Friendship, Week 1: Plowshare (5/5)
Title: Plowshare
Author: liketheriverrun
Prompt: Tools and Weapons/Friendship
Rating: T
Word Count: ~42,100
Warnings/Spoilers: Set a few years in the future so anything and anyone can and do show up.
Summary: The discovery of an alien race that predated the Ancients in Pegasus leads to something no one ever thought they would see-- peace. But is it worth the price they have to pay?
[ Part One] [ Part Two] [ Part Three] [ Part Four] [ Part Five]
* * * * *
Encoded message from Traveler Vessel Jolspur
Transmitted to Atlantis July 1, 2012, 2619 hrs AST
Several Traveler ships have intercepted a signal transmitting on known Wraith frequencies. Exact message is indecipherable, but probable source is Eslateran. Repetitive nature of transmission suggests it is most likely a warning or a distress call. We have information that two Hive ships under our surveillance have changed course and now appear to be heading toward Eslatera. We will continue to monitor and send updates as they become available.
July 2, 2012
There were advantages to being small.
Radek had learned that lesson as a child. Sure, there were plenty of disadvantages, too. It made you easy fodder for the bullies to pick on, to be sure, but it was also much easier to hide from them when they came looking for you. Radek had excelled at hide-and-seek as a boy; it had saved him more than one bloody nose during his primary school days. He had just hoped he would outgrow the need for such tactics as an adult. Yet, here he was, a grown, highly-educated man, squatting as quietly as possible behind the broad leaves of a plant in the woods on the outskirts of the Eslateran city, hoping against hope he would not be discovered.
A rustling off to his right had him gripping the shielding device closer to his chest. He could start the device if the Eslaterans found him, he knew that. It would keep them from phase shifting him out of this dimension, a dimension of which he'd grown quite fond, at least it would stop them for a short while. Eventually, the Eslaterans would be able to overcome the effects of the device. There were thousands of them living here now, returning slowly and steadily from their prison. However the Ancients had managed to trap them? Radek suspects it was accomplished by reflecting their own work back on them, but no definitive data could be found in the Ancient's records? it limited their ability to return more than a few beings at a time. Rodney's idea, to use a modified Asgard beam to cause a unique phase shift all its own, was risky, crude, and yes, brilliant in its simplicity. Although he would leave out the brilliant part and just stick with risky, crude, and simple when he had a chance to discuss it with the man in person.
If he got a chance to discuss it with him.
Another sound to his right had Radek's finger hovering over the start button. Once he activated the device, all the other synchronized devices around the city would activate, as well. And when they were activated remotely, they could only be turned off by entering the override codes manually. Also, every Eslateran and their human devotees searching for them in the woods would be able to follow the sound of the device he held and find him. That was something they hadn't counted on, the number of human inhabitants of this galaxy who were present on Eslatera. They'd known the test they ran nearly three weeks prior would let the Eslaterans in on their plans, and they had been on the move for almost that entire time. Radek had spent a good deal of that time with the Wraith called Kenny, overseeing the manufacture of the devices in various Wraith bases and Hive ships. Then he and Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla had spent the last week distributing the devices to the worlds where the Eslaterans had taken up a presence. The hope was to herd them back to Eslatera so that the population as a whole could be sent from the Pegasus galaxy... or at least this dimension of the Pegasus galaxy. That part of their plan should already be underway, and they might know something more about how it was going if the Wraith Dart that had transported them had not been discovered. As it was now, they would have to await the arrival of the Daedalus for any word and hope of rescue.
"Radek?" a familiar voice hissed from the direction he'd heard the noises.
Exhaling the breath he'd been holding in fear, Radek called, "Here, Colonel," in his own whisper.
Colonel Sheppard found him easily then, settling in beside him among the tall plants. He had mud down the front of him, suggesting he'd been lying flat on the ground, either hiding from or spying on those searching for them, Radek wasn't sure which.
"We need to move out of this area," he warned in a low voice. "Given their search pattern, they'll be circling around to this area in a few minutes."
Radek nodded in understanding fringed with a healthy dose of dread. While cowering in the bushes didn't exactly make him feel safe, it was better than exposing himself by moving around. "Have they discovered any of the other deployed devices yet?"
"I don't think so," Sheppard told him, holding up the radio he'd taken off one of the human followers who had unfortunately stumbled upon them. The poor guy was currently gagged, zip-tied, and tossed in the weeds somewhere in the forest now. "I haven't heard any chatter on their radio about it."
He expected Sheppard to start them creeping through the undergrowth then, but the colonel checked his watch and looked up at the sky hopefully.
"The Daedalus should be here by now. They arrived at the way station nearly twelve hours ago."
"Perhaps they were delayed on Sateda," Radek suggested before a more terrifying thought struck him. "Or perhaps the base on Sateda was discovered."
Colonel Sheppard shook his head. "Even if it was, the Daedalus would have left as soon as they failed to make contact with the teams on the surface."
"Todd would know we have lost our Dart," Radek pointed out. "Perhaps they believe we have met the same fate."
Again Sheppard shook his head. "They'd still come to find us." A small grin crossed the colonel's face. "Rodney would hijack the Daedalus if he had to. Hell, he's probably been waiting for an excuse to do it."
Radek wondered if the colonel was just saying that to make him feel better, or if Sheppard actually believed it for the truth. Whichever it was, Sheppard wasn't going to just sit around and wait to be captured.
With a hitch of his head, Colonel Sheppard ordered, "Come on, let's get out of here. I saw some trees we might be able climb and hide out in."
Radek sighed as he followed along at more of a squat than a stand. Hide-and-seek he had excelled at; tree climbing was another story entirely.
Fortunately, before they even reached the stand of trees the colonel had seen, their radios crackled to life.
"Sheppard, this is McKay, do you read me?"
"Rodney, where the hell have you been?" Sheppard hunkered down in a cluster of tall grasses with barbs on the blades that scratched at Radek's arms when he followed suit.
"Wow, Rodney, I haven't talked to you outside of email in almost four months. It's good to hear from you," Rodney mocked through the radio before resuming his own voice. "It's good to hear your voice too, John."
"Rodney," Sheppard ground out in a harsh whisper, "I am very much looking forward to talking to you face-to-face. However, I can't do that until we finish this mission, so I need you to beam us up and back into the city someplace so that I can?"
"Whoa, whoa," Rodney cut in. "I can't beam you anywhere. The Asgard beam's been modified to transmit the frequency for the phase shift."
Colonel Sheppard pinched his lips together in an expression that silently said, "Damn, I forgot about that."
"I could send Todd down in his Dart," Rodney offered.
Radek looked hopefully to the colonel to see if he'd agree. No such luck.
"No, they'll spot it and do the same to him as they did to our own ride."
"Look, Sheppard, we need to get going here," Rodney warned. "Todd says the Eslaterans are calling in the cavalry, using their link with the Wraith to send out a distress signal. There are Hive ships on the way. And seeing as the Wraith rearmed their ships in preparation for this offensive, Colonel Caldwell would like to get out of here before they show up."
Radek's eyes widened in alarm at the news.
"How many?" Sheppard asked tensely.
"He can't tell." Rodney lowered his voice as if trying to keep anyone else from hearing. "He's actually trying to block them out. Evidently the compulsion to aid the Eslaterans is pretty strong."
"Great," Sheppard grumbled and seemed to be weighing their options for a few seconds. "Are you ready to go up there?"
"Whenever you are," Rodney assured. "It appears the other off-world devices have been doing their job. Most of the Eslaterans have left those worlds and are returning home."
"Oh, good," the colonel drawled. "More barriers between us and the city."
"Sheppard, this is Caldwell."
"Colonel, welcome back to Pegasus," Sheppard responded.
"Oh, sure, he gets real greeting," Rodney bitched.
Both men ignored him and Caldwell continued. "The transporter beam may not work, but our weapons still do. We could give you some cover fire to get in place."
"They'll know you're here in orbit," Sheppard warned.
"How long do you need to get set up?" Caldwell asked.
Sheppard considered how far from the city they had come. "Five, maybe ten minutes."
When Sheppard looked to Radek for confirmation, he nodded in agreement.
"We'll fire a volley," Colonel Caldwell told him, "jump away, then be back in seven minutes."
Colonel Sheppard shrugged then scanned the area for any sign of their pursuers. "I have to admit, I've heard worse plans. Hell, I've come up with them."
"Trust me, Colonel," Caldwell scoffed, "I'm more than aware of your tactical escapades."
Sheppard frowned but didn't argue. "Okay, we're going to slip in as close as possible, then we'll contact you when we need some air support."
"We'll be standing by," Colonel Caldwell promised.
Sheppard motioned Radek to follow him, his hand securely on his P90 as he led the way through the vegetation. He stopped them once, pushing Radek's head down as a band of humans hunting for them passed by. Once they were gone, he led them a little further, daring to move a bit faster until Radek could catch glimpses of the city through the branches of the trees.
He could also see the lithe silhouettes of the Eslaterans who had formed a barrier between the edge of the forest and the city still a ways in the distance.
"Daedalus, you do have a lock on our positions so you hit them but not us, right?" Sheppard whispered into his radio.
"We do," Caldwell confirmed.
"Okay, on my mark... five, four, three, two, one."
Sheppard grabbed Radek by the back of his vest and pulled him up as the first blast hit the ground less than ten meters in front of them. Dirt went flying high in the air, and the Eslaterans looked skyward as one. It was eerie the way their motions were so synchronized and the humming sound that grew from the group had Radek grinding his teeth.
Another volley of shots a little further toward the city had the ground shaking so hard that Radek could barely stay on his feet, clumps of grass and dirt pelted his face and chest, but Sheppard was still dragging him along. He lost his footing, one hand still gripping the device, but the other sunk into soft mud to brace against the fall. Sheppard managed not to go down and quickly hefted him back to his feet.
The sound was growing stronger, and Radek saw more than heard the colonel tell him to turn on the device. The countering tone had the Eslaterans turning their attention toward him with a synchronicity that sent a chill down his spine. The air seemed to waver with the actual sound waves, and Radek hastily adjusted the device in his arms until it cleared. It was working! He would have laughed in triumph if not for the third set of blasts that were clearing a path even further ahead of them.
Again, Sheppard kept him running, so fast he was only catching glimpses of the chaos the blasts were causing among their human and Eslateran pursuers alike. Radek concentrated on holding onto the device as tightly as he could and staying on his feet, barely noticing when the colonel made a side trip into the remains of a building and pushed him down behind the stone wall. The building wasn't part of the city; it had been built some time after, probably by human settlers to the world, then destroyed at least several hundred years before.
Radek was about to ask what was going on, when Colonel Sheppard snatched the device from his hand and indicated a knob. "This changes the frequency, right?"
"Yes," Radek answered in confusion, "but why?"
"Stay here," Sheppard ordered. "They'll follow me and the device. You should be safe."
"But, Colonel..." Radek called.
Sheppard, however, was already darting toward the city, and Radek was once more playing hide-and-seek.
It wasn't until he had sat there for a few minutes that he realized exactly what Sheppard was planning to do. More importantly, he realized exactly what Sheppard was planning not to do- come back. Then all Radek could think was that Rodney would never forgive him for letting Sheppard go if the colonel were able to succeed with his plan.
* * * *
Genii Military Field Report
From: Commander Tanos Hasson
To: Chief Ladon Radim
Sir,
It is my honor to inform you that all seven off-world strike teams have reported complete success in their missions. All Eslaterans have been driven through the gate and back to their homeworld. Resistance was minimal and easily suppressed with the shielding devices our scientists have developed in cooperation with the Atlanteans. Temporary martial law has been instituted on the worlds to ensure the human populations sympathetic to the Eslaterans do not attempt to revolt against the eviction of their former oppressors. Ironically, crowd control has been made all the easier thanks to the lack of weapons among these populations. As a result, casualties have been lower than was first projected, and are deemed of an acceptable number on both sides.
Our troops standby and await your further orders now that you have returned to resume your rightful command.
Respectfully submitted,
Tanos Hasson
Commander, First Division
Genii Military Garrison
July 2, 2012
It was funny how things always become clearer the more chaotic the situation. When John had taken the shielding device from Radek, he'd been shaking dirt from his hair that had rained down from the explosions caused by the blasts from the Daedalus. He could barely hear himself yelling to Zelenka over the shrieking of the device and the grating hum of the Eslaterans. Yet, he'd known with crystal clarity that taking the device and leaving Radek behind was the only acceptable alternative.
Calculations had shown that the shielding devices they'd deployed around the perimeter of the city wouldn't be enough to hold back the Eslaterans on their own. They needed one in the city, in the heart of downtown to give them the necessary coverage to cause the dimensional shift. Their plans to slip in, set this one, then slip out again pretty much went to Hell in a very nice hand basket when they arrived to find the planet crawling with many more humans and Eslaterans then they had expected. It was just made all the worse when the Dart that was going to be used to beam them in and out was caught and zapped away. That meant there was only one way in?on foot? and almost certainly only one way out? to a different dimension. No use both he and Zelenka spending the rest of their lives trapped with the Eslaterans.
As he ran, John was vaguely aware of Radek yelling at him through his radio. His attention was set more on clearing a path through the remaining humans and Eslaterans with the Wraith stunner he carried in one hand while holding tight to the shielding device he carried in the other. The device was shaped like a tall, thin pyramid with openings for speakers around the sloped surfaces and a series of knobs sticking out from one side. Hidden inside was a combination of Ancient crystals and Earth stereo equipment. It had a definite sleestak feel to it, and he honestly wasn't sure if that was Radek's or Rodney's influence on the design. Why in the world thoughts like that would be running through his head as he was running into the city, John would never know. Maybe it had been hearing Rodney's voice again after all this time that had geeky thoughts coming to mind.
Speaking of geeks, he had been trying to tune out Zelenka yelling into his radio. It was kind of hard when the man was begging him to take pity and think what McKay would do once he found out Zelenka had let Sheppard run away like that. Sheppard was tempted to reply to that one, jokingly admit he was hoping he did get trapped with the Eslaterans, as that would be an easier fate than facing Rodney's wrath. Unfortunately, he was busy stunning someone so that he could sprint past their fallen body and down one of the side streets in Eslatera. He'd spent enough time in the city with Teyla and Ronon waiting on McKay to finish up in one lab or another, and they'd taken advantage to do a little exploring of their own, so the streets were fairly familiar. He took a second to shut off the power to the shielder he was carrying, deciding stealth in the city was more important than the device blocking any attempt by the Eslaterans to shift him away. Here, they would be trying to override the devices that had been activated surrounding the city to keep it firmly in place.
The lack of noise from the shielding device was relief, but it just let him hear another tone not too far away. Continuing on his path, the sound grew progressively louder. He had to stop twice, ducking back into shadows in alleyways with his heart pounding from his run, when he heard someone approaching him. They never saw him, maybe due to the continuing tone that just kept going and growing in the distance. Eventually, he came upon an open area to his right, what they had assumed was a park or greenbelt. It was now filled with hundreds of Eslaterans, heads tilted at the exact same angle, and emitting that seemingly unending tone he'd been hearing.
They never had figured out if the beings had a device of their own or were simply creating the tone themselves. Right then, John really didn't care. He considered using the stunner on some of them, but they seemed completely oblivious to his presence, all their concentration focused on overriding the shielding devices surrounding the city. It was weird, creepy, and if he'd had the luxury, John would have let it freak him the hell out. If he were to stun a few, it would cut down on the number working against them. It could also awaken them from their seemingly trance-like state. He suddenly had this irrational fear that they would turn on him like something out of a creature feature, mouths full of fangs he'd never seen before, overtake him, and devour him on the spot. Ridiculous, he knew, but it was an image that wouldn't seem to leave his head. As a result, he held his fire, backed away, and jogged down another street that would lead him to the city center.
Evidently he'd had too many damn movie nights with McKay watching bad zombie flicks. Guess he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, and wasn't that a damned shame. The damnedest shame he could think of. John knew he'd need to eventually let Rodney in on his plan, although as soon as the Daedalus returned from its short jaunt away from the planet and McKay talked to Zelenka, Sheppard was sure he'd be hearing from Rodney.
Seven minutes passed awfully darn quickly when you were running full out through an enemy city filled with humming aliens. Sheppard had just reached his target location, the building they had identified as the optimal distance from all the other devices, when he heard Rodney's voice in his ear.
"Radek, Sheppard, we're back in orbit. Are you in position?"
"One more... minute," John informed him breathlessly as he kicked in the door and bolted inside.
The location had been identified from the mapping that had been done when they first discovered the city, and Woolsey himself had scouted the building during a diplomatic visit to the city, providing the information on the internal layout and the quickest way to access the roof.
"I hate to put any more pressure on you, Sheppard," Caldwell cut in. "But the sooner we get this going the better. We have a Hive closing in on us."
"Of course... you do." John gulped air as he spotted the stairwell that led up toward the roof and took them two at a time. "Almost... there."
Sure, there were transporters in the building, but those left him vulnerable to being trapped by a power shutdown or the like. Better to rely on his own two legs that were now burning with the exertion of running and climbing.
"Radek," McKay called, "looks like you need to adjust the frequency slightly."
"As soon...as I'm...in place," John answered, not stopping when he reached the second floor landing.
"Sheppard?" The suspicion in Rodney's voice was palpable. "Where's Zelenka?"
"Safe," was John's answer. "In old ruins." He reached the third floor and leaned against the railing for a second to steady himself. "Pick him up...when this is done."
Three more floors and he'd be able to access the roof, which was good considering he could hear footsteps starting up the stairs two stories below.
As Sheppard started up the next flight of stairs, Zelenka finally spoke. "Rodney, I tried to stop him, but he would not listen."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Rodney grumbled before ordering. "Sheppard, plant that damn thing and get the hell out of the city."
"Company...behind me," John explained, reaching the top of the next flight. He rounded the corner and continued on. "No way... out but up."
The footfalls were closer, maybe a floor down, as Sheppard reached the fifth floor and pushed himself to move a little faster.
"Oh, the hell there is," McKay exclaimed irritably. "John, get out in the open."
"That's the plan." His legs felt like rubber by the time he made it to the sixth floor. At the end of the hallway he could see the access hatch that would take him to the roof, and he moved down the hallway a little wobbly but at a half run.
The footsteps he'd heard evolved into three men who skidded to a stop when they saw him. John aimed the stunner and took down two of the men. The third turned tail and ran, no doubt to get reinforcements. Sheppard was exhausted, sore, and his lungs were burning from the run and climb and everything else. He let himself lean his head against the ladder for a few seconds and just breathe before he started awkwardly up the ladder with the shielding device in the crook of his arm and the stunner in his belt.
John reached the top of the ladder and bashed his shoulder against the hatch only to find it wouldn't budge. He tried again with the same results. Evidently the damn thing was locked or blocked or something. "Fuck," he grumbled and tried once more to no avail. "Have to find...another spot."
"Fine, whatever," Rodney snapped, "just get out in the open."
Caldwell, however, wanted more information. "What's the problem?"
"Roof hatch is locked," Sheppard explained.
"Colonel Sheppard," Radek chimed in, "I believe the device will work from where you are, if you can adjust the frequency slightly."
"Adjust it fast; the Hive just showed up," Caldwell informed him. "Shield to maximum."
That last was spoken to the ship's helmsmen, but John knew they couldn't use the modified Asgard beam with the shields up, just as he knew they wouldn't lower them until he had the device ready.
"Talk me through it," John told Radek as he came back down the ladder, then squatted beside the device and set to adjusting knobs per Zelenka's directions. Once done, he keyed his radio again. "Rodney, how's it look now?"
"Good, it looks good," McKay responded, the sounds of the ship taking a Wraith blast echoing through the channel of the radio. "Now get out of there."
"I can't leave it," Sheppard told him simply. "There are more men on the way. If they find it and shut it off before the beam can work... I'm sorry, McKay, but I can't leave it." As if to prove to himself that he really meant it, John sat heavily beside the device and held the stunner out in front of him ready for the men he knew would be coming up the stairs any minute. "Besides, I'll never make it out of the city in time anyway."
"Sheppard, listen to me?" Rodney started.
Caldwell, however, cut him off. "Dr. McKay, I'm lowering the shields to fire the beam."
"No, wait!" Rodney begged.
"We can't take much more from this Hive," Caldwell insisted.
"As soon as we shut down the Eslaterans, the distress call will end and the Hive will stop attacking us," Rodney argued.
"Activate that goddamn beam!" John yelled into his radio to override any objections from the Daedalus. "Do it now!"
Apparently, Rodney was refusing to fire the beam because Caldwell directly, "Dr. Novak, fire the beam."
Within seconds, the hallway Sheppard sat in started to glow with a golden haze and undulate with the sound waves being projected onto the city from the Daedalus. Then it felt like the air was actually folding in on itself. It was working. Son of a bitch, it was working! Despite his coming fate, John couldn't help but smile that they'd managed to pull it off.
"John, can you hear me?"
Rodney's voice, more than a little panicked.
"Rodney, it's okay." It was really anything but okay, but no use making McKay feel like shit right now. "By the way, welcome home."
John's stomach flipped, like on the drop of a rollercoaster, and he figured it was an effect of the phase shift. It actually wasn't too bad. No worse than his first trip through the stargate. The hum of the Eslaterans increased, keeping it from going any further, but that was just temporary. Rodney would find the right tonal pattern and this would all be over in a minute.
"Shut up... do what...tell you!" McKay's transmission was breaking up, almost more static than words. "Todd...position, you .....outside."
"What?" Had he said something about Todd being outside?
"Get out..... Todd.... in Dar..."
Todd's Dart was outside?
John stood, the air felt thick and made it hard to walk, but he moved to the window at the end of the hall to see a blue culling beam cutting through the golden haze. Opening the window, he leaned out and looked up to see a Dart hovering above the city. But how the hell was the beam cutting through the phase shift?
There was only one answer: McKay.
"Rodney, you genius son of a bitch," John mumbled with a grin, before climbing out on the window ledge.
He judged the distance to the beam to only be a few feet, but if he missed or the beam wasn't strong enough to cull him, he had a six story drop below him. But what was that compared to the chance to actually get out of this in one piece and go home. He steadied himself on the ledge before pushing off with aching legs and jumping toward the blue light of the culling beam and landing in total darkness.
The next thing he knew, John was standing in the F302 hangar on the Daedalus. Rodney was staring at him with an expression hovering between relief and pissiness.
"The next time I tell you to get outside, Sheppard, you better get your fucking ass outside."
John felt his lips curl into a goofy smirk. Goddamn smart ass geniuses with their bossiness. Then the room tilted dangerously. There was a split second of panic, as if he was still in the phase shift, but McKay was still standing there, finger jabbing toward Sheppard's chest in accusation, and Rodney hadn't been in the phase shift. Rodney had been on Earth for months and months, but now he was back. He was back and everything was going to be okay, better than okay...other than the fact that the room was still listing and John was tipping forward. Goddamn Wraith culling beams with their stunning effects.
"Whoa!" Rodney yelled, lunging forward to keep John from going face-first onto the floor.
It was a short trip down through that feeling of chaotic freefall, but once again, the details were crystal clear to Sheppard? the dim light of the hangar growing dimmer by the millisecond, the slightly stale smell of recycled air from the Daedalus overlain with the earthy aroma of grease and fluids that was typical around so many aircraft. Rodney's hands scrambled to gain purchase on John's arms, his calloused fingers digging into biceps that weren't responding any better than all the other muscles in Sheppard's body that had given in to the pins and needles sensation spreading instantaneously from his head to his toes. Rodney was dropping with him, bracing John with his own body to keep him from crumpling into a heap on the ground.
"John?"
Sheppard could hear the worry in McKay's voice as it reverberated in Rodney's chest, the rush of air into his lungs as Rodney sucked in a breath. It had been months since John had heard that voice in person. Months and months and now it was already fading, slipping away into the oblivion that was racing in and pulling him under. The last thing Sheppard felt before losing all sense of clarity was the feel of the hangar floor coming up to slam into his knees and the cotton of Rodney's t-shirt soft against his cheek.
* * * * *
Transmission from the Daedalus to Sateda Base
Received July 2, 2010, 0246 hrs AST
Sateda Base, this is Daedalus reporting that the Eslateran threat has been neutralized. The city is no longer detectable by any sensor readings, nor are there any major life signs still present on the planet. Repeat, the Eslateran threat has been neutralized. All indications are that Operation Plowshare is a success.
July 3, 2010
Popping the tab open on the beer John offered, Rodney drank deeply then looked out across the Atlantean ocean and the setting sun with a contented sigh.
Sheppard took a gulp from his own can before demanding, "Now, hand over my cookies."
"They're not your cookies," Rodney protested, but opened the plastic container he'd carried back with him from Earth.
"According to the email Jeannie sent me, they are." The look of eager anticipation on John's face morphed quickly into disbelief. "It's half empty."
"Eighteen days is a long time on the Daedalus," McKay defended and pulled the box back. "And if that's how you're going to be about it, maybe you don't deserve homemade chocolate chip cookies."
John reached over and yanked the container away from Rodney. "Give me my goddamn cookies, you greedy bastard."
Rodney handed them over, then snatched one, licking it quickly when Sheppard started to protest. It was an old trick, one he'd employed with Jeannie when they were kids arguing over treats, but it still worked.
"That is disgusting," John grimaced and pulled the container possessively to his chest.
"Actually, it's delicious," Rodney told him as he chewed. And who knew beer and cookies could taste so good together? "You should try one."
Moving the box of remaining cookies to his opposite side for safekeeping, Sheppard glared at McKay before taking one of his own. The angry glower softened with the first bite, and John seemed to be taking his time savoring it. Rodney, however, had already finished his cookie and was trying to figure out how to get another one.
"The fudge was good," Sheppard admitted, "but these are better."
"We tried the cookies first," Rodney confessed, "but the heat fried the data chip. So we decided to go with fudge as a last resort. Less heat that way."
"It worked." John snorted in disbelief. "I honestly don't know how, but it all actually worked."
Now it was McKay's turn to scoff. "Yeah, it worked and we managed to destroy the only peace the Pegasus galaxy has seen in a million years. Go us."
It had been a weird six and a half months to say the least, and even back on Earth as he toiled to find a way to overthrow the Eslaterans, Rodney hadn't missed the irony of their mission.
Sheppard shrugged as he bit into his second cookie. "You can have peace, or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once."
Rodney's beer can stopped midway to his mouth and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Did you just quote Robert Heinlein?"
John's lips twitched at being caught reading the science fiction author Rodney had recommended. "You were right; Starship Troopers was a better book than it was a movie."
"Yes, but that quote isn't from Starship Troopers," Rodney clarified.
"Fine," Sheppard admitted with reluctance, "his other books are pretty good, too."
"I told you they were, but you never seem to trust me when?"
Sheppard cut him off before he could go on about how right he'd been. "The point is, we had a choice to make of either a forced peace that could have eventually led to the end of both humans and Wraith in this galaxy, or freedom to try to work through our differences in our own way. I think we made the right decision. I mean, in a weird way, the Eslaterans helped us put aside our differences with the Genii and the Wraith and the Coalition of Worlds and work together toward a common goal."
"And now that the common goal has been reached, how long do you thing this new found alliance will last? Woolsey is already having trouble convincing the Genii to pull out of the half dozen or so worlds of Eslateran human sympathizers that they're occupying 'for their own protection'." Rodney framed that last in air quotes. How much protection does an unarmed population need when one of the only armed populations are supposedly protecting them?
"Give them a few days," Sheppard suggested. "Once we bring back as many of the villages that had been phase shifted as we can, things should get back to normal."
"Yes, because normal was so much fun around here," McKay snorted.
"Better than the alternative."
Rodney bobbled his head as he took another sip of beer conceding John might be right. "At least returning the banished to Pegasus should go quicker now that we've adjusted the Asgard beam on the Daedalus and can use that instead of the handheld units."
"That reminds me," Sheppard said, already moving on to his third damn cookie. "How was Todd's culling beam able to cut through the phase shift like that?"
"Pretty cool, huh?" McKay forgot all about his jealousy over the snack and beamed in pride. "My first theory for how to block the Eslateran phase shift was to use the Wraith culling beams. So I modified one we'd taken from a downed Dart and sent back to the SGC for further study a few years ago. I brought it back with me and installed it on Todd's Dart while we traveled from Sateda to Eslatera in case we needed to insert a second team past the Eslaterans to finish deploying the blocking devices. Ends up it worked just as well, with some minor modifications, to extract certain lieutenant colonels with martyr complexes."
"Hmm." Sheppard considered this information as he pointedly did not look at Rodney, who was frowning at him. In fact, he suddenly seemed very interested in the waves, although his eyes slid to regard McKay as he offered Rodney the box of cookies. "It seemed to work pretty well."
Rodney took a cookie, then a second for good measure, before John moved the container once more out of reach. He'd earned it, damn it. After all, he'd saved Sheppard's life. But the delight over the cookies vanished as another thought hit him.
"Son of a bitch!"
"What?" John looked with worry into the box of cookies, as if McKay had found a dead bug or something equally disgusting in there.
Rodney shook his head at how careless he'd been. "Todd still has the modified culling beam."
"You let him keep it?" Sheppard asked in shock.
"No, I didn't let him keep it," Rodney countered. "I just forgot to take it back."
"You forgot?"
"Look, things were kind of hectic when he left, what with sealing the phase shift and beaming up Radek and the other humans still on the planet. Not to mention you were still unconscious. Todd took off to deal with the Hive that had been attacking us, and when he did, I was a little preoccupied."
John held up a hand to stop his excuses. "Is it really a big deal? I mean, the Eslaterans are gone. What can he do with it?"
"He's Todd!" Rodney exclaimed, arms flailing. "If anyone can figure out how to use it to his advantage, it will be him."
"Great," Sheppard grumped. "So now we have Todd with a souped up culling beam and the Genii expanding their military empire. Where does that leave us?"
McKay held up each of his two cookies. "Rock, hard place."
"And we're in the middle," John sighed, taking another drink of his beer.
"No, we're the cookie I already ate," Rodney corrected and proceeded to chow down on the hard place gloomily. "But, hey, at least we're free to continue fucking up our lives any time we want."
"Amen to that." John tipped his beer can toward Rodney, who picked up his own and thudded it against Sheppard's.
After a long drink, McKay asked, "So did you get Carson to rally the troops with a stirring William Wallace speech about how they could take our lives but not our freedom?"
"I tried, but he claimed the blue face paint made him break out in a rash."
Rodney grinned even as he tsked. "And he calls himself a Scotsman. Where's his national pride?"
"Speaking of that, I realized this morning that we should have put off the attack for a few days so that it fell on the fourth of July."
McKay feigned a confused expression. "What's so important about July fourth?"
John raised his eyebrows. "You suck at lying Rodney; don't forget I know that about you. I also know that you know about Independence Day."
"Ohhh, you mean like in the movie where they thwarted the alien invasion of Earth. Right." Rodney nodded studiously as he drained his beer can. "That date has some significance in the United States, too, doesn't it?"
"A little bit, yeah." Sheppard rolled his eyes and pulled another beer free of the plastic rings.
McKay happily took the offered can. "I thought so, but wasn't exactly sure." He waved a hand to encompass himself. "You know, being Canadian and all."
"I can see how that could be a bit confusing for you," John responded dryly. "Let's see if I can refresh your memory. It's the big annual cookout we have that you make fireworks for every year."
Rodney leaned his head back in mock understanding. "Ahhhhh, that's what that's for. Thanks for clearing that up for me."
"Any time."
Sheppard cracked open a second beer of his own as he shared a grin with McKay, then leaned back to prop himself on his elbows against the dock. They sat there like that for a good minute, John with his face lifted skyward soaking in the last warmth from the sun, and Rodney sitting with legs dangling over the edge of the pier staring out across the waves. He'd missed the ocean, missed Atlantis, but more than anything, he'd missed this? just hanging out sharing a six pack with Sheppard.
When Rodney sighed, John cracked an eye to look at him with a questioning expression.
"So, I guess tomorrow everything goes back to the way it was before. I'm back in the lab, pre-mission briefs, nose to the grindstone."
"Same ole' same ole'," Sheppard agreed.
"Another day, another dollar."
"Same shit, different day."
Rodney smiled at the thought. "Pretty great, huh?"
"It's about damn time," John concurred wholeheartedly.
"There you two are," Teyla said behind them in exasperation.
They turned to see her and Ronon walking out onto the pier. Teyla was carrying a large bowl in her arms, and Rodney perked up at the sight of it.
"Hey, is that popcorn?"
"Yeah," Ronon told him. "The movies were supposed to start ten minutes ago."
"It's really that late?" John checked his watch and saw that it was. "Sorry, guys, the time just sort of got away from me."
"To hell with what time it is." McKay beckoned eagerly for Teyla to bring the bowl closer. "Let me have some. How pathetic is it that I have to come to an entirely different galaxy to get decent popcorn?"
She squatted beside him with a grin that just grew as Rodney crammed a handful in his mouth. "It is the last of what you sent us."
"The last?" Rodney lamented. "I've been suffering through butter-free popcorn on Earth, and I finally come home and find out you guys have eaten all the good stuff?"
"It's the good stuff," Ronon repeated, as if Rodney hadn't comprehended what he himself had just said. "That's why we've been eating it."
"This is so unfair," McKay whined, scooting over a bit to make room for Teyla to sit beside him with the bowl.
Teyla took the hint and sat gracefully, letting her own legs hang over the edge of the pier. Rodney grabbed another handful of popcorn. John held up the plastic six-pack rings and the two remaining beer that dangled from the yokes, giving the cans an inviting waggle.
"Absolutely," Ronon replied to the silent offer, sitting on Rodney's opposite side then reaching across McKay and Teyla to take the beer from Sheppard.
"Why not?" Teyla took the final beer and opened it, sucking off the foam that gushed out and onto her hand.
"Are those Jeannie's cookies?" Ronon leaned curiously forward to look around his teammates and get a better view of the box beside Sheppard.
John offered up the container. "Oh, yeah. Here, help yourselves."
Rodney frowned at how Sheppard's attitude had changed and he was now willing to share the damn cookies with the rest of his team, but honestly, Rodney was more than happy to sit and eat the popcorn. He was more than happy just to sit here with his teammates and stare at the ocean.
Besides, he couldn't hold it against John; things just seemed to change all the time in Pegasus? strangers became friends, friends became family, alien cities became home, and your place of birth felt like punishment when you had to go back there and leave your real home and family behind. In the past six months they'd seen enemies become allies, weapons beaten into tools, and tools disguise weapons when peace had turned to oppression.
The Pegasus galaxy was a place of constant flux it seemed, and yet Atlantis and the people he'd met here had become the stable core of his entire existence. Even the one who had was a cookie-hoarding bastard.
Hell, who was he kidding? Especially that one.
Sheppard's importance in his life didn't stop Rodney from taking one more chocolate chip cookie from the box as Ronon passed it back down. If anything, it just made the act all the more enticing. Besides, if the roles had been reversed, as they often had, Rodney knew John would have done the exact same thing. McKay wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way.
Somethings in Pegasus changed. Others stayed completely and comfortingly the same.
* * * * *
From: John.Sheppard@atl.af.mil
Sent: July 5, 2012
To: KandJMiller@shaw.ca
Subject: Cookies and Other Stuff
Jeannie,
Thanks again for the cookies. As always, they are greatly appreciated. I hate to be a pain, but we received word the Apollo will be heading back here in about a week to demobilize some equipment. Any chance I could get some more? Just so you know, I'm not being a total pig, but Rodney ate at least half of them on his trip back and then I shared what was left with a few others (including your thieving brother), so I kind of got shortchanged. As a matter of fact, if you have time, why don't you send a double batch? That way I'll be less likely to bug you anytime soon. Oh, and a couple of cases of extra butter popcorn would be great. You could pick them up on the way to the post office so Kaleb doesn't have to go anywhere near them.
If Rodney hasn't told you so (which knowing him, I'm sure he hasn't) you're the best sister a guy's best friend could have.
Thanks in advance,
John
p.s. Maybe a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip, too, if you have the time?
The End
Author: liketheriverrun
Prompt: Tools and Weapons/Friendship
Rating: T
Word Count: ~42,100
Warnings/Spoilers: Set a few years in the future so anything and anyone can and do show up.
Summary: The discovery of an alien race that predated the Ancients in Pegasus leads to something no one ever thought they would see-- peace. But is it worth the price they have to pay?
[ Part One] [ Part Two] [ Part Three] [ Part Four] [ Part Five]
* * * * *
Encoded message from Traveler Vessel Jolspur
Transmitted to Atlantis July 1, 2012, 2619 hrs AST
Several Traveler ships have intercepted a signal transmitting on known Wraith frequencies. Exact message is indecipherable, but probable source is Eslateran. Repetitive nature of transmission suggests it is most likely a warning or a distress call. We have information that two Hive ships under our surveillance have changed course and now appear to be heading toward Eslatera. We will continue to monitor and send updates as they become available.
July 2, 2012
There were advantages to being small.
Radek had learned that lesson as a child. Sure, there were plenty of disadvantages, too. It made you easy fodder for the bullies to pick on, to be sure, but it was also much easier to hide from them when they came looking for you. Radek had excelled at hide-and-seek as a boy; it had saved him more than one bloody nose during his primary school days. He had just hoped he would outgrow the need for such tactics as an adult. Yet, here he was, a grown, highly-educated man, squatting as quietly as possible behind the broad leaves of a plant in the woods on the outskirts of the Eslateran city, hoping against hope he would not be discovered.
A rustling off to his right had him gripping the shielding device closer to his chest. He could start the device if the Eslaterans found him, he knew that. It would keep them from phase shifting him out of this dimension, a dimension of which he'd grown quite fond, at least it would stop them for a short while. Eventually, the Eslaterans would be able to overcome the effects of the device. There were thousands of them living here now, returning slowly and steadily from their prison. However the Ancients had managed to trap them? Radek suspects it was accomplished by reflecting their own work back on them, but no definitive data could be found in the Ancient's records? it limited their ability to return more than a few beings at a time. Rodney's idea, to use a modified Asgard beam to cause a unique phase shift all its own, was risky, crude, and yes, brilliant in its simplicity. Although he would leave out the brilliant part and just stick with risky, crude, and simple when he had a chance to discuss it with the man in person.
If he got a chance to discuss it with him.
Another sound to his right had Radek's finger hovering over the start button. Once he activated the device, all the other synchronized devices around the city would activate, as well. And when they were activated remotely, they could only be turned off by entering the override codes manually. Also, every Eslateran and their human devotees searching for them in the woods would be able to follow the sound of the device he held and find him. That was something they hadn't counted on, the number of human inhabitants of this galaxy who were present on Eslatera. They'd known the test they ran nearly three weeks prior would let the Eslaterans in on their plans, and they had been on the move for almost that entire time. Radek had spent a good deal of that time with the Wraith called Kenny, overseeing the manufacture of the devices in various Wraith bases and Hive ships. Then he and Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla had spent the last week distributing the devices to the worlds where the Eslaterans had taken up a presence. The hope was to herd them back to Eslatera so that the population as a whole could be sent from the Pegasus galaxy... or at least this dimension of the Pegasus galaxy. That part of their plan should already be underway, and they might know something more about how it was going if the Wraith Dart that had transported them had not been discovered. As it was now, they would have to await the arrival of the Daedalus for any word and hope of rescue.
"Radek?" a familiar voice hissed from the direction he'd heard the noises.
Exhaling the breath he'd been holding in fear, Radek called, "Here, Colonel," in his own whisper.
Colonel Sheppard found him easily then, settling in beside him among the tall plants. He had mud down the front of him, suggesting he'd been lying flat on the ground, either hiding from or spying on those searching for them, Radek wasn't sure which.
"We need to move out of this area," he warned in a low voice. "Given their search pattern, they'll be circling around to this area in a few minutes."
Radek nodded in understanding fringed with a healthy dose of dread. While cowering in the bushes didn't exactly make him feel safe, it was better than exposing himself by moving around. "Have they discovered any of the other deployed devices yet?"
"I don't think so," Sheppard told him, holding up the radio he'd taken off one of the human followers who had unfortunately stumbled upon them. The poor guy was currently gagged, zip-tied, and tossed in the weeds somewhere in the forest now. "I haven't heard any chatter on their radio about it."
He expected Sheppard to start them creeping through the undergrowth then, but the colonel checked his watch and looked up at the sky hopefully.
"The Daedalus should be here by now. They arrived at the way station nearly twelve hours ago."
"Perhaps they were delayed on Sateda," Radek suggested before a more terrifying thought struck him. "Or perhaps the base on Sateda was discovered."
Colonel Sheppard shook his head. "Even if it was, the Daedalus would have left as soon as they failed to make contact with the teams on the surface."
"Todd would know we have lost our Dart," Radek pointed out. "Perhaps they believe we have met the same fate."
Again Sheppard shook his head. "They'd still come to find us." A small grin crossed the colonel's face. "Rodney would hijack the Daedalus if he had to. Hell, he's probably been waiting for an excuse to do it."
Radek wondered if the colonel was just saying that to make him feel better, or if Sheppard actually believed it for the truth. Whichever it was, Sheppard wasn't going to just sit around and wait to be captured.
With a hitch of his head, Colonel Sheppard ordered, "Come on, let's get out of here. I saw some trees we might be able climb and hide out in."
Radek sighed as he followed along at more of a squat than a stand. Hide-and-seek he had excelled at; tree climbing was another story entirely.
Fortunately, before they even reached the stand of trees the colonel had seen, their radios crackled to life.
"Sheppard, this is McKay, do you read me?"
"Rodney, where the hell have you been?" Sheppard hunkered down in a cluster of tall grasses with barbs on the blades that scratched at Radek's arms when he followed suit.
"Wow, Rodney, I haven't talked to you outside of email in almost four months. It's good to hear from you," Rodney mocked through the radio before resuming his own voice. "It's good to hear your voice too, John."
"Rodney," Sheppard ground out in a harsh whisper, "I am very much looking forward to talking to you face-to-face. However, I can't do that until we finish this mission, so I need you to beam us up and back into the city someplace so that I can?"
"Whoa, whoa," Rodney cut in. "I can't beam you anywhere. The Asgard beam's been modified to transmit the frequency for the phase shift."
Colonel Sheppard pinched his lips together in an expression that silently said, "Damn, I forgot about that."
"I could send Todd down in his Dart," Rodney offered.
Radek looked hopefully to the colonel to see if he'd agree. No such luck.
"No, they'll spot it and do the same to him as they did to our own ride."
"Look, Sheppard, we need to get going here," Rodney warned. "Todd says the Eslaterans are calling in the cavalry, using their link with the Wraith to send out a distress signal. There are Hive ships on the way. And seeing as the Wraith rearmed their ships in preparation for this offensive, Colonel Caldwell would like to get out of here before they show up."
Radek's eyes widened in alarm at the news.
"How many?" Sheppard asked tensely.
"He can't tell." Rodney lowered his voice as if trying to keep anyone else from hearing. "He's actually trying to block them out. Evidently the compulsion to aid the Eslaterans is pretty strong."
"Great," Sheppard grumbled and seemed to be weighing their options for a few seconds. "Are you ready to go up there?"
"Whenever you are," Rodney assured. "It appears the other off-world devices have been doing their job. Most of the Eslaterans have left those worlds and are returning home."
"Oh, good," the colonel drawled. "More barriers between us and the city."
"Sheppard, this is Caldwell."
"Colonel, welcome back to Pegasus," Sheppard responded.
"Oh, sure, he gets real greeting," Rodney bitched.
Both men ignored him and Caldwell continued. "The transporter beam may not work, but our weapons still do. We could give you some cover fire to get in place."
"They'll know you're here in orbit," Sheppard warned.
"How long do you need to get set up?" Caldwell asked.
Sheppard considered how far from the city they had come. "Five, maybe ten minutes."
When Sheppard looked to Radek for confirmation, he nodded in agreement.
"We'll fire a volley," Colonel Caldwell told him, "jump away, then be back in seven minutes."
Colonel Sheppard shrugged then scanned the area for any sign of their pursuers. "I have to admit, I've heard worse plans. Hell, I've come up with them."
"Trust me, Colonel," Caldwell scoffed, "I'm more than aware of your tactical escapades."
Sheppard frowned but didn't argue. "Okay, we're going to slip in as close as possible, then we'll contact you when we need some air support."
"We'll be standing by," Colonel Caldwell promised.
Sheppard motioned Radek to follow him, his hand securely on his P90 as he led the way through the vegetation. He stopped them once, pushing Radek's head down as a band of humans hunting for them passed by. Once they were gone, he led them a little further, daring to move a bit faster until Radek could catch glimpses of the city through the branches of the trees.
He could also see the lithe silhouettes of the Eslaterans who had formed a barrier between the edge of the forest and the city still a ways in the distance.
"Daedalus, you do have a lock on our positions so you hit them but not us, right?" Sheppard whispered into his radio.
"We do," Caldwell confirmed.
"Okay, on my mark... five, four, three, two, one."
Sheppard grabbed Radek by the back of his vest and pulled him up as the first blast hit the ground less than ten meters in front of them. Dirt went flying high in the air, and the Eslaterans looked skyward as one. It was eerie the way their motions were so synchronized and the humming sound that grew from the group had Radek grinding his teeth.
Another volley of shots a little further toward the city had the ground shaking so hard that Radek could barely stay on his feet, clumps of grass and dirt pelted his face and chest, but Sheppard was still dragging him along. He lost his footing, one hand still gripping the device, but the other sunk into soft mud to brace against the fall. Sheppard managed not to go down and quickly hefted him back to his feet.
The sound was growing stronger, and Radek saw more than heard the colonel tell him to turn on the device. The countering tone had the Eslaterans turning their attention toward him with a synchronicity that sent a chill down his spine. The air seemed to waver with the actual sound waves, and Radek hastily adjusted the device in his arms until it cleared. It was working! He would have laughed in triumph if not for the third set of blasts that were clearing a path even further ahead of them.
Again, Sheppard kept him running, so fast he was only catching glimpses of the chaos the blasts were causing among their human and Eslateran pursuers alike. Radek concentrated on holding onto the device as tightly as he could and staying on his feet, barely noticing when the colonel made a side trip into the remains of a building and pushed him down behind the stone wall. The building wasn't part of the city; it had been built some time after, probably by human settlers to the world, then destroyed at least several hundred years before.
Radek was about to ask what was going on, when Colonel Sheppard snatched the device from his hand and indicated a knob. "This changes the frequency, right?"
"Yes," Radek answered in confusion, "but why?"
"Stay here," Sheppard ordered. "They'll follow me and the device. You should be safe."
"But, Colonel..." Radek called.
Sheppard, however, was already darting toward the city, and Radek was once more playing hide-and-seek.
It wasn't until he had sat there for a few minutes that he realized exactly what Sheppard was planning to do. More importantly, he realized exactly what Sheppard was planning not to do- come back. Then all Radek could think was that Rodney would never forgive him for letting Sheppard go if the colonel were able to succeed with his plan.
* * * *
Genii Military Field Report
From: Commander Tanos Hasson
To: Chief Ladon Radim
Sir,
It is my honor to inform you that all seven off-world strike teams have reported complete success in their missions. All Eslaterans have been driven through the gate and back to their homeworld. Resistance was minimal and easily suppressed with the shielding devices our scientists have developed in cooperation with the Atlanteans. Temporary martial law has been instituted on the worlds to ensure the human populations sympathetic to the Eslaterans do not attempt to revolt against the eviction of their former oppressors. Ironically, crowd control has been made all the easier thanks to the lack of weapons among these populations. As a result, casualties have been lower than was first projected, and are deemed of an acceptable number on both sides.
Our troops standby and await your further orders now that you have returned to resume your rightful command.
Respectfully submitted,
Tanos Hasson
Commander, First Division
Genii Military Garrison
July 2, 2012
It was funny how things always become clearer the more chaotic the situation. When John had taken the shielding device from Radek, he'd been shaking dirt from his hair that had rained down from the explosions caused by the blasts from the Daedalus. He could barely hear himself yelling to Zelenka over the shrieking of the device and the grating hum of the Eslaterans. Yet, he'd known with crystal clarity that taking the device and leaving Radek behind was the only acceptable alternative.
Calculations had shown that the shielding devices they'd deployed around the perimeter of the city wouldn't be enough to hold back the Eslaterans on their own. They needed one in the city, in the heart of downtown to give them the necessary coverage to cause the dimensional shift. Their plans to slip in, set this one, then slip out again pretty much went to Hell in a very nice hand basket when they arrived to find the planet crawling with many more humans and Eslaterans then they had expected. It was just made all the worse when the Dart that was going to be used to beam them in and out was caught and zapped away. That meant there was only one way in?on foot? and almost certainly only one way out? to a different dimension. No use both he and Zelenka spending the rest of their lives trapped with the Eslaterans.
As he ran, John was vaguely aware of Radek yelling at him through his radio. His attention was set more on clearing a path through the remaining humans and Eslaterans with the Wraith stunner he carried in one hand while holding tight to the shielding device he carried in the other. The device was shaped like a tall, thin pyramid with openings for speakers around the sloped surfaces and a series of knobs sticking out from one side. Hidden inside was a combination of Ancient crystals and Earth stereo equipment. It had a definite sleestak feel to it, and he honestly wasn't sure if that was Radek's or Rodney's influence on the design. Why in the world thoughts like that would be running through his head as he was running into the city, John would never know. Maybe it had been hearing Rodney's voice again after all this time that had geeky thoughts coming to mind.
Speaking of geeks, he had been trying to tune out Zelenka yelling into his radio. It was kind of hard when the man was begging him to take pity and think what McKay would do once he found out Zelenka had let Sheppard run away like that. Sheppard was tempted to reply to that one, jokingly admit he was hoping he did get trapped with the Eslaterans, as that would be an easier fate than facing Rodney's wrath. Unfortunately, he was busy stunning someone so that he could sprint past their fallen body and down one of the side streets in Eslatera. He'd spent enough time in the city with Teyla and Ronon waiting on McKay to finish up in one lab or another, and they'd taken advantage to do a little exploring of their own, so the streets were fairly familiar. He took a second to shut off the power to the shielder he was carrying, deciding stealth in the city was more important than the device blocking any attempt by the Eslaterans to shift him away. Here, they would be trying to override the devices that had been activated surrounding the city to keep it firmly in place.
The lack of noise from the shielding device was relief, but it just let him hear another tone not too far away. Continuing on his path, the sound grew progressively louder. He had to stop twice, ducking back into shadows in alleyways with his heart pounding from his run, when he heard someone approaching him. They never saw him, maybe due to the continuing tone that just kept going and growing in the distance. Eventually, he came upon an open area to his right, what they had assumed was a park or greenbelt. It was now filled with hundreds of Eslaterans, heads tilted at the exact same angle, and emitting that seemingly unending tone he'd been hearing.
They never had figured out if the beings had a device of their own or were simply creating the tone themselves. Right then, John really didn't care. He considered using the stunner on some of them, but they seemed completely oblivious to his presence, all their concentration focused on overriding the shielding devices surrounding the city. It was weird, creepy, and if he'd had the luxury, John would have let it freak him the hell out. If he were to stun a few, it would cut down on the number working against them. It could also awaken them from their seemingly trance-like state. He suddenly had this irrational fear that they would turn on him like something out of a creature feature, mouths full of fangs he'd never seen before, overtake him, and devour him on the spot. Ridiculous, he knew, but it was an image that wouldn't seem to leave his head. As a result, he held his fire, backed away, and jogged down another street that would lead him to the city center.
Evidently he'd had too many damn movie nights with McKay watching bad zombie flicks. Guess he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, and wasn't that a damned shame. The damnedest shame he could think of. John knew he'd need to eventually let Rodney in on his plan, although as soon as the Daedalus returned from its short jaunt away from the planet and McKay talked to Zelenka, Sheppard was sure he'd be hearing from Rodney.
Seven minutes passed awfully darn quickly when you were running full out through an enemy city filled with humming aliens. Sheppard had just reached his target location, the building they had identified as the optimal distance from all the other devices, when he heard Rodney's voice in his ear.
"Radek, Sheppard, we're back in orbit. Are you in position?"
"One more... minute," John informed him breathlessly as he kicked in the door and bolted inside.
The location had been identified from the mapping that had been done when they first discovered the city, and Woolsey himself had scouted the building during a diplomatic visit to the city, providing the information on the internal layout and the quickest way to access the roof.
"I hate to put any more pressure on you, Sheppard," Caldwell cut in. "But the sooner we get this going the better. We have a Hive closing in on us."
"Of course... you do." John gulped air as he spotted the stairwell that led up toward the roof and took them two at a time. "Almost... there."
Sure, there were transporters in the building, but those left him vulnerable to being trapped by a power shutdown or the like. Better to rely on his own two legs that were now burning with the exertion of running and climbing.
"Radek," McKay called, "looks like you need to adjust the frequency slightly."
"As soon...as I'm...in place," John answered, not stopping when he reached the second floor landing.
"Sheppard?" The suspicion in Rodney's voice was palpable. "Where's Zelenka?"
"Safe," was John's answer. "In old ruins." He reached the third floor and leaned against the railing for a second to steady himself. "Pick him up...when this is done."
Three more floors and he'd be able to access the roof, which was good considering he could hear footsteps starting up the stairs two stories below.
As Sheppard started up the next flight of stairs, Zelenka finally spoke. "Rodney, I tried to stop him, but he would not listen."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Rodney grumbled before ordering. "Sheppard, plant that damn thing and get the hell out of the city."
"Company...behind me," John explained, reaching the top of the next flight. He rounded the corner and continued on. "No way... out but up."
The footfalls were closer, maybe a floor down, as Sheppard reached the fifth floor and pushed himself to move a little faster.
"Oh, the hell there is," McKay exclaimed irritably. "John, get out in the open."
"That's the plan." His legs felt like rubber by the time he made it to the sixth floor. At the end of the hallway he could see the access hatch that would take him to the roof, and he moved down the hallway a little wobbly but at a half run.
The footsteps he'd heard evolved into three men who skidded to a stop when they saw him. John aimed the stunner and took down two of the men. The third turned tail and ran, no doubt to get reinforcements. Sheppard was exhausted, sore, and his lungs were burning from the run and climb and everything else. He let himself lean his head against the ladder for a few seconds and just breathe before he started awkwardly up the ladder with the shielding device in the crook of his arm and the stunner in his belt.
John reached the top of the ladder and bashed his shoulder against the hatch only to find it wouldn't budge. He tried again with the same results. Evidently the damn thing was locked or blocked or something. "Fuck," he grumbled and tried once more to no avail. "Have to find...another spot."
"Fine, whatever," Rodney snapped, "just get out in the open."
Caldwell, however, wanted more information. "What's the problem?"
"Roof hatch is locked," Sheppard explained.
"Colonel Sheppard," Radek chimed in, "I believe the device will work from where you are, if you can adjust the frequency slightly."
"Adjust it fast; the Hive just showed up," Caldwell informed him. "Shield to maximum."
That last was spoken to the ship's helmsmen, but John knew they couldn't use the modified Asgard beam with the shields up, just as he knew they wouldn't lower them until he had the device ready.
"Talk me through it," John told Radek as he came back down the ladder, then squatted beside the device and set to adjusting knobs per Zelenka's directions. Once done, he keyed his radio again. "Rodney, how's it look now?"
"Good, it looks good," McKay responded, the sounds of the ship taking a Wraith blast echoing through the channel of the radio. "Now get out of there."
"I can't leave it," Sheppard told him simply. "There are more men on the way. If they find it and shut it off before the beam can work... I'm sorry, McKay, but I can't leave it." As if to prove to himself that he really meant it, John sat heavily beside the device and held the stunner out in front of him ready for the men he knew would be coming up the stairs any minute. "Besides, I'll never make it out of the city in time anyway."
"Sheppard, listen to me?" Rodney started.
Caldwell, however, cut him off. "Dr. McKay, I'm lowering the shields to fire the beam."
"No, wait!" Rodney begged.
"We can't take much more from this Hive," Caldwell insisted.
"As soon as we shut down the Eslaterans, the distress call will end and the Hive will stop attacking us," Rodney argued.
"Activate that goddamn beam!" John yelled into his radio to override any objections from the Daedalus. "Do it now!"
Apparently, Rodney was refusing to fire the beam because Caldwell directly, "Dr. Novak, fire the beam."
Within seconds, the hallway Sheppard sat in started to glow with a golden haze and undulate with the sound waves being projected onto the city from the Daedalus. Then it felt like the air was actually folding in on itself. It was working. Son of a bitch, it was working! Despite his coming fate, John couldn't help but smile that they'd managed to pull it off.
"John, can you hear me?"
Rodney's voice, more than a little panicked.
"Rodney, it's okay." It was really anything but okay, but no use making McKay feel like shit right now. "By the way, welcome home."
John's stomach flipped, like on the drop of a rollercoaster, and he figured it was an effect of the phase shift. It actually wasn't too bad. No worse than his first trip through the stargate. The hum of the Eslaterans increased, keeping it from going any further, but that was just temporary. Rodney would find the right tonal pattern and this would all be over in a minute.
"Shut up... do what...tell you!" McKay's transmission was breaking up, almost more static than words. "Todd...position, you .....outside."
"What?" Had he said something about Todd being outside?
"Get out..... Todd.... in Dar..."
Todd's Dart was outside?
John stood, the air felt thick and made it hard to walk, but he moved to the window at the end of the hall to see a blue culling beam cutting through the golden haze. Opening the window, he leaned out and looked up to see a Dart hovering above the city. But how the hell was the beam cutting through the phase shift?
There was only one answer: McKay.
"Rodney, you genius son of a bitch," John mumbled with a grin, before climbing out on the window ledge.
He judged the distance to the beam to only be a few feet, but if he missed or the beam wasn't strong enough to cull him, he had a six story drop below him. But what was that compared to the chance to actually get out of this in one piece and go home. He steadied himself on the ledge before pushing off with aching legs and jumping toward the blue light of the culling beam and landing in total darkness.
The next thing he knew, John was standing in the F302 hangar on the Daedalus. Rodney was staring at him with an expression hovering between relief and pissiness.
"The next time I tell you to get outside, Sheppard, you better get your fucking ass outside."
John felt his lips curl into a goofy smirk. Goddamn smart ass geniuses with their bossiness. Then the room tilted dangerously. There was a split second of panic, as if he was still in the phase shift, but McKay was still standing there, finger jabbing toward Sheppard's chest in accusation, and Rodney hadn't been in the phase shift. Rodney had been on Earth for months and months, but now he was back. He was back and everything was going to be okay, better than okay...other than the fact that the room was still listing and John was tipping forward. Goddamn Wraith culling beams with their stunning effects.
"Whoa!" Rodney yelled, lunging forward to keep John from going face-first onto the floor.
It was a short trip down through that feeling of chaotic freefall, but once again, the details were crystal clear to Sheppard? the dim light of the hangar growing dimmer by the millisecond, the slightly stale smell of recycled air from the Daedalus overlain with the earthy aroma of grease and fluids that was typical around so many aircraft. Rodney's hands scrambled to gain purchase on John's arms, his calloused fingers digging into biceps that weren't responding any better than all the other muscles in Sheppard's body that had given in to the pins and needles sensation spreading instantaneously from his head to his toes. Rodney was dropping with him, bracing John with his own body to keep him from crumpling into a heap on the ground.
"John?"
Sheppard could hear the worry in McKay's voice as it reverberated in Rodney's chest, the rush of air into his lungs as Rodney sucked in a breath. It had been months since John had heard that voice in person. Months and months and now it was already fading, slipping away into the oblivion that was racing in and pulling him under. The last thing Sheppard felt before losing all sense of clarity was the feel of the hangar floor coming up to slam into his knees and the cotton of Rodney's t-shirt soft against his cheek.
* * * * *
Transmission from the Daedalus to Sateda Base
Received July 2, 2010, 0246 hrs AST
Sateda Base, this is Daedalus reporting that the Eslateran threat has been neutralized. The city is no longer detectable by any sensor readings, nor are there any major life signs still present on the planet. Repeat, the Eslateran threat has been neutralized. All indications are that Operation Plowshare is a success.
July 3, 2010
Popping the tab open on the beer John offered, Rodney drank deeply then looked out across the Atlantean ocean and the setting sun with a contented sigh.
Sheppard took a gulp from his own can before demanding, "Now, hand over my cookies."
"They're not your cookies," Rodney protested, but opened the plastic container he'd carried back with him from Earth.
"According to the email Jeannie sent me, they are." The look of eager anticipation on John's face morphed quickly into disbelief. "It's half empty."
"Eighteen days is a long time on the Daedalus," McKay defended and pulled the box back. "And if that's how you're going to be about it, maybe you don't deserve homemade chocolate chip cookies."
John reached over and yanked the container away from Rodney. "Give me my goddamn cookies, you greedy bastard."
Rodney handed them over, then snatched one, licking it quickly when Sheppard started to protest. It was an old trick, one he'd employed with Jeannie when they were kids arguing over treats, but it still worked.
"That is disgusting," John grimaced and pulled the container possessively to his chest.
"Actually, it's delicious," Rodney told him as he chewed. And who knew beer and cookies could taste so good together? "You should try one."
Moving the box of remaining cookies to his opposite side for safekeeping, Sheppard glared at McKay before taking one of his own. The angry glower softened with the first bite, and John seemed to be taking his time savoring it. Rodney, however, had already finished his cookie and was trying to figure out how to get another one.
"The fudge was good," Sheppard admitted, "but these are better."
"We tried the cookies first," Rodney confessed, "but the heat fried the data chip. So we decided to go with fudge as a last resort. Less heat that way."
"It worked." John snorted in disbelief. "I honestly don't know how, but it all actually worked."
Now it was McKay's turn to scoff. "Yeah, it worked and we managed to destroy the only peace the Pegasus galaxy has seen in a million years. Go us."
It had been a weird six and a half months to say the least, and even back on Earth as he toiled to find a way to overthrow the Eslaterans, Rodney hadn't missed the irony of their mission.
Sheppard shrugged as he bit into his second cookie. "You can have peace, or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once."
Rodney's beer can stopped midway to his mouth and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Did you just quote Robert Heinlein?"
John's lips twitched at being caught reading the science fiction author Rodney had recommended. "You were right; Starship Troopers was a better book than it was a movie."
"Yes, but that quote isn't from Starship Troopers," Rodney clarified.
"Fine," Sheppard admitted with reluctance, "his other books are pretty good, too."
"I told you they were, but you never seem to trust me when?"
Sheppard cut him off before he could go on about how right he'd been. "The point is, we had a choice to make of either a forced peace that could have eventually led to the end of both humans and Wraith in this galaxy, or freedom to try to work through our differences in our own way. I think we made the right decision. I mean, in a weird way, the Eslaterans helped us put aside our differences with the Genii and the Wraith and the Coalition of Worlds and work together toward a common goal."
"And now that the common goal has been reached, how long do you thing this new found alliance will last? Woolsey is already having trouble convincing the Genii to pull out of the half dozen or so worlds of Eslateran human sympathizers that they're occupying 'for their own protection'." Rodney framed that last in air quotes. How much protection does an unarmed population need when one of the only armed populations are supposedly protecting them?
"Give them a few days," Sheppard suggested. "Once we bring back as many of the villages that had been phase shifted as we can, things should get back to normal."
"Yes, because normal was so much fun around here," McKay snorted.
"Better than the alternative."
Rodney bobbled his head as he took another sip of beer conceding John might be right. "At least returning the banished to Pegasus should go quicker now that we've adjusted the Asgard beam on the Daedalus and can use that instead of the handheld units."
"That reminds me," Sheppard said, already moving on to his third damn cookie. "How was Todd's culling beam able to cut through the phase shift like that?"
"Pretty cool, huh?" McKay forgot all about his jealousy over the snack and beamed in pride. "My first theory for how to block the Eslateran phase shift was to use the Wraith culling beams. So I modified one we'd taken from a downed Dart and sent back to the SGC for further study a few years ago. I brought it back with me and installed it on Todd's Dart while we traveled from Sateda to Eslatera in case we needed to insert a second team past the Eslaterans to finish deploying the blocking devices. Ends up it worked just as well, with some minor modifications, to extract certain lieutenant colonels with martyr complexes."
"Hmm." Sheppard considered this information as he pointedly did not look at Rodney, who was frowning at him. In fact, he suddenly seemed very interested in the waves, although his eyes slid to regard McKay as he offered Rodney the box of cookies. "It seemed to work pretty well."
Rodney took a cookie, then a second for good measure, before John moved the container once more out of reach. He'd earned it, damn it. After all, he'd saved Sheppard's life. But the delight over the cookies vanished as another thought hit him.
"Son of a bitch!"
"What?" John looked with worry into the box of cookies, as if McKay had found a dead bug or something equally disgusting in there.
Rodney shook his head at how careless he'd been. "Todd still has the modified culling beam."
"You let him keep it?" Sheppard asked in shock.
"No, I didn't let him keep it," Rodney countered. "I just forgot to take it back."
"You forgot?"
"Look, things were kind of hectic when he left, what with sealing the phase shift and beaming up Radek and the other humans still on the planet. Not to mention you were still unconscious. Todd took off to deal with the Hive that had been attacking us, and when he did, I was a little preoccupied."
John held up a hand to stop his excuses. "Is it really a big deal? I mean, the Eslaterans are gone. What can he do with it?"
"He's Todd!" Rodney exclaimed, arms flailing. "If anyone can figure out how to use it to his advantage, it will be him."
"Great," Sheppard grumped. "So now we have Todd with a souped up culling beam and the Genii expanding their military empire. Where does that leave us?"
McKay held up each of his two cookies. "Rock, hard place."
"And we're in the middle," John sighed, taking another drink of his beer.
"No, we're the cookie I already ate," Rodney corrected and proceeded to chow down on the hard place gloomily. "But, hey, at least we're free to continue fucking up our lives any time we want."
"Amen to that." John tipped his beer can toward Rodney, who picked up his own and thudded it against Sheppard's.
After a long drink, McKay asked, "So did you get Carson to rally the troops with a stirring William Wallace speech about how they could take our lives but not our freedom?"
"I tried, but he claimed the blue face paint made him break out in a rash."
Rodney grinned even as he tsked. "And he calls himself a Scotsman. Where's his national pride?"
"Speaking of that, I realized this morning that we should have put off the attack for a few days so that it fell on the fourth of July."
McKay feigned a confused expression. "What's so important about July fourth?"
John raised his eyebrows. "You suck at lying Rodney; don't forget I know that about you. I also know that you know about Independence Day."
"Ohhh, you mean like in the movie where they thwarted the alien invasion of Earth. Right." Rodney nodded studiously as he drained his beer can. "That date has some significance in the United States, too, doesn't it?"
"A little bit, yeah." Sheppard rolled his eyes and pulled another beer free of the plastic rings.
McKay happily took the offered can. "I thought so, but wasn't exactly sure." He waved a hand to encompass himself. "You know, being Canadian and all."
"I can see how that could be a bit confusing for you," John responded dryly. "Let's see if I can refresh your memory. It's the big annual cookout we have that you make fireworks for every year."
Rodney leaned his head back in mock understanding. "Ahhhhh, that's what that's for. Thanks for clearing that up for me."
"Any time."
Sheppard cracked open a second beer of his own as he shared a grin with McKay, then leaned back to prop himself on his elbows against the dock. They sat there like that for a good minute, John with his face lifted skyward soaking in the last warmth from the sun, and Rodney sitting with legs dangling over the edge of the pier staring out across the waves. He'd missed the ocean, missed Atlantis, but more than anything, he'd missed this? just hanging out sharing a six pack with Sheppard.
When Rodney sighed, John cracked an eye to look at him with a questioning expression.
"So, I guess tomorrow everything goes back to the way it was before. I'm back in the lab, pre-mission briefs, nose to the grindstone."
"Same ole' same ole'," Sheppard agreed.
"Another day, another dollar."
"Same shit, different day."
Rodney smiled at the thought. "Pretty great, huh?"
"It's about damn time," John concurred wholeheartedly.
"There you two are," Teyla said behind them in exasperation.
They turned to see her and Ronon walking out onto the pier. Teyla was carrying a large bowl in her arms, and Rodney perked up at the sight of it.
"Hey, is that popcorn?"
"Yeah," Ronon told him. "The movies were supposed to start ten minutes ago."
"It's really that late?" John checked his watch and saw that it was. "Sorry, guys, the time just sort of got away from me."
"To hell with what time it is." McKay beckoned eagerly for Teyla to bring the bowl closer. "Let me have some. How pathetic is it that I have to come to an entirely different galaxy to get decent popcorn?"
She squatted beside him with a grin that just grew as Rodney crammed a handful in his mouth. "It is the last of what you sent us."
"The last?" Rodney lamented. "I've been suffering through butter-free popcorn on Earth, and I finally come home and find out you guys have eaten all the good stuff?"
"It's the good stuff," Ronon repeated, as if Rodney hadn't comprehended what he himself had just said. "That's why we've been eating it."
"This is so unfair," McKay whined, scooting over a bit to make room for Teyla to sit beside him with the bowl.
Teyla took the hint and sat gracefully, letting her own legs hang over the edge of the pier. Rodney grabbed another handful of popcorn. John held up the plastic six-pack rings and the two remaining beer that dangled from the yokes, giving the cans an inviting waggle.
"Absolutely," Ronon replied to the silent offer, sitting on Rodney's opposite side then reaching across McKay and Teyla to take the beer from Sheppard.
"Why not?" Teyla took the final beer and opened it, sucking off the foam that gushed out and onto her hand.
"Are those Jeannie's cookies?" Ronon leaned curiously forward to look around his teammates and get a better view of the box beside Sheppard.
John offered up the container. "Oh, yeah. Here, help yourselves."
Rodney frowned at how Sheppard's attitude had changed and he was now willing to share the damn cookies with the rest of his team, but honestly, Rodney was more than happy to sit and eat the popcorn. He was more than happy just to sit here with his teammates and stare at the ocean.
Besides, he couldn't hold it against John; things just seemed to change all the time in Pegasus? strangers became friends, friends became family, alien cities became home, and your place of birth felt like punishment when you had to go back there and leave your real home and family behind. In the past six months they'd seen enemies become allies, weapons beaten into tools, and tools disguise weapons when peace had turned to oppression.
The Pegasus galaxy was a place of constant flux it seemed, and yet Atlantis and the people he'd met here had become the stable core of his entire existence. Even the one who had was a cookie-hoarding bastard.
Hell, who was he kidding? Especially that one.
Sheppard's importance in his life didn't stop Rodney from taking one more chocolate chip cookie from the box as Ronon passed it back down. If anything, it just made the act all the more enticing. Besides, if the roles had been reversed, as they often had, Rodney knew John would have done the exact same thing. McKay wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way.
Somethings in Pegasus changed. Others stayed completely and comfortingly the same.
* * * * *
From: John.Sheppard@atl.af.mil
Sent: July 5, 2012
To: KandJMiller@shaw.ca
Subject: Cookies and Other Stuff
Jeannie,
Thanks again for the cookies. As always, they are greatly appreciated. I hate to be a pain, but we received word the Apollo will be heading back here in about a week to demobilize some equipment. Any chance I could get some more? Just so you know, I'm not being a total pig, but Rodney ate at least half of them on his trip back and then I shared what was left with a few others (including your thieving brother), so I kind of got shortchanged. As a matter of fact, if you have time, why don't you send a double batch? That way I'll be less likely to bug you anytime soon. Oh, and a couple of cases of extra butter popcorn would be great. You could pick them up on the way to the post office so Kaleb doesn't have to go anywhere near them.
If Rodney hasn't told you so (which knowing him, I'm sure he hasn't) you're the best sister a guy's best friend could have.
Thanks in advance,
John
p.s. Maybe a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip, too, if you have the time?
The End