Exogenesis

Chapter Eighteen

"I would like to renew my statement that this is an absolutely insane research method." The endless wait was getting on his last nerve. Rodney badly wanted to pace, but knew he'd end up on his ass if he tried. "This experiment was destined to be a colossal screw-up from the beginning."

"I understand why you think so. But it is proving to be successful." Turpi's fingers traced patterns on his arm. "The terraforming machine is dormant, but the shield remains in order to hold back the water until the toxic mountains have completely eroded. If the Wraith had not forced the Ancestors to abandon Polrusso, the people of this world would not have forgotten their destiny: that their children's children would one day develop abilities equal to those of the Ancestors-superior, even, for we will be able to defend against the Wraith."

Making the impending loss of this civilization even more tragic. Anger worked its way into Rodney's mind, jockeying for position alongside helplessness and frustration. Just for a moment, he wished for Turpi's calming influence.

Sensing the change and the invitation, she slipped into his mind, but only hovered on the periphery, smoothing the edges of his emotions without altering them.

"That really is a gift," he said quietly, leaning into her touch, both physical and mental. "You'd put psychiatrists all over my planet out of business inside a week."

Her laugh existed only in his mind, and was all the more beautiful for it.

"Think you could just keep doing that until the end of the world-you know, considering that might not be too far away?" he said.

"If you wish it, I will be here." Something shifted, and he felt her anticipation. "I see something approaching in the sky."

Grasping at any last possibility he could find, John set a different inbound course to the lab than the one they'd taken outbound. Maybe they'd just gotten the location wrong. Maybe they still had a shot at stumbling on that damned hive ship out here somewhere. He knew, though, that time was working against him. Jumper Four had nearly reached its destination, and Jumper Five was already docked at the Ancient structure, its crew standing by to remove the ZPM.

"Incoming!" came a sudden yell from Lome over the radio. "We've got Wraith Darts buzzing the lab."

How the hell had that happened? John swore under his breath. His headache had just been looking for an excuse to make a repeat appearance. "Tell me what you see, Major."

"Six of `em, three pairs coming in from different directions. They're on converging flight paths, but it looks like they're not heading for us"

Had they spotted one of the cliff-dweller convoys? Crap. He set the jumper's nose at a high angle of attack, acute enough that Ronon looked at him askance. "Use the HUD to triangulate their convergence point and send it to me. We're taking the low-orbital route back. Hopefully it'll shave a few minutes off the commute. Everybody else, stay put and keep doing what you're doing."

Lome worked fast. The coordinates appeared within a minute, and John adjusted his flight path accordingly. Before long, the radio signaled again. "Alpha site calling Polrusso. Can anyone hear me?"

Even with John's diminished hearing, the accent and the odd radio etiquette made the caller's voice readily identifiable. Why was the Alpha site dialing in to talk to them? "We hear you, Doc. Is the evacuation complete?"

"Ah, Colonel," Beckett greeted archly. "So you haven't fallen on your face yet?"

John winced. When adding up the number of people irritated at him, he'd forgotten to include Beckett. "Sorry about skipping town. Is the evacuation complete?"

"I wish I could say so" Annoyance quickly gave way to anxiety. "We were expecting another group of evacuees a few minutes ago. When it didn't happen, we called Atlantis. The city's ZPM is too drained to risk dialing out again. They estimate that two hours remain until the shield fails."

"That should not be!" Radek broke in. "Unless conditions on Atlantis have worsened since our departure "

"Much worse," acknowledged the doctor. "The waves just keep coming. The last group through said that even the seabed is beginning to break up. They've had to divert a lot of power just to hold the city in something approximating a stable position, and that's requiring the use of the inertial dampeners. The plan right now is to take cover on the Daedalus and power the city down as much as possible. I've been asked to pass along a rather urgent request for at least one ZPM at your earliest opportunity. One would bring the last group safely here, but two might just give the Daedalus enough time to finish its repairs"

"Copy that," Lorne said. "We'll do our best to hustle."

"Dr. Weir sends her thanks in advance. Alpha site out."

Of course Elizabeth was still in the city. John imagined that she probably felt like the captain of the Titanic just then.

"Sir, we're already in place," reported Jumper Five's pilot- and damn, being unable to identify the kid's voice pissed John off. "The ZPM's right in front of us. We could grab it and be back to Atlantis in no time."

"If you remove it out of sequence, you may initiate a chain of events that will prevent Jumper Four from recovering its ZPM," Radek warned.

"Jumper Four is now in position at the base of the cliff," said Teyla. "We are beginning to tunnel through the sand."

That meant at least twenty minutes of waiting, twenty minutes that Atlantis might not have if things continued to deteriorate. It was a hell of a choice. Take one ZPM now and save the rest of the expedition, or wait for two and possibly save the Daedalus, their best chance of ever getting back to Earth.

"Listen, Vene was just here," Lome put in. "He says some of his people are lagging behind and need more time. If we start pulling the ZPMs now, he's afraid they'll lose a couple hundred, maybe more." John could hear the Polrusson's desperate voice in the background. "He says thirty minutes would make a big difference to them. Sir, it's your call."

One of the many reasons why, on occasion, command really sucked. John had seen those villagers' faces, seen their joy and hope. There was no way he could trade so many of their lives for the few souls remaining on Atlantis. Elizabeth would agree wholeheartedly, he knew, though that didn't make him feel the least bit better about it.

"Stand by, Jumper Five. Teyla, holler the second you find that ZPM, then both of you grab your ZPMs and make for the 'gate. Jumper Five, don't wait for Four-they'll be behind you. With any luck, we might be able to give our friends on the Daedalus time to get that hyperdrive back up and running. Lome, pack up everything there and prepare to leave the moment the sequence begins. Take Radek in Jumper Two to the Alpha site."

"Wait!" Zelenka's voice cut through. "I should return to Atlantis to assist with the Daedalus."

"Daedalus has Hermiod. If they run out of time, the Alpha site is going to need both of you."

There was a momentary silence, until Lorne responded in a voice deliberately stripped of emotion. "What about you, sir?"

John glanced over at Ronon, who looked as determined as ever. "We have a date with some Darts. We'll catch up."

Tunneling through the sand, Teyla decided, was not unlike moving through the formless gray goo, except that the grains at least offered some hint as to forward motion. The map illuminated on the HUD gave a clearer indication of their progress.

"Let's hope it doesn't take this long getting out," said Witner.

While the force field was proving to be an effective tool to clear the passage, the loose sand and rubble simply closed in behind them as they dug.

"There will be time," Teyla assured him. She had long since schooled herself in the art of patience, and this delay, while imperiling Dr. Weir and those who remained on Atlantis, at least would give the people of Polrusso more time. The outcome would be whatever was best for both worlds.

Still, she found herself staring at the HUD, urging the small light that indicated their location to move faster.

"We've reached the force field." Witner's hands moved across the controls, and the sand outside rapidly fell away to reveal the same style of airlock found on the Ancestors' laboratory.

While Witner rotated the jumper within the force field, Teyla stood and went to the rear of the craft, her hand close to the hatch release. The moment she felt the jumper lock into position against the structure, she activated the mechanism. A blast of rank air gave her momentary pause, but then she hurried outside before the hatch was fully lowered.

"We're in," Witner announced.

"Good, very good," replied Dr. Zelenka.

The room, if it could be called that, was large, and looked very much like the lab near the 'gate. It appeared to have been abandoned in a great hurry, for shelves and equipment were scattered everywhere. Although the facility had been woken by the arrival of the jumper, it was difficult to ascertain where the power module was located. "Dr. Zelenka, we appear to be in a laboratory. Could you please direct me to where I might find the ZPM?"

"It's in the middle of that glowing panel near the terminal," replied the pilot of Jumper Five. "You can't miss it."

It was an expression that Teyla had frequently heard Rodney use, a statement of fact that almost always indicated the opposite-which was the situation now facing her.

"Which terminal?" Witner queried from behind her. "There's about twenty of them, and all of the walls are covered in screens."

"What?" Dr. Zelenka asked quickly. Teyla could almost picture him sitting forward and pushing his eyeglasses back on his nose. "It must be a complete second laboratory. In this case, the ZPM is likely to be located in an adjoining room, perhaps to the rear."

Picking his way across upturned chairs and broken shelves, Witner said, "This is not looking good, Dr. Z."

Teyla walked around the far side of the lab, and noticed the rungs of a ladder. She looked up to see them end at the ceiling.

"Five more minutes," Colonel Sheppard announced over her com. "Then you'll have abandon your search and get out of there. Wild geese are not on the day's menu."

Familiar with the colloquialism, Teyla replied, "I have not found any birds, Colonel, but I believe I have discovered the adjoining room." She climbed the rungs and pushed open a section of the ceiling. Lifting her head, she saw a pedestal at the center of a darkened rotunda, the walls of which were adorned with unfamiliar symbols and lights. She climbed up into the room and gazed around in satisfaction. "Sergeant!"

Witner was already on his way up the ladder. "Yup. That's it." The Marine came and stood beside her, then placed his hand on a nearby panel, much as Teyla had seen Dr. McKay do on Atlantis. The ZPM rose halfway out of its compartment.

"We are ready," Teyla announced, feeling a surge of relief. They still had time, and so did the Polrussons.

"Be prepared to take off as soon as you have the ZPMs," cautioned Dr. Zelenka. "Remember, these units form part of a power grid that was never intended to be accessed in this manner. The removal of two ZPMs will instantly impact the force fields all around the planet. We cannot be sure what will happen, nor how quickly."

"We're ready to get the hell out of Dodge " Witner stood with his hands poised on either side of the power module, shifting his weight from foot to foot in anticipation.

"When I count to three, pull them at the same time. All right?" Teyla heard Radek draw a deep breath. "One-two-three!"

Witner pulled. The ZPM remained solidly fixed. Amid whoops of triumph from the crew of Jumper Five, a flash of despair struck Teyla. "It does not respond," she shouted to Dr. Zelenka.

"Rotate it," he replied, his voice calming.

"That's not the problem," Witner told them.

It was then that Teyla saw that the ZPM had not fully risen from its compartment. Having already tried to rotate it in both directions, Witner's gentle movements to tug it free became increasingly forceful. It refused to budge. Looking closely, he observed, "There's grit in the rings."

"Leave the ZPM. Go-now!" Through the cracking noises around her, Teyla could not discern whether it was Colonel Sheppard or Dr. Zelenka yelling through her com. Clutching the ZPM to maintain his balance, Witner glanced at Teyla. The fear and determination in his eyes swiftly transformed into relief when a tremor allowed the ZPM to fully rise. He snatched it from the pedestal as a second, even greater rumble shifted the entire room to one side. This time, deep fractures appeared in the wall and sand immediately began to pour in.

"Teyla, Witner! Get out of there!"

There was no mistaking Sheppard's voice, but his order was no longer necessary. Teyla reached the ladder and, glancing back to ensure that Witner was with her, all but flung herself down into the room below.

"We got it!" Witner announced.

The next shudder twisted the entire framework of the laboratory, tearing the walls apart and allowing huge quantities of sand to pour in. The sergeant maintained his grip on the ladder even as it fell from the wall. Teyla attempted to move clear, but the tremendous cascade of sand and clutter of furniture in the lab hindered her movements, and she was struck heavily on the shoulder. Instantly her mouth began to fill with sand.

"Teyla!"

Finding purchase on an upturned bench, she hauled herself to her feet, spitting out grit. "Go!" she yelled at the Marine, motioning towards the exit-which was already shrouded by a curtain of falling sediment, fine as dust, swirling around the room and reducing visibility even further.

Tucking the ZPM under his arm as if it were Colonel Sheppard's prized football, Witner made for the jumper. His legs were longer than Teyla's, and the sand was piling up along her path, hindering her further. Surely the walls would collapse before she reached the ship. "Do not wait for me!"

Witner might have heard her as he staggered into the jumper, but he gave no acknowledgement. The rumbling around her grew so loud that the noise became almost a force unto itself, crashing down on her head along with the now-shattered remnants of the ceiling. The sand sucked at her feet, then her knees. She tried to claw her way out, but her arms became embedded.

I am not yet ready to die! With a monumental effort, she heaved herself free, took a few more steps and hurled herself into the back of the jumper, activating the hatch as she fell hard against the bulkhead.

With the closure of the hatch, the noise abated, but not the terrible shaking. Teyla made her way to the cockpit as Witner detached them from the laboratory. Ahead, just beyond their force field, the loosely packed sand and gravel began to move sideways. The immense rush of water that followed slammed the jumper to the side, tossing it beneath a furious maelstrom.

"Son of a bitch," John cursed. He should have done a recon orbit right at the beginning of all this, no matter how impatient Rodney had been. The coordinates of the Darts had led them to what had to be the deepest trench on the planet, only ten minutes from the 'gate and well out of sight. When the life signs indicator finally lit up, it did so with style.

"Huh," said Ronon, looking about as surprised as he ever got.

"No kidding." Approaching, John got a bigger shock when the canyon widened. There were tens, probably hundreds of thousands of life signs down there-more than the HUD could differentiate, stretching out as far down the canyon as he could see. They lit up the display like the Las Vegas Strip.

And not a single one of them was Wraith.

He fell back in his seat, and the dizziness that swamped him had nothing to do with the vertigo creeping back into his senses. "Oh, God," he whispered.

This wasn't a hive ship. It was a thriving human civilization — one that would soon be underwater.