Thursday (con't)
Two hours later found Rowan, Dr. Weir, Ronan and Teyla in the infirmary waiting area. Dr. Beckett had not reappeared since they took John back for surgery.
"OK, so tell me what happened out there." Said Dr. Weir.
Teyla and Ronan looked haggard. They had both been checked out by the medical staff and had gone and come back from their quarters and gotten cleaned up.
Teyla spoke first, "When we arrived on the planet- similar in environment to MX-P93- flat plains, very hot and humid, there was a clearing around the Stargate about 50 meters round. It was clearly maintained. It was not overgrown- as it would have been if the planet were uninhabited. But the DHD appeared to have been unused- Dr. McKay checked the dial logs on the device, and there were none- in or out. At least for 100 years."
She paused and Ronan picked up the narrative, "Sheppard ordered a standard recon perimeter, with him and me doing that, while Teyla stayed at the gate with McKay to study a rock that was there."
"A rock?" interjected Dr. Weir.
"Yeah, McKay got some hinky reading from it from his scanner thingy." Ronan said plainly.
Dr. Weir gave him a 'look', and let out a sigh. "Thank you for the clarification Specialist Dex."
"No problem Doc." he said.
Teyla continued, "There was a large polished stone approximately 10 yards to the right of the base of the Stargate. It appeared to be of a ceremonial nature, and was indeed, giving off a very slight energy reading according to Dr. McKay. The stone table was about twice the size of the dialing device, and was plain save for some markings about the base."
"Ronan and Colonel Sheppard were gone perhaps 90 minutes. When they returned, it was with a local group of elders. If I had to guess, they appeared to be a nomadic tribe of some sort, technologically parallel to the people of MP-1592 perhaps. The Colonel was laughing good naturedly with the leader and as they came closer to us, I heard him saying your name, Dr. Weir, perhaps as an introduction to trade talks- as is our usual custom."
Dr. Weir nodded her head, "OK, when and why did it turn violent?" she asked with a puzzled face.
Teyla furrowed her brow and had a look of frustration on her face. "Truly, Dr. Weir, it was unfortunate. By this time Rodney had made no headway with the stone table- in understanding it's purpose or why it was giving off energy readings. He was very diplomatic (yes, really) and kindly inquired to the chief what the purpose of the stone was, and if his people were able to activate any of its Ancient powers, for the symbols on the base were Ancient."
"The chieftain asked him directly if he was able to read the markings, to which he replied 'Of course' (he may have smirked). Dr. McKay said that the Ancient text read something along the lines of: 'to dream is to live - to live is to dream". Teyla paused for a moment then remarked, "After giving his translation, the Chieftain asked if Dr. McKay would lay upon the stone table. Of course Dr. McKay declined. The Chieftain began too insist. At this point the Colonel stepped in and stated that at this juncture, without knowing what the stone table was for, we would not try to activate it in any way without further knowledge as to what it's function was.."
"The Chieftain took this to mean that we could definitely activate the table and demanded that one of us should lay upon it. He would not, or could not, tell us the purpose of the stone- either to his tribe or the original intent of the Ancients."
"I should further explain that it appeared that at one point in time it seems the stone table had been cleaved in two, for Dr. McKay stated that he could detect some reading coming up from underneath the ground around the area- and indeed, one side of the stone was not polished, but rough, as if a large part had broken off. Perhaps it had long been buried. We do not know."
She continued, "In any case, it does not matter. Discussions quickly broke down, Dr. McKay, seeing that things were going badly, then volunteered to lay on the table. He had pulled Colonel Sheppard to the side and stated that he thought the probability that the table would be activated in any way by simply laying upon it was remote. The Colonel strongly disagreed with his intent and commanded him to stay well away from the table and any further talks with the Chieftain."
"At this point, " and Teyla let out a very audible sigh, "Colonel Sheppard passed close to the stone as he was returning to speak with the Chieftain. I believe his intent was to cease and desist any talks of the stone and trade, pack up our things and leave, returning later with you Dr. Weir. We were all uncomfortable with the way things were going. " She sighed again.
"And...?" queried Dr. Weir
Ronan piped up gruffly, "It lit up light a Cronkmus Tree".
"Christmas tree Ronan." said Teyla.
"Whatever. It lit up."
Elizabeth, Ronan, and Teyla all let out a sigh simultaneously.
Dr. Weir rubbed the bridge of her nose and held her face in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. "ok. I think I get what happened next, but just finish telling me anyway."
Teyla said, "Yes, I believe you probably can deduct what followed. As the stone table activated, Dr. McKay, who had gone to retrieve some of his equipment that was on top of the table seemed to lose consciousness, he fell to his knees and onto the ground. Weapons were raised by the villagers, we stepped back and raised our hands, but the situation appeared to be irreparable. They had very quickly swarmed to block the path to the stargate. We retreated to the surrounding area, there was not much coverage, but we found protection behind a small outcropping of overgrowth. The Colonel and I circled around and drew their defenses away as best we could so that Ronan could take Dr. McKay through as soon as we were able to activate the dialing device, which we were able to- and I believe that from what you witnessed from Atlantis from that point on, is clear. We all made it through, until Colonel Sheppard was hit. Dr. McKay never regained consciousness from what I witnessed."
Dr. Weir said, "Teyla- do you think it's possible to return to the planet to investigate the table or device or whatever it was, and to clear up the misunderstanding?"
Teyla thought for a moment, "Yes...I do think that it is possible to return. But only you and I should go, with at most one accompanying marine, and we should not leave the immediate vicinity of the gate. I assume Dr. Keller will want further information about the device, so perhaps we could arrange for a study of the device by Dr. Zalenka if these new talks go well."
"Ok Teyla, as soon as you and I hear back from Drs. Keller and Beckett, we will return. We will not take an escort- I don't want their to be ANY room for them to misunderstand our intentions. We will dial out, but keep the gate open. We will, if anyone is present, state our intentions to return again peacefully in two days, then immediately gate back."
Teyla nodded her head briefly, "I think this is a good plan. Let's hope we can leave soon."
Another 45 minutes passed before Dr. Keller came into the area. Everyone stood up to listen to her.
"OK, I think Rodney is fine. He woke up about 20 minutes ago. While he was unconscious we were able to run the full gamut of scans, and I did not detect anything unusual. No toxins, no abnormal brain activity, nothing. His brain scan was identical to if he were just sleeping. He was able to recall all the events prior to passing out, and doesn't seem to be suffering from any ill effects. I'm going to keep him here another 24 hours for observation. Ronan, if you wouldn't mind getting his computer for him, and a few things from the mess hall? He's already driving my nurses crazy.""
"No problem doc." Ronan replied. He looked to Teyla and Dr. Weir, "Good luck guys. See you back soon."
Rowan, who had not really been listening (tying to lip read) or paying attention, was too focused on replaying the scene she had seen of John being wheeled to the infirmary over and over in her head- came up to Dr. Keller and touched her arm- [Do you know what's going on with John?] she typed out on her tablet.
"No sweetie, I don't", Dr. Keller replied, looking at all of them. "I know that Dr. Beckett took him into surgery, it will probably be another two hours at least until he finishes up. One of his nurses came out and said there were quite a few rib splinters they were chasing. You should go back to your rooms, or go for a walk. We'll page you the moment he's in recovery."
Backing away, Dr. Keller said, "But, you're all more than welcome to visit with Rodney now. Follow me" she said brightly.
"This wasn't my fault!" yelped Rodney as he sat reclining on the first infirmary bed. The small group of visitors had not said 'hello' yet.
"We know, Dr. McKay, from what Teyla tells me, you were a shining example of diplomacy and aplomb." said Dr. Weir wearily.
Rodney wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not and looked askance at her muttering, "I was. Geez."
"Rodney, I am very happy you are well, Dr. Keller tells us there seems to be no ill side effects from the 'nap' that was forced upon you by the stone" said Teyla.
"Yeah, one minute I was just grabbing my laptop, hoping we'd all get out of there without pissing them off, and without me having to sacrifice myself like a baby lamb- even though, really, I don't think the table is fully operational- I mean, it looks like maybe since I got far enough away from it I just kind of woke up? Maybe its another stupid ascension assistance invention that didn't work. You'd think the Ancients would've built better stuff or just given up on the whole 'Let's build machines to help us reach a higher plane of existence thing.' And THEN, I wake up here. I didn't even dream, well, not that I remember anyway.-"
Teyla interrupted him to say, "Rodney- Dr. Weir and I are going to return to the planet, to see if this relationship can be salvaged. We will try to find out what their purpose and reasoning was behind wanting on of us to lay on the table-but it will most likely need to be discussed at a future date, along with any further ideas about returning to study the device."
"Meh, as long I'm OK and don't develop narcolepsy or something, I'm not too worried about it. Right now my department has other bigger fish to fry. Fish that might actually produce energy, or potential energy, or you know, actual useful stuff for us to use...not...naps. I'm not saying I never want to go back and take a look- but it's certainly not the end world. But I would like to try my hand at getting it to work. Then again, it looks like the Ancients abandoned this outpost of theirs and they usually do that for good reasons-" McKar prattled on, obviously not too affected by his time unconscious.
He paused for a moment, "Hey, where's Sheppard?"
Teyla took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Rodney sharpened his gaze and said, "What happened? Where is he? What exactly happened after I went to sleep?"
Dr. Weir told him, "Apparently, after you were struck down things got very tense and the locals became...hostile. Everyone made it back to Atlantis, Ronan carrying you, Teyla and the Colonel following. But before the iris was closed, a spear made it through the gate and caught the Colonel in the chest. He's in surgery now. We don't know much. We hope to hear from Dr. Beckett in the next few hours. He was conscious and lucid before he went into surgery though."
Rodney looked crestfallen and worried. "Really? Why can't he catch a break? Why is it always him? Always!"
"I don't know Rodney, but I'm sure Dr. Beckett will do the best he can to make sure he makes a good recovery. Now, Teyla and I need to go, rest up." Said Dr. Weir.
Rodney snapped his fingers, fidgeting, "I think I've rested enough, thankyouverymuch, but Jennifer is insisting I stay overnight, hey could one of you guys-"
Just then Ronan walked up with Rodney's work things, "Here McKay. Now you can shut up."
Teyla and Dr. Weir left the infirmary. Rowan and Ronan pulled up chairs to wait for word from Dr. Beckett next to Rodney's bed. Rodney was already off into his own little world now that he had his laptop in front of him, and was ignoring everyone else.
Rowan signed and typed out, [Ronan, Rodney said this sort of thing always happens to John...can you tell me about how he's always OK? How he always is OK in the end?]
Ronan gave her one of his rare smiles, the kind that made his eyes crinkle and disappear, and made you forget he was a fierce warrior, and said "Sure. One time there was this giant insect-" he began to sign haltingly what words he could.