Disclaimer : The characters and genre used belong to the appropriate owners I hold no right or ownership to their work.
Author's note: This is my first attempt in a long time at writing a fanfic , I welcome any pointers in reviews and will try to improve my work as the story develops. I will not take abuse if you don't like my story don't read it, leaving abusive reviews just to be spiteful helps no one .
After everyone got up to leave John made his way to his office to finish some of the backlog of paperwork to kill time while he waits for the next shipment of harvesters to return in the next hour. As he was making his way along the corridor he spotted Rodney hurrying along to catch up with him.
" Hey sheppard wait up ". Exclaimed Rodney slightly out of breath from the power walking
" Hey McKay what's up ? ".
" I just wanted to check in with you it's been a while since we hung out , a lot has happened in the last month we me being wraith and you in charge with you super gene ... So we'll how are you ?... " Rodney left off not quite sure how to continue.
For all his faults and lack of social skills this fumbled attempt at checking in was why John considered Rodney to be his best friend , even though he was uncomfortable he still made an attempt.
" yeah I guess we both have been so busy we haven't had a chance to stop and chat . And with Ronon and Teyla both off world we haven't really stuck to having team meals like we used to. " explained John finally reaching his office and taking a seat as Rodney took his usual place on the mini couch that had been dragged in for him specifically after he started spending more time with sheppard.
" I guess I have been so busy I forgot they're both off world , how long are they gone for anyway , it's almost been 3weeks already ? ". He asked
John sighed and got him self settled before answering , taking a moment to think about the conflicting feelings each of his missing team mates brought up.
" well Teyla is spending time with her people hoping to fix her relationship with them . She hasn't said much but I know her choice to come with us to defend earth and leave behind Kanaan and the others didn't go well with her people. Added to which everything the happened with queen death and pretending to be a wraith queen took its toll on Teyla . I think she hopes spending some time getting back to her roots will settle some of the unease she feels and smooth over any ruffled feathers her people might have . she plans to return next week . As for Ronon ... ". John failed of with a sigh.
"What's going on with you two ? I get Teyla needing time but things have been tense between you guys for a while now, what happened ?". Ask Rodney not bothering to hide his concern over the obvious falling out his friends have had .
With a weary sigh John lent back in his chair and ran a hand down his face absently scratching at the stubble forming in his chin.
" Ronon didn't agree with how I handled things with queen death , he didn't want us to work with Todd , hated the idea of Keller working on the new retro virus . And though he hasn't said it out loud I think he resents me for stopping him from using Hyperion' s weapon to end the wraith once and for all . I think he's beginning to realise that earth and in turn us don't have the resources or the will to wipe out the wraith.
So for the time being he is helping his people rebuild on sateda and training what few soldiers they have remaining. He should hopefully return around the same time as Teyla, whether or not he stays here or with his people ... I don't know ". Defeated he stopped talking hoping Rodney would have something to say to fill the growing silence .
" well crap, hell if I know what to do with that . Surely he must realise you was put into a no win position with Todd , death and the weapon .And I know better than anybody that once Jen sets her mind too something there is nothing that can be done too change it . And yeah I get he wants all the wraith gone - we all do - but he can hardly blame you for our inability to do so ". Exclaimed Rodney indignant on his friends behalf .
" I guess like most people we meet he was initially swept away with our technological superiority and skill at beating back the wraith that he began to have hope that we might bring about their end once and for all . And there is nothing more dangerous then hope especially when it's shattered .
Dealing with the realisation that we're nothing more than a band aid is a bitter pill to swallow . If I have to be the poster boy for that failure so be it , it's my fault the wraith woke a good 50 to 100 years early . I've accepted that I can't take all the blame , either way they would have began culling again but it's my fault it happened in our life times ". There was a resigned acceptance to what he said neither seeking or wanting comfort , just stating the facts as they were .
It was a show of how well Rodney knew his friend that he didn't bother with the usual platitudes and comforts, he merely nodded along in camaraderie well aware of the parts they both have played in shaping the events of the past few years . Instead he chose to change the subject and focus on more fun matters .
" so have you got any names picked out for the replicator ship ? I mean I don't mind keeping the name Tria for the other one but I can't imagine the replicators would've taken the time to name each of their ships. " . He asked hopefully
"We're not naming it the Enterprise " chucked John thinking back to the debate of what to name the Orion
" I wasn't going to say that , I was actually thinking of keeping the theme we've been using for the 304's and name it after one of the Greek legends You know something like Ares or Artemis. ". Rodney reasoned.
" huh that's actually not a bad idea . How about Athena or poseidon, Athena the God of wisdom and war or Poseidon the father of Pegasus ? Either had a nice theme and fits with what we want the ship to represent ". John mused
" Athena i think would be best , Poseidon has given me the idea for building a space station, somewhere we can dock the ships and make repairs . I could also work in some orbital defence tech . It would need shields as well ... " before he even finished talking Rodney was up and through the door his mind churning out idea's like mad , much to John's amusement.
" thanks for the chat McKay " chuckling John returned to his paper work cheered up from the brief visit from his scatter brained friend.
A few hours later John was once again seated in the control chair sorting out the return of the harvesters . Looking at the amount of minerals being stored he took notice of the list of things capable of being constructed growing , pleased with the progress they had already begun to make John turned to Atlantis for direction .
" so Atlantis with the materials we now have on hand do we have enough to make the parts Zelenka needs as well as the new hyperdrive on top of maintaining our pace of constructing new harvesters and drones ?. ".
"well John with the surplus material from the last harvest and what has just been added you can make the 3 wind turbines , hyperdrive and the 600 drones easily you just need to decide how many harvesters you wish to make with what's left and whether or not you want to allocate more towards the solar collectors and the Tria repairs ." . Atlantis explained .
"okay so originally we planned to allocate all but one of the harvesters towards making more harvesters and the last towards making drones . For the time being we will keep the single harvester for drone production. Which means we currently have 6 on Hand with enough material to make at least 12 more . If we change it to making 9 additional harvesters that will bring our total up to 16 would that leave enough materials over for the repair items ?. ". As John asked he could see Atlantis systems start to make the calculations to see if his request was viable .
"Yes there is enough material to follow your plan of action as well leaving a surplus which I can use to start making the parts for the repairs to the solar collectors Dr Zelenka mentioned earlier ." Eager to help Atlantis brought forth the construction programme and readied the systems for John's input.
straight away John set in motion the construction of the harvesters and drones , then he searched through the list for the wind turbines , after a few minutes of mental scrolling he found what he was looking for and started the process before moving onto the hyperdrive .
Here he found several different designs ranging from a low powered inter planetary design to the faster inter galactic design , surprisingly also included was the finished designs of the the wormhole drive . Choosing to ignore all the others he instead focused on the the fastest and most power full design .
Upon selecting it the stats of the drive were displayed showing that it rivals the Asgard hyper drive and could could cross the galaxy in a matter of hours and make to the trip to earth in 2 days . Knowing what a tactical advantage that would be he started the construction immediately with the command for it to be ready for deployment through the gate the following day.
Taking note of the drop in resources and power he couldn't help but worry about the 4% drop from the ZPM leaving it at 85% . Knowing that it would still take months before it was completely drained by which time the other generators would be online he was still concerned especially as the demand for construction will increase in the coming weeks . Sensing his concerns Atlantis sought to reassure him.
"I can tell you worried about our power supply running low in the coming weeks, you need not be concerned there is two solutions to our problems one of which will soon become available to us to use . Rest easy John I would not suggest a course of action that would leave our people at risk all will be well. "
"I know Atlantis , you put out safety first even at your own detriment I'm sorry for endlessly worrying over these things . You said there are two options available to us ?. " John sheepishly asked
"you care for your people's well being John , it is not something you need to apologise for . As to the options available the first is a faster way too recharge the generators . This can be done using any Alteran ship , as Dr Kusanagi reported Alteran ships are equipped with a rechargeable generator much like the city .
What we can do is position a ship such as the Tria close to the Sun for a fast recharge then have it dock with one of the city's piers . From this control chair you can then direct the stored power from the ship into one of the city's empty generators . After that you can then repeat the process until all six of the generators are at full power , following this method it should take at most 2 months to recharge all six . I planed to bring this to your attention once we had salvaged either the Tria or the replicator ship ".
Listening as Atlantis explained the process the chairs interface reacted to his subconscious thought and displayed an achieved footage of an Alteran ship docking with the city and transferring the power , showing how the power flowed through the conduits and into the city's generators . Amazed at the process and how quickly their power problems would be fixed John couldn't help by be amazed out what the city was capable of doing .
" I have to say Atlantis I'm so glad that after all this time you can still impress me with all that you can do , I can't wait to learn what else your capable of ". Gushed John practically feeling the warmth of a blush from Atlantis reaction to his praise leaving him feeling pleasantly happy.
" thank you John , let me assure you've only just begun to scratch the surface of what we can do together . Now onto the second method of solving our power problems . This will be done not by me but by you and 4 others in the city and that is the process of recharging a ZPM".
Completely stunned John couldn't find the words to ask the questions running through his head . Fully opening his mind to Atlantis he let her see what he was thinking and waited for her to explain.
"I know you wondering how this is possible especially as I have previously said that I have sealed off all technology relating to the ZPMS until such time it's safe from the people on earth that will abuse it. Well that is still the case , what I am suggesting is something that can only be done by those that have a sufficiently strong enough ATA gene . There is currently only 5 people here strong enough to do this . That is your self, Dr Beckett , Dr Robinson , Dr Kusanagi and major Lorne no one else has gene capable of making and holding the connection long enough to start let alone finish the recharge process.
The method was first invented not long after ZPMs were first created , the Alteran scientist had yet to make the technology the would perform the recharge process. As such an individual would be assigned a depleted ZPM , after which they would synchronise their gene with power module and compel it to start drawing in power until such time it was fully charged .
This was a delicate process that could take months at a time and had to be done carefully as overcharging a ZPM would cause it to rupture and explode with dire consequences. I believe I can safely instruct you on how to do This , after which you will pass this training onto those I mentioned earlier . It will take time as such I feel comfortable with giving out this knowledge without you facing undue interest from those on earth . So John would you like to give this a try or shall we wait for the the salvage of the ships ?. "
John sat quietly for a few minutes just trying understand all that Atlantis had explained . He got that only those with the strongest gene could do it and was pleased each of those with the exception of Dr Robinson were veterans of the expedition and wouldn't have a problem keeping the skill to themselves.
Considering the supply of depleted ZPMs they had collected over the years did mean they could have quiet a large supply without the need of the sealed of tech . Realising there were more pros then cons John sent a mental confirmation to Atlantis that he was ready to give it a try .
Quickly following Atlantis direction he made his way to the secure storage where they kept all the dead ZPMs. Taking one of the original ZPMS they found in the city when they first arrived he took it back to his quarters were he could relax and fully focus on the task at hand . Once there he settled on the floor and took the ZPM out of its case and placed it in his lap ready to begin his instruction.
"whenever you are ready I want you to focus on forming a connection with the ZPM , block out all distractions and listen to what it tells you , it should sound almost like musical notes . "
Recalling what he sensed and heard from his time with Dorane when his gene was made stronger and what the ZPM was like back then he focused and listened .With
Just as he was becoming frustrated he heard weak musical notes just drifting past his senses . Honing in on it the notes became clear until he could almost understand them , speaking in a musical language conveying their lack of power and need of maintenance. Once he had a firm hold of the connection he sent a nudge to Atlantis for the next step .
"now that you have made the connection focus on where the power is stored , once you find it you need to command it to start filling up , initially it will be a slow process and take a lot of mental strength to hold the connection in place , don't worry if your control slips, it will take a while for you to get it stable . ".
With the next steps laid out , he focused once again and searched for where the power was stored , once he found it he tried to get it to start drawing power in .It was slow almost sluggish in the beginning just when he felt the recharge start it slipped from his grasp and he had to start over .
Bolstered by his first try he made another attempt only to fail again , with the continual encouragement from Atlantis he tried for the 7th time finally holding the connection and keeping it stable . Once he had it in place he could feel the power being draw in and stored into the ZPM.
It was the pounding head ache that finally made him withdraw from the connection with the assurance from Atlantis that the power stored will remain unless used .
With ringing ears and a thumping head John leaned back against his bed letting go of the ZPM. Looking at the time he realised that only half an hour had passed even though it felt like hours .
" well done John you have successfully begun the recharge process. The ZPM now contains 1% charge . As you have felt it takes a great deal of mental focus to perform this task , it will get easier the more you do it however there will always be a strain involved. In time you may be able to achieve more than 1% per session however what you have achieved is commendable. If you repeat this process every day you will have it recharged in no time at all . However I must caution you that you do not attempt this more that once per day as the strain can cause serious damage .
Heartened by Atlantis but too done in from his efforts he crawled into bed eager for a rest to stop his pounding head , hoping it would be gone by tomorrow when they set out to salvage the Tria .
AN: well here's another chapter for you all , hope you enjoyed it , I'm trying to build more of the characters up but this is all new to me so any suggestions would be appreciated. Also a big thanks for all the reviews I really appreciate it.