The motion of the doors galvanized him into action. “Don’t let them shut!” he shouted, darting forward. “The next time it shows up, it could be full of Wraith.”
Instantly understanding, Peryn ducked back to the panel and halted the mechanism. Ford and Teyla barely had time to step away before the children swarmed past and mobbed Peryn, their shouts of joy mingling together.
“Good to see you on your feet again, Major.” Ford approached his commanding officer with a broad grin and a hand extended.
Sheppard shook it firmly and clapped the Lieutenant on the back, his weapon forgotten at his side. “Not half as good as it is to see the two of you.” His voice was rough, and Rodney imagined he could see a telltale brightness in the other man’s eyes. Then again, the Major had been pretty glassy-eyed for a while now.
“Gotta say, though, sir, you’re not looking so great.”
“Everybody’s a critic.” Sheppard deflected the comment. “Let’s have a sit rep, Lieutenant.”
“Starting with how you managed to escape the explosion at North Bridge,” Rodney put in, still trying to recover his composure.
“Yeah, that was close. We’re lucky Peryn’s quick on the trigger, or we wouldn’t have transported out in time. It was bizarre. Somehow all the oil backed up through the fountains or something…” Ford seemed to have picked up Rodney’s discomfort, because he pulled back with a suspicious glare. “You were actually trying to drown us in oil, weren’t you?”
“Surely you can understand that we might have had more reason to expect the Wraith to be in that transport rather than you.” A rapid shift in emotional states seemed to be an obligatory part of battlefield operations. Falling back onto his natural defensiveness, then, seemed the most prudent course of action to Rodney.
“Peryn then took us into what remains of the Enclave,” Teyla continued. “It appears that there are two separate systems of transports, one of which was kept secret from all but the Chosen. When we used this hidden transport, we found…something of great interest.”
“It looks sorta like some weird Ancient technology, sir,” Ford broke in.
Rodney felt his face go slack. Defensiveness immediately shifted into aggression. “Again with the information that should have been presented earlier.” Striding toward the transport, he was soon caught up in a throng of refugees, swarming around him in desperation. Hands grabbed at him, causing him to wonder if they were purposely trying to drive him into additional therapy.
“We must leave!” one cried. “The rivers burn. All around the Citadel is fire!”
The thick black smoke seemed to bear that statement out. It blocked much of the sunlight outside and began to roll into the Sanctuary Hall through the smashed windows.
“The Wraith are everywhere!” another voice wailed. “There is no place safe.”
“The safest thing you can do right now is stay put!” Sheppard called back. “Or at least it will be once I take a look at this device.” He reached out to grip a warrior’s arm. “All of you need to stay here and fight off any Wraith that come through the transport.”
The trainee warriors shared looks of disbelief and dismay. “You would leave us now, when we are most in need?” one demanded. Murmurs of “typical Chosen” reached Rodney’s ears.
“I’m not running,” Sheppard protested. “Dalera’s weapon is our best hope of beating the Wraith, and I’m telling you I can make it work.”
You hope, Rodney didn’t add. There were a lot of uncertainties built into that assertion, not the least of which was the hope that they had been able to get sufficient Genes to man the Stations.
The Hall tumbled into bedlam. Refugees began to push and shove, frantic to pack into the transport. Beside Rodney, people were starting to crush against the children, trying to force them out. Someone was going to get trampled very soon if this wasn’t stopped. Peryn and Yann were yelling at everyone to calm down, but it was useless. Sheppard glanced over at Teyla and tapped his P-90. She nodded, resigned, and he fired a short burst over the crowd’s heads into the far wall. The Major’s features immediately twisted into a grimace. Obviously he hadn’t considered the effect of the gun’s loud report on a concussion. The desired effect was achieved, however, as the shouting halted.
“The room’s not big enough for all these people to cram in,” Ford said. “And I don’t think it would be such a great idea, anyway, given what else we found in there.”
“Would you care to elaborate on that statement, Lieutenant?” Rodney snapped.
Ford glanced around. “I don’t think so. Let’s just say you’re going to have to see it to believe it.”
“We will transport everyone to the upper level of the Enclave.” Teyla raised her voice for all to hear, and once again Rodney understood why she was the leader of her people. “You will be safe there. I will stay with you.”
“So will I,” put in Peryn.
“Major Sheppard will operate Dalera’s Weapon, and the Wraith will fall. Do not abandon your resolve now, after so much has been sacrificed for your survival.”
“She speaks true.” Yann stepped next to Teyla. “I will return in the transport, and I will not leave it until all of you have a place in the Enclave. The Genes have risked their lives this past day transporting you and your families from the outlying villages. Remember that, and know that as one of that number, I will not betray your trust.”
Their assurances calmed everyone down enough for the doors to close, and Rodney had to admit that it sounded good. He understood with agonizing clarity that nowhere in the Citadel would be safe. But these people had lived all their lives with a perception of the Enclave as a fortress of strength, always protected. That, if nothing else, had to give them some comfort.
A new thought occurred to him, and he began to comprehend just what had been at stake when the Chosen had made the awful choice to leave villagers to the Wraith rather than risk being captured themselves. It hadn’t been an act of cowardice or superiority, but instead the only way of protecting the Enclave, and by extension the heart of their defensive system and their weapon. It was yet one more apology he might have made for his earlier assumptions, but, as with so much about this situation, it would come far too late.
The first group of refugees poured out of the transport and into the gutted ruins. Through crumbling walls and broken windowpanes, a ring of fire and black smoke was visible around the Citadel. Although in places the smoke wasn’t terribly high, corresponding to the level of oil in that quadrant, the conflagration at Black Hill was immense and almost mesmeric. Due to the elevation of the plateau where the Enclave temple had once stood, the air was much clearer, but Rodney knew that wouldn’t last for long. A dark smudge in the sky caught his gaze, and he tried not to think too hard about the possibility that it was a group of Darts amassing for some kind of coordinated run.
“Getting rid of the Wraith isn’t going to solve the oil problem,” Ford commented, stepping out of the transport and over a blackened beam.
Would he never learn? “Thank you for once again illuminating the patently obvious, Lieutenant. One problem at a time if you don’t mind.”
The Marine ignored him and turned to Sheppard. “Knock ‘em dead, sir.”
“That’s the plan,” replied the Major. “See you back here when it’s over.”
The transport had finally emptied, leaving only Rodney along with Sheppard, Teyla and the children. The little girl who’d seemingly been tailing Rodney for hours had somehow managed to attach one small, sticky hand to his. He didn’t bother trying to extricate himself before pressing the button that Teyla indicated. The doors shut and re-opened again — and never in his life had he been so taken aback. He fumbled for his weapon, but the child clinging to him joined in the chorus of terrified screams and welded herself to his legs.