Archive of Our Own

John Sheppard approached the shimmering wormhole cautiously, mouth dry as he confronted the reality of his situation. The whole thing had sounded preposterous--an expedition to the lost city of Atlantis, for God's sake--yet General O'Neill had been dead serious when he'd as much as told him that he'd be a fool not to go. And he had to admit that the idea of starting over, in another galaxy no less, had held a certain seductive charm. But now? The phrase what was I thinking? kept repeating in his head.

He glanced over at Lieutenant Ford, who was watching him as if waiting for his reaction. Ford had the advantage, having already taken numerous trips through the gate as a member of an SGC team.

"Does it hurt?"

"Like hell, sir." There was a twinkle in his eyes that belied his solemn words and made him seem far to young to have reached his current rank. And then he whooped and dove backwards through the stargate like a big dorky kid. Obviously there was nothing to it.

Obviously.

Right. John screwed his eyes shut, clutched his P-90 firmly against his chest and hesitantly stepped forward into the unknown. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt and nothing at all like he'd imagined. The descriptions in the mission reports he'd read sure as hell didn't do it justice.

The bottom of his stomach dropped out. The sensation was something like being on the longest roller coaster ride imaginable while simultaneously being turned inside out, upside down and sideways. He was deaf, dumb and blind, yet at the same time he was bombarded by multi-color strobe lights and a strange shrieking noise that fluctuated in pitch and intensity.

It was thrilling, in a wild hell of a way to die kind of way. That is, until the moment when it felt like the universe itself had twisted into a giant pretzel with John caught in the middle. The sensation lasted only a fraction of a second, but it left him trying to heave his guts out when the gate spit him out at the other end. Based on the number of personnel bent double or on their knees, and the various muffled retching sounds coming from the dark corners, it was a good bet that he wasn't the only one who'd had a bad trip.

When he could raise his head without fear of passing out, he caught sight of Ford across the open expanse of floor. Judging by the gray tinge of his face, it looked like his stargate experience hadn't helped any. That thought was perversely cheering and John pulled himself together as quickly as he could. Deserted though the MALP had shown the room, it was still potentially hostile territory until they'd cleared every inch of the place.

He climbed to the upper level slowly, feeling an odd little jolt of pleasure run up his calf as each tread illuminated itself as if in response to his footsteps. Equipment sprang to life all around the room, but no one else seemed to be noticing anything odd. He pushed aside the superstitious fear that shivered down his spine and forced himself to continue reconnoitering.

He felt that shiver again when he got his first glimpse outside, only this time the shiver was as much awe as it was fear. Of all the marvels he'd seen so far, the force field that surrounded the submerged city and prevented it from being crushed by the pressure of all that water finally convinced him that he really was in an alien place.

"Oh, that is impressive, isn't it?" McKay said, standing just off John's shoulder. "Ah, Dr. Beckett has found something that you should see."

They followed him into a room where Beckett stood at a podium, watching a three dimensional image of a woman clothed in light.

"...in the hope of spreading new life in a galaxy where there appeared to be none. Soon, the new life grew and prospered. Here..."

"It's a hologram," Beckett said, smiling like a little kid at Christmas. "The recording loops. This is my second time through."

"What'd we miss?" Sumner asked.

"Not much."

"...exchange knowledge and friendship. In time, a thousand worlds bore the fruit of life in this form."

John looked up in wonder at the holographic display above their heads, marveling as a myriad of worlds brightened, showing the spread of life across the galaxy.

"Then one day our people set foot on a dark world where a terrible enemy slept. Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivaled our own. In our over-confidence, we were unprepared and out numbered. The enemy fed upon the defenseless human worlds like a great scourge until finally only Atlantis remained. This city's great shield was powerful enough to withstand their terrible weapons, but here we were besieged for many years."

One by one the bright blue planets turned red, giving John a sinking feeling in his gut that the Ancient's words didn't convey on their own.

"In an effort to save the last of our kind, we submerged our great city into the ocean. The Atlantis stargate was the one and only link back to Earth from this galaxy and those who remained used it to return to that world that was once home. There the last survivors of Atlantis lived out the remainder of their lives. This city was left to slumber in the hope that our kind would one day return."

Beckett stepped off the platform and the holograms vanished.

"So the story of Atlantis was true, a great city that fell into the ocean. Only it happened in another galaxy--not on Earth," McKay said somberly.

"I don't like the fact that they got their asses kicked." Sumner frowned.

"Let's see it again." Beckett stepped up to the podium and the hologram shimmered into existence.

"Stop!" McKay said as he listened to something that Peter Grodin was telling him. "Turn it off."

"Why?"

"Power levels throughout the city are dropping like a stone."

"What does that mean?" Sumner asked.

"If we don't stop everything we're doing right now, we're dead." McKay and Grodin rushed from the room.

They followed on their heels, gathering on the control platform at the gate Command Center.

"From what we can tell," McKay said, "the city was powered by three Zero Point Modules, two of which are depleted and the third one nearly so. When it goes, so does the force field holding back the ocean."

"Colonel Sumner," Weir said, "you need to order your security teams to stop what they're doing immediately."

Sumner keyed his radio. "All security teams report to the gate room."

"Not good enough." McKay moved from laptop to laptop, checking the data on their screens.

"All right, how much time do we have?"

"Hours." McKay shook his head. "Maybe days if we minimize power expenditure."

"What about our own power generators?" Beckett asked.

"We're working on that. But even with our most advanced naquadah generators, the equations are coming up far short."

"So we need to find more ZPMs."

"How do we do that if we can't search the city?" Sumner asked.

"There aren't any here or we'd have already detected them." McKay frowned.

"Can we use the stargate?"

"We don't have the power to open a wormhole back to Earth."

"Then how about somewhere in this galaxy?" John asked.

McKay nodded. "That's relatively easy. We've figured out the DHD and already found a library of known gate addresses in the Ancient database."

"That's not all. Look at this." Grodin pushed a button and a blue energy shield formed within the stargate.

"Like the iris on the Earth gate," Sumner said.

"Using power. Using power. Using power," Rodney chanted softly until Grodin shut the shield off.

"Well, at least that means that we don't have to deal with any uninvited guests." Weir turned to Sumner. "Colonel. Assemble a team. We need safe harbor, or better still, another power source."

"Lieutenant Ford, assemble security teams one and two."

Weir looked at John. "Major, I'd like you to go along."

Finally. Something he could do. "Yes Ma'am." He followed Sumner to gear up.

They stood before the bright blue event horizon, waiting for the signal to leave and John wondered if this journey through the wormhole would be as painful as the first. He shrugged it off. Their only option was to go through the gate again. Grodin reported the MALP readouts showing a viable destination and Colonel Sumner raised his arm.

"Let's move out."

Rodney turned away, leaving Elizabeth standing at the railing looking down at the now empty gate room. He had little hope that they'd find a ZPM in time--at the most they might find a planet where the expedition could temporarily stay while working on the problem. The more work they could do in Atlantis now, the further along they'd be when they had to leave to preserve the city.

It should be possible to connect their naquadah generators so that they took the burden of powering everything except the shield off of the remaining ZPM. The tricky part would be figuring out how to do it in time. Rodney glanced around the Command Center. Everyone who could possibly help was there and working on their assigned portion of the project. He bent over his laptop to tackle the equations again, tuning out the distractions around him.

"McKay. McKay. Rodney!"

"huh?" Rodney blinked up at Grodin, his mind still working on the problem on his screen. He frowned in irritation. "What?"

"You need to see this," Grodin said grimly as he set his laptop down next to Rodney's.

He quickly scanned through the data on the screen. "Is this accurate?"

"I've been monitoring the shield constantly since we got here. It's accurate. The shield is collapsing inward at an accelerating rate. We don't have much time."

"Show Weir." Rodney waved him off. He shut down his computer and began packing up. There was nothing he could do about it now, but his work might make it possible to return one day.

Elizabeth came up the steps to the control platform. "How are we doing? If we could just buy ourselves another day, maybe we could--"

"The city is sacrificing parts of itself in order to maintain these main areas, but catastrophic failure is inevitable."

"We have no choice but to walk away from this?" She shook her head.

"In order to save it."

"For whom? We can't dial Earth."

"We'll be back. We'll find a power source somewhere out in Pegasus." Rodney continued packing.

"Colonel Sumner's team hasn't returned yet. We don't know what's out there."

"We can't wait any longer. We have to go now." The city shuddered around them, emphasizing his words.

Elizabeth turned away and keyed her radio. "Attention all personnel, this is Weir. Stand by for immediate evacuation." She looked at Rodney. "Dial the gate."

He reached for the DHD, but the gate sprang to life before he could begin dialing. "We've got an incoming wormhole." He glanced over at Grodin.

"I'm reading Lieutenant Ford's IDC."

"Let 'em in."

Rodney disabled the energy shield. People streamed through the gate; Ford and the other Marines, Major Sheppard and dozens of strangers. Elizabeth trotted down the stairway to the gate room.

"Major Sheppard! Who are all these people?"

"They're Athosians. Survivors from the settlement we visited. We were attacked. Sumner and some of our men, along with some of their people, were taken. What the hell's going on here?" The city shuddered again.

"The shield's failing. We are in no position to help anyone. We have to get out of here now."

"Going back there's a really bad idea."

"The ocean's about to crash in on us. Do you have a better place to go?"

Sheppard turned to a young boy standing in the front of the Athosian group. "Jinto, do you know an address we can gate to?"

"Yes." The boy bobbed his head. "Many."

Sheppard grabbed him by the arm and pulled him forward as Elizabeth protested, "He's just a boy."

"I am Jinto."

"She's pleased to meet you." Sheppard urged him up the stairs.

Rodney stared in horror at the laptop tracking the strength of the shield. Zero percent remaining. Too late. "The shield's collapsing!"

A tremendous shudder tossed him to the floor. The city continued to shake and groan as he pulled himself upright, holding on to the edge of one of the consoles. A sudden brightening of the room made him glance across at the stained glass windows. It took him a moment to realize what was happening and the relief nearly made him giddy; the city was rising to the surface.

Rodney hovered behind Elizabeth at the command console, waiting impatiently for the readout from the MALP. Only a deaf and blind man would have missed the argument Elizabeth and Sheppard had just had out on the balcony. And no matter how well the two of them were playing nice, it didn't take a genius to be able to guess what their argument had been about. Sheppard wanted to go rescue the people these Wraith creatures had taken in their raid on the Athosian camp and Elizabeth wanted to be cautious and wait for more information.

Rodney could see her point. He was all for being cautious. In the months they'd worked together at the Ancient outpost in the Antarctic, Rodney had grudgingly grown to appreciate Elizabeth's talents for negotiation. But he'd heard the Athosians describe the Wraith and he'd seen the Ancient hologram that talked of an enemy too terrible for them to defeat. If the Wraith were that enemy--and he had no doubt that they were--then waiting wasn't going to make the situation any easier to deal with and negotiation was out of the question.

Sheppard was right. They needed to at least attempt a rescue, even if that attempt ultimately failed. Anything else would send a message to the rest of the expedition that they were all expendable. Not a wise move when they were essentially marooned here for who knew how long. It wouldn't take long for distrust and suspicion to take root. From there it would only be a matter of time before order would be questioned. He had no desire to follow that thought to its ultimate end.

No, if they wanted to succeed, they needed to show that every single person was valuable. How was it that they put it at the SGC? They didn't leave people behind. Elizabeth needed to understand that her leadership of the expedition had changed from one of peaceful exploration to military emergency. She needed to make the statement here and now that, no matter what, in Atlantis they didn't leave people behind.

Rodney focused his attention as the MALP began transmitting as it exited the stargate at the address Ford had memorized. All that showed on the screen was blackness.

"We're receiving visual telemetry."

"I can't see anything." Elizabeth frowned.

Rodney scanned the MALP data as it scrolled down his screen. "No atmospheric readings at all."

Something flashed. "Wait. What was that?" Sheppard asked.

"Rotate the camera." The camera turned, showing first the image of a ringed planet and then focusing on the active stargate, suspended in space. Rodney shook his head. "Well, there goes that MALP."

"It's in space."

"It's in high orbit around a planet on the far side of the galaxy."

"You're sure this is the right address?" Elizabeth straightened.

"It's the only one we could get a lock on."

"Very well. Shut it down." She glanced at Sheppard as she walked past. "I'm sorry."

Rodney gazed at the now dead display for a moment, lost in thought. Elizabeth might not like what he was contemplating, but it was the right thing to do. "Come with me, Major." He made for the bay that housed the small spacecraft that had been discovered during their initial exploration of Atlantis.

Rodney led the way to the rear of one of the little ships. They'd managed to open the hatch, but that's as far as they'd gotten when the shield emergency had occurred. Since then, things hadn't slowed down enough for anyone to have the time to get back to it.

The ship was dark and he stepped back to let Sheppard enter first. Rodney smiled to himself when the lights came on, responding to Sheppard's gene. "Think you can fly it?"

"What do you say we find out?" Sheppard sat down and the control panel lit up. He threw Rodney a wry smile as the rear hatch closed and the ship gently floated out of its dock to hover over the center of the bay. "I'd say that's a yes."

"Good."

"McKay?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you go get Dr. Weir?" The ship floated down to the floor of the bay and the rear hatch opened.

"Right. Of course." Rodney took a deep breath and headed off in search of Elizabeth. He'd already known that Sheppard's ability with the Ancient technology was strong--maybe even stronger than General O'Neill's--but seeing him use the gene so effortlessly seemed nothing short of miraculous.

He found Elizabeth coming out of Beckett's medlab. She appeared deeply disturbed by whatever it was she'd seen in there and Rodney didn't blame her. Beckett was working on the Wraith hand that had been brought back and there was no telling what horrors he'd just shown her. Still, maybe that would work to Sheppard's benefit.

"Elizabeth. Just the person I was looking for."

"Rodney. What can I do for you?"

"You need to let Major Sheppard do his job." He shook his head at the raised eyebrows she sent his way. "Okay. That didn't come out right. I meant to say that we've come up with a solution for getting through the stargate that's in orbit around the Wraith planet."

"I see."

"Let us show you."

"All right." She looked skeptical, but he didn't care so long as she followed him.

They entered the bay and Rodney stared at the empty center of the room where he'd left Sheppard and the ship. A quick check of the ship's original dock showed it to be empty, too. What the hell?

"What is that noise?"

"I don't--He was right here. Major!" The ship materialized out of thin air right in front of them, floating a foot or so above the deck, Sheppard inside.

"You said you wanted tactical advantage."

"All right. So you can fly that thing. It doesn't mean you can pull off a rescue."

Rodney stared at Elizabeth in disbelief. In the short time that it had taken Rodney to find her, Sheppard had figured out how to make the ship disappear and reappear. He was nothing if not determined and resourceful. Did she really think that she'd be able to prevent him from going if he decided to disobey her and go off on his own? Or that the rest of the military contingent wouldn't fight amongst themselves to see who got to go along? If that was the case, she had a lot more to learn about the military than she'd evidently absorbed during her brief stint as head of the SGC.

"Doctor." Sheppard gazed intently at Elizabeth. "This is why you brought me here."

Elizabeth had no comeback to that. She nodded once, giving her assent to assemble a team.

Sheppard opened his radio. "Lieutenant Ford. We've got a go. Bring your team to the bay above the gate room."

"Yes sir."

Elizabeth smiled wryly at Rodney. "Guess we better get ready ourselves."

"Right."

Rodney stood at the gate command console. So much of the Ancient equipment was a mystery, even the consoles themselves. They were far too complicated to merely control the stargate. Who knew what all they did?

"Ready?" Elizabeth asked as she trotted down the stairs leading from the ship bay.

"I have no idea. This technology is so far beyond us. I mean, we haven't a clue what we're dealing with. For all I know we could--" He brought himself up short at her silent gaze. "Yeah. Ready."

"Flight. This is puddlejumper. We're go to launch."

Puddlejumper? Rodney frowned. "This is Flight. I thought we were going with gateship."

"Negative, Flight."

"Stand by. It's a ship that goes through the gate." He turned to Elizabeth, who was staring at him like he was insane. "Fine. Puddlejumper you are clear to launch."

The stargate dialed to life without the Tech at the console touching anything. At least that answered the question about whether the DHD in the ship worked. The ceiling above the gate retracted and the puddlejumper floated down. It hovered in front of the gate for a moment and then slowly moved forward until it disappeared from view.

"Be safe," Elizabeth said softly.

Rodney silently echoed that sentiment, uncomfortably aware that all of the senior military members of the expedition were now gone from Atlantis. What would happen if they never returned? He refused to think it. Something about Sheppard inspired confidence and that was what he intended to cling to--Sheppard would do his job and bring them back.

John froze on his belly, looking down in horror at the scene below him. He silently willed the Wraith female to move away from Sumner and give him a clean shot. He tuned out her words, refusing to be distracted.

Suddenly the Wraith shoved her hand against Sumner's chest, holding it there for only a moment before snatching it away. Sumner's hair turned gray and lines that hadn't been there before were etched into his face. Bile rose in John's throat. He swore that Sumner had aged several years right before his eyes, but that was impossible. Wasn't it?

He met Sumner's eyes and swallowed hard as Sumner held his gaze steady, giving a silent order that John didn't want to obey. His eyes flicked to the desiccated corpse at the table and then back to Sumner. Something in John's face must have reassured Sumner then, because a corner of his mouth turned up and he relaxed slightly back on his heels. John took a deep breath and raised his P-90, centering his aim on Sumner's chest.

The Wraith chose that moment to step aside slightly, giving John a miraculously clear shot at her. He took it, sending three slugs straight through where he hoped her heart would be. He expected her to drop to the floor--a slug in the chest from a P-90 would have felled anyone--but all it did to the Wraith was piss her off. What the hell were these things?

She threw back her head, opening her mouth to reveal a set of pointy teeth that a great white shark would envy. John winced at the atonal howl that came out of her mouth. Growling, she turned back to Sumner and raised her hand, poised to flatten on his chest again. John reacted, this time sending a burst of automatic fire that tore a gaping hole in her chest and propelled her backwards, away from Sumner. Let's see you ignore that.

He squeezed through the opening in the balcony barrier and dropped the short distance to the floor. He kept his eyes on Sumner and away from the bloody mess of the Wraith just a few feet away. They didn't have much time. The noise from the P-90 would be sure to draw the attention of other Wraith and John didn't want to chance running out of bullets trying to kill the damn things. The sudden widening of Sumner's eyes warned him an instant before he felt a weird tingling sensation. Oh crap, he thought, just before he lost consciousness.

When he finally opened his eyes he found himself lying on the floor next to Sumner, pins and needles prickling his arms and legs. Two more Wraith stood over them. One had that disturbing no-face look that John really hoped meant that he was wearing some kind of mask. He carried something that looked sort of like a weird melted gun with a long bayonet on the end. It glowed blue and had to be an energy weapon of some kind. The second Wraith was empty handed, not that that made much of a difference, and looked like a refugee from a bad vampire movie, right down to the long black leather duster, albeit tailored to fit close to his body. A real snappy dresser, that one.

"You will tell me where your world is." Snappy Dresser was definitely the Wraith in charge. "And then I will enjoy taking all of your years."

John grimaced. "Yeah. See, you might want to work on your demands there. Telling me you're going to kill me as soon as I tell you what you want to know? Not that great a strategy."

Snappy Dresser reached into John's vest pocket and pulled out the Ancient life signs detector. "How did this come to you?"

"I don't remember."

"Tell me." Snappy Dresser glanced at Sumner. "Or I will kill this one now."

Shit. John opened his mouth to stall, desperately trying to think of some way out. At that moment a burst of P-90 fire split the air, blasting No-Face in the head. Ford. A sudden surge of adrenaline let John roll sideways as he keyed his radio. "Light it up!" The room shuddered violently from the simultaneous blast of explosions from outside the complex as well as down the inside corridors.

John pushed himself off the floor. His arms moved freely, but his legs were still partly numb. He lunged sideways, his movements clumsy as he tried to get to the melted weapon No-Face still clutched. Ford was still firing; the bullets hitting Snappy Dresser in the chest, but doing little other than to force him backwards a step at a time. The Wraith was still on his feet.

John pulled the weapon out of No-Face's arms and pointed it at Snappy Dresser, his fingers searching in vain for a trigger. Frustrated that he couldn't find a way to shoot the damn thing, he tightened his arms and flung himself forward, plunging the long pointy bit into Snappy Dresser's stomach. "That has to kill you." He stood uncertainly, wobbling a bit as the feeling returned to his legs.

"Sir, let's go."

"You don't know what you have done." John stared down at the Wraith in horror. "We are merely the caretakers for those that sleep. When I die, the others will awaken. All of them." The Wraith turned his head, exhaling his last breath.

"What's he talking about?" Ford asked as John reached for the life signs detector. "How many are left?"

The handheld device lit up like a Christmas tree and they looked up to see the ceiling come to life, blazing with light and packed with individual cells containing writhing bodies.

Ford handed John a pistol, saying urgently, "Sir, we really need to leave."

"Yeah." John keyed his radio. "Bates, we're on the go."

"So are we. Colonel Sumner?"

"We've got him." John draped Sumner's arm over his shoulder and put his arm around Sumner's waist. "Colonel, we've got to get out of here now."

Sumner nodded, saying weakly, "Don't let me slow you down."

The dash through the corridors was a nightmare; the only good news was running into Bates's party. Finally they were outside. The air near the entrance stank of decay, but the cold helped clear John's head. It seemed to have the same affect on Sumner. He began to take more of his own weight, leaning less heavily on John. They headed for the jumper, moving as quickly as they could through the woods.

Stackhouse's tense voice came over the radio. "Major. The jumper is secure at the moment, but we have a big problem."

"Lieutenant," John yelled over his shoulder, "take our six. I'm going to get them back to the jumper."

"I'll be right behind you," Ford acknowledged.

John heard the distinctive whine of the Wraith ships overhead and he picked up the pace. Sumner mostly held his own as they struggled over the uneven terrain to safety. They made it to the jumper; the marines standing guard hurrying to help them. John counted heads as they loaded into the ship. Teyla was missing and Ford should have caught up to them by now. He grabbed an automatic rifle from one of the marines and ran back the way they'd came.

He arrived in time to see Teyla tackle Ford out of the way of a Wraith beam. John raised the rifle and aimed at the ship, managing to hit the aft section, causing flame and smoke to pour out.

"Thank you, sir."

"Let's try not to make a habit of this." John took Ford's hand and pulled him to his feet while Teyla pushed herself up. They raced for the jumper.

"We have incoming!" Stackhouse yelled as he backup up the ramp, the last one to board.

John sat in the pilot's seat and the jumper controls lit up. "Okay. Now what am I thinking?" The jumper took off, cloaking itself immediately. The night sky was full of fire and smoke and Wraith ships, yet they left the atmosphere without being detected.

Ford came up front, taking the shotgun seat.

"Oh crap." The orbiting stargate was surrounded by more of the Wraith ships. "We can't activate the gate like this or they'll just shoot blind and take us out on our approach."

"What can we do?"

"We'll have to draw them away from the gate and double back." John turned the jumper around and told it to drop the cloak. "Dial the gate on my mark."

John flew in a zigzag, dodging fire as best he could, but the jumper jolted from at least one hit. Surely the Ancients hadn't built the jumpers without putting in some kind of defenses. It sure would be nice to be able to shoot back. "See anything like a weapons console anywhere?" No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the jumper extended a weapons pod from its side and fired on the nearest ship, destroying it with one shot.

John silently commanded the jumper to cloak itself. Nothing happened. He banked away from the Wraith, heading back for the stargate.

"Try and go invisible again," Ford said.

"I tried. It must be damaged. Dial the gate."

Ford quickly punched in the address for Atlantis as they passed the gate, the weapons pod taking out one of the guarding ships with another drone. The stargate whooshed to life, sparkling like a jewel against the black backdrop of space. They'd only get one chance at this.

"Be ready to enter your code on our next pass." John swung the jumper around, firing on as many of the Wraith ships as he could.

"What's the range on these things?" Ford held the GDO in one hand, his other poised to punch in the code.

"I don't know. Enter your code." John glanced over his shoulder. "Hang on!" He told the jumper to step on it and headed directly for the stargate, still dodging fire.

Ford glanced over at him. "We're going too fast."

"I know." Commanding the jumper to come to a halt as soon as they exited the gate, John prayed that the inertial dampeners would hold and they wouldn't all be squashed like bugs on the inside of the windshield.

One moment they were in the midst of a space battle and the next they were safely in the gate room of Atlantis. Just like that. Ragged cheers erupted from the aft compartment of the jumper and John slowly let out the breath he'd taken just before they entered the gate. He opened a comm channel. "We need a medical team in the jumper bay. Colonel Sumner's been hurt."

"On our way," Dr. Beckett replied.

Elizabeth waited on the other side of the medlab, trying to allow Sumner and Carson a modicum of privacy. From their somber expressions, it wasn't an easy conversation for either of them. She already knew what Carson was saying. As leader of the expedition, she'd asked to be kept informed of Sumner's medical status. The news was decidedly mixed. Sumner was alive and holding his own, but Carson had no idea whether that would continue or whether there would be additional long term problems. Certainly there was nothing Carson could do to restore what the Wraith had taken from him.

She stepped forward when Sumner nodded gravely as Carson handed him an aluminum cane. "Colonel Sumner?" she said with a smile. "I understand that Dr. Beckett has cleared you for duty?"

Sumner gave her a wry smile in return. "Yes Ma'am. Such as I'm able." He held up the cane.

"Oh?" Elizabeth frowned at Carson. "I thought you said--"

"Aye." Carson shook his head. "The Colonel is referring to the fact that I've restricted him to administrative duty for the time being."

"Ah." She glanced at Sumner. "And that's a problem for you?"

He shook his head. "I realize that I'm not fit for field duty. I'm just not used to being restricted to a desk."

"I'm sorry, Colonel, truly I am. But we need your expertise if we're going to have any chance of surviving."

Sumner shrugged slightly. "Trust me when I say that I'd rather be facing desk duty than the alternative."

"Good." She nodded once. "I need you to take up your duties as the military commander of Atlantis. I'll be relying on your judgement."

"Very good." Sumner glanced around the medlab. "I'm afraid I didn't have much time to look around before the crisis occurred and I've been stuck here for the last couple of days. I'd appreciate your suggestions of where to start."

"I think I have just the thing. Come with me." She smiled at Carson. "Thank you, Carson."

"Colonel Sumner, don't forget that I want to know immediately if anything changes," Carson said.

"Of course." Sumner gave Elizabeth a genuine smile. "Shall we go." He gingerly eased himself off the exam table, the cane in his left hand taking much of his weight.

They made their slowly until Elizabeth stopped in front of a door just off the main corridor. She passed her hand over a row of blue lights lined up next to it and the door silently slid open.

"I asked Sargent Bates to select suitable quarters for you. However, if they turn out not to be to your liking, please feel free to pick something else out."

Sumner peered in, but didn't go inside.

She frowned. "Don't you want to take a closer look?"

He shook his head. "No need. If it doesn't suit, I'll move."

"All right." She turned and led the way to the Command Center. "I chose an office for you at this end of the platform. Mine is across the way over there."

Sumner entered and examined the space closely. "This will do just fine."

"Good." She clasped her hands. "I thought we could start discussing team assignments. I know that the SGC teams are--"

"Beckett to Dr. Weir."

She tapped her headset. "Go ahead, Doctor."

"We've got a problem. I've just had several reports of people suddenly having some kind of convulsive seizures. I'm having them brought to the medlab now."

Her eyes widened as she glanced at Sumner. "On our way."

"Negative. We don't know what we're dealing with yet. Let my team perform some preliminary examinations--rule out the possibility of contagion."

Sumner nodded at her, silently agreeing with Carson. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Very well. Keep me informed."

"Will do. Beckett out."

"It never rains but it pours." She sighed softly. "I suppose we should table the discussion of off-world teams for the time being."

A shout from the Command Center had them both moving for the door. Elizabeth stopped short, her hand lifted to her mouth. Lieutenant Ford writhed on the floor, odd convulsions wracking his body. Peter Grodin and Miller, one of the military technicians, were trying to hold him down and prevent him from injuring himself. The seizure passed, leaving Ford curled up on his side, panting. He tried to get up, but Peter was easily able to hold him down.

Elizabeth tapped her headset. "Weir to Beckett. We've got another patient for you. Lieutenant Ford."

"He had a seizure?"

"Yes. A bad one."

"Aye. They've all been bad. Where are you?"

"The Command Center."

"Can you manage getting him down here on your own? We've got so many cases that we're a wee bit shorthanded at the moment."

"Will do. Weir out." She glanced at Peter who nodded.

"We'll take him."

Ford shook his head and pushed himself more strongly away from the floor, shaking off Peter's restraining hand. "I'm okay. I can get there on my own."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "Lieutenant, you just had a major seizure. I'm surprised you're coherent at all. Let's not push it."

"I said I'm fine," Ford said stubbornly. "I can make it."

"Very well. But you'll have company."

Sumner held up a hand to forestall his objection. "That's an order, Lieutenant."

Peter held out his hand and after a moment Ford took it, allowing Peter to pull him to his feet. Ford stood unsteadily, one hand on Peter's arm for support, and nodded slowly. "Yes sir."

She glanced at Sumner. "I don't think the reasons for our staying away from the medlab are valid anymore. Do you?"

He gave her a wry half-smile. "I think we can safely assume so." He gestured her out of the room. "After you."

It was chaotic in the tiny medlab. People spilled out into the hallway, some leaning against the walls and others rushing to and fro, carrying equipment. No matter whether patient or medical personnel, they all had the same fearful expression on their faces.

Elizabeth spotted Carson on the other side of the lab. He stood next to one of the beds, speaking earnestly with the person in it. She couldn't see who the patient was until she got closer and her line of vision was no longer blocked. Her heart dropped when she saw Rodney's face. Prickly though he could be, he'd become a friend during their time in the Antarctic. And while she tried hard to treat all members of the expedition as having equal value, there was no question in her mind that if they were to lose Rodney, the scientific portion of the expedition would be dealt a crushing blow.

"Carson?" They halted at the foot of the bed.

"Ah, Elizabeth. Colonel Sumner," Carson said wearily.

"How goes it?" She glanced around the room, seeing patterns emerging amongst the chaos. "It looks like you're getting everything under control."

"Aye. As much as we can." He shook his head. "There's naught we can do for them. At least, not yet." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that took her by surprise.

She frowned and turned to Rodney. "How are you?" For the first time she noticed how white and pinched he looked and her shoulders tensed as if for a blow.

Rodney stared at her for a long moment. "I'm dying. That's how I'm doing." Sumner started to protest, but Rodney cut him off. "Don't bother, Colonel. It's the truth and Carson knows it."

"I know no such thing," he protested. "Rodney is being overly dramatic. We still have tests to run and we won't know anything for sure until they're completed."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Run all the tests you want, but we both know the truth. We both know what this is and you've got me stuck in this bed when I could be looking for--"

"That's enough." Carson frowned at him. "You're not going to cause a panic by speculating." Rodney closed his mouth, his expression mutinous.

"What can you tell us, Dr. Beckett?" Sumner asked.

"Well," he said cautiously, "though we're not positive of the exact method of contracting whatever this is, it doesn't appear to be contagious. That is, we don't believe that it can be passed from person to person."

"That's good news at least." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Good news," Carson muttered. "Aye. I suppose so. But that's about all that we do know. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."

"Let us know when you have something." She watched his retreating back in silence, then turned to Rodney. "I'm sure Carson will do everything possible to figure this out."

"Oh, great. My life is in the hands of someone who practices a pseudo-science that isn't much more sophisticated than what a primitive medicine man does. He might as well shake a feathered gourd over my body, for all the good it will do." His words were typical Rodney, but his tone lacked the acerbity to which she'd become accustomed.

She tried to hide the shiver of fear that raced down her spine. "Get some rest. I'll come back and see how you're doing later."

"I'll be here." Rodney sighed and closed his eyes, sinking further down in the bed. "I hope."

John paused in the door to the medlab. The part of him that hated anything to do with hospitals was tempted to turn around and skulk away. Unfortunately the part that said visiting fallen comrades was a duty he couldn't shirk won out and he stepped through the doorway.

Lieutenant Ford was sitting up in a bed not far from the door. John blinked and tried to school the surprise from his face. Knowing that some of the military personnel had been affected by the outbreak of whatever this was was one thing. Coming face-to-face with someone he knew was another. Ford grinned and waved him over.

"Lieutenant. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, sir."

"You look pretty good at that. Why are you in bed? Are you sure you're sick?"

"The seizures, I guess. The doctors keep saying they need to monitor them when they happen."

John frowned. "Seizures?"

"Yeah. They hurt like hell and then I'm tired for awhile after." Ford shrugged. "But other than that, I feel fine. I'm just waiting for them to tell me when I can get out of here."

"Well, you keep doing what the doctors tell you to," John said. "I'm sure they'll have you fixed up in no time."

"I hope so." Ford's easy demeanor slipped, showing a brief glimpse of fear. "Tell you the truth, sir. I think they know more than they're saying--and I don't think it's anything good."

"Come on Lieutenant. Have a little faith."

"Yes sir," Ford said, subdued. "I'll try."

"Good. Well." John patted his shoulder awkwardly and then gestured at the room. "I thought I'd just see if there's anyone else I know here. You get some rest. Okay?"

"Thanks for coming down."

"Yeah. Sure."

Most of the faces were unfamiliar to him. A few he'd seen in passing, either at the SGC or in the halls of Atlantis. But none were familiar enough for him to put a name to a face until he came to the last bed.

"McKay?"

"Major."

"I didn't know you were sick."

"I may be dying, but I'm not sick." McKay sounded irritated. "I keep telling Carson that it doesn't make sense to keep me in bed. He might as well be handing out lucky charms for all the good his medicine's going to do. I could be working in my lab right now trying to find a way--" His words were cut off as he went into convulsions.

John raised his voice to carry over the din of the room. "Hey! Can we get some help over here?"

Beckett hurried over, shooing John out of the way. He stepped back, arms crossed over his chest. He'd known a kid in third grade who'd had an epileptic seizure once in the lunchroom and it had scared John shitless. That was nothing compared to the shaking that McKay was experiencing. It looked like his body was trying to fly apart from the inside out. The attack stopped abruptly, gone as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Rodney? How do you feel?" Beckett asked.

"Fine. I'm fine." McKay glanced at him and raised his brows. "Seriously. I feel fine."

Beckett frowned. "Don't take this the wrong way, but that seizure didn't last long enough. And you should be feeling like crap right now."

"I know. But that's not what happened." McKay shrugged. "It just stopped right in the middle and I don't have that post-seizure hangover that's been getting worse with each one. I think...I think it's over."

"So, did you find a cure?" John asked.

McKay said, "No," just as Beckett said, "Yes."

"Which is it? Yes or no?"

"It's no." McKay glared at Beckett, who just raised his eyebrows back at him.

"You don't know that, Rodney. For all you know, that last batch of serum could have had a dampening effect."

"Oh, sure. You might as well have said some kind of magical incantation over me for all the good that shot actually did," McKay snapped. "That's not what stopped the seizure. Admit it."

"I don't get it." John frowned. "If the medicine you gave him didn't do anything, has the disease just run it's course?"

"It's not exactly a disease," McKay said.

"Aye. You're right." Beckett's shoulders slumped in defeat. "In that case, we both know there's only one reason why your seizure would have ended prematurely."

McKay turned white. "Oh God," he said softly.

John stepped closer to the bed. "What are you talking about?" Another silent communication passed between McKay and Beckett and John lost his patience. "Will one of you tell me what's going on?"

Beckett shook his head. "I'm sorry Major, but I've been asked not to say anything until we were sure."

"Asked by whom?"

"Dr. Weir. I was just about to go talk to her." He sighed. "Rodney, you might as well come along. No sense lolling about in bed any longer."

McKay threw back the covers. "Like I haven't been saying that for hours. Where are my clothes?"

John followed them out, intent on getting more information. They refused to say any more, though, speaking in cryptic sentences that made absolutely no sense at all. He was stopped short at the door to Weir's office where she stepped aside to let the two scientists in and then politely, but firmly, dismissed him. He wandered down to the Command Center. If he just happened to be hanging around when their meeting was over, he might be able to find out just what the hell was going on.

Whatever its original purpose, the room next to the Command Center was tailor made for serious conferences. The open panels that made the room feel light and airy pivoted smoothly shut to provide privacy from curious eyes. A triangular table dominated the room, patterned with the same deep red-brown hue found throughout the city. The points of the triangle had been squared off and Elizabeth took her seat at the smallest of these, the obvious focal point of the room, ignoring Colonel Sumner's raised eyebrow. This was a discussion that she intended to have only once; there had to be no doubt left in their minds afterwards that the leadership of the expedition belonged to her.

She folded her hands on the table and leaned forward, gazing first at Sumner, then Sheppard. "I asked the two of you here so that you could hear this directly from Doctors Beckett and McKay." She nodded at Carson to begin.

"We've completed our identification of the illness."

"Is there a cure?" Sumner asked.

Carson shook his head. "No. I'm sorry. The best we can do is try to make those afflicted as comfortable as possible for what little time they have left."

Sheppard frowned. "I don't get it. You sound like you're just giving up. There must be something more that you can do."

"Actually, I'm afraid calling this an illness is a bit of a misnomer, Major. It is a physical ailment, that much is true, but it isn't anything that can be cured by medicine."

"Just what is it that they have?" Sumner asked.

"It's called Entropic Cascade Failure, or ECF for short. When I suspected what was happening, I took my findings to Rodney. Unfortunately, he was already intimately acquainted with it, having experienced the seizures first-hand."

Sumner and Sheppard turned as one to stare at Rodney, who said, "ECF has one and only one cause. It occurs as a result of spending too much time in an alternate universe in which your corresponding double is also alive."

"Alternate universe?" Sumner raised his brows. Elizabeth knew just how he felt. Her own reaction hadn't been much different when Carson and Rodney had approached her with their conclusions.

"Okay," Sheppard said slowly, "you want to run that by me again? What does that mean, exactly?"

"What it means, Major," Rodney replied, "is that when we entered the stargate at the SGC, we were in our own universe. But when we arrived here in Atlantis we stepped out into an alternate universe--a universe not our own--without realizing it. The people showing symptoms of ECF are those who have doubles alive in this universe."

"You mean there are two of them?" Sheppard asked skeptically.

"Exactly."

"What will happen to them?" Elizabeth asked Carson quietly.

"Unless we can find a way to get back to our universe, they'll die. And it won't be an easy death at that."

"Wait a minute." Sheppard scowled at the room in general. "How the hell do you make a diagnosis like that in the first place? I mean, come on. Are we seriously talking about alternate universes?"

"I assure you, Major," said Carson, "as much as I resisted the truth at first, the diagnosis is correct. This isn't the first time we've encountered the phenomenon of alternate universes, you know."

At another time the expression on Sheppard's face as he gaped at Carson might be amusing, but now it only served to remind Elizabeth of just how much information he had to catch up on. "The SGC has had a few experiences with alternate universes in the past, Major. You can trust that Dr. Beckett and Dr. McKay know what they're talking about."

Sumner frowned. "I've read the reports. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't those encounters the result of using the Quantum Mirror? I don't understand how using the stargate could have had the same effect."

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth caught Sheppard mouthing the words quantum mirror?

"Neither did I, at first." Rodney looked smug. "It took examining all of the telemetry we recorded while the wormhole was connected to Earth as well as the use of some Ancient equipment we discovered in one of the labs just off the control room. Without that equipment--and my figuring out how to use it--we'd still be mostly guessing at what happened."

"And?" Elizabeth noted with interest that Sheppard looked more amused than annoyed by Rodney's self-important attitude.

"And the best we can come up with is that the wormhole between our Earth and the Pegasus galaxy passed too close to two different black holes. Black holes that didn't exist ten thousand years ago. The stress caused the wormhole to jump from our universe to this one."

"And no one at the SGC noticed that happening?" Sumner asked.

"If I didn't notice," Rodney snapped, "what makes you think anyone else would? Besides, there was nothing really to notice. Everything appeared to be functioning normally."

"All right, all right." Sumner raised his hands. "I'll take your word for it. So where does this leave us? How do we get back where we belong?"

"We don't. We're stuck here." Rodney leaned forward and cut off their protests. "Look, even if we had a ZPM--which we don't--I don't know if we'd ever be able to simulate the exact conditions necessary to gate back to our own universe. It isn't simply a matter of dialing Earth. So far as I can tell, that would just open a wormhole to the Earth in this universe. And trust me when I say, even if we could manage that, we probably don't want to go there."

"Why not?" Sheppard asked.

"If you'd read the reports, you'd know that every alternate Earth the SGC has come in contact with has had serious problems. I doubt very much that this one is any different."

"What kind of problems?"

"Let me put it in terms that you can understand. Approximately ten percent of our expedition is affected by ECF." Rodney glanced around the table expectantly and shook his head in exasperation. "Don't you get it yet? The rest of us either don't exist in this universe, or we're already dead. Either way, while it's lucky for us, I can't come up with a scenario where that's a positive thing for this universe's Earth, can you?"

Elizabeth cleared her throat in the shocked silence that met his words. "You can see why I thought it best to meet with you first, before informing everyone else."

Sumner narrowed his eyes. "You're sure that you can't get us back to our universe?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Rodney glanced irritably at Elizabeth. "I could swear I just said that."

"Rodney," Elizabeth admonished softly.

"What does that mean for the people who have this, what did you call it? ECF?" Sheppard asked. "How come McKay here got better?

Carson sighed and said, "The only way to get better, as you say Major, is for the double in this universe to die."

Rodney looked uncomfortable. "We figure that's what happened. My double--the me in this universe--must have died just as I was in the middle of a seizure. Bizarre, huh?"

"He's dead. This other you?" John shook his head. "Assuming you're right about all this."

"Aye." Carson nodded. "As for the others who show the signs of ECF, the bottom line is, there's no preventing them from dying on our end."

"That's unacceptable." Sheppard turned to Sumner. "Sir."

The tension in the room shot up a notch as Sumner frowned at Sheppard, only to ease as he said regretfully, "I agree, Major. And I'm willing to hear suggestions on how to find a way back to our universe. But unless you know where to find a Zero Point Module, I don't see that we even have that option to kick around. Do you?" He held Sheppard's gaze for a long moment.

Elizabeth softly let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when Sheppard finally shook his head and dropped his gaze. "No sir."

Sumner turned to her and straightened in his chair. "Dr. Weir, how do you want to handle the announcement?"

She struggled to keep a triumphant smile from her face. She'd dreaded that Sumner would argue that this news, along with the discovery of the Wraith, changed the nature of the expedition and demand that the military be put in charge. But ever since his rescue, it seemed like Sumner had become more deliberate in his decision making and more willing to defer to her judgement.

Something of what she was thinking must have shown in her face, though, because Sumner gave her an ironic smile. "The President, the Joint Chiefs and a conclave of world leaders chose a civilian to lead this expedition. Who am I to second guess that decision?"

Elizabeth inclined her head. "Thank you, Colonel. I think that the best thing we can do right now is call everyone together and tell them what's happened. They have a right to know." And a right to understand what was happening to their doomed colleagues, she thought grimly. "We need to present a united front. Reassure everyone that our mission hasn't fundamentally changed."

Sumner nodded once. "I'll have Bates make the announcement to gather everyone together."

"Very good." Elizabeth smiled slightly. "Ah, Colonel? I'd like to include the Athosians. They should be made aware of what's going on. We're going to need friends, now more than ever."

Sumner nodded and was about to speak when their radios crackled to life.

"Dr. Biro to Dr. Beckett."

Carson keyed his headset. "Beckett here."

"We've had our first casualty. It's Dr. Dumais.

Carson rubbed his eyes and replied wearily, "I'll be right there."

"Good." There was a slight pause and then she added, "You might want to hurry. Dumais's death wasn't exactly...quiet. There are a lot of frightened people down here."

"Understood. I'll be there as quickly as possible." Carson stood up and gazed around the table bleakly. "This is just the beginning. Each and every one of those people are going to experience the exact same thing. And there's not a bloody thing I can do for them. Except maybe dope them up so much that they're oblivious to the pain, if that's even possible. If you'll excuse me, I have patients to attend to."

Elizabeth nodded. She closed her eyes, wishing for a brief moment that this was already behind them and that they were discussing how to get through the shock and grief. But wishes weren't horses and playing the part of a beggar didn't suit her. Her eyes snapped open and she placed her hands flat on the table as she met Sumner's gaze squarely. "I think the sooner we make that announcement, the better."

John was in the medlab, standing near Ford's bed, when the order to assemble was announced over Atlantis's communication system. It came just as Ford was writhing in agony from another seizure. Eight people had already died and it looked like Ford might be next. The medlab staff were exempt from the order and John wasn't about to abandon Ford to die without someone he knew, albeit only slightly, by his side.

The seizure ended, leaving Ford pale and panting, his face twisted with residual pain. The seizures were no longer something to endure so he could get on with things; now the pain remained constant when they were over. Beckett placed his hand on Ford's forehead in a gesture meant to be soothing, but Ford flinched away with a low cry.

"Everything hurts like hell," he forced out between pants. "My insides feel like they're on fire."

John stepped closer. "Can't you give him something, Doc? Ease his pain?"

Beckett frowned. "I've already given him a dangerously high dose of morphine, for all the good it's doing him. I'm afraid to give him any more."

"Please, Doc," Ford begged, "I can't take any more of this. We both know this is killing me. Do something." He cried out and curled into a fetal position.

John grimaced in sympathy. "Give him the damn morphine. As much as he needs." When Beckett continued to hesitate, he added, "That's an order, Doctor."

"Major, I don't report to you. And it's against medical ethics to--" His words were cut off when another, stronger seizure gripped Ford, causing him to thrash in misery. He reached for the syringe and plunged it into the IV. "There you go, lad. One way or another that should take away the pain."

The seizure was longer and more violent than any previous. By the time it was over, Ford was barely hanging on, whether as a result of the seizure or the morphine, John couldn't tell.

"Major," Ford whispered.

John moved closer and leaned over the bed. "What is it?" he asked quietly.

"Tell my grandparents," he began and then closed his eyes.

"Lieutenant," John said urgently, shaking Ford's shoulder. "Come on, don't give up."

Ford slowly opened his eyes. "No sir," he whispered.

"That's good. You just hang on. Now, what do you want me to tell your grandparents?"

"Tell them...just tell them I love them." Ford looked feverish and he flicked his tongue out over dry lips.

"You'll tell them yourself."

"Don't think so, sir." He blinked and said, "Promise me."

"You know I will." John swallowed hard as Ford's eyes slowly slipped closed again. "Stay with me, Lieutenant. Ford. Ford?" He shook Ford's shoulder again, with no response, and he turned to Beckett in a panic. "Do something."

"He's gone, Major," Beckett said, his voice weary. "I'm sorry."

John shook his head and stepped back, away from the bed, fists clenched at his side. A rage that he struggled to keep in check filled him and he carefully schooled his face to show no sign of it. The Wraith he could fight. They might be monsters, but they were flesh and blood and could be killed. But this...this thing that destroyed your own body just because you were occupying the wrong space was worse. Way worse. Ford was just as dead as if the Wraith had sucked the life out of him, but there was no enemy left behind for John to fight.

His rage gave way to helplessness as he glanced around the medlab. The scene at Ford's bedside was being replayed over and over as he stood there, the outcomes just as inevitable and inescapable and just as difficult to watch. There was nothing more he could do there and standing around watching people he didn't know well die horrible deaths wasn't high on his list of things he wanted to do. What he wanted was to be anywhere but there. He hurried from the medlab, hoping to catch part of Weir's speech.

She was already speaking when he joined the rest of the expedition in the gate room. She stood at the railing of one of the observation points that jutted out from the command platform. John frowned. Her choice of location seemed odd. It felt too much like she was distancing herself, handing down proclamations to the waiting throng below. Just as that thought crossed his mind, she stepped back, away from the railing and started down the stairs, drawing closer to the crowd. She finally stopped several steps from the floor; high enough to still be seen by everyone, but close enough to make it feel as though she was a part of the group.

She turned away slightly and put her hand to her ear, closing her eyes as she listened to a private message through her headset. Taking a deep breath, she faced them again, grief written on her face. "I've explained that what threatens those in the medlab is not an illness, but a result of our being in an alternate universe. Unfortunately, it's fatal and there's nothing we can do to stop it. Dr. Beckett has just informed me that the last of our team who were afflicted have died. I'm very sorry."

An anguished murmur ran through the crowd. Just as it threatened to raise in volume and drown her out, she said, "We have all lost friends and colleagues today and they shall be sorely missed. We all mourn their loss and will do so for some time to come. I wish that I could tell you to take whatever time you need to grieve, but we just don't have that luxury right now. However, I do encourage everyone to consider making an appointment with Dr. Heightmeyer."

"Just as I told you before we started out at the SGC, I still believe this expedition is one of the greatest endeavors mankind has ever undertaken. It matters little that we have come to an Atlantis that is not of our own universe. The fact that we are here and that there are still so many things waiting for us to learn and discover, is validation enough for our journey. And the fact that we may have a deadly enemy on the way, makes it even more crucial than ever that we learn as much as we can about this city as quickly as possible."

She paused and looked out over the expectant faces raised to her, making eye contact one after another with as many people as possible. "We stepped through the stargate hoping to find wondrous things and enrich mankind's knowledge of the universe. So we have and so we will. I'm certain that those whom we have lost this day would want us to persevere. With all of your help, I believe we can still accomplish great things."

"We'll arrange for a memorial service in the next day or so and everyone will be invited to attend. Until then, we all need to get back to work." She nodded once and turned to climb the stairs.

The crowd slowly dispersed. John listened for signs of resentment or dissension, but heard none. At most, people spoke of grief and fear, but their voices were hushed; he caught no sense of panic. She'd managed to give them the bad news, diffuse their fear and motivate them all at the same time.

John stood well back, away from the crowd on one of the flat extensions of the city that they'd dubbed piers and tried not to fidget. Funerals made him twitchy. Duty, however, demanded his presence. Ford was the only one of the casualties that he'd known by name. He'd liked the kid, for all that he'd barely known him.

The memorial service for the dead took it's toll on everyone. Weir's short anecdotes about each person made them come alive again for their friends and colleagues, prompting tears mixed with soft laughter. And Sumner surprised him, speaking eloquently, if briefly, about each of the soldiers who had died. Ashes were scattered and people slowly drifted away, heading back to the main part of Atlantis. Soon all that could be heard was the soft lapping of the waves.

John followed the last few stragglers to the stairway to the tower and was surprised to find both Weir and Sumner waiting for him. Lines of fatigue and pain were etched on Sumner's face, but he still stood straight, leaning only slightly on the cane grasped in his left hand. John involuntarily glanced up at the tower and then back at Sumner, whose mouth twitched briefly into a wry smile. Going back up all those stairs was going to be a bitch.

"Doctor. Colonel." He nodded at them. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Major." Weir smiled slightly. "We're waiting for everyone else to go up first. But now that you mention it, yes, there is something."

"Name it." His gaze cut to Sumner. "Sir."

Sumner shook his head once, that wry smile of his flashing again briefly. "You and I will meet later, Major, along with Sargent Bates. We need to go over ideas for the best way to defend this city. I plan to put Bates in charge of security."

"Yes sir." John frowned. It wasn't that he wanted the job, but technically he was the second in command.

"Relax, Major," Sumner said dryly. "We've got something in mind that I think will be better suited for you."

Weir nodded. "You need to start thinking about who you want on your team."

"My team?" John raised his brows.

"Yeah. Your team." Sumner shifted his leg and grimaced slightly. "We need to know what's out there, now more than ever. We'll be forming teams along the guidelines setup by the SGC. Your team will be first."

"Yes sir." His response was much more enthusiastic this time.

"We have limited military personnel, so each team is going to have to be heavy on the civilian side," Sumner warned.

"You have access to all of the personnel files," Weir said with a smile. "However, if you have any questions about any of the scientists, please feel free to come see me."

"Thanks."

"We'll meet with Bates in three hours," Sumner said. "And I'll expect to receive the proposal for your team members by tomorrow."

"Yes sir. Doctor." John took that for his dismissal and entered the doorway to the stairwell. He glanced over his shoulder and felt his perception of their relationship abruptly shift. Sumner was leaning heavily on his cane, his head bowed. Weir stood close to him, a hand on his arm and a concerned expression on her face. It was an intimate tableau and John turned away quickly, feeling uncomfortably as if he'd intruded on a personal moment.

Dismissing those thoughts as something to ponder later, he started the long trek up the stairs to the Command Center. He was already mulling over what abilities he'd want in the people he chose for his team. An idea half-formed--asking Teyla to join his team--but it took hold. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. The trick would be convincing Sumner that it was a good idea. He climbed more quickly, suddenly eager to get started.