The Moment Frozen (part 1/2)
Title: The Moment Frozen
Rated: PG-13
Genres: AU, Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama,, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Warnings: None
Challenges: Written for Secret Santa 2009
Prompt: Surprise me, I like adventure - I really think Elizabeth should have been in more difficult situations in the show instead of just a secretary! Also, if you could avoid the damsel in distress bit, that would be great too :D
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 12994
Betas: anuna_81 & drewandian
Note: Re-posting this fic on my own journal to provide some sparky love in winter :)
Story notes: This story is slightly AU. Set one week after Submersion & Sunday, Carson survived the explosion, or it never happened.
“Keep running” John shouted and looked back to the tree line. The pygmy tribe was not far behind them. How one wrong word could have huge consequences and that from just tiny people. Too bad their spears were not that small and feeling one of them rip through his shoulder was more than enough. In front of him Elizabeth and Carson were running as fast as they could towards the DHD. For a split second they checked his status, seemingly expecting an order from him.
“Dial the Gate, I’ll entertain the midgets with some bullet dancing,” shouted John. Where were Teyla and Ronon if you needed them? He almost cursed himself for believing Elizabeth that it was safe to go without his team. And that just because they hadn’t returned from their trading mission yet. It was simply stupid, but there was no time for lingering in the past. He would make sure Carson and Elizabeth would stay safe.
“Aye,” Carson confirmed and ran as fast as he could to the console. He had been on many off world missions by now and had been through the drill. More common were escapes from the Wraith or the Genii, but today a rivalling pygmy tribe had chosen the wrong moment to visit their neighbours. Carson shook his head. It looked like their visit could cause a tribe war on this planet and all they wanted to do was offer medical supplies and care in exchange for other medicines. The deal sounded simple enough and even Elizabeth believed nothing could go wrong.
Elizabeth watched Carson press the address while her heart was still racing in her chest. For her away missions weren’t that common and she certainly hadn’t been on that many close escapes. For all that mattered, she was excluded from the action at any time it could have been avoided.
She didn't mind being kept safe, but at the same time she felt responsible and worried about the teams . However she wasn't completely unprepared for action. Elizabeth took a deep breath. A part of her wasn't absolutely certain what went wrong.
They had visited both tribes and there had been no sign of mutual hostility. Both tribes agreed to trade, so it wasn't easy to explain where the sudden anger came from. She had laughed at John’s joke about short fuse just a few minutes before the rivaling tribe leader wounded him with a spear, which had been their queue to leave. There were expelled from the settlement and doomed for all eternity in their native tongue. Elizabeth was too busy running to share the bit with everyone else.
Carson hit the dialing button and the Gate activated. “Atlantis, this is doctor Weir, we’re coming in hot.” Anxious, the three of them waited for a response, but everything stayed quiet.
John looked over his shoulder and saw Carson staring at the DHD. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Atlantis, this is Sheppard, we need clearance now!” The silence that followed made his stomach twitch. It wasn’t the right time for anything to go wrong here. “Atlantis, come in?” John saw a movement in the bushes and knew it wouldn’t be long before their position would be compromised. Shutting off the gate and dialing the beta site would have been an option if it hadn’t been for a Wraith hive that claimed the planet three weeks ago. “Carson, you have your memo recorder at hand?”
“Sure,” Carson hurriedly searched the pockets of his jacket until he found the recorder.
“What’s your plan John?” Elizabeth cut in, wanting to know what was going through his mind
John sighed and looked at Elizabeth, searching through his own pockets. “Let's just say we need a MALP on a stick,” he grinned ruefully. John turned his attention back to the bushes, working out the best defensive strategy. He really didn’t want to shoot at the little guys, but he wasn't given much choice. Surrendering was not the option he had in mind. After the sudden attack he didn’t want to find out what else they might do to them.
“What should I do with the recorder?” Carson asked, his eyes changing from Sheppard to Doctor Weir. He wasn't particularly useful during a fight, but the spear wound John sustained needed urgent medical attention.
“Strap the recorder to your radio, turn it on and throw it through the gate!”
Elizabeth watched Carson search his pockets for a roll of tape. She felt a little useless, but without even realizing it, her hands dug in her pockets too. Her fingers latched on a pre-packed bandage, the one she wanted to offer John for his injury. Quickly she peeled the sealing open and tore the tape lose from the cloth. Together with Carson she taped the radio to the recorder.
“Okay, got it.” Carson exclaimed while running to the Gate and throwing his package through. “It’s through.”
John listened tensely and heard Becket’s voice over the radio. That was a relief, the force field wasn’t up. Yet he was still clueless why there was no response. “You did dial the right address right?” he asked and knew it was a pointless question.
“We dialed Atlantis.” Elizabeth answered. She was just as unsure as the others were. How could it be that they did not respond? Power failure would be an option, but then someone would have picked up the radio they threw through the Gate. ‘Alternate time line or dimension’? She didn’t want to consider those options. She had read SG reports and frankly wished she had taken Rodney along on this trip. He would be able to figure things out.
Over a dozen Pygmy came from the woods. “Okay, our time is up,” John shouted while walking backwards towards the Stargate. His gun was aimed at the tribe and hoped they wouldn’t start throwing spears.
“Colonel?” Carson asked when he saw John approach. He briefly checked Elizabeth and saw her face had turned pale. “We still don’t know what’s going on.”
“One thing we do know is that the force field is down.” In his head John went over the list, containing the things they knew for sure as well as the list with questions. They didn’t hear signs of gunfire on Atlantis, but why the heck did no one respond to their call for help. He took a deep breath and focused on the group closing in on them at an ever faster rate. It was obvious these pygmies wanted them off the planet and that was what they should do. In worst case scenario they would end up on a screwed up Atlantis, but at least they would have time to figure out how to solve it.
Carson took Elizabeth by her hand and pulled her towards the Stargate. He swallowed and wasn’t eager to step into the uncertainty, but it seemed the only option they had. He trusted Sheppard to have considered all alternatives. With a slightly shaking hand he removed his hand-gun from the holster and placed his finger on the trigger. Elizabeth looked at him with enlarged eyes and he gestured for her to do the same.
She swallowed. John had ordered her to carry a gun, but she didn’t want to use it. Yet she obeyed, feeling a surge of discomfort crawl through her system. The feeling of the cold metal pressing against her skin wasn’t making her nerves settle down. She had no time to wonder where it had gone wrong, but the thought was on her mind every second. Before she knew it John was standing only inches away, blocking the path between her, Carson and the Pygmies. She could hear John’s breathing and recognized the tension.
“We have no choice,” John whispered and took another step backwards. They were only a step away from the event horizon. “Doc, I’ll go first. You watch our backs. Seems they just want us gone.”
“Aye.”
John cautiously switched places with the doctor, keeping Elizabeth in the middle and safe at all times. Before stepping through the Stargate he checked that his gun’s safety was off. When he emerged on the other side he swung his gun around the dimmed room and stiffened. Everyone was encapsulated in something that looked like a solid block of ice. When he dared to take a breath, the cold air filled his lungs. The sight was shocking and made his heart rate double. This wasn’t the scenario he had hoped to find.
Elizabeth and Carson came through, pushing him from the spot. Immediately the Stargate closed, leaving them in near darkness. John flipped the light on his gun on and scanned the room again. Everyone in the room stood or sat motionless, frozen in a clear block of ice. At first sight he couldn’t discover any signs of struggle. Everyone seemed to be working their normal routine. Therefore he assumed that whatever happened, happened quickly and without a warning. He sighed deeply, well aware that Elizabeth and Carson would like to know what was going on. John tapped his radio, “This is Colonel John Sheppard, please report.” A long silence followed. “Careful.” John’s said to himself while stepping down the ramp, cautiously walking towards the consoles.
“Oh god,” Elizabeth breathed and stood perplexed about what she was seeing. All her expedition members frozen. From the corner of her eyes she saw Carson’s dreadful face, filled with questions and concerns. If this really was her Atlantis in her timeline they had to find a quick way to undo whatever happened. Even if it wasn’t her Atlantis she surely had to do the same. None of them deserved to be in this state. She observed John while he examined the Lieutenant sitting behind the console.
Systematically, John took in the details. The Lieutenant’s skin was covered with at least an inch thick layer of ice. He didn’t know yet if it was frozen water or something else. The expression on the woman’s face was friendly and her hand reached out for an information pad. The scene was creepy and they had to be careful not to get trapped too. The beam of light aimed to another console and in a glance he saw Rodney sitting behind it. ‘Not good’ kept going through his mind over and over. He moved to the console and inspected the laptop. The diagnostics program had finished a little over an hour ago. In his head he tried to think of any cause and the most obvious one was an experiment gone sour.
“Careful where you walk and don’t touch anything.” John warned Elizabeth and Carson when they acted on his nod to come over.
Carson followed in Elizabeth’s wake, his eyes moving from one to another victim. From all the strange things he had seen in the past three years, this was the most bizarre for sure. Colleagues and friends so close to them and yet so unreachable. His heart was aching, wanting to help them, but without knowing what they were dealing with, that was easier said than done.
Elizabeth suddenly stopped and her eyes widened. If whatever happened to the people here in the Gateroom happened all over Atlantis it was very bad. It would mean that not only was Rodney frozen, but all of the scientists, leaving only them to solve the mystery. Her heart cried. She had to be strong, to push away the fear for her people. All those people trapped, not knowing if they were dead or alive and not knowing if they could revive them. Carson’s hand on her shoulder startled her. His look comforted her some, but deep in his eyes she saw the same pain. Pain tucked deep within, trying not to lose hope. She swallowed and nodded.
“Hmm,” John cleared his throat. “I don’t think they've been frozen for long.” With his gun he tapped at the ice around Rodney and a high tinkling sound echoed through the room.
“Do we have any idea what happened to them?” Elizabeth asked.
John shook his head and sighed, “No.” His hand reached out for Rodney. He closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t turn into an icicle at touch. His finger tips got cold and carefully he opened his eyes again.
Carson sighed relieved and dared to breathe again. “Ice?” he asked, trying to get a confirmation about their assumption.
“Feels like it.” John turned and looked straight at Carson. “What would happen if we simply try to thaw them?”
This was the question Carson had been going over in his head a dozen times already and he still didn’t have a clear answer. He didn’t know. He didn’t know if they were still alive. He didn’t know the method of freezing. He didn’t know if they could be revived. He didn’t know anything without proper research. He shook his head. “I can’t tell.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth cut in. “What do we know and what do we need?”
John turned his attention at her. “It happened quickly, without a warning and not long ago. The material around them feels like ice, but sounds like crystal. I’m not the scientist here, but my feeling tells me some experiment went haywire.” He taped on some keys on the laptop. “The diagnostics report says all systems were functioning normally. Power is down, so I guess something changed that. There’s no response to our hails… It looks like everyone on Atlantis is affected.” He swallowed hard. These were not the words he liked to pronounce, but they represented the truth of their current situation. “Doc?”
Carson nodded while John moved past him and headed for the life signs monitor. “Okay, let’s see what the system thinks.” He activated the screen and saw all Expedition members lit up all over Atlantis. That was a relief, meaning they weren’t dead yet. “No Wraith. That’s a good thing too.” He said, turned again and moved Elizabeth aside while walking to another console. “Watch the life signs for movement while I make sure no unwanted guests can march in.”
“John, what’s your plan?” Her voice was tense and a slight hint of nerves had found a way to leave a trail of it behind.
“There!” Carson exclaimed and pointed at a dot on the screen. Both set of eyes were aimed on him. He was sure he saw movement, but not a single dot moved. Maybe it had been his imagination.
“Keep watching the screen, while I set the force field to automatically activate when someone dials in.”
Now Elizabeth saw it too. “There.”
“Aye,” Carson confirmed. They both watched the dot move and close in on their position fast.
“John!”
“I see,” he said and pushed them out of the way while aiming his gun at the door and putting the light out. The dot was right behind the door, putting his body on high alert. He used the console for cover and waited. Slowly the door shoved open and saw tip of a gun, a flashlight and an arm. In a flash the Atlantis emblem caught his attention. “This is Colonel John Sheppard, identify yourself.”
“Colonel.” Teyla’s voice sounded relieved while she managed to wrench herself through the door opening. “I am glad to see you are still well.”
John put her in the beam of his light and saw she was unharmed. How difficult it was for him, for the moment he didn’t know if he could trust her or not.
“John?” She asked and put her arms up. “It is me, Teyla.”
“I can see.”
She wasn’t sure why he was still pointing a gun at her and she knew there wasn’t much time. “Please John, we have to get out of here.”
“Why?”
This was taking too long. Sure he was right in not trusting her. She was the only one still walking and thankfully for them she knew more about the situation and could fill them in. However, their first priority should be to leave this room. “Doctors Weir and Beckett. I hope you are here as well. Please I mean you no harm and I can explain some about what happened here, but we really need to leave this room quickly. I have been running around Atlantis for almost an hour with an alien following me. I am sure it will be here soon.”
Alien was the keyword John heard and decided it was safer to trust Teyla then to wait for a possible alien. “Move!” He shouted, turned to Elizabeth and Becket, gesturing them to head for one of the other doors. Teyla ran past him and started opening the door. John assisted her and together they created a wide enough opening for Carson and Elizabeth to step through. “What happened?”
Teyla was aware there was much to talk about and very little time to get the important details right. It would answer a lot of John’s questions, but it would not provide them with all the answers. “Ronon and I did not notice anything had happened. We had been sparring in the gym. When we got out we saw someone frozen in the middle of the hallway. We tried to contact anyone, but got no response.”
The door closed with a clang behind them and the group ran to another door. “We need to reach the infirmary.” Carson said, thinking not only about rescuing everyone on Atlantis, but also bandaging John’s injury.
“First weapons,” was the answer John gave and saw the glimmer of fright in Elizabeth’s eyes.
“I need a reload too,” Teyla confirmed before continuing her story. “Ronon and I went to the Gateroom, but on our way we saw more people frozen. We armed ourselves and tried locating more survivors.” She exhaled and helped John with the next door. “At first we thought something went wrong in one of the science labs, but then we ran into the alien.”
“What alien?” John asked and saw her eyes grew large.
“I have never met the species before. It looked like a distant relative from the Wraith, but I am not sensing it.”
John turned towards her and sought for some answer. The last encounter they had with the vicious swimming queen was still fresh in his memory. In addition to the power she had to control Teyla and make her do things wasn’t really assuring him. “Wraith?”
Teyla could read the doubt in his mind and she could not blame him for it. She had brought them all in danger the last time. “A distant relative maybe.” She said. “It was tall, muscular, bluish skin, a long black coat and it had long white hair. The alien chased us through the city. We tried deluding it, trying to reach the Gateroom. I disabled the force field, hoping I could contact you or at the very best you could return here. However, our location was compromised too soon and we barely escaped. We...”
“What happened to the power?” Elizabeth asked mid sentence.
“The alien froze the generators as well.”
“What?” John felt the burden of keeping the four of them in one piece and freeing all others loaded on his shoulder. And the burden became heavier by the minute. If just one alien was responsible then they had to be very careful. He pulled a gun locker open and grabbed a machine gun, pressing it in Carson’s hands.
Teyla pulled him at his shoulder. “John. I know I do not have all the answers, but Ronon and I decided to win as much time as possible, giving you a fair chance. We split up, doubling our chances. I have emptied over two clips of bullets shooting at the alien, but still it came after me.”
“Oh, crap.”
“John...”
“Okay,” he cut in. “Teyla, you and Elizabeth go and find out as much info about the alien in the database, while the doc and I go to the infirmary and see if we can safely unfreeze more people.”
Carson prepared the gun and held it tightly in his hands. “What happened to Ronon? We saw just one dot move on the internal scanners.”
“He is frozen in the infirmary. He pulled doctor Zelenka over there, it was the nearest scientist we found.”
John shoved a machine gun in Elizabeth’s hands and avoided her look, knowing all too well she didn’t like having a gun in her hands. Meanwhile his eyes locked onto Teyla. “Any chance we can track it?”
Teyla shook her head. “We have been unable to track it. It does not show on the sensors. However, the alien will track us.”
“Go!” John ordered. “Keep com channels open.”
“One more thing. The alien uses a sort of splash gun and splash bombs. The liquid coming from the weapon will freeze any living thing and technology.”
John simply nodded before he and Carson split up from Teyla and Elizabeth. He knew it was a risk of splitting up, but he was also aware they had to cover a lot of ground and learn as much possible in a short time. ‘Crap.’ He should have sent out a message to Earth, letting them know Atlantis was compromised.
~~~***~~~
In the optimal situation John would have chosen to send Teyla with Beckett and would have protected Elizabeth himself. But things were far from optimal. The necessity for another shot with painkillers reminded him about the spear wound. Once they were in the infirmary the doctor could have a quick look and give him something for the pain. A neat fix would have to wait for the moment they were all safe again and he wouldn’t tolerate any intervention from Beckett. Priority one, avoiding the alien, two, making sure he could function, three, finding out how to get their people back to normal.
“Last door,” Carson said while assisting John who seemed to be bothered by his shoulder more and more each door. He added some extra force and let John step through first. “I should first fix you up quickly.”
“Not gonna say no to that.” John scanned the room and nodded it was safe at Carson, who ran past him to grab a med kit. On the floor he saw Ronon’s body frozen, next to that of Doctor Zelenka. Carefully he stepped over them and sat down on one of the beds. Meanwhile Carson had joined him and cut open his blouse. The pain started torturing him, clogging his mind. Relief came when he felt a needle puncture his arm and the pain started to ebb away.
Carson inspected the wound and knew he didn’t had much time to stabilize it. “I’ll put a tight bandage on the wound and give you some extra shots against the pain.”
“Just do it quick.” John groaned when the doctor tore a piece of his blouse from the wound. “Teyla status?”
“The alien is still after us and closing in, but we can keep up.”
John could hear the strained breathing of Teyla and Elizabeth in his ear. They were running as fast as they could. “Doc, activate the systems here. That will get the aliens attention.”
“Negative,” Teyla shouted. “We can keep up. Try to find a cure.”
In the background Carson heard another door shut down and the next one being opened. He knew they were truly running for their lives. His full attention returned to the injury when John grabbed his wrist. Carson continued his treatment, picking up a bag with IV saline and quickly cleaned the wound before pushing a few pieces of gauze in it to stop the bleeding. He stabilized the shoulder with a tight bandage and released John from the bed.
“Teyla, can you keep up for another 10 minutes?” John asked while pushing himself from the bed.
“Will do,” Elizabeth gasped almost out of air.
Carson nodded and prepared the scanner. “Let’s work quickly.”
“I vote to scan a light weight.”
Carson laughed and helped John lift doctor Zelenka on the table. “Even light weight meant heavy weight with this the layer of ice.”
“Yeah. Don’t wanna try getting Ronon up here with my shoulder.”
While John observed the room, his work and listened intensely at the two women running, Carson inspected the body. John was right, the cocoon around the body felt like ice, but he doubted it really was ice. For one, there was no sign of melting water and secondly, the victims inside would have been dead. However, the scanner showed him a very slow but steady heart rate. That was about as much info as he got from the scanner. It didn’t recognize the substance around the body, nor a way to reverse the process and get the people out. “We need a science scanner,” He said and verified John had received the message.
“Nothing we can do here?”
“Not as long as I don’t know what turned them into an ice cube. But the good news is that they are still alive.”
“Okay, let’s go and relieve the ladies.”
~~~***~~~
“Look out!” Teyla called out and pushed Elizabeth around a corner.
“He is getting faster,” Elizabeth breathed and took a second to catch her breath before pushing off from the wall and running after Teyla to the next door. It had been a long time since she had run for this long and this fast, if it ever happened. There were times when she had wished for more action, but that didn’t automatically mean she wanted to catch up for the past three years in one day.
When Teyla had said the alien looked like a distant relative from the Wraith she wasn’t lying. The physical build was similar to that of a Wraith Commander. Only its blue skin with a scale-like structure and its bright blue eyes gave away they weren’t dealing with a Wraith. However, except for the visible resemblances they knew very little about other capabilities. The only thing they had perceived was that it was extremely hard to kill. Teyla had emptied another clip with bullets and the alien seemed not to be bothered with any of the shots. They had to find information about the species, hoping it would shed some light on why it attacked Atlantis and where it came from. Once they knew more about that it could possibly lead to a solution for the frozen people.
Teyla opened the door and pulled Elizabeth through. She was feeling the strain of running around the place as well. Thus she knew how Elizabeth had to feel, yet her fitness and willpower amazed her. “I think he is getting more familiar with the layout.”
“Or it’s getting better in tracking us.”
“Meet us near Rodney’s science lab,” John ordered over the radio.
“We are on our way,” Teyla replied and changed direction. She and Elizabeth ran to another door.
They both pushed against the door to get it open and Elizabeth stepped into the other corridor. When she looked over her shoulder she saw the alien approach. “Watch out!” she yelled and saw the ever calm expression on Teyla’s face.
“Go, I will distract the alien. Go to the science labs.”
“No,” she protested. She knew what would happen to Teyla and she feared losing another good person and close friend. Teyla bowed her head respectful and calmly released the door. Her smile made Elizabeth’s stomach twitch and the clang of the door echoing in her ears made her lose control over her emotions. Here she was, packed up with a machine gun, being chased through her city by a vengeful alien. She fell against the wall and took deep rapid breaths. She hesitated a few moments before pushing her fear away. She swallowed, took in a deep breath and pushed off from the wall. This wasn’t the time to break down. Teyla gave herself up so she could meet John and Carson, so that was what she had to do. She regained her bearing and ran to the nearest door. She had to make it. She owed it to Teyla and all the others. They had to find a way to resolve the issue.
Teyla stood motionless, her body pressed tight against the door and her hand on the control panel. If she was about to turn into an ice statue, she would make sure the alien wouldn’t be able to go through this door. The alien slowly approached her, with a strange looking hand weapon in his hand. “I’m sorry John,” she whispered in her radio, knowing that any moment she would get shot at.
“We’ll get you out.” John promised and Teyla heard the pain in his voice.
The next seconds she felt extreme surges of cold wrap around her body, unable to move, but very well aware of everything around her. The sensation was terrifying. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t talk, but her mind was still active. With her eyes she saw the alien walk back the way he came. She concluded from this that at least her sacrifice had bought Elizabeth valuable time. Seconds became minutes and minute after minute passed by. The surges of cold and discomfort remained, only the fear weakened and was replaced with desperation and hope. Desperation about being trapped and hope that John, Elizabeth and Carson would find a way to overpower the alien or kill it.
~~~End of part 1~~~
Rated: PG-13
Genres: AU, Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama,, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Warnings: None
Challenges: Written for Secret Santa 2009
Prompt: Surprise me, I like adventure - I really think Elizabeth should have been in more difficult situations in the show instead of just a secretary! Also, if you could avoid the damsel in distress bit, that would be great too :D
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 12994
Betas: anuna_81 & drewandian
Note: Re-posting this fic on my own journal to provide some sparky love in winter :)
Story notes: This story is slightly AU. Set one week after Submersion & Sunday, Carson survived the explosion, or it never happened.
“Keep running” John shouted and looked back to the tree line. The pygmy tribe was not far behind them. How one wrong word could have huge consequences and that from just tiny people. Too bad their spears were not that small and feeling one of them rip through his shoulder was more than enough. In front of him Elizabeth and Carson were running as fast as they could towards the DHD. For a split second they checked his status, seemingly expecting an order from him.
“Dial the Gate, I’ll entertain the midgets with some bullet dancing,” shouted John. Where were Teyla and Ronon if you needed them? He almost cursed himself for believing Elizabeth that it was safe to go without his team. And that just because they hadn’t returned from their trading mission yet. It was simply stupid, but there was no time for lingering in the past. He would make sure Carson and Elizabeth would stay safe.
“Aye,” Carson confirmed and ran as fast as he could to the console. He had been on many off world missions by now and had been through the drill. More common were escapes from the Wraith or the Genii, but today a rivalling pygmy tribe had chosen the wrong moment to visit their neighbours. Carson shook his head. It looked like their visit could cause a tribe war on this planet and all they wanted to do was offer medical supplies and care in exchange for other medicines. The deal sounded simple enough and even Elizabeth believed nothing could go wrong.
Elizabeth watched Carson press the address while her heart was still racing in her chest. For her away missions weren’t that common and she certainly hadn’t been on that many close escapes. For all that mattered, she was excluded from the action at any time it could have been avoided.
She didn't mind being kept safe, but at the same time she felt responsible and worried about the teams . However she wasn't completely unprepared for action. Elizabeth took a deep breath. A part of her wasn't absolutely certain what went wrong.
They had visited both tribes and there had been no sign of mutual hostility. Both tribes agreed to trade, so it wasn't easy to explain where the sudden anger came from. She had laughed at John’s joke about short fuse just a few minutes before the rivaling tribe leader wounded him with a spear, which had been their queue to leave. There were expelled from the settlement and doomed for all eternity in their native tongue. Elizabeth was too busy running to share the bit with everyone else.
Carson hit the dialing button and the Gate activated. “Atlantis, this is doctor Weir, we’re coming in hot.” Anxious, the three of them waited for a response, but everything stayed quiet.
John looked over his shoulder and saw Carson staring at the DHD. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Atlantis, this is Sheppard, we need clearance now!” The silence that followed made his stomach twitch. It wasn’t the right time for anything to go wrong here. “Atlantis, come in?” John saw a movement in the bushes and knew it wouldn’t be long before their position would be compromised. Shutting off the gate and dialing the beta site would have been an option if it hadn’t been for a Wraith hive that claimed the planet three weeks ago. “Carson, you have your memo recorder at hand?”
“Sure,” Carson hurriedly searched the pockets of his jacket until he found the recorder.
“What’s your plan John?” Elizabeth cut in, wanting to know what was going through his mind
John sighed and looked at Elizabeth, searching through his own pockets. “Let's just say we need a MALP on a stick,” he grinned ruefully. John turned his attention back to the bushes, working out the best defensive strategy. He really didn’t want to shoot at the little guys, but he wasn't given much choice. Surrendering was not the option he had in mind. After the sudden attack he didn’t want to find out what else they might do to them.
“What should I do with the recorder?” Carson asked, his eyes changing from Sheppard to Doctor Weir. He wasn't particularly useful during a fight, but the spear wound John sustained needed urgent medical attention.
“Strap the recorder to your radio, turn it on and throw it through the gate!”
Elizabeth watched Carson search his pockets for a roll of tape. She felt a little useless, but without even realizing it, her hands dug in her pockets too. Her fingers latched on a pre-packed bandage, the one she wanted to offer John for his injury. Quickly she peeled the sealing open and tore the tape lose from the cloth. Together with Carson she taped the radio to the recorder.
“Okay, got it.” Carson exclaimed while running to the Gate and throwing his package through. “It’s through.”
John listened tensely and heard Becket’s voice over the radio. That was a relief, the force field wasn’t up. Yet he was still clueless why there was no response. “You did dial the right address right?” he asked and knew it was a pointless question.
“We dialed Atlantis.” Elizabeth answered. She was just as unsure as the others were. How could it be that they did not respond? Power failure would be an option, but then someone would have picked up the radio they threw through the Gate. ‘Alternate time line or dimension’? She didn’t want to consider those options. She had read SG reports and frankly wished she had taken Rodney along on this trip. He would be able to figure things out.
Over a dozen Pygmy came from the woods. “Okay, our time is up,” John shouted while walking backwards towards the Stargate. His gun was aimed at the tribe and hoped they wouldn’t start throwing spears.
“Colonel?” Carson asked when he saw John approach. He briefly checked Elizabeth and saw her face had turned pale. “We still don’t know what’s going on.”
“One thing we do know is that the force field is down.” In his head John went over the list, containing the things they knew for sure as well as the list with questions. They didn’t hear signs of gunfire on Atlantis, but why the heck did no one respond to their call for help. He took a deep breath and focused on the group closing in on them at an ever faster rate. It was obvious these pygmies wanted them off the planet and that was what they should do. In worst case scenario they would end up on a screwed up Atlantis, but at least they would have time to figure out how to solve it.
Carson took Elizabeth by her hand and pulled her towards the Stargate. He swallowed and wasn’t eager to step into the uncertainty, but it seemed the only option they had. He trusted Sheppard to have considered all alternatives. With a slightly shaking hand he removed his hand-gun from the holster and placed his finger on the trigger. Elizabeth looked at him with enlarged eyes and he gestured for her to do the same.
She swallowed. John had ordered her to carry a gun, but she didn’t want to use it. Yet she obeyed, feeling a surge of discomfort crawl through her system. The feeling of the cold metal pressing against her skin wasn’t making her nerves settle down. She had no time to wonder where it had gone wrong, but the thought was on her mind every second. Before she knew it John was standing only inches away, blocking the path between her, Carson and the Pygmies. She could hear John’s breathing and recognized the tension.
“We have no choice,” John whispered and took another step backwards. They were only a step away from the event horizon. “Doc, I’ll go first. You watch our backs. Seems they just want us gone.”
“Aye.”
John cautiously switched places with the doctor, keeping Elizabeth in the middle and safe at all times. Before stepping through the Stargate he checked that his gun’s safety was off. When he emerged on the other side he swung his gun around the dimmed room and stiffened. Everyone was encapsulated in something that looked like a solid block of ice. When he dared to take a breath, the cold air filled his lungs. The sight was shocking and made his heart rate double. This wasn’t the scenario he had hoped to find.
Elizabeth and Carson came through, pushing him from the spot. Immediately the Stargate closed, leaving them in near darkness. John flipped the light on his gun on and scanned the room again. Everyone in the room stood or sat motionless, frozen in a clear block of ice. At first sight he couldn’t discover any signs of struggle. Everyone seemed to be working their normal routine. Therefore he assumed that whatever happened, happened quickly and without a warning. He sighed deeply, well aware that Elizabeth and Carson would like to know what was going on. John tapped his radio, “This is Colonel John Sheppard, please report.” A long silence followed. “Careful.” John’s said to himself while stepping down the ramp, cautiously walking towards the consoles.
“Oh god,” Elizabeth breathed and stood perplexed about what she was seeing. All her expedition members frozen. From the corner of her eyes she saw Carson’s dreadful face, filled with questions and concerns. If this really was her Atlantis in her timeline they had to find a quick way to undo whatever happened. Even if it wasn’t her Atlantis she surely had to do the same. None of them deserved to be in this state. She observed John while he examined the Lieutenant sitting behind the console.
Systematically, John took in the details. The Lieutenant’s skin was covered with at least an inch thick layer of ice. He didn’t know yet if it was frozen water or something else. The expression on the woman’s face was friendly and her hand reached out for an information pad. The scene was creepy and they had to be careful not to get trapped too. The beam of light aimed to another console and in a glance he saw Rodney sitting behind it. ‘Not good’ kept going through his mind over and over. He moved to the console and inspected the laptop. The diagnostics program had finished a little over an hour ago. In his head he tried to think of any cause and the most obvious one was an experiment gone sour.
“Careful where you walk and don’t touch anything.” John warned Elizabeth and Carson when they acted on his nod to come over.
Carson followed in Elizabeth’s wake, his eyes moving from one to another victim. From all the strange things he had seen in the past three years, this was the most bizarre for sure. Colleagues and friends so close to them and yet so unreachable. His heart was aching, wanting to help them, but without knowing what they were dealing with, that was easier said than done.
Elizabeth suddenly stopped and her eyes widened. If whatever happened to the people here in the Gateroom happened all over Atlantis it was very bad. It would mean that not only was Rodney frozen, but all of the scientists, leaving only them to solve the mystery. Her heart cried. She had to be strong, to push away the fear for her people. All those people trapped, not knowing if they were dead or alive and not knowing if they could revive them. Carson’s hand on her shoulder startled her. His look comforted her some, but deep in his eyes she saw the same pain. Pain tucked deep within, trying not to lose hope. She swallowed and nodded.
“Hmm,” John cleared his throat. “I don’t think they've been frozen for long.” With his gun he tapped at the ice around Rodney and a high tinkling sound echoed through the room.
“Do we have any idea what happened to them?” Elizabeth asked.
John shook his head and sighed, “No.” His hand reached out for Rodney. He closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t turn into an icicle at touch. His finger tips got cold and carefully he opened his eyes again.
Carson sighed relieved and dared to breathe again. “Ice?” he asked, trying to get a confirmation about their assumption.
“Feels like it.” John turned and looked straight at Carson. “What would happen if we simply try to thaw them?”
This was the question Carson had been going over in his head a dozen times already and he still didn’t have a clear answer. He didn’t know. He didn’t know if they were still alive. He didn’t know the method of freezing. He didn’t know if they could be revived. He didn’t know anything without proper research. He shook his head. “I can’t tell.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth cut in. “What do we know and what do we need?”
John turned his attention at her. “It happened quickly, without a warning and not long ago. The material around them feels like ice, but sounds like crystal. I’m not the scientist here, but my feeling tells me some experiment went haywire.” He taped on some keys on the laptop. “The diagnostics report says all systems were functioning normally. Power is down, so I guess something changed that. There’s no response to our hails… It looks like everyone on Atlantis is affected.” He swallowed hard. These were not the words he liked to pronounce, but they represented the truth of their current situation. “Doc?”
Carson nodded while John moved past him and headed for the life signs monitor. “Okay, let’s see what the system thinks.” He activated the screen and saw all Expedition members lit up all over Atlantis. That was a relief, meaning they weren’t dead yet. “No Wraith. That’s a good thing too.” He said, turned again and moved Elizabeth aside while walking to another console. “Watch the life signs for movement while I make sure no unwanted guests can march in.”
“John, what’s your plan?” Her voice was tense and a slight hint of nerves had found a way to leave a trail of it behind.
“There!” Carson exclaimed and pointed at a dot on the screen. Both set of eyes were aimed on him. He was sure he saw movement, but not a single dot moved. Maybe it had been his imagination.
“Keep watching the screen, while I set the force field to automatically activate when someone dials in.”
Now Elizabeth saw it too. “There.”
“Aye,” Carson confirmed. They both watched the dot move and close in on their position fast.
“John!”
“I see,” he said and pushed them out of the way while aiming his gun at the door and putting the light out. The dot was right behind the door, putting his body on high alert. He used the console for cover and waited. Slowly the door shoved open and saw tip of a gun, a flashlight and an arm. In a flash the Atlantis emblem caught his attention. “This is Colonel John Sheppard, identify yourself.”
“Colonel.” Teyla’s voice sounded relieved while she managed to wrench herself through the door opening. “I am glad to see you are still well.”
John put her in the beam of his light and saw she was unharmed. How difficult it was for him, for the moment he didn’t know if he could trust her or not.
“John?” She asked and put her arms up. “It is me, Teyla.”
“I can see.”
She wasn’t sure why he was still pointing a gun at her and she knew there wasn’t much time. “Please John, we have to get out of here.”
“Why?”
This was taking too long. Sure he was right in not trusting her. She was the only one still walking and thankfully for them she knew more about the situation and could fill them in. However, their first priority should be to leave this room. “Doctors Weir and Beckett. I hope you are here as well. Please I mean you no harm and I can explain some about what happened here, but we really need to leave this room quickly. I have been running around Atlantis for almost an hour with an alien following me. I am sure it will be here soon.”
Alien was the keyword John heard and decided it was safer to trust Teyla then to wait for a possible alien. “Move!” He shouted, turned to Elizabeth and Becket, gesturing them to head for one of the other doors. Teyla ran past him and started opening the door. John assisted her and together they created a wide enough opening for Carson and Elizabeth to step through. “What happened?”
Teyla was aware there was much to talk about and very little time to get the important details right. It would answer a lot of John’s questions, but it would not provide them with all the answers. “Ronon and I did not notice anything had happened. We had been sparring in the gym. When we got out we saw someone frozen in the middle of the hallway. We tried to contact anyone, but got no response.”
The door closed with a clang behind them and the group ran to another door. “We need to reach the infirmary.” Carson said, thinking not only about rescuing everyone on Atlantis, but also bandaging John’s injury.
“First weapons,” was the answer John gave and saw the glimmer of fright in Elizabeth’s eyes.
“I need a reload too,” Teyla confirmed before continuing her story. “Ronon and I went to the Gateroom, but on our way we saw more people frozen. We armed ourselves and tried locating more survivors.” She exhaled and helped John with the next door. “At first we thought something went wrong in one of the science labs, but then we ran into the alien.”
“What alien?” John asked and saw her eyes grew large.
“I have never met the species before. It looked like a distant relative from the Wraith, but I am not sensing it.”
John turned towards her and sought for some answer. The last encounter they had with the vicious swimming queen was still fresh in his memory. In addition to the power she had to control Teyla and make her do things wasn’t really assuring him. “Wraith?”
Teyla could read the doubt in his mind and she could not blame him for it. She had brought them all in danger the last time. “A distant relative maybe.” She said. “It was tall, muscular, bluish skin, a long black coat and it had long white hair. The alien chased us through the city. We tried deluding it, trying to reach the Gateroom. I disabled the force field, hoping I could contact you or at the very best you could return here. However, our location was compromised too soon and we barely escaped. We...”
“What happened to the power?” Elizabeth asked mid sentence.
“The alien froze the generators as well.”
“What?” John felt the burden of keeping the four of them in one piece and freeing all others loaded on his shoulder. And the burden became heavier by the minute. If just one alien was responsible then they had to be very careful. He pulled a gun locker open and grabbed a machine gun, pressing it in Carson’s hands.
Teyla pulled him at his shoulder. “John. I know I do not have all the answers, but Ronon and I decided to win as much time as possible, giving you a fair chance. We split up, doubling our chances. I have emptied over two clips of bullets shooting at the alien, but still it came after me.”
“Oh, crap.”
“John...”
“Okay,” he cut in. “Teyla, you and Elizabeth go and find out as much info about the alien in the database, while the doc and I go to the infirmary and see if we can safely unfreeze more people.”
Carson prepared the gun and held it tightly in his hands. “What happened to Ronon? We saw just one dot move on the internal scanners.”
“He is frozen in the infirmary. He pulled doctor Zelenka over there, it was the nearest scientist we found.”
John shoved a machine gun in Elizabeth’s hands and avoided her look, knowing all too well she didn’t like having a gun in her hands. Meanwhile his eyes locked onto Teyla. “Any chance we can track it?”
Teyla shook her head. “We have been unable to track it. It does not show on the sensors. However, the alien will track us.”
“Go!” John ordered. “Keep com channels open.”
“One more thing. The alien uses a sort of splash gun and splash bombs. The liquid coming from the weapon will freeze any living thing and technology.”
John simply nodded before he and Carson split up from Teyla and Elizabeth. He knew it was a risk of splitting up, but he was also aware they had to cover a lot of ground and learn as much possible in a short time. ‘Crap.’ He should have sent out a message to Earth, letting them know Atlantis was compromised.
~~~***~~~
In the optimal situation John would have chosen to send Teyla with Beckett and would have protected Elizabeth himself. But things were far from optimal. The necessity for another shot with painkillers reminded him about the spear wound. Once they were in the infirmary the doctor could have a quick look and give him something for the pain. A neat fix would have to wait for the moment they were all safe again and he wouldn’t tolerate any intervention from Beckett. Priority one, avoiding the alien, two, making sure he could function, three, finding out how to get their people back to normal.
“Last door,” Carson said while assisting John who seemed to be bothered by his shoulder more and more each door. He added some extra force and let John step through first. “I should first fix you up quickly.”
“Not gonna say no to that.” John scanned the room and nodded it was safe at Carson, who ran past him to grab a med kit. On the floor he saw Ronon’s body frozen, next to that of Doctor Zelenka. Carefully he stepped over them and sat down on one of the beds. Meanwhile Carson had joined him and cut open his blouse. The pain started torturing him, clogging his mind. Relief came when he felt a needle puncture his arm and the pain started to ebb away.
Carson inspected the wound and knew he didn’t had much time to stabilize it. “I’ll put a tight bandage on the wound and give you some extra shots against the pain.”
“Just do it quick.” John groaned when the doctor tore a piece of his blouse from the wound. “Teyla status?”
“The alien is still after us and closing in, but we can keep up.”
John could hear the strained breathing of Teyla and Elizabeth in his ear. They were running as fast as they could. “Doc, activate the systems here. That will get the aliens attention.”
“Negative,” Teyla shouted. “We can keep up. Try to find a cure.”
In the background Carson heard another door shut down and the next one being opened. He knew they were truly running for their lives. His full attention returned to the injury when John grabbed his wrist. Carson continued his treatment, picking up a bag with IV saline and quickly cleaned the wound before pushing a few pieces of gauze in it to stop the bleeding. He stabilized the shoulder with a tight bandage and released John from the bed.
“Teyla, can you keep up for another 10 minutes?” John asked while pushing himself from the bed.
“Will do,” Elizabeth gasped almost out of air.
Carson nodded and prepared the scanner. “Let’s work quickly.”
“I vote to scan a light weight.”
Carson laughed and helped John lift doctor Zelenka on the table. “Even light weight meant heavy weight with this the layer of ice.”
“Yeah. Don’t wanna try getting Ronon up here with my shoulder.”
While John observed the room, his work and listened intensely at the two women running, Carson inspected the body. John was right, the cocoon around the body felt like ice, but he doubted it really was ice. For one, there was no sign of melting water and secondly, the victims inside would have been dead. However, the scanner showed him a very slow but steady heart rate. That was about as much info as he got from the scanner. It didn’t recognize the substance around the body, nor a way to reverse the process and get the people out. “We need a science scanner,” He said and verified John had received the message.
“Nothing we can do here?”
“Not as long as I don’t know what turned them into an ice cube. But the good news is that they are still alive.”
“Okay, let’s go and relieve the ladies.”
~~~***~~~
“Look out!” Teyla called out and pushed Elizabeth around a corner.
“He is getting faster,” Elizabeth breathed and took a second to catch her breath before pushing off from the wall and running after Teyla to the next door. It had been a long time since she had run for this long and this fast, if it ever happened. There were times when she had wished for more action, but that didn’t automatically mean she wanted to catch up for the past three years in one day.
When Teyla had said the alien looked like a distant relative from the Wraith she wasn’t lying. The physical build was similar to that of a Wraith Commander. Only its blue skin with a scale-like structure and its bright blue eyes gave away they weren’t dealing with a Wraith. However, except for the visible resemblances they knew very little about other capabilities. The only thing they had perceived was that it was extremely hard to kill. Teyla had emptied another clip with bullets and the alien seemed not to be bothered with any of the shots. They had to find information about the species, hoping it would shed some light on why it attacked Atlantis and where it came from. Once they knew more about that it could possibly lead to a solution for the frozen people.
Teyla opened the door and pulled Elizabeth through. She was feeling the strain of running around the place as well. Thus she knew how Elizabeth had to feel, yet her fitness and willpower amazed her. “I think he is getting more familiar with the layout.”
“Or it’s getting better in tracking us.”
“Meet us near Rodney’s science lab,” John ordered over the radio.
“We are on our way,” Teyla replied and changed direction. She and Elizabeth ran to another door.
They both pushed against the door to get it open and Elizabeth stepped into the other corridor. When she looked over her shoulder she saw the alien approach. “Watch out!” she yelled and saw the ever calm expression on Teyla’s face.
“Go, I will distract the alien. Go to the science labs.”
“No,” she protested. She knew what would happen to Teyla and she feared losing another good person and close friend. Teyla bowed her head respectful and calmly released the door. Her smile made Elizabeth’s stomach twitch and the clang of the door echoing in her ears made her lose control over her emotions. Here she was, packed up with a machine gun, being chased through her city by a vengeful alien. She fell against the wall and took deep rapid breaths. She hesitated a few moments before pushing her fear away. She swallowed, took in a deep breath and pushed off from the wall. This wasn’t the time to break down. Teyla gave herself up so she could meet John and Carson, so that was what she had to do. She regained her bearing and ran to the nearest door. She had to make it. She owed it to Teyla and all the others. They had to find a way to resolve the issue.
Teyla stood motionless, her body pressed tight against the door and her hand on the control panel. If she was about to turn into an ice statue, she would make sure the alien wouldn’t be able to go through this door. The alien slowly approached her, with a strange looking hand weapon in his hand. “I’m sorry John,” she whispered in her radio, knowing that any moment she would get shot at.
“We’ll get you out.” John promised and Teyla heard the pain in his voice.
The next seconds she felt extreme surges of cold wrap around her body, unable to move, but very well aware of everything around her. The sensation was terrifying. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t talk, but her mind was still active. With her eyes she saw the alien walk back the way he came. She concluded from this that at least her sacrifice had bought Elizabeth valuable time. Seconds became minutes and minute after minute passed by. The surges of cold and discomfort remained, only the fear weakened and was replaced with desperation and hope. Desperation about being trapped and hope that John, Elizabeth and Carson would find a way to overpower the alien or kill it.
~~~End of part 1~~~