Chapter Twenty One – Reestablishment
"Rodney, Ronon," Teyla said with a faint smile on her lips, glad to see her team mates again, as she stepped out of the semi-darkness.
"Are you out of your mind!?" McKay shouted back at her as the lights turned on to further reveal her and Sha, together with several Alphas. "You could've given me a heart attack!"
Ronon shook his head and walked up to his newly arrived team member. "He's been like this all the way," he said, nodding toward Rodney.
The scientist didn't even hear Ronon's remark, too confused as to how Teyla could suddenly appear right in front of him.
"How…how did you get here?" he finally managed, looking intently at Teyla.
"The city map and then a few shortcuts among the blocks above us," Sha explained to Rodney, before turning his focus on Ronon. "I take it you've had the misfortune of finding one of the still fighting fractions?"
Ronon nodded grimly. "I think I got a few of them. Their war hasn't ended," he stated.
Sha nodded slowly in understanding, then gave a curt nod at the Alpha teams that had followed him and Teyla. "I trust you'll take care of it," he said in a commanding voice.
One of the team leaders walked forward to stand opposite his commander. "Find your Stargate, sir, we'll see to it that the fighting stops, one way or another," the man said confidently.
Dadan watched sadly as the black clad men filed out of the corridor section, went through the door, and into the heat of the firefight. He looked at the blond man in the high ranking military uniform; a determined and good-looking man with a will seemingly of steel. Dadan scrutinized him for a moment, then his eyes lit up with hope. The old man considered himself to be a good judge of character and he liked what he saw.
"I am Dadan," he introduced himself. "We have come to aid the descendants of the sky people."
"Military Defense Officer Sha Rodin," the blond man said by way of greeting, his smile one of certainty, then added, "I know who you are, sir."
Rodney snapped his fingers impatiently. "Now that we're all properly introduced we need to find the gate," he said.
"We're heading for the central spire," Teyla said, amused by the look of surprise on Rodney's face as she said it.
"It's gone," he mumbled.
"No, look," Teyla said stubbornly, reassuringly, as she placed the pad in his hands, displaying the plan of the magnificent city. "We always assumed they're directly above each other but they're not."
Rodney nodded thoughtfully. "It makes sense, the central spire would have been protected by the shield, that's the last place that goes unprotected," he said, then a cautious smile spread on his lips. "What are we waiting for then?"
They walked in silence, although the mood wasn't so somber and tense anymore. The tribe soldiers cleared the way while Rodney kept looking at the life signs detector, Teyla walking ahead with the map in front of her. Sha was coordinating things with his closest Alpha teams over the radio link, those that he left behind, while Ronon was bringing up the rear. After another fifteen minutes they arrived at what would be the main staircase in Atlantis. Like the smaller staircase which Rodney and Ronon had encountered before, it was protected by a force field.
"I don't understand," Rodney said dejectedly as he pocketed the life signs detector. "Why won't it let us pass?"
"Perhaps…," Dadan began, but was cut short by a snarl from the shadows behind them.
"Move!" Teyla shouted urgently as she and Ronon made their way toward the sound.
They came pouring into the hallway, the vicious creatures known as the Wraith. They had been hiding there, waiting for their prey.
Rodney, somewhat in shock, fumbled with the P90 clipped to his TAC vest while his team mates let loose a burst of shots at the oncoming soldiers and pushed most of the tribespeople away from harm.
Wasting no time in wonder, Sha copied the movements of his allies, his aim never wavering as he quickly took down several of the Wraith.
Ronon watched in annoyance as the glow of the power cell in his weapon slowly faded. "Never, put that detector down, McKay!" he admonished over the noise, angry that his team mate hadn't been looking at the life signs readings.
Teyla ignored them bickering, worried about Dadan, showing him behind her as she clipped a fresh magazine into the weapon.
"All the hatred," Dadan said regretfully behind her.
"They will be stopped," Teyla whispered coldly as she aimed and fired.
It became an automatic unfeeling motion; aiming, firing and killing. No one said anything, no one could hear anything over the constant staccato of P90 fire.
Rodney shakily retrieved the life signs detector and sighed, the last Wraith blip extinguished as he stared at it. "That's the last of them," he let out.
"What are they?" Dadan whispered in disbelief.
"They are monsters," Teyla said sadly. "They are monsters."
Silence settled over the party as they stood there, shaken by what had just happened. Then, suddenly Rodney snapped his fingers, his face still pale but the spark in his eyes where back.
"Can you all go away?" he said bluntly.
"Why?" Ronon asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Just down the corridor," Rodney added. "I want to try something."
Teyla nodded at him and gently hooked an arm with Dadan, leading him away, the tribe silently following. Sha and Ronon shared a look, then the military man shrugged and they too headed after the others.
Rodney watched them trail further away in the long section of the corridor and inhaled slowly, deeply before walking up to stand next to the force field once again, as he had before the Wraith emerged.
He reached out with his hand and smiled as the field let his hand pass. "Only the Ancients," he mused with an upward curl to his lips. Rodney took a few cautious steps up the staircase before turning on his radio with a light touch of the earpiece. "You can come back now," he said.
The others had no trouble following Rodney as they came back and after what felt like a life time, they'd climbed the ten floors up to the control room. The brilliant staircase was now bathed in light as the ATA gene had been sensed by the system.
Teyla gently steadied Dadan as they appeared before the beautifully decorated, heavily reinforced double door. Deeply touched at her offer of support he smiled wearily at her.
"Moment of truth," Rodney mumbled beneath his breath as he swiped his hand over the console. The sliding door gracefully parted before them, revealing a room that had not been visited for thousands of years and there in front of them all, stood the Stargate.
Rodney felt his legs buckle beneath him as relief surged through his body. Teyla gently walked over and supported him, then gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Dadan and Sha shared a look, both smiling. The old man gently offered the younger man support as he swayed on his feet, his injuries becoming known to him again in terms of pain and ache. "You should perhaps have listened to the doctors, I believe they told you not to come here, did they not?" Dadan cautioned with a slight warning tone seeing the tension in the younger man's body, the way he held himself.
Sha pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure but refrained from answering, his weakened body speaking for itself.
Rodney didn't waste any time exploring, he knew exactly where to look. Several of the control stations had been covered with thin blankets. Some of them had taken serious damage during the battle Askula had been engaged in but mostly the room was intact – more importantly the gate was intact.
"MDO Rodin, sir," came a hollow voice over the link through the heavy static.
Sha reached for his communications gadget. "Yes," he said shortly.
"Sir, I regret to inform you that MO Katan has disappeared from detention," the lower officer reported.
Sha tensed at the words spoken, the hair at the back of his neck rising. "Say again," he replied cautiously, hoping he'd heard wrong.
"Military Organizer Katan was not among the dead or injured down in the experimental bunker, sir. It is therefore safe to assume he's trying to flee the city."
"I see," Sha said in resignation. "Your top priority is to make sure no Wraith remains and to protect our people but should you see Katan, your hands are free. Please relay that to the rest."
Standing not too far away from Sha Ronon was angrily flexing his hands, turning them into fists.
The room came to life slowly as Rodney stepped further into it. Lights turned on obediently and as it did, Teyla swallowed, seeing a skeleton lying next to the large arched window behind the gate. A large part of the wall next to it was gone, the integrity of the room was held together by a force field; had been for all those years.
"Seems they didn't all leave," Ronon said grimly as he followed her gaze.
"Remember the older version of Elizabeth?" Rodney asked carefully, a solemn look on his face. "She maned the place, waiting for us to come all those years."
"What a horrible way to die," Ronon said. "Loneliness."
"We don't know if that's what happened," Teyla reasoned before turning her full attention to John's equal. "Sha, can you reach Lani? I've been afraid to ask, afraid to hear the answer, but I must know if John is still alive."
Sha swallowed the dryness in his mouth as he saw those large soft eyes filled with worry. Rodney had stopped messing around with the equipment and Ronon had turned to stare at him, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Our communication system is not working very well down in Askula, as you might have noticed," Sha said with a sarcastic edge. Nevertheless he reached for his communications device, adjusting the frequency.
"Team Alpha two, this MDO Rodin, come in please," he said.
There was nothing, only static and Sha shook his head sadly before trying a different approach, calculating in his mind which team would be closest.
"Team Alpha nine, come in please," he said carefully.
Again there was static, then suddenly the static was replaced by garbled words, further increasing the tension mixed with hope and fear in the gate room.
"Say again, Team Alpha nine?" Sha demanded.
It never got any better and with a sigh the native military officer shook his head. "I'll give it one last try," he let on an adjusted the frequency. "Team Alpha six, if you can hear this, reply at once."
"Th…team…Alpha…receiving," came the instant reply.
Teyla found herself smiling as she imagined the lieutenant they'd only just left behind to fight, before her.
"Read you sir, it's been one…of…convince…taking…custody," the team leader reported.
"That's good news, Lieutenant," Sha returned, reading between the lines. "I need you to get back to the infirmary section down there and see to it that Medical Examiner Nadim and her people are well. More importantly, I need information about Colonel Sheppard. Is that clear?"
"Garbled…junk…respect, sir," began the reply and Sha found himself smiling as the lieutenant was referring to their communications system.
"Infirmary, Sheppard, Nadim, got it, sir. We'll get back to you as soon as we've handed over this bunch of happy campers to one of the other teams."
Sha nodded as the connection was severed and turned to the awaiting Athosian. "That's all I can do I am afraid, Teyla," he softly, his voice tinged with regret.
She walked over and placed a comforting hand on his sleeve, her nose crinkling slightly as her lips curled upwards in a faint smile. "I cannot have asked for more, Sha, thank you."
Rodney stared at the Stargate ahead of him and then took in his surroundings, not able to get rid of the feeling of déjà vu that crept up on him. For a moment he found himself wondering what would have happened should they have found Askula first instead of Atlantis but then he shrugged and turned back to the controls.
Dadan gently retrieved the zero point module from the worn leather satchel that one of his young soldiers had carried with him from the chair room, and walked up to the scientist. "You will need this, will you not?" he asked.
Rodney nodded absentmindedly, as he stared at figures Dadan had no idea how to interpret.
Ronon joined them and took the zero point module from the old man, only to place it next to the main frame. "Hot wiring the Stargate, McKay?" he asked slyly.
"More like the whole system," Rodney returned sarcastically as he scratched the back of his head and made a grimace.
The old and wise man stood back to give the others room to work, unconsciously he gripped the ancient locket around his neck as he took in the amazing surroundings. He watched as some of the young warriors sat down on their knees in astonishment while others walked around the room, gently touching things as if touch alone could bring them back in time, to the battle that took place so many years ago.
Dadan understood now, understood more than he'd ever done before the meaning of the pictograms, the true capacity of the sky people. He saw the painted picture of the Ring of the Old Ones before him in his mind and he saw the people standing before it, saw the next picture – the one with the blue flash. It was not a place of sacrificing, it was a portal; all this time he'd misinterpreted the meaning of the ring and the magic behind it.
In amazement Dadan found himself mulling about what else the tribe had misinterpreted as the large screens behind the controls came online.
Rodney put a hand before his mouth as he called up the damage control system and then shook his head sadly. "So much destroyed," he mumbled under his breath, then remembered the hologram of the woman declaring Askula lost and beyond repair. "She wasn't kidding," he added.
He shuddered involuntarily, imagining the horrors of the past. He shrugged, forced himself to snap out of it and shook his head again as he gently activated the Stargate system. Behind him he could hear a faint whoosh and, as he turned to look over his shoulder, he saw all the symbols of the Stargate blink before going inert again.
Next he called up the life signs system, causing Sha to stroll over out of curiosity. "So you can see all of them?" he asked carefully as he glanced at the screen displaying all the various dots scattered across the city.
"There are most likely glitches in this, considering the damages done to this city," Rodney returned gravely.
"Rodney," Teyla began, her eyes asking what she couldn't bring herself to say.
The scientist swallowed, then nodded as his fingers flew over the consoles to zoom in on the infirmary section. "Like I said, we may not get an accurate reading," he cautioned.
They waited in apprehension as the life signs appeared before them.
"One junior doctor, one nurse, Lani, the other Medical Examiner and John," Teyla said as she counted the life signs displayed.
"There are Alphas," Sha said almost regretfully, not wanting to spoil any hopes.
"How many?" Ronon asked.
"At least one outside the door and, if team six has arrived, another five," Sha recounted.
Then Teyla broke into a grin, allowing herself to let out a deep breath. "Then I think he's still with us," she said, her voice barely higher than a whisper.
"There are distinguishable life signs…" Sha trailed off, already having a fair idea what it meant.
"They are Wraith," Ronon snarled angrily.
"In that case, I'd say we have a problem," Rodney gulped as several sections displayed a massive amount of Wraith life signs.
They all turned as there was a yelp coming from one of the young soldiers who'd been standing next to the Stargate. At the same time several symbols lit up at the control station, indicating that the Stargate had recalibrated itself and connected to rest of the gate network.
"Dial, McKay," Ronon urged in a low voice as he studied the massive dotting on the screen. "We're going to need all the help we can get."
Rodney turned to look at him, his eyes steely, his jaw set before averting his attention to the controls, his hands hitting the familiar buttons. "Dialing Atlantis," he said.
OOOOOO
To be continued
/Once again thank you. Things are looking better for our heroes ;) or do they?