good answer! Now sit your ass down and tell us where John Sheppard is."

"That's just it," the man replied in a quavering voice. "I don't know where they took him, except that it was off-world."

"WHERE off-world?" snapped McKay. "There's only about a zillion planets to choose from! You're a part of their organization, you must know the locations of their camps, super-secret hideouts, places they might…"

"But don't you see…I don't know any of that! I've never helped Wraith worshippers before, I swear it. It was only just this one time. They promised me a lot of money. All I had to do was lure your friend over to the trees, where it would be easy for them to take him. They said they only wanted to rough him up a bit. If I knew what they were really going to do, I would never have been tempted to help them. I wasn't a strong supporter of Magistrate Val, but you can't possibly think that I wanted her dead!" Greth pleaded.

Ronon didn't know what to think. He'd been going at him for a while now. The man might be telling the truth. He looked and sounded genuinely ashamed over what he had done.

"Please, you have to believe me," implored Greth. He ran his hand shakily through his hair. His fingers suddenly grabbed at his left ear. "Oh, my. You know, I could help you better if I had a glass of water? And my hearing aid…oh, I'm so hard of hearing. Um…there it is! On the floor over there, under that broken chair."

"Alright, alright," answered Ronon. He retrieved the hearing aid, tossed it to Greth, and went to find him some water. 'Ok,' Ronon thought to himself, 'We'll just make the creep a little more comfortable and then maybe…wait a minute.' Hard of hearing? Ronon had been yelling at him for nearly ½ hour; even people outside on the street would have heard that. The tavern was quiet and empty now, except for the three of them. But when he and McKay had first arrived, the tavern had been filled with noisy customers. When they spotted the red-haired man they had approached him, and spoken to him – in a normal tone of voice – from the left. Greth had turned his head to acknowledge them right away. He hadn't had any problem with his hearing whatsoever.

Ronon spun on his heel towards Greth. The man was looking at him, a cold grin on his face and his fingers pressed tight against his left ear…

"McKay, get down!" Ronon yelled as he dived for cover.

Too late. Bits of Greth spattered across the room as the day's second bombing left McKay and Ronon stunned and bleeding on the floor.

TBC…More (plausible, I hope) science in future chapters. And the Azeron will return eventually, too.

*from 'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll