Fic: Hidden Agendas (Gen, PG)

Dec 20, 2010 23:56

Title: Hidden Agendas
Author: aqualegia
Recipient: roaringmice
Pairing: John/Rodney friendship
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5912
Episode Tag: Critical Mass
Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary:Living in the Pegasus Galaxy sometimes means bending the rules a little.

Hidden Agendas

Captain Yvonne Morgan almost winced as she passed the annotated first section of her copy of the Daedalus' manifest to her commander who, up until a few moments ago, had been helping her crew to systematically open and then count the contents of the crates which had been beamed in to the warehouse on the South Pier nearly a month before.

John Sheppard looked at the manifest in his hands then looked up at the worried expression on Morgan's face. "Thank you for checking over this part of the delivery, Captain. I'm going to talk to Doctor Weir and no doubt she will be making an announcement soon, so please keep these results to yourselves until then. Please let me know the results of the other counts as each one is completed."

"Yes, Sir," Morgan saluted and, once the Colonel had acknowledged it, she turned towards her helpers and passed on his orders.

As John walked away towards the transporter, he activated his radio on the command channel. "Doctor Weir, I need to meet with you and Doctor McKay immediately."

"Can it wait a while John?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, I'm afraid it can't. We have a situation which needs to be discussed before we send our next set of reports back to Earth-"

"But that's due to go out later today," Rodney interrupted.

"Exactly!"

"In that case I suggest you both come to my office now; I'll tell Chuck to rearrange my schedule." Elizabeth's tone had gone from impatient to intrigued.

John stepped out of the transporter moments before Rodney entered the Gate Room; they crossed the bridge to Elizabeth's office and entered the room side by side.

Thinking the door closed, John flopped in to his normal seat and waited for Rodney to make himself comfortable before starting to speak.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I was contacted by Corporal Alleyn very early this morning. He's in charge of the mess hall's supplies. He opened one of the crates of new supplies, and found that the contents did not match the label stuck on the outside." When Elizabeth drew a deep breath preparing to speak, he held up his hand and went on, "Please wait a moment before offering any solutions, because that's not all.

"Immediately after Alleyn's call I contacted the Quartermaster, Captain Morgan, and we both went to the storeroom where we found Alleyn waiting outside for us. He unlocked the door, ushered us inside, and then re-locked the door before beckoning us to follow him to where two open crates stood next to a kitchen trolley on which he'd stacked a small number of cans. Without saying a word he lifted out a couple of the top layer of cans from the crate nearest us, and instead of seeing the top of another couple of cans there was a wooden barrier. When we lifted this out, it proved to be a box the size of the rest of the crate holding a block of metal the weight of the missing goods. The other crate held the same type of box under the top layer which Alleyn had already removed."

John took a deep breath and let it out slowly, a sign of how disturbed he was by his discoveries. "I realized at that point that we would have to search every crate that had been beamed down from the Daedalus. With that in mind, I first contacted Teyla and Ronon, then spoke to Major Lorne and asked him to get the officer corps and the NCOs we knew we could trust to join us, as I didn't want to spread any rumours around if I could help it.

"By the time they had all assembled, we had opened three more crates with the same results. After warning everyone not to talk about what they had seen, I sent Major Lorne, Ronon and three helpers to the look at the weapons store; Major Bryce and Teyla, I sent to Medical telling them to contact Doctor Biro for reliable extra hands to search their new supplies. Captain Barker and Sergeant Stackhouse are checking the miscellaneous stores; and finally, I sent Captain Ferguson to see Doctor Zelenka with one of the metal blocks for analysis."

Rodney frowned. "Analysis?"

"Yeah. I originally suspected lead; but lead, for all its weight is a soft metal, this metal is hard and, I believe, heavier."

Rodney's frown deepened. "Heavier... so-"

"I think it might be Naquadah. When you were telling me about the Stargate I asked what Naquadah was and you said that it was the only material capable of handling the massive amounts of energy required to create a stable wormhole. Also, that it was a mineral that had highly explosive properties, which made it useful for enhancing the yield of bombs, missiles, et cetera."

"Yeah, I remember, 'Stargate Travel 101'; but why would they use it? It's far more valuable than food."

"Well, if it is Naquadah, I'm guessing that its presence had a two-fold purpose. The first, and most important reason, would be to enhance the explosion the Goa'uld in Caldwell had set up, and make sure that the city was completely destroyed - there are warehouses on each of the six piers. Its secondary purpose, should the Z.P.M. not explode as planned, was to starve us of much needed supplies - or maybe there's a manual trigger in one of the cases.... I've I warned my people to be extra careful when examining the crates, just in case. I also have Lieutenant Cadman standing by to deal with any explosive devices."

"Do we need to evacuate our people?" Elizabeth asked.

John looked at Rodney and raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Rodney... do we?"

Rodney's expression turned sour. "If it is Naquadah, then I would say 'yes', if it's an inert metal, then no. So while we're waiting for Radek to let us know what it is, shall we talk about which planet we want to evacuate to. Hmmm?"

"I know one place we're not going and that's Manaria," John muttered.

"Agreed!" Elizabeth seconded.

Rodney looked up from where he was paging through his laptop. "If we do have to go, then I suggest M4R-196: I know that the Colonel and his people have been working on making this an Alpha Site for some time. There are large caves which are suitable for habitation, and fresh water is available in the lower levels. There are also some fields in which the botanists have successfully grown some crops."

"Is it ready for habitation, John?" Elizabeth asked, turning her eyes towards the inactive Stargate and wondering how big a bang it would make should it explode.

"Yes, I was going to suggest it, too: It will make a good refuge for us. We've already stored some supplies and MREs there, and the entrances to the caves have been fortified and well camouflaged. In addition, we managed to persuade the botanists that growing things in long, straight lines in large fields was a bad idea, so the area doesn't look inhabited. We'll have to work at keeping it that way." John looked across at his team-mate. "Am I right in assuming that we will be taking the Z.P.M. with us?"

"Yes, if we do have to go, Zelenka and I will make switching over the power to the gate from the Z.P.M. to a Naquadah generator our first job, and then send it through to the Alpha Site with the vanguard," Rodney replied, still looking annoyed. "Realistically though, there's nothing we can do about anything until we hear from Radek."

"Here comes Radek, now," Elizabeth murmured, bringing her attention back to the subject on hand...

John turned in his seat and thought the door open for their colleague to hurry through, then closed and locked it again as Radek took a seat at Elizabeth's suggestion.

"Is no doubt that metal is highly refined Naquadah," Zelenka said without waiting for anyone to ask for the results. "This would make hole many metres wide should it explode." He placed the block of metal he'd been carrying on the corner of Elizabeth's desk.

Elizabeth eyed the Naquadah sample. "Just that small block?"

"Yes!" Rodney and Radek said together.

"A tiny bit of C4 and a detonator, and this office would be history," Rodney went on to explain.

Elizabeth turned white as John asked, "What are the odds that some of these blocks might have some sort of detonator on them... or in them?"

Radek polished his glasses and Rodney pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's definitely possible," Rodney finally replied. "What have you been doing with the blocks?"

"Apart from this one which I removed to send to Radek, I told my people to only remove the block carriers from the crates they needed for re-packing the supplies not immediately wanted in the kitchen. I instructed them to put the whole insert to one side until we had identified the metal and decided how to deal with them.... And now that we have identified it as Naquadah, Rodney, I remember you saying that your next job would be to switch the gate's power supply to a generator so that we can move the Z.P.M. from Atlantis to the Alpha Site."

"Yes, Radek and I will make that a priority, while you and Elizabeth start the task of evacuating the mainland and the city."

"Can we send the weekly status report through before you disable the gate?" Elizabeth asked.

Rodney shrugged. "Yes, I don't see why not-"

"No!" John interrupted.

Elizabeth turned to glare at him. "Why not?"

"What if there are bombs in our supplies.... We've already sent two sets of reports to the S.G.C. detailing what happened with Caldwell. That information is probably common knowledge by now. What if someone were to take advantage of the time we have the wormhole open sending out this week's reports to transmit a signal through to detonate the bomb or bombs. We can't risk it until we know for certain that we don't have any explosive devices in the city."

Elizabeth nodded, then said, "I take your point, John, we'll hold off for now. How soon can you switch the power over Rodney?"

"I'll do it now while you start organizing the evacuation." Rodney replied as he started to stand.

John put out a hand to keep Rodney in his seat as he said, "Okay, before you get started, I have a question. If we take the Z.P.M. to the Alpha Site, could we also take the master control crystal and dial Earth from there to send the data burst?"

"Yes, we could do that."

"And set up a monitoring system to see if we do get any extraneous signals?"

"Yes, we can do that too." Rodney replied grimly. "That way at least we'd know if we do or don't have to worry about remotely detonated bombs."

"Actually, lack of a signal wouldn't disprove their existence, only that no one sent a signal this time around. Whatever happens, my people will take extra care until the search is completed." John turned to look directly at Elizabeth again. "I'm going to put Major Armitage in charge at the Alpha Site and have Captain O'Brien and Sergeant Campbell go with him. When Rodney is ready to send the data burst, I think both you and I should to be there for that. I'll leave it up to you whether you come back here afterwards or if you want to stay and sort out any problems that might arise."

"How long do you think we will be away from the city?"

"I really wish I knew the answer to that question; but until we've opened and checked every crate in our warehouses we have no idea of the scale of the problem we face. Oh, and Elizabeth, please don't mention the missing supplies in any of the reports; I'd like to hold back that information until we have the full details.

"Understood. I'll need to talk to Teyla before I make any announcements about moving everyone to the Alpha Site. I think she ought to talk to her people on the mainland about packing up essentials and getting them moved from the village... unless, of course, they wish to take the risk of remaining there."

"Yes, you're right about Teyla needing to talk to the Athosians. They've probably got enough experienced hands in the Medical stores to be able to send her back straight away." John raised a hand to his radio. "Teyla, come in." As soon as she answered he went on, "Could you come to Elizabeth's office, please; and do you need me to send a replacement to Medical?"

"I will come straight away. We have more than enough people helping here, John, so the search will be completed soon."

"Thanks. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Teyla says the search in Medical will soon be complete."

"Are we done here?" Rodney asked impatiently.

"Yes we are: I think the time for sitting around talking is over...." John replied with the ghost of a grin as stood and turned to look out in to the Gate Room. "Teyla's arrived, so I'll talk to you later, Elizabeth, and in the meantime I'll send Major Wainwright to work with you to oversee the Gate Room and the evacuation."

Elizabeth acknowledged John's message and waved to Teyla to come in to the office. John followed Rodney and Radek out of the office and down the stairs to the gate, listening to them discuss in which order they should tackle the power changeover. Just before the two men parted company, John said, "Rodney, I just want to check something. You were talking about monitoring the wormhole for incoming signals when we dial the S.G.C."

"Yes, and..."

"I was wondering if it would be better to use a completely uninhabited planet so there wouldn't be any chance of interference as there could be at the Alpha Site."

Rodney and Radek looked at John for a moment, then looked at one another before looking back at John again."

"That's... not a bad idea," Rodney stated. "Did you have a particular planet in mind?"

"Yes, M85-393. It's the one that was very hot during the day; but the nights are okay. You mentioned the lack of any 'background noise' while we were there."

"Okay, yes, I remember that place. I'll contact you as soon as we are ready to send the data burst." Rodney made shooing motions with his hands.

John grinned and wished them 'good luck' before going back to his office, calling for the remainder of his officer corps to met him there. While he was waiting for them to arrive he wrote the names and locations of the officers and men who were engaged in the supply inventory. When they were all assembled he quickly explained what was going on. "This is not a training exercise; until we can conclusively prove there are no explosive devices amongst the supplies we are treating this as a life threatening situation. We are implementing evacuation plan "Orange" for, as you can see..." John waved his hand towards the names written on the board, "...a number of officers and men are already occupied in the search. Therefore, Major Wainwright, you will be the chief evacuation officer working alongside Doctor Weir and Teyla. Major Armitage, I am putting you in charge of the Alpha Site. You will be going through the gate as soon as the power supply has been switched over. Don't let anyone dally, ladies and gentlemen. Dismissed." He followed the last person out, locking the door behind him, and then hurried to the food storage warehouse to see how they were getting on. He had almost reached his destination when Captain Morgan paged him.

"I'm on my way, Captain," he assured her as he walked the last few yards and in through the door, closing it carefully behind him. Noticing that Morgan and her helpers were all staring at one of the inserts, he asked, "What have you found?"

"We were just clearing two of the flour crates for extra storage, and noticed that the insert for this crate is completely different from any of the others we have removed, Sir.

John crouched down and studied the two crate inserts. This new type of block was almost twice the size of the others. Standing up again, he asked, "Is there any difference in the weight?"

"Not appreciably, Sir, we've been checking the weight of each crate as we go along and marking it on the side," Morgan replied. This one is about two ounces heavier than the normal one here."

"Put this insert on its own over by the door. I'll have someone come to collect it so we can find out what the difference is. Carry on."

"Yes, sir."

John acknowledged the salute, and made his way back to the Gate Room, where Rodney and Radek were crouched near a wall panel checking the connections for the power switch, with Elizabeth hovering nearby.

Rodney consulted his tablet, made some changes, then looked up. "The connections are ready."

Elizabeth looked up to the control room. "Put me on city-wide."

Chuck pressed some buttons and nodded. "You're on."

Attention, this is Weir. We are about to switch the power from the Z.P.M. to the standby generators. From this moment, do not use transporters or any of the proscribed machinery until I make an announcement that the procedure is complete. Weir out." She took a deep breath then turned back to the two scientists. "You have a go, gentlemen."

Rodney radioed to Simpson, "The switch over will take place in two minutes on my mark." He brought up a finger to hover over his tablet, then said "Mark!" He stabbed down as he said the word, and so did Radek on his tablet. The lights flickered and faded to almost nothing, then came back to full strength.

Radek opened a channel, and said, "Starting with group one, all groups report their status please." He listened intently for a few minutes, and then announced, "All generators are working at optimum levels."

Rodney grinned and turned to Elizabeth. "If you could make the announcement, everyone can get moving again."

She grinned back at him, and then used the city-wide channel to announce that the power restrictions had been lifted.

John then gathered the four of them closer together, and spoke very quietly. "We've found a metal block which is about twice the size of the one I showed you, but it only weighs about two ounces more - a trifling amount when weighing a full crate."

"You think it's a bomb?"

"I can't think of any other reason for it to be there. Can you?"

"Not really, no."

"Did you tell Elizabeth about going to M85-393 to phone home?"

"Yes, he did," Elizabeth chimed in.

"Good. I suggest we take a jumper to take the four of us, Chuck, and that crate insert to the planet. While you're fixing the gate to dial Earth, I'll take the intact insert and plant it a long, way from the gate, then take the jumper into orbit. If it doesn't explode after the gate has opened and closed, I'll destroy it with a drone." He turned slightly to directly face Radek and Rodney. "How long do you think I ought to wait after the gate has closed before I fire? What's the longest time we've had the gate open for a data-burst?"

"I think twenty minutes should be ample time to wait; and perhaps you could take a video of the explosion," Radek suggested.

"Right, I'll do that. Next question, can you give me some idea how long the whole thing will take. Setting up the Stargate... talking to the S.G.C., and removing your modifications. I need to give Major Wainwright some idea of when to leave the gate free for us to dial in."

"Set the first check in for an hour, we can always amend the times once we've opened the D.H.D. and had a look inside." Rodney said. "Just be careful with that crate thing."

"I will," John spoke over his shoulder as he walked towards where Wainwright was directing traffic. A few minutes later he rejoined the group. "We have go in twenty minutes. Is that enough time?"

"Yes," Rodney replied testily. "I removed the master control crystal while I was waiting for my people to get organized for the power changeover."

"In that case, I'd better get the jumper prepped and load up that pesky crate. I'll meet you in the jumper in fifteen."

§ § §

Fifteen minutes later, the five people who were going to M85-393 were putting the last of their tools and supplies in the jumper's lockers. Once everyone was seated, John spoke to Wainwright, notifying him that they were ready. A couple more minutes passed, then the jumper was sinking into the Gate Room and gliding through the gate, to set down near the planet's D.H.D. within moments.

John kept the jumper there for a while providing some much needed shade, until Rodney prompted him to take the crate away and dispose of it.

With a grin and a wave, John took off in a straight line from the gate, and set down again after travelling about four miles. He unstrapped the crate from where he had secured it and carried it well away from the jumper. Going back to the pilot's seat, he manoeuvred the craft gently upwards until he gauged he was far enough away to increase speed without causing any turbulence. Once he had parked in geosynchronous orbit, and focussed the video camera on the crate, he contacted the others on the command channel and notified them that he was in orbit with the camera running.

Rodney acknowledged his transmission with the words, "Okay. Dialling now."

John listened intently as the wormhole opened and Chuck spoke to Walter in the Control Room. Elizabeth explained about a power problem delaying their transmission. The data burst was sent without further comment, and the wormhole closed.

"I was expecting them to ask why we were dialling from a different gate," John commented.

"Ah, well, I masked our gate address by making their dialling computer respond to the master control crystal rather than where we were dialling from."

"Neat. Did we receive a signal?"

"Yes, we did," Radek answered. "Almost as soon as the S.G.C's computers recognized us as Atlantis."

"So now we wait," Elizabeth cut in. "It's a good thing I borrowed some large umbrellas."

"I brought a tub of my sunscreen with me. It's SPF 100 and you're welcome to have some," Rodney offered.

"Thank you, Rodney. If we're here for much longer I will take you up on that."

They lapsed into silence, waiting....

John, looking at the crate on the video screen saw the first sign of an explosion, and warned the others. Although, obviously he couldn't hear the bang, his view of the ground was quickly obscured by the growing cloud of debris being shot into the atmosphere. "Jesus Christ! The explosion is huge!" he exclaimed, shocked by the explosive force such a small piece of metal could produce.

"It's a good thing you managed to warn us," Rodney said, "Otherwise I think we would all be totally deaf. Four miles really wasn't far enough away from us!"

"Sorry about that," John replied. "I think the cloud is starting to collapse a little."

"Come back and pick us up so we can get out of this heat!"

"Your wish is my command." John shut off the video and returned to his parking place beside the D.H.D., and let the hatch down so the others could get inside. "We're just coming up to the first check in, do you want to stay here and watch the cloud or return to Atlantis?"

"I don't think there's any point in looking at the crater for at least a couple of days. The debris cloud will just be in the way." Radek stated calmly.

"I agree," Rodney said, shutting his laptop. "Take us back, John, so we can pack to go on our travels again."

John smirked at the man sitting beside him, then punched in the address. When the wormhole stabilized he sent through his IDC and Major Wainwright told him to come home. He pushed forward on the controls and relinquished them almost immediately as the city took over the docking manoeuvres and guided the craft in to place in the Jumper Bay.

After exiting the jumper, they are advised by Wainwright to go to their quarters and pack a duffle to go through to the Alpha Site, leaving them to take a backpack on their journeys back and forth.

John made going to talk to Lorne his first priority. He explained to him the significance of the double sized Naquadah blocks and they decided to create shifts for people sifting through the supplies and for getting the explosive devices stored somewhere they would be out of reach of any unauthorised person.

On his way back through the city he stopped in his quarters long enough to pack his possessions into a backpack and a duffle bag. He then went to Rodney's lab via the Gate Room and left his duffle at Major Wainwright's feet.

Rodney, Radek, and Elizabeth were already in the lab by the time John got there. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I went to have a few words with Major Lorne about putting the Naquadah bombs under guard, in a secure location... otherwise known as a wraith cell. With the force field up, and using an updated code that only a few of us know, we can keep accidents from happening.

"He's also going to get an extra two shifts of people made up to take over the inventory because the current searchers are getting very tired, and there's still a long way to go." He rubbed his fingers over his eyes.

"You look tired, John," Elizabeth said in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, well, Corporal Alleyn gets up at ungodly hour to start getting ready for breakfast; so not much sleep.... Talking about breakfast, I didn't actually get to eat any, so after we finish here I'd like to get something to eat before I do anything else."

"As soon as we've watched the movie you made, I'll drag you to the mess myself," Rodney promised. He started up the connection between the video recorder and the giant ancient screen in his lab. Almost as soon as the video started playing Rodney laughed. "Only you would stand a jumper on its nose in space."

John grinned back at his laughing friend. "Well doing it that way meant I didn't have to hold it, and could keep watch without worrying weather I was moving the camera."

They heard the moment John noticed the bomb exploding, then again when he was shocked at the size of the debris cloud.

Rodney was looking very grim as he turned off the camera and screen. "I knew that Naquadah enhanced the power of conventional explosive, but that's the first time I've actually seen the cause and effect." He sighed.

John grabbed his arm and pushed him towards the door. "Come on, you promised me food."

"So I did." Rodney grabbed John's hand and pulled him at a rapid pace towards the transporter. "Let's go get it!"

§ § §

At a meeting, early in the morning four days later, John announced that they had twenty-nine Naquadah bombs sitting in a Wraith cell and, literally, tons of weapons grade Naquadah.

"What are we going to do with it all?" Elizabeth asked plaintively as she looked at the four men sitting round the camp table that was serving as her desk at the Alpha site. John, Rodney, Radek and Lorne made rather goofy "I don't know faces" back at her.

After a long silence, John asked, "Radek, how far away would a Naquadah bomb have to be before the signal couldn't reach it?"

"It wouldn't be safe to keep any of them anywhere on Lantea," Radek replied gloomily.

"What about on one of the moons of the next planet away from the sun in that system?"

"Might be safe, might not be safe."

"So, further away..."

"Another solar system would be better, I think."

"What about the planet where we found Ronon. If we use a Naquadah generator to shield that very deep cave, no one could find it, even if they knew which planet we had put it on. The plant life retains enough radiation to screw up any sensors, including ours."

Rodney sat forward with an interested look on his face. "What are you thinking, John?"

"That they are very small, and they make a really big bang, so maybe we could try using one to take out a hive ship."

They shared a beatific smile.

"But they'll want us to return the Naquadah to Earth, John," Elizabeth pointed out.

"We point out to them that we couldn't keep the bombs on Lantea because we couldn't risk someone sending another signal. We swap the bombs for a painted piece of polystyrene take them on a jumper through the space gate over that gas giant we found, and make a show of pushing the crates out. A little bit of C4 will make a nice show. As for the other Naquadah, we can also point out that we are a lot short on food, ordnance and clothing. We could make some very small, practically everlasting torches for us to use, and small lamps to trade... which could lead to finding deposits of Naquadah in this galaxy: Because when they see what we can make with it, people will look for the raw material in exchange for the finished products."

"You have some very good points there. Next question, how do we get the bombs from Lantea to Ronon's planet... we'll have to look up the designation in our AAR."

We have two more days after today before we are due to send another weekly report... so this is what we are going to do....

§ § §

By the next morning everyone had agreed that they couldn't return to the city before the bombs had been destroyed. So John, Rodney, Radek, Ronon, Lorne, Parrish and Stackhouse took two jumpers back to Atlantis to rid the city of the hazard to its continued existence.

Parrish filmed them moving the heavy crates from the Wraith holding cell up to the Jumper Bay. Once inside the bay, they stripped the bombs out of their crate inserts, and put them into the padded metal boxes they had prepared the night before.

The camera was then turned off momentarily whilst they swapped the bomb laden boxes with boxes filled with polystyrene and a brick of C4. It was the work of moments, especially with so many people used to handling explosives working together. They put the bombs and a generator in the lockers of Jumper One ready for phase two.

Rodney then filmed them moving the 'heavy' boxes on to Jumper Two, and making sure that the bulkhead was shut before Radek dialled the space gate. Jumper One followed them through to continue to film the bomb disposal.

Once Jumper Two had sunk almost into the atmosphere, John opened the rear hatch and turned off the inertial dampeners in the rear compartment then stood the jumper on end to let the planet's gravity take care of their problem.

The small boxes made a pretty sight falling into the red-brown atmosphere occasionally lighting up a patch of dust as one of the 'bombs' exploded

As soon as they landed back in Atlantis they dialled the Alpha Site and told everyone to come home.

The next day, Radek publicly lobbied Elizabeth for a chance to study the ongoing effects of the bomb they had detonated, Parrish added in his plea to have a look at the site, too.

Rodney wandered in to the conversation and said it might be an idea to take more video from where John had filmed the explosion, so that they could compare the size of the dust cloud to the size of the crater.

In the face of such concerted interest, Elizabeth put the trip on the mission schedule for later that day. So, just after lunch, Jumper One with John, Rodney, Radek, Lorne and Parrish aboard, went through the gate to M85-393.

At Radek's direction, John set the Jumper down near the edge of the crater, and they all helped with unloading the gear that Radek and Parrish had insisted they required. Once that was done, John and Rodney got back on the Jumper and dialled P34-736 - aka Ronon's Planet.

With some fancy flying, John managed to set the Jumper down near the entrance to the cave they wanted to use. It took them quite a while to move the twenty-nine very heavy boxes into the back of the cave. Between them they got through quite a few bottles of water and a lot of power bars. Eventually, everything was stowed and hidden to their satisfaction, and they returned to M85-393 to rejoin the rest of their party.

John and Rodney handed the Jumper over to Lorne to fly the filming of video part of the mission while they got some much needed rest.

When they got back to Atlantis, Rodney worked on the weekly report compressing everything as much as he could - the problems mainly being caused by the videos they were including.

As transmission time approached, Radek wandered in to the Gate Room and set up his monitoring program. The dial in to the S.G.C. went smoothly, and once the wormhole was closed again, Rodney quirked an eyebrow at Radek who nodded slightly as he ran some diagnostics, before leaving the Control Room.

After dinner that night, the conspirators met in Elizabeth's quarters and had an update from Radek about a slightly stronger signal having again been transmitted through the wormhole this time; otherwise there was nothing to report, though there was some speculation about the contents of the S.G.C's packet during the next data exchange.

As they walked towards their quarters, John said, "Wanna come for a beer on the pier. At least some arrived on this supply run."

"Sure, I'll go fetch my jacket."

"And I'll get the six-pack."

Less than five minutes later they were walking shoulder to shoulder along to the end of the pier; where they sat down dangling their legs over the calm sea.

John opened two cans, passed one to Rodney and took a swallow of his own. He took a deep breath and looked up at the stars...

Some time later, while they were each on their third beer, Rodney quietly asked, "Do you regret anything you did last week?"

John smiled and shook his head. "No. I did what was necessary for the survival of the expedition in Pegasus." He was silent for a while, and then just as quietly as his friend had done, he asked the same question.

Rodney bumped his shoulder against John's. "No. Like you, I will never regret it."

John bumped shoulders back, and whispered "Good, we make a great team."

The End.

genre: general

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