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moonlettuce) wrote2005-09-27 12:30 am
moonlettuce) wrote2005-09-27 12:30 am
Entry tags:
Ninth Verse Same as the Last Eight...
Part one. Part two. Part three. Part four. Part five. Part six. Part seven. Part eight.
Men Are From Mars, Asgard Are From Othala, Part 9
John looked up at Elizabeth as he stepped through the 'Gate back into Atlantis. "Where?" he asked without preamble.
"Section 3, East Pier," Weir replied.
"Figures," John said, shaking his head slightly as he jogged out of the Control Room towards the transporter.
With both Teyla and Dex on stand down for the next couple of weeks due to an infection picked up on the last mission, John had taken the chance to go to P3X-963 with Bates to evaluate it as a possible evacuation site in case of any emergencies, leaving Rodney to use the time to check out one of the rooms Stackhouse's team had found on the East Pier.
Only the room apparently turned out to be a cold storage and Rodney had somehow managed to get himself locked inside. According to Weir, the door had resisted all efforts to open it using the ATA gene and they wanted John to try before resorting to having Zelenka pick apart the controls.
The room in question was a transport and quick jog away and after only a few minutes John was standing outside the locked door, alongside Stackhouse, Zelenka and Beckett.
"Carson?" A hint of worry coloured John's tone. He hadn't been told it was cold enough inside the room to warrant medical interventional.
"Just a precaution, Colonel," Beckett replied, pre-empting the obvious concern on John's face.
John nodded as Zelenka looked over to at him.
"Colonel, you are ready to try now, yes?"
Handing the P-90 he was still wearing to Stackhouse, John looked at the door and willed it to open. When the door resisted, John's thoughts broke off in surprise. "This isn't right," he murmured.
"Colonel?"
He turned to face Zelenka. "The door," he expanded. "It's almost as though it's not that it doesn't want to open, it's that something's stopping it."
Radek frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," John replied carefully. It just felt-- off to him. Normally, John would ask and Atlantis would respond. But this time it was like she was trying to answer his request but couldn't. Placing his hand on the door briefly, John made his decision. "Crack the panel."
Zelenka nodded and removed the casing to the control panel, taking only a couple of minutes to hook up his laptop to the door. He typed something in and frowned. Muttering something in Czech, he typed again. This time the frown deepened.
"What is it?" John wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.
"Looks like a subroutine has been added to the system," Radek replied, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.
"Is that possible?" Carson asked.
Only then did Radek look up. "Is possible. Is difficult and prone to anomalous error, but is possible."
"Error?" John latched onto the word.
Radek angled the laptop so John could see it. "You see this?" he pointed to a piece of code running across the screen.
John looked at it, not understanding it fully but seeing the intrinsic patterns behind it. "Yes?"
"That has been put in as override to the door's responsiveness to ATA gene. Then has interacted with this," he pointed to another piece of code, "and has done something which will take many hours to figure out."
"That many hours concept could be a problem," Carson interrupted, his eyes on the display next to the door. "It's getting colder in there."
John's eyes fixed on the display, noticing that the temperature level was indeed lower than it had been when he'd first arrived. "How long is it safe in there?" he asked, trying to remember if Rodney had put on his jacket that morning.
Carson eyed the temperature gauge as he thought about it. "At this temperature? Two hours. Less if it drops any further."
John shrugged off his jacket, wishing he had some way to pass it through the door to Rodney. "Best get started then, hadn't we."
An hour passed and Radek rubbed at his eyes. John wasn't sure what the viciously muttered words were, but he'd bet a puddlejumper they were mainly swearing.
Carson moved to behind where Radek was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Crouching down, he rubbed at the Czech's shoulders. "You can do it."
Radek's fingers came up, touching Carson's hand briefly before he went back to typing.
Long minutes passed until Radek finally looked at John. "Try now."
Pressing his hand to the door, the metal smooth under his fingers, John closed his eyes and willed the door to open. There was a slight tugging sensation behind his eyes and he almost heard Atlantis whisper to him that she was trying, but the feeling escaped as Carson's words reached him.
"The temperature's just taken another dive. We need to get them out of there now."
John's eyes snapped open as he whirled to face Beckett. "Them?"
Carson glanced at Radek briefly before meeting John's gaze. "Hermiod is in there with him.
And suddenly it all made sense - code that shouldn't be there, trapping Rodney inside a room with an alien who would apparently do anything to get time alone with his lover. And if the rat started boiling rabbits anytime soon, John was just grabbing Rodney and running; he'd deal with the consequences later.
"John?" There was something akin to understanding in Beckett's eyes.
"I'm fine, Carson," John replied, knowing that would be a lie right up until the moment they got Rodney out of that room. He nodded at Radek. "Again." Turning back to the door, John fixed his entire being on Atlantis. Twists and trails and threads of want danced just on the edge of his consciousness. "Come on," he murmured, half to himself and half to Atlantis, "don't make me raise Dalek as a single parent." The sound of Zelenka frantically tapping at his laptop kept a staccato rhythm as John reached for any part of Atlantis he could find. 'Please,' he thought as one of the threads eluding him finally, *finally,* coalesced into something tangible. Seizing it, he willed Atlantis to hear him, relief washing through him when she answered him with the sound of the door sliding open.
John was moving before he thought about it, cold air hitting him in a wave as he knelt beside the barely conscious form of Rodney. Blue lips moved slightly, and John had to lean down, press his ear close to Rodney's mouth to be able to hear him.
"Knew you'd come."
*
The Infirmary was quiet, the silence broken by only the careful hum of the machinery surrounding them. Jolted out of his reverie by the hand on his shoulder, John turned to face Carson.
"He'll be fine, Colonel. His core temperature is nearly back to normal and he'll be out of here in no time."
John nodded, his hand reaching up to cover Beckett's briefly.
"You should get some sleep," Carson said gently.
"I will," John promised. "In a bit."
Beckett studied John's face for long moments before nodding. "I'll be back later," he said before walking back towards his office.
Brushing his fingers over Rodney's hair, John paused, a trickle of unease washing over him. Turning around, his gaze met the dark round eyes staring at him and Rodney. Refusing to break the gaze, John covered the distance to Hermiod's bed in a few long strides. "Stay away from him."
The Asgard's eyes blinked owlishly. "I do not know what you mean, Colonel."
"Yes you do." John clenched his hands, trying to keep his anger under control. "Stay the hell away from him, or I swear, I will stick you in one of the Daedalus's airlocks and space you."
Hermiod didn't answer as John walked away back to Rodney's bedside. Closing the curtain around the bed, John sat down and took Rodney's hand in his, the fingers feeling still too cold against his skin. Lowering his head to the bed, John ran his thumb over the back of Rodney's hand closed his eyes, letting the steady breathing of his lover lull him to sleep.
Hermiod's eyes narrowed as he watched the silhouettes behind the curtain. When he'd planted the code into the system he hadn't expected it to react like that. The room was meant to get slightly colder, prompting his Beloved to have to move closer in order to share body heat. Instead, Hermiod was stuck in Atlantis's Infirmary having to watch *that man* paw at his Beloved. This wouldn't do. This just wouldn't do at all.
End.
Men Are From Mars, Asgard Are From Othala, Part 9
John looked up at Elizabeth as he stepped through the 'Gate back into Atlantis. "Where?" he asked without preamble.
"Section 3, East Pier," Weir replied.
"Figures," John said, shaking his head slightly as he jogged out of the Control Room towards the transporter.
With both Teyla and Dex on stand down for the next couple of weeks due to an infection picked up on the last mission, John had taken the chance to go to P3X-963 with Bates to evaluate it as a possible evacuation site in case of any emergencies, leaving Rodney to use the time to check out one of the rooms Stackhouse's team had found on the East Pier.
Only the room apparently turned out to be a cold storage and Rodney had somehow managed to get himself locked inside. According to Weir, the door had resisted all efforts to open it using the ATA gene and they wanted John to try before resorting to having Zelenka pick apart the controls.
The room in question was a transport and quick jog away and after only a few minutes John was standing outside the locked door, alongside Stackhouse, Zelenka and Beckett.
"Carson?" A hint of worry coloured John's tone. He hadn't been told it was cold enough inside the room to warrant medical interventional.
"Just a precaution, Colonel," Beckett replied, pre-empting the obvious concern on John's face.
John nodded as Zelenka looked over to at him.
"Colonel, you are ready to try now, yes?"
Handing the P-90 he was still wearing to Stackhouse, John looked at the door and willed it to open. When the door resisted, John's thoughts broke off in surprise. "This isn't right," he murmured.
"Colonel?"
He turned to face Zelenka. "The door," he expanded. "It's almost as though it's not that it doesn't want to open, it's that something's stopping it."
Radek frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," John replied carefully. It just felt-- off to him. Normally, John would ask and Atlantis would respond. But this time it was like she was trying to answer his request but couldn't. Placing his hand on the door briefly, John made his decision. "Crack the panel."
Zelenka nodded and removed the casing to the control panel, taking only a couple of minutes to hook up his laptop to the door. He typed something in and frowned. Muttering something in Czech, he typed again. This time the frown deepened.
"What is it?" John wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.
"Looks like a subroutine has been added to the system," Radek replied, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.
"Is that possible?" Carson asked.
Only then did Radek look up. "Is possible. Is difficult and prone to anomalous error, but is possible."
"Error?" John latched onto the word.
Radek angled the laptop so John could see it. "You see this?" he pointed to a piece of code running across the screen.
John looked at it, not understanding it fully but seeing the intrinsic patterns behind it. "Yes?"
"That has been put in as override to the door's responsiveness to ATA gene. Then has interacted with this," he pointed to another piece of code, "and has done something which will take many hours to figure out."
"That many hours concept could be a problem," Carson interrupted, his eyes on the display next to the door. "It's getting colder in there."
John's eyes fixed on the display, noticing that the temperature level was indeed lower than it had been when he'd first arrived. "How long is it safe in there?" he asked, trying to remember if Rodney had put on his jacket that morning.
Carson eyed the temperature gauge as he thought about it. "At this temperature? Two hours. Less if it drops any further."
John shrugged off his jacket, wishing he had some way to pass it through the door to Rodney. "Best get started then, hadn't we."
An hour passed and Radek rubbed at his eyes. John wasn't sure what the viciously muttered words were, but he'd bet a puddlejumper they were mainly swearing.
Carson moved to behind where Radek was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Crouching down, he rubbed at the Czech's shoulders. "You can do it."
Radek's fingers came up, touching Carson's hand briefly before he went back to typing.
Long minutes passed until Radek finally looked at John. "Try now."
Pressing his hand to the door, the metal smooth under his fingers, John closed his eyes and willed the door to open. There was a slight tugging sensation behind his eyes and he almost heard Atlantis whisper to him that she was trying, but the feeling escaped as Carson's words reached him.
"The temperature's just taken another dive. We need to get them out of there now."
John's eyes snapped open as he whirled to face Beckett. "Them?"
Carson glanced at Radek briefly before meeting John's gaze. "Hermiod is in there with him.
And suddenly it all made sense - code that shouldn't be there, trapping Rodney inside a room with an alien who would apparently do anything to get time alone with his lover. And if the rat started boiling rabbits anytime soon, John was just grabbing Rodney and running; he'd deal with the consequences later.
"John?" There was something akin to understanding in Beckett's eyes.
"I'm fine, Carson," John replied, knowing that would be a lie right up until the moment they got Rodney out of that room. He nodded at Radek. "Again." Turning back to the door, John fixed his entire being on Atlantis. Twists and trails and threads of want danced just on the edge of his consciousness. "Come on," he murmured, half to himself and half to Atlantis, "don't make me raise Dalek as a single parent." The sound of Zelenka frantically tapping at his laptop kept a staccato rhythm as John reached for any part of Atlantis he could find. 'Please,' he thought as one of the threads eluding him finally, *finally,* coalesced into something tangible. Seizing it, he willed Atlantis to hear him, relief washing through him when she answered him with the sound of the door sliding open.
John was moving before he thought about it, cold air hitting him in a wave as he knelt beside the barely conscious form of Rodney. Blue lips moved slightly, and John had to lean down, press his ear close to Rodney's mouth to be able to hear him.
"Knew you'd come."
*
The Infirmary was quiet, the silence broken by only the careful hum of the machinery surrounding them. Jolted out of his reverie by the hand on his shoulder, John turned to face Carson.
"He'll be fine, Colonel. His core temperature is nearly back to normal and he'll be out of here in no time."
John nodded, his hand reaching up to cover Beckett's briefly.
"You should get some sleep," Carson said gently.
"I will," John promised. "In a bit."
Beckett studied John's face for long moments before nodding. "I'll be back later," he said before walking back towards his office.
Brushing his fingers over Rodney's hair, John paused, a trickle of unease washing over him. Turning around, his gaze met the dark round eyes staring at him and Rodney. Refusing to break the gaze, John covered the distance to Hermiod's bed in a few long strides. "Stay away from him."
The Asgard's eyes blinked owlishly. "I do not know what you mean, Colonel."
"Yes you do." John clenched his hands, trying to keep his anger under control. "Stay the hell away from him, or I swear, I will stick you in one of the Daedalus's airlocks and space you."
Hermiod didn't answer as John walked away back to Rodney's bedside. Closing the curtain around the bed, John sat down and took Rodney's hand in his, the fingers feeling still too cold against his skin. Lowering his head to the bed, John ran his thumb over the back of Rodney's hand closed his eyes, letting the steady breathing of his lover lull him to sleep.
Hermiod's eyes narrowed as he watched the silhouettes behind the curtain. When he'd planted the code into the system he hadn't expected it to react like that. The room was meant to get slightly colder, prompting his Beloved to have to move closer in order to share body heat. Instead, Hermiod was stuck in Atlantis's Infirmary having to watch *that man* paw at his Beloved. This wouldn't do. This just wouldn't do at all.
End.