Chapter 2: Days and Days
DAY 1:
After Sheppard changed into fresh clothing, he checked on Teyla and Ronon, finding them in good hands and out of danger. Next, he gave Carter his full report. The jumper was pulled from service until it could be decontaminated from the exposure to the radiation.
They tested their gate to ensure it was able to engage other planets. They searched the database looking for the closest gate to Gessa. It wasn't close. It would take 35 days for a jumper at full speed to reach that planet. If they hadn't moved one of the space-gates for the bridge, it would have been four days away from Gessa.
Yeah, that space bridge was a great idea. They used to think the space gates were in the middle of nowhere, now it seems they discovered their purpose.
The Daedalus was their only choice. It should have been ten days away, on its way to Atlantis to continue the mission of rearranging the space gates. Instead, the massive ship had recently been engaged in a mission to move a colony of people away from an erupting volcano on a small planet in the Milky Way galaxy. Volcanos – never a good thing.
Lava was slowly flowing into the valleys and the air was filled with ash. They had to move everyone out of the red zone. The Daedeulus was busy there and wouldn't be available for some time.
"Hurry them up!" Sheppard demanded.
Carter was diplomatic. "The Daedalus is not at our beck and call. It doesn't service just Atlantis. There are other responsibilities, and the crew is currently saving lives."
"How long?" Sheppard demanded.
"They don't know how long this will take. There are thousands of people that need to be evacuated."
"Don't they have a gate? We managed to do it with just a gate."
"They are cut off from it due to the volcano."
Sheppard ran a hand through his hair. "Give me an estimate," he snapped.
Carter tipped her head and stated, "I can't say. I will work with them to get a timeline and…"
"He's trapped there, alone!" Sheppard shouted. "Who knows what he's up against there. We've been shot at already. What else is in there?"
Carter crossed her arms over her chest. "Colonel, your tone needs to be addressed."
Sheppard grimaced. "I need to know he'll be okay."
"You said there were food stores."
"What's going on with that building. Are there more security systems?"
"I think you should talk to the Genii," Carter told him. "They were in that building at one point, and that security system definitely smells of their technology - not the Ancients. Don't you still have a contact with them?"
Sheppard nodded, seeing the wisdom of her statement. It was time to visit Landon.
"You went to Gessa?" Landon asked, incredulously. "Is it still irradiated?"
"It is," Sheppard told him. "Too high for anyone to go there without protection." Sheppard stood as he spoke to the Genii leader who sat at a table.
"Why would you go there?" he asked, sounding suspicious.
"We wanted to look into that Ancient structure, to see how the oxygen scrubbers worked. Might be useful."
"Oh," Landon seemed relieved. And then he nodded. "Yes, I suspect that's the sort of thing that would get you interested. Did you find anything?"
"We entered the Ancient structure and were shot at almost immediately," Sheppard said. "Two of my team members were severely injured by a security system."
Landon winced. "It's still in operation?" he paused and added, "I suppose it would be. We never had the chance to turn it off."
"It's been in a ready status ever since you left?"
"I would suppose so. It triggers when someone nears the stairs."
"Was that the only security system? Did you explore the building thoroughly? Is there anything there that we need to know about? Any more booby traps? Did you do anything else to it?"
Landon gave Sheppard a hard look. "I think you're interrogating me. I don't like the sound of this."
With a sigh, Sheppard finally sat down across the table from the Genii. "Two of our people are badly hurt and I had to rush them home. One of our people is trapped in that building because we couldn't release the airlock. And now, we can't retrieve him because the DHD won't engage the gate. I just need to know a few things. Is there any reason why we wouldn't be able to dial the gate to get back there?"
"No reason that I know of. We didn't lock it down when we left after the disaster. I suppose we should have, but honestly, we were hoping that the Wraith would go through and discover it for themselves." Landon smiled a little at that idea.
Sheppard hoped this would be easy, that Landon could just give him a code to unlock it. "How did you get into the building?"
Landon paused, giving him appraising look and then seemed to think it wouldn't matter if he said more. "It was by accident," Landon continued. "We couldn't do anything with the building for many years." He folded his hands on the table. "One of our newer workers, a woman named Mital, visited the structure. She touched the door and it opened." He cocked his head at Sheppard, "I suppose, like you, she has that special talent."
"Probably," Sheppard assented.
"A rare gift. It was perfect timing for us. We were planning to set off the device if the Wraith arrived, but we needed someplace to hide away. It's not as if everyone could make a run for the gate before the device activated while the Wraith guarded the exit. We explored the structure, finding it adequate to handle the townspeople if we needed to escape the Wraith and the radiation. We planned to stock it and arm it to protect us. We managed to move in some supplies and set up the security system in the first room."
"Those guns in the wall," Sheppard clarified. "Seems kinda dangerous, all things considered."
Landon gave him a suffering look. "We installed the security system first. We needed to be sure the structure would be secure if the Wraith gained entrance. We were in the process of stocking the location when someone accidentally activated the system. Five of our people were injured before they were able to escape."
"And you never went back?"
"Mital was amongst the people who succumbed to their injuries. Without her, we could not access the building again." He paused, looking down at the table. "We tried, but we couldn't force the doors open."
Yeah, and they probably bent something, John realized.
"It was a sad and unfortunate event," Landon continued.
"I'm sorry about your loss," Sheppard said, feeling like he needed to say something.
"She was a good woman," the Genii said. "We all suffered her loss." Landon drew in a breath. "I hope your injured people will recover. There are no further traps. Before we were locked out, our men went through the entire structure. There are three lower levels and many empty rooms, an apparent kitchen and other necessary facilities. There is water and electricity. With the food we managed to store on the site, your team member should be fine for some time. How do you plan to retrieve him?"
"We have a means," Sheppard told him. "It will just take a while."
Landon shrugged, realizing he'd hear no more about that matter.
"Thank you," Sheppard said quietly, feeling the weight of the day landing on him. "And you have no clever ideas what's wrong with the gate?"
Landon lifted his hands in a sign of defeat. "I have no idea. Something must have broken in the DHD due to the radiation."
Then, with a hollow voice, Landon said, "We were so proud of ourselves. We had a way to defeat the Wraith. But, they didn't come, and then - when we lost control - there was precious little time to evacuate. I wasn't there at the time, but I understand it was horrifying – so many people running for their lives." He drew in a breath. "Thankfully, all managed to escape, but we will never set foot on Gessa again." He looked Sheppard in the eye and said, "I hope you are able to rescue your teammate and that you're able to find some good on Gessa. I wish I could provide you with more news."
Sheppard stood. "Thanks. You helped answer some questions." He moved to the door.
"You look tired," Landon told him.
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know."
"There's blood on your boots," Landon pointed out.
Sheppard has no response to that.
Day 2:
Sheppard woke in the infirmary. He groaned and rolled over to find Ronon sitting up and eating breakfast with his one good hand, the other arm was in a sling at his chest.
"Mornin'," Dex said as he continued working on his tray.
John hardly remembered coming here the previous night. He'd made another report to Carter and then found Ronon and Teyla sleeping. He spoke with Keller and she assured him that they would be okay. Sheppard just sat down for a moment on one of the unoccupied beds and then found himself waking here.
"Anything new?" John asked.
"I haven't heard," Ronon stated, disgruntled. "What did you find out?"
Teyla was stirring at the sound of their voices, she turned toward them as Sheppard told them everything he'd heard from Landon, and everything Carter had said when Sheppard made his report.
"We still haven't heard back regarding the Daedalus. At best, it's going to be weeks before we can get to him. Everyone is saying he's going to be just fine. There's food, water, electricity. Everything a man might need if he's stuck there." Sheppard paused and asked, "Is that Genii food any good?"
Ronon shrugged, digging into his pile of eggs and bacon. "Some of it's okay. Most of it isn't. It's for emergencies."
Teyla said quietly, "The last thing I remember was seeing Rodney standing at the airlock, looking back at us."
"He knew," Sheppard said. "He knew he wasn't coming back with us." Letting out a low breath, Sheppard muttered, "I was such an ass to him all day. I wish I had given him some reassurances when we left. Instead, I was a jerk."
Ronon snorted. "You were in a snit," he said.
Sheppard gave a strange look for that, then glanced to Teyla.
"Definitely in a snit," Teyla confirmed.
John grimaced. He knew he was in a bad mood that day. Things were just going wrong for him – nothing major, just little things that kept adding up – his alarm went off too early, he nicked himself shaving, the water took a long time to warm up, he found a stain on his shirt after he was already dressed, breakfast was biscuits and gravy with hard biscuits. And he really didn't want to deal with a radioactive planet.
"Yeah," Sheppard agreed. "I shouldn't have spoken to him like that before we left."
Ronon shrugged and said, "You were going to come right back."
"I made it sound like I might not," Sheppard countered.
Teyla smiled at him. "He knows you would have returned immediately. He knows this was not purposeful. You were very worried about Ronon and me."
"He's a smart guy." Sheppard's voice remained low. "It sucks though. I shouldn't have left like that. I know what it's like to feel abandoned."
"You were in a hurry to save our lives. It is unfortunate, but understandable," Teyla stated.
It was one hell of a day. Sheppard just watched Ronon eat. He remembered the 'beanie-weenie' that should have been served last night. Rodney would be disappointed that he missed out.
John was supposed to spend the night watching the DVDs he'd acquired recently. Someone had the first season of "The Rockford Files" and he was eager to immerse himself in the world of Jim Rockford. He'd been hurrying Rodney, trying to get back, wanting to have something look forward to that day. He just wanted some time to himself, to just sit in his room and watch an old favorite. He wanted to enjoy it without interruption. Rodney always had fun-facts and memories surrounding these old shows. He couldn't help himself and would talk through most of it. Sheppard had been looking forward to time on his own.
Teyla sighed, and softly said, "Poor Rodney. I hope he's okay."
Sheppard said nothing, sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms on his legs and hands dangling between his knees. He remembered a time not long ago when he was the one marooned after he stepped through that doorway in a cave. He'd felt abandoned when his team didn't pull him back or come after him. He had waited for so long - and then had to find his way to civilization, to food and comfort. He didn't know that there was a time variance that left him thinking they weren't even trying to retrieve him - while McKay and the others were breaking their asses trying to get him back.
John just remembered the aching loneliness, even after he found other people. He should have known that his team wouldn't stop trying to save him. He hoped Rodney knew this at least.
"Forty days before they get here?" Sheppard's voice rose as he heard the news. "That's the quickest?"
"Yes," Sam responded. "The evacuation is taking some time and then there's the eighteen-day travel time for them to reach us."
"We can't leave him there for forty days."
"We have to, colonel. We have no choice. They're on mercy mission. People are evacuating with all their possessions. The lava is slow moving, but it will certainly cover the entire region."
"They have to speed up the process."
"This is not open to discussion. There are many people that need to be moved." She paused and looked sympathetic. "The needs of the many…"
"…Outweigh the needs of the one. I know! But, it's Rodney."
"I know he's important to our mission, but we will have to muddle through without him for a little while. There certainly are other people here who can step up and…"
"It's Rodney," Sheppard repeated.
"He has quite a few insecurities. He can't always see the big picture when it involves himself. Still, he should be able to figure out the reasons behind the delay. He will be fine. It's only forty days. Your recon tells me he has everything he needs to survive and thrive. He just needs to be patient." Sam fixed John with a look. "And you need to be patient."
Neither of them were patient people. Rodney would be going crazy with nothing to do. His mind was always working and Sheppard was afraid he'd spiral without something to fix on.
"Should we send a jumper through that nearest gate," Sheppard tried. "It will get there earlier."
"The trip from that gate will take thirty-five days – possibly longer because we don't know how the jumper would handle that prolonged journey. The difference between thirty-five and forty is negligible."
"It's five whole days." Who knows what could happen in those extra five days. They had no idea what was going on over there.
"And, we don't know if you can get the gate on Gessa functional again." Sam continued. "That would make the round-trip seventy days."
"Have they been continuing dialing the gate to see if this problem resolved itself."
"Yes, colonel, several times now." She paused a moment and then said, "John, you are doing him a disservice. He's an intelligent man – a highly intelligent man as he endlessly tells us. He has food, water, safety. He has his pack and his laptop. That will keep him happy. He'll be fine. Maybe he'll appreciate the downtime. It will be like a vacation for him. I know I wouldn't mind some time to myself. I'd make good use of it."
Sheppard shook his head. "He never likes downtime," he muttered.
DAY 14:
"Have you heard any news?" Dr. Winslow asked when she approached his table.
Sheppard sighed. "No news," he said in a flat voice. "They dial the gate three times a day. The Daedalus hasn't updated its travel plan. We just have to wait."
Winslow nodded. "I'm sure he's fine," she said. She opened her mouth to say something else, but maybe Sheppard's expression stopped her. "We're thinking about him in botany," she said. She turned tightly and left.
It was like that every day. People were always asking him for updates and there was nothing to give – nothing to say. It was the same old broken record. He couldn't fault the crew of the Daedalus. They were saving lives.
Some people were officious about their questions, others too sympathetic. Always the same questions, as if the answers could change. They offered advice that didn't help. They had scenarios that made things worse – like Rodney might have been killed outright, that the promised water didn't exist, that the food might poison him or it might cause an allergic reactions and he'd suffocate. The radiation might be leaking in. He might chance going outside to fix the airlock because he was told he must fix it before Sheppard would come back.
What if none of the food was still good and he was slowly starving?
What if that nuclear reactor went critical and blew out half the planet?
Landon had assured him that Rodney would be safe, but how far did he trust that man? The Genii hadn't been in the building for very long – they might not know everything. They certainly didn't know the sort of trouble that Rodney could muster. He'd certainly be pushing all the buttons and trying to activate things just to explore the place and learn.
Rodney wouldn't leave things alone when he was bored. What if he turned on something deadly?
And, John had been so ridiculously bored. With Teyla and Ronon still recovering, and Rodney – gone, there just wasn't anything to do. He spent a lot of time in the infirmary with his team, but both were getting tired of him just hanging around.
Nothing felt right. He hated doing nothing.
He just hoped things would start improving when Ronon and Teyla were released from the infirmary later today. They could help him with answering the endless questions if nothing else.
DAY 20:
Sheppard stormed into the mess. Teyla and Ronon sitting at the table that overlooked the ocean, taking it easy still, recovering and mending.
"Twenty-five more days!" he stated even before he reached them.
"Twenty-five?" Ronon repeated. Here was no reason to ask what he was talking about. Dex shook his head.
"Is that twenty-five days from now, or from their original ETA?" Teyla asked tentatively.
"Added to their original timeframe." Sheppard said. "So, what… that means he'll be stuck in that place for sixty-five days. It's another forty-five days from today."
"Oh, Rodney," Teyla said quietly.
Sheppard grumbled, "The evacuation is much larger than they thought originally. There's so much ash in the air, they're not just moving people to a new area, they're evacuating the colony from the planet. The ash will blot out the sun and cause an endless winter there. The planet won't be livable. They need more time."
"Yes," she said. "They must help."
Sheppard continued, "I know they're needed elsewhere. They're saving all those people and they're the only game in town. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one," he repeated.
"Or the few," Teyla added, glancing at her teammates.
They didn't say, 'he will be fine'. They'd heard it often enough during the past twenty days. Of course, he'd be fine if everything went right. But if the Daedalus had been on its normal schedule, they would have been here long ago. Rodney would have expected them. He would have been counting down the days. Was he waiting at the door?
John wondered how long Rodney had waited in that first room – after they'd left him – after he fixed the airlock because certainly he did. Did he wait all day, all night, before finally realizing it was for nothing? When did he finally, fearfully, go further into that structure, not knowing if he would set off another Genii security system?
Did Rodney know that the Daedalus had been called away?
People were making it sound as if Rodney was on holiday instead of in a prison – in solitary confinement. John realized that even when he had been marooned, he had people around him – he had something to do.
What was Rodney doing with no one around?
John sat down with the others and said nothing more.
Day 52:
The Daedalus was finally heading to Atlantis, five days later than promised. After the strain of the evacuation, the ship needed to be restocked and refitted. So many people had passed though, the ship needed some serious work. The crew needed a little down time after the stressful situation. They'd been run ragged.
The turnaround was supposed to take seven days, but they managed it in five. It should have taken a couple weeks to put everything right. The crew would get a few more vacation days upon their return.
At this point, John couldn't fault them. What was five more days in the long run.
Kavanaugh had come by earlier that day to congratulate them, and to remind them that if they had used the nearest gate, they would have picked up Rodney long ago – and they would be home on the same day as the Daedalus' arrival if they needed to make that round-trip.
Kavanaugh then pondered if Rodney would have tried walking to the gate. "Maybe he found protective gear? He has no patience. He probably felt abandoned and had to try to escape on his own, since nobody came. And he hasn't made it back. Probably didn't make it as far as the gate."
Sheppard made him leave after that comment. Goddamn him. What was worse, this very thought had niggled at him – would Rodney just sit and wait for months? Would he believe that they were coming after the days kept passing? Would he give up on them and try to escape on his own?
He bounced a ball against the wall, bouncing and catching, bouncing and catching. There had been so little to do during this downtime. Without Rodney - and with Ronon and Teyla still not at 100% - it meant a lot of time with nothing to do.
He was always a gregarious man, he could easily strike up a conversation with anyone, but he made few close friends.
You never leave a man behind.
To keep his mind off the situation, he'd attended meetings, caught up on reports and took long runs around Atlantis. He was needed a few times – mostly for his Ancient gene – to help the scientists. He liked spending time with Zelenka – who was never pushy about asking those questions. But he was almost too quiet. He missed shooting the shit with Rodney.
He bounced the ball and wished time would move faster. Because this was eating at him.
TBC