The lab's supposed `back door' had looked overly wide before, and now the reason was apparent: it was an airlock designed to accommodate a jumper. A bit late for such a discovery.
"Huh. Let's see if Tab A really does fit into Slot B." Major Lome rotated Jumper Two a half-turn and eased it backward into the doorway. An audible click announced their correct positioning, followed by the hum of activating machinery.
Lowering the hatch, Lome stepped out. Radek started to follow, then halted. Where the lab had previously been in a sort of minimal-energy caretaker mode, consoles lighting only when touched by Rodney or the Colonel, now it had fully come to life. Lights, computers, and panels glowed just as Atlantis had when coaxed out of slumber. The air immediately felt fresher, cleaner, and not as dry now that the Ancient life support systems had come online. Sunlight abruptly burst in through windows that still had been buried just moments earlier. The force field surrounding the lab now extended a few meters farther than before. Its expansion was pushing aside millennia of accumulated sand.
"It was waiting for the jumper," Radek murmured, enthralled.
"Like a key in a lock."
Through the windows he saw villagers skittering away from a billowing cloud of airborne particles, crouching and turning their backs and covering their faces. Briefly concerned for their welfare, he soon remembered that the fine-grained yellow sand was inert. It was over in a few seconds, and the villagers, used to dealing with sand squalls, lifted their heads with expressions of unfettered awe.
They were at last seeing the Ancient structure as it really was, Radek imagined. He, by contrast, had more pressing matters to attend to. With the lab completely active, access to the databases would be unlimited. This place could conceivably contain all the blueprints to the planetary terraforming process.
He glanced over at Lome, who was still taking in the grandeur of their surroundings. "I tell you what, Doc," the Major said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, "this never gets old."
Smiling his agreement, Radek went to the main computer console. A massive list of files and programs scrolled down the screen, tempting him to explore, but he could afford no distractions. His objective was to retrieve the data necessary to save Atlantis-all else was secondary. Still, he was a bit dazzled, and his thoughts turned to his colleague. Rodney, kamarad, you complained without end about going off-world, but I knew you lived for it, and now I believe I know why.
He connected his datapad to the interface. The ZPM removal sequencing simulation he'd run on Atlantis had been based on an extremely limited set of parameters available during his last visit. Now he had access to real-time three-dimensional imagery of, among other things, the planetary geology and projected hydrology. Amazing. He was able to zero in on any location he wished and examine it in detail.
Using the new data as a baseline, Radek ran the simulation again and watched it evolve. As commanded, the ZPM nearest to the hive ship blinked out first, and then-
Caught off-guard, he paused the program and reran the last few intervals. That was not the result he had expected, nor was it the result he'd seen in the original simulation. Then, the power load had been redistributed among the remaining ZPMs. This time, once power was removed from the initiation point, the continental wall collapsed without delay.
Upon further examination, he realized why.
Looking up, he noticed that a group of villagers had gathered near the nose of the docked jumper. Lome located a smaller access door by the airlock and cast a questioning glance at Radek, who shrugged and nodded.
The Major opened the door to admit Vend, Shira, and a few others. Vend studied the unfamiliar officer with some puzzlement before recognizing Radek and hurriedly crossing the room. "We feared you would not return," he greeted them, immense relief showing through his somber demeanor. "Colonel Sheppard was angry, and understandably so. Did he not come with you?"
"He was injured during his last visit. I'm his second in command." Lome's face was impassive.
"We are deeply sorry for our earlier pretense. We have lost so many to the Wraith, more than you know-most of our children, in fact. In our growing desperation, our fear that you would leave outweighed our desire to be open and honest. Please be assured that such a mistake will never be made again, and know how thankful we are for your willingness to return."
Radek's ire still simmered on Rodney's behalf, but the accident had not been the fault of the Polrussons, and he recognized that fear could drive people to take extraordinary measures.
"We came back to help," Lorne said, "but only on the condition that we be allowed to remove the ZPMs immediately."
Taken by surprise, the Elder opened his mouth and closed it again. Finally, he replied, "We had hoped for more time-"
"Unfortunately, that's not an option. Either we do it now, or we leave"
"Without the ZPMs that you desire?" Vene's eyes narrowed in an attempted challenge. Playing hardball, the Americans called it. However, many of those same Americans often behaved as if they'd invented the strategy. Lome's posture showed him to be no exception.
Disconnecting his datapad and stowing it in his pack, Radek played along, wishing his fledgling acting skills had not been getting so much practice of late. "As you wish."
"A lot of our people were injured by the sand when it came through the 'gate," Lome told Vend, hefting the second of Radek's two equipment cases onto his shoulder. "The ZPMs would be useful to us, but we're not willing to accept the risk of continued operations here."
"Surely you could wait and return in a few days, when all of the people around Polrusso have moved to the new villages," said Shira anxiously.
Radek shook his head and walked to the rear of the jumper. "I am sorry. That will not be possible." The regret in his expression as he gazed around the lab was not entirely false. "A pity"
Aghast, the villagers turned to Vene, who was seemingly trying to hold onto his illusion of leverage. "We cannot get everyone to safety in less than a week," he maintained.
Lome stepped into the jumper, unmoved. "We know you have contingency plans for this situation. If you want us to do this, I suggest you implement them."
"The lab and the Stargate will remain unaffected," Radek offered. "Some people could remain here without difficulty, but they will be unable to leave the resulting island-except by 'gate, of course-for many months. Still, it is one option."
At last accepting that his position was tenuous, Vend's shoulders slumped. He spoke quietly to the villagers surrounding him, and they scurried outside through the recently discovered door. "It will be done. But you must help us as we discussed."
"We will."
Radek hesitated, heading back to the computer and the simulation still open on the screen. "There is one slight problem."
Chapter Fifteen
When he woke the second time, she was there with him before he could even ask. Gentle fingers smoothed his hair, grounding him. "You must be hungry."
Despite the intensity of the emotional release that had overwhelmed him the last time he'd been awake, Rodney was startled to realize that something as fundamental as eating had never crossed his mind. Now that he thought about it, he was starving. A burst of memory caught him unawares, and he felt his throat on fire, his lungs filling with sand. Oh, God! He was choking on the burning sand and he couldn't breathe, couldn't…
The incipient terror melted into an image of the dark-robed man and his steed, carrying him to safety. And Turpi was here with him, as she always was, as she always would be, soothing his pain and making him whole. The memories of agony were only fading nightmares; they had to be, because a magnificent smell came his way. His mind cleared then, and he knew that he was awake and this was real. Turpi was real, helping him to sit up.