Chapter Text
Trust But Verify
“Trust me, Sheppard.”
The sound of those words echoed in the mind of Atlantis' chief scientist as he frantically studied the nearly featureless metal box in front of him. He searched for something, anything that would give him a direction to pursue. He needed a clue, or he feared that John Sheppard would be lost.
Why had he pushed Sheppard to touch the mysterious box that they had discovered in the uncharted bowels of Atlantis?
“Trust me.”
Damn it. How many times had he said those words to Sheppard, only to have them come back and bite one of them on the ass? Usually Sheppard’s ass, if truth be told. Damn again. He just can’t be dead. No matter what the life signs device said, Rodney just refused to believe it.
“Only mostly dead, Rodney, as long as you don’t open the box.”
Rodney McKay almost smiled to himself. Quoting ‘The Princess Bride’. Sheppard just couldn’t stop those stupid movie references.
But, that wasn’t really Sheppard speaking, McKay knew. Those words were in his own head. Sheppard wasn’t quoting anything, and might not ever again if McKay couldn’t solve the puzzle in front of him.
He mentally shook his head as the image of his friend reluctantly putting his hands on the coffin-like object flashed before him. Once again he had intentionally irritated Sheppard, goading him to the point that he just gave in, and against his better judgment, used his gene to operate some unknown Ancient technology. McKay had watched, first with interest, then with a quiver of fear, then horror, as Sheppard’s body seemed to dissolve. He saw surprise, pain, and something he rarely saw on John’s face, fear, as he was drawn into the damned box.
McKay had pulled out his ever-present life signs detector and watched desperately as the bright dot on the LSD, signifying the life of Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, his best friend and teammate, faded to nothing. Oh God. Had he just killed Sheppard
?
“Think, McKay. It’s what you do best.”
The scientist took a deep breath and thought back to the circumstances that got him… them to this awful point. Again.
*****SGA*****
Morning briefing. Colonel Sheppard arrived his usual and intentional two minutes late. It might seem petty, but he couldn’t resist this small perk of command. It wasn't enough time to be rude to the civilians, but it was just enough to remind himself that as military leader of Atlantis he set his own agenda.
Sheppard glanced around the table. Woolsey was glaring at him for being late again. Check. Teyla was smiling at him indulgently.Busted. He smiled back. Check. Ronon totally focusing on the pile of pastry in front of him; Peterson from Engineering, looking eager and just a little bit impatient; Major Lorne, checking his watch and giving his commanding officer a nod of respect; check, check and check. All here. Almost. He couldn’t help quirking his lip into a tiny grin at the expected and empty place at the table. McKay. Missing. Check.
“Make way, busy man here.” The whirlwind that was Rodney McKay shouldered his way past the control room staff, thundered up the stairs and slammed into his seat.
“Let’s get started, people. I’m a busy man and I haven’t got all day.” The scientist grabbed for the ever-present coffee pot and poured some of the steaming drink into his mug. Sheppard noticed that Rodney’s favorite quote, “We can’t solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.” was starting to wear off his favorite mug. He made a mental note to buy another one before his friend’s birthday next month.
Mr. Woolsey glared again. Sheppard had a momentary thought that he hadn’t seen Woolsey without that glare in far too long. They all needed a bit of a break. Maybe a day on the mainland? The colonel has heard from the Athosians that the surf was particularly good at the moment. He would suggest an excursion to the man after their mission.
“Dr. McKay, we’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” Woolsey paused for effect, but as usual, the effect was lost on McKay. “Now that you’re here, tell us about this theory of yours, and why you think I should allocate resources to explore a part of the city that we don’t actually know exists?” Woolsey asked.
McKay let out a sigh, then paused to make sure all eyes were on him. “As I have already outlined in my memo, which I trust ALL of you have read, this small area of the city doesn’t appear on any of Atlantis’ maps, and I haven’t been able to find any reference to it in the database. In fact, we’d have never have noticed it at all if it weren’t for the brilliant mapping program that I developed…”
Dr. Janet Peterson sat straight in her seat and tried to control her breathing. Engineering had begun the mapping program, and had brought it to the chief scientist for approval, and any tweaking that seemed necessary. She admitted to herself that McKay’s modifications did improve the program, but really, the arrogance of the man.
“…with the able assistance of Dr. Peterson and her engineering team,” continued McKay. He glanced at the surprised scientist who mouthed her thanks.
“At this point, we can only speculate on the reason that the Ancients left this section of the city off their maps. ZPM factory? Drones? Med labs? Some secret weapon to defeat the Wraith? Who knows?” The scientist’s speech got faster and faster as his excitement grew.
“We need to check it out, and the sooner the better.” Breathlessly, McKay sat back against his chair with an audible thump.
Woolsey glanced at Colonel Sheppard for a moment. They had already discussed the request from McKay and decided that it had merit. However, neither one could resist teasing the impatient scientist.
“What are your thoughts on this, Colonel?”
“Well,” drawled Sheppard, “we're stretched pretty thin at the moment. Teams Two, Five and Six are off world. Team Three is still in the infirmary with that rash.” The entire table shuddered as they thought about the quarter-sized purple hives that afflicted poor Team Three after a brush with some innocuous looking plants on M5N 2V5. “I suppose we could assign Team Four in a day or two when they’re back on duty...” Sheppard paused, mentally counted to three as the predicted explosion came from McKay.
“What’s wrong with our team, Sheppard? This is too important to leave to those bumbling idiots in ‘a day or two’. WE NEED TO GO NOW!”
Sheppard resisted the impulse to look around the table. He was pretty sure that everyone but Rodney knew that he and Woolsey were yanking his chain. He paused again, then with a smirk, replied, “Okay, McKay. Gear up, everyone. Peterson, you’re with us. We leave in thirty.”
McKay continued his rant until Sheppard’s words sunk in.
“Okay, then,” he sputtered, “thirty minutes should be fine. We should meet at Transporter 12. That one will take us closest to the section of Atlantis that we need to explore. I should warn you all that it’s a bit of a hike from there, since the transporter system is down in that part of the city, so dress appropriately and don’t be late...”
Still talking, Rodney McKay left the room without looking back. It was a good thing, too, or he might have seen the chuckles of everyone in the room, even the famously stoic Mr. Woolsey.