Torchwoodgate, Ch 12 - Phoenix Rising
Title: Torchwoodgate - Year One
Author: Soledad
Aithor's Note: For disclaimer, rating, etc. go to the secondary index page
Trémois is borrowed from the French cop series “Julie Lescaut” and is here to make the lovely fanarts_series happy. She wanted some Frenchmen in Atlantis. Trémois was played by actor Jérome Anger.
System tech Corelli is one of the nameless extras sometimes seen in the Control room. Chang Lee is the nameless system tech played by Yee Ji Tsou. Dr. Moosekian is a recurring OC, “played” by Rory Cochrane. Dr. Mendoza is an OC, “played” by Santiago Cabrera. Ignácio Yniguez is an OC, “played” by Richard Yniguez.
CHAPTER 12 - PHOENIX RISING
Dr. Svetlana Markova loved being in charge of Atlantis, even if it was only a temporary assignment. It reminded her of her previous command, in Siberia, near Kuybishev Base. Here like there, they were just a couple of brilliant and dedicated people, cut off from the rest of mankind - there by the snow and the great distances, here by uncounted tons of sea water. Here like there, they could only count on themselves, and that created a unique atmosphere of camaraderie.
Sure, the living conditions were far from ideal, even compared with those at Kuybishev Base. In order to save as much energy as humanly possible, they never ventured beyond the Gate room, the Control room and the adjoining facilities. They even lived in the small, one-room quarters that had once served as the resting room of duty personnel… two people in one room, to use as little power as possible.
It wasn’t always comfortable, but it gave them more time to try saving Atlantis. And since everyone worked ungodly hours, they didn’t have the time to develop cabin fever.
Markova wasn’t surprised that Peter Grodin and Martha Jones chose to share quarters. Everybody knew that those two had had something running back at the SGC already. Or even further back, at Antarctica Base, where both had worked for a while before joining the Atlantis expedition. The only question up to debate had been whether Dr. Jones had broken up with her fiancée for Grodin, or had she started an affair with Grodin because she’d broken up with her fiancée, for comfort.
Not even Dr. Zelenka seemed to know it, which was definitely a first; the man usually knew everything. But perhaps he was just being a loyal friend. After all, he’d worked with them on Antarctica, too.
Markova, for her part, ended up sharing quarters with Suzie Costello, mostly because all other women seemed extremely wary around the Torchwood technical expert. She found the arrangement satisfying. Suzie was a quiet room-mate, with a somewhat anal-retentive hang to keep her surroundings neat and well-ordered, and while Markova wasn’t quite that obsessed with neatness herself, she appreciated not having to bunk with a schlub.
Besides, it gave her the chance to know Suzie a little better.
Searching the database for the failsafe mechanism was progressing slowly. With the help of Zelenka, who proved to be as ingenious as he’d been in Siberia, despite not having the gene, Toshiko had managed to localize and shut off all nonessential systems and to reduce life support for the few rooms they actually occupied. Even so, power was nearing its limits.
“Another section on the far side of the city flooded an hour or so ago,” Dr. Moosekian, a scruffy little engineer from Armenia, reported glumly.
Markova frowned. She had known Moosekian for years, had worked with him from time to time, and knew the man didn’t panic easily. Was their situation truly so dire?
“Is there no way we could spare more energy?” she asked.
Peter Grodin, who was coordinating the practical side of things, shook his head. “We’d done all that we could,” he replied in that supremely educated English accent of his that tended to give her an inferiority complex. “Unfortunately, Professor Taylor was right: even occupying this room is draining more power than the city would use in a year if left empty.”
“Our only chance is to find the failsafe and let the city rise, as long as the shield is still holding,” Trémois, one of the French engineers added. “Or to flee through the Stargate after the others with the last watts of our power.”
Markova nodded her understanding - it wasn’t anything they hadn’t discussed before dozens of times - and walked to the window of her (or rather Dr. Shaw’s) office. Atlantis spread out below her, glittering like white mist through the clear water. So beautiful. So full of secrets begging to be unravelled. So many questions to be answered. The thought that they might not get the chance to do so filled her with melancholy.
Someone stepped up to her, and turning slightly she saw that it was Antonio Corelli, one of the systems technicians, on his way to relieve Chang Lee from duty.
“Here it comes,” the handsome, elegantly greying Italian said softly.
Markova raised a questioning eyebrow, and Corelli gestured towards a distant spire. The surface of the forcefield that was covering it rippled; then a slow rumble could be perceived, shaking the floor beneath their feet. In the distance they could see air bubbles rise from the windows of the flooding tower.
“Another part of the shield has failed,” Markova realised. “We don’t have much time left. If we could by ourselves just another day, maybe…”
Corelli shook his head. “The city is sacrificing parts of itself to sustain the main areas,” he said. “But catastrophic shield failure…”
“… is inevitable,” Markova finished for him. “Yes, I know that, Mr. Corelli. The question is, what can we still do before that happens.”
“Actually,” Toshiko put her head into the office,” there’s a lot we can do. Or so I hope; I think we’ve finally found it.”
“The failsafe?” Markova asked, not quite daring to trust her ears. Yes, she had hoped - but that hope was build on very thin ice.
Toshiko nodded. “We think so, yes. Care to come down and take a look?
We, that was herself, in close teamwork with Doctors Kusanagi and Zelenka. All the others had merely been assisting; Suzie Costello before all else, although she, like Zelenka, was seriously hampered by not having the gene. They were brilliant, all four of them, much more so than their files stated. If Toshiko Sato said they might have found the failsafe, chances were very good that they had found it indeed.
Markova followed her down to the Control room, giving the monitor displaying the shield status a fleeting glance. It did not look good. All areas were flashing red now. She only hoped her quartet of quiet geniuses hadn’t made a mistake, because this sure as hell would be their only chance.
“Show me,” she said listening to Toshiko’s rapid-fire explanations. Zelenka chimed in, switching to Russian when his English vocabulary capitulated in face of the challenge to express himself properly, and from this bilingual dump of information, Markova finally came to understand the outline of things.
It might work. On the other hand, if it didn’t, the shield would just collapse, without the city rising to the surface, and they’d all die. As simple as that.
A low rumble vibrated through the entire city, and the floor began shaking under their feet violently. All around her people became deathly pale all of a sudden, fighting their panic with visible effort.
“Shield is collapsing,” Grodin said in a tight voice, his face ash grey.
Markova looked at Toshiko. “We have no choice. Do it. Now.”
Toshiko nodded and started typing away at a frantic speed, snapping orders to Miko Kusanagi in Japanese. The two women were working so fast that their fingers became a blur over the controls. Perhaps, perhaps they were gonna make it…
Suddenly, a massive jolt shuddered through the city, throwing people and equipment to the floor. Someone was screaming; the Gate flickered and powered down. The noise was incredible; the shaking so intense that Markova had the feeling her teeth may come loose any moment.
Grodin hauled himself upright, having momentarily overcome his panic, and staggered over to the DHD.
“I’m dialling Athos,” he announced. “We need a way out.”
“No!” Markova shouted. Grodin stopped, hand poised over the first symbol. “Dialling out now will just use up the last of the remaining power,” he yelled over the noise. “This whole section will flood before we can make it out.”
The mere idea filled her with mind-numbing panic. Memories of the planet with the sentient water came up, uninvited, and she began to shake with the remembered horror of it. Grodin stared at her in confusion.
“Staying is not an option!” he yelled back.
She grabbed his arm, more for support than to hold him back; his skin felt so warm under her icy fingers, so alive that she could have drowned in the sensation. She held on for dear life, as if she feared she’d lose it without his not-quite-so-calming presence, he was panicking just as much as she was, but at least he was there, warm and solid and human, and still very much alive…
At the same time, she noticed a shift in the light. It was getting brighter.
“It’s happening now, can you feel it?” she murmured, barely audible through the noise. “We’re moving!”
The noise was now changing, too. It was no longer a rumble as rather the sound of… rushing water, straining metal. Flooding perhaps? No; the sound wasn’t inside. It was outside, and she briefly wondered how it was possible to hear it through the thick metal hull of the city… of the ship.
She could feel her stomach lurch. It was a feeling similar to the one she always had in rapid-speed elevators. Damn inner ear problems! She hoped she wouldn’t end up throwing up all over the controls… this time.
Because they wee definitely moving. They were rising! Atlantis was rising to the surface!
Standing in front of the huge window, arms wrapped around each other protectively, Toshiko Sato and Miko Kusanagi watched the ocean slip away from the planes. It was replaced by waterfalls cascading from roofs and spires, as brilliant, glorious sunlight streamed through the water and refracted into multiple rainbows that sparkled across the room, casting colourful patterns on the stunned face of Dr. Zelenka, who was beaming like a child and stared out of the window with open-mouthed awe.
He murmured something in Czech, completely overwhelmed with both the beauty of the outside world and the fact that they weren’t going to die, after all.
“We’re on the surface!” Grodin breathed, helping Markova, whose knees had suddenly given in, back to her feet. Then he gave Toshiko a look full of respect. “How did you know…?”
“I didn’t; not for sure,” she replied simply. “I just wasn’t willing to give up.”
Markova smiled. “I was hoping for just another day, but it looks we’ll get more than that, after all,” she said. “Call the rest of our people, Mr. Grodin. We have some good news to share and plans to make.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The good news came close to a wholesome shock for Dr. Shaw; but it also meant that they had to re-think their entire strategy, and that required careful planning. To discuss the matter properly, she, Kirkitadze, the heads of the various science sections, Jack, Ianto, Captains Magambo and Price and others whose opinion would be considered important, returned to Atlantis.
They had to define the immediate future of their little colony, so Dr. Shaw had invited the Athosian elders along with them. Whatever they’d decide, it would affect the Athosians as well. They had a right to vote, assuming the Earthers wanted to explore the Ancient city any further.
As the ones who usually spoke for their people, Teyla and Halling accepted the invitation with their natural dignity, even though setting foot on Atlantis had visibly shaken them. As it turned out, the city had been as much the subject of ancient legends among the Athosians as it had been on Earth; and they had different views on it. Teyla clearly saw it as a piece of their history coming alive again, while for Halling, it seemed to be some sort of holy relic. Still, they both dealt reasonably well with being there.
As for the expedition members, they were slowly getting over the euphoria of having saved Atlantis and turned their brilliant minds towards the practical issues of the future now lying before them. Because the sobering truth was that by saving the city, their problems hadn’t lessened a bit. In truth, they’d perhaps gotten up another notch, and Dr. Shaw found herself assigned to the task of breaching that fact to the others.
A task Jack didn’t envy her for a bit.
“Let us assess the current situation,” she said, speaking slowly, so that the Athosians, too, could follow… or Corrigan could translate for them if necessary. “We have saved Atlantis from being crushed by the pressure of thousands of tons of seawater… so far that is a good thing, in my opinion. We’ve come here in the first place to find and to study the city; now we get the chance to actually do so. However, we still haven’t solved the power problem,” she looked at Markova. “Can you give me our current power status?”
“The last ZPM is depleted,” Markova answered, “but limited power has returned now that our own generators aren’t trying to hold back an ocean. Life support systems are working…”
“Do we need them?” Martha asked. “The planet’s atmosphere is breathable, aside from the inevitable allergens…”
“Which we havtae research very carefully, if we’re gonna live here for the duration,” Carson added. “Compare them with those we may find on Athos, too, if we wanna see whether the Athosians would react allergic to anything here. They seem a healthy and robust people, but…”
“But every planet has its specific biosphere, so there’s always some risk involved,” Dr. Lorenzo Mendoza, their only palaeontologist, finished for him.
“Excuse me,” Teyla raised a hand. “I am afraid I do not understand the problem. As far as I know, the plants and animals are very similar on most of the inhabited worlds my people have visited.”
“Yes, but those people you visited all live fairly close to the Stargate… to the Ring, aren’t they?” Mendoza asked.
Teyla nodded. “Within a few hours’ walk, yes.”
“It’s the same way in our galaxy, wherever the Gates are in a temperate part of the planet,” Mendoza said. “Traffic through the Stargates most likely has spread some plant species around, at least in the area in close proximity of the Gate. So, if a certain group lives, say, a mile from their Gate, and another group about the same distance of a Gate on a different planet, their living conditions would be much closer to each other than to groups living a hundred miles away on the same planet.”
Teyla and Halling talked among each other in low voices, checked with Corrigan whether they’d understood everything correctly, and then they both nodded in agreement.
“It would explain why we find so many similar plants on the planets of our trade partners,” Halling said thoughtfully, “and why the rare goods always come from some other part of the same planet.”
“Exactly,” Mendoza agreed. “There could be still significant differences, which is why our botanists need to compare the local fauna on both planets, and that bug expert, Doctor Mahesh Vitaysomething, has to take a close look at the insects native to both places.”
“Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy,” Dr. Chandra Suresh corrected. “He’s a nameworthy entomologist, probably the best of his generation.”
“Nameworthy is the understadtement of the century,” Jack muttered. “Only the Slitheen had worse names than that little guy.”
“I can understand that Americans find it hard to remember,” Dr. Suresh Sr said in the somewhat condescending manner of someone who represented a culture that was thousands of years older, “and so has he. That’s why he’s accepted being called simply Doctor Mahesh.”
“Yeah, and because he was sick and tired of everyone calling him Bug,” Dr. Mendoza grinned.
Captain Magambo tapped her pen against the glossy surface of the Ancient conference table and turned back the discussion to its actual topic.
“Those are all valid concerns, but I think we’ve frogotten about the most important question,” she said. “Professor Taylor, can our generators supply enough power for the shield for defensive purposes?”
She instinctively turned for answers to someone she’d known well from previous experience, even though Taylor might not been the right person to provide answers, not even having been on Atlantis in the recent days.
“Not even close!” the professor replied, arms folded. He clearly saw their situation as a personal offence.
“Then we have a serious problem,” Magambo noted. “On the surface, without the shield, we’re target practice.”
Professor Taylor gave her a withering look. “I’m acutely aware of that, Erisa. Thank your for reinforcing it. We’d be really lost without the brilliant insights of the military.”
“Actually, you would,” Jack retorted. “What Captain Magambo is trying to get into that thick Welsh skull of yours is this: Atlantis is on the surface. Last time she’s been on the surface, she was besieged by the Wraith and nearly destroyed. The only way the Ancients could save her was to sink her. Now we’ve brought her back to the surface with only a handful of soldiers with way inferior weapons to defend her. So, the quiestion is not only how we can hope to defend her, but also whether we can take the risk of bringing our people back here.”
“Of course we can, are you bloody insane?” Professor Taylor practically exploded into Jack’s face. “We must. That’s why we came here! The knowledge, the technology, probably even the weapons of the Ancients… it’s all here, we just need to find it and make it work!”
“True,” Liz Shaw agreed smoothly. “But you must also admit, Professor, that while we’re doing that, we won’t need, say, the botanists, the teachers, the medical scientists, the anthropologists and the likes here in Atlantis. They could work much easier and better in the ancient city on Athos.”
“Not to mention that - unlike Atlantis - the city actually still has a shield,” Jack added. “Not such a strong one as Atlantis used to have, but… adequate, if one can trust Doctor Kavanagh.”
“You can,” Zelenka said. “Calvin is grossly paranoid. If he says a place is safe, it is safe.”
“We can’t split the expedition up!” Professor Taylor protested. “We can barely cover the most essential workplaces here as it is, and…”
“Yes, we can,” Markova interrupted him coolly. “In fact, we must. Based on Doctor Simpson’s preliminary report, there’s probably a great deal of useful technology in the city of Athos… does it have a name?”
“I think it might have been called Ultima Thule,” Corrigan said. Jack and Ianto kept their poker faces, not wanting to reveal the secret of the ghost machine just yet.
Markova nodded. “Spasiba. Perhaps some of that technology, being a lot older than the one in Atlantis, would be more easily accessible for us.”
“And don’t forget the library!” Corrigan added. “Granted, the dialect is a little tricky, but…”
“I’ve developed a very effective translation software for alien languages,” Toshiko offered. “Perhaps if I uploaded it to your laptop, it might help.”
Dr. Shaw nodded. “Sounds promising. In any case, we can’t afford to simply ignore whatever knowledge and technology we may find in Ultima Thule. It could even give us a better understanding of the technology we already know, since the Ancients seem to have had a definite aversion against user's manuals.”
“There is another aspect, a non-technical one,” Dr. Suresh said quietly. “It would be healthier for the children to live in a natural environment… despite the potential allergens. These planets seem largely unpolluted, due to the lack of advanced technology. Against local pathogens, they can develop immunitites or get shots, but they are still the lesser risk than whatever might be hidden in Atlantis.”
“What do ya mean, man?” Beckett asked, frowning.
“As far as we can tell, Atlantis was the last fortress of the Ancients,” Chandra Suresh replied with an elegant shrug. “They were losing the war, and they were most likely desperate. Desperate people tend to take desperate measures to prevent their refuge from falling into enemy hands.”
“You mean chemical or biological weapons!” Jack realized. “Booby traps all over the city, perhaps.”
The geneticist nodded. “Precisely. They’ll most likely spare any gene carriers, but would we want the children to run free in the city before we can be sure that it’s safe?”
“What you say does have its merits,” Kirkitadze admitted. “There’s even the possibility that unauthorized access - say, the lack of the ATA gene - may trigger a self-destruct mechanism we haven’t discovered yet. We have to use the opposite method Captain Harkness’s team used in Ultima Thule: sending the gene carriers in first, so that Atlantis would accept the search teams without triggering any self-defence weapon system.”
“That would make it easy to decide, how to split expedition,” Zelenka said a little regretfully. “Gene carriers stay, everyone else leaves.”
Jack shook his head. “That wouldn’t work. Firstly, we’re not nearly enough to do even the preliminary work in Atlantis. Secondly, we’re needed in Ultima Thule, too. The vital areas only allow access to gene carriers.”
“So, what’s your suggestion, Jack?” Dr. Shaw asked. “Because I assume you have one.”
Jack nodded. “We should rotate the teams between Ultima Thule and Atlantis,” he said. “At the very least the technicians and the military personnel, so that they can get used to working in both places. As for the science department, we’ll have to see where they can be more efficient.”
“Knowing the Ancients, they’d have extensive labs in both cities,” Corrigan supported the idea. “The individual science sections can choose the ones with the more suitable equipment, regardless of the location. It will take some time to figure out the logistics, but this might indeed be the most efficient use of our resources.”
“Speaking of resources, “Ignácio Yniguez, their lead botanist injected, “what about food production? I know we’ve brought enough dehydrated food to feed the expedition for a year, but we can’t live on that exclusively. Besides, sooner or later we’ll run out of it.”
He was a heavily built, middle-aged man of Mexican origins, coming from a very poor agrarian family and thus with ample first-hand experience with food-growing. He’d laboured hard on his father’s small lands as a young man.
“We can’t just start growing Earth plants on Athos!” Dr. Mendoza protested. “Not without a thorough research of the local flora. Or else we could cause a planet-wide plant plague.”
Ianto cleared his throat. “Actually… I’ve taken a look at the internal map of Atlantis, with the help of our data storage device, and found the hydroponics gardens. Apparently, the Ancients were aware of such dangers and chose to grow their food on the ship herself.”
Yniguez nodded in obvious relief. “Well, that will take care of the problem, at least for the immediate future. We’ll still have to give the local foodstuff a try in the long run, but that’s what Cristina Piccoli is here for. She’s a plant geneticist; she might figure out how to cross-breed Earth plants with local ones, to make them adapt to the new biospheres later.”
“We can keep Parrish and Brown in Ultima Thule, while Piccoli and you give the hydroponics gardens a try,” Mendoza suggested. “The oceanologists should stay, too; there’s nothing for them on Athos. At least not anywhere close to the Gate.”
“Let us not get lost in details,” Dr. Shaw interrupted. “I’ll work out a schedule with the help of Mr. Jones and Corporal Bell shortly, taking the suggestions of the section heads into consideration.”
“And where will you be?” Teyla asked, after having cleared with Corrigan that both she and Halling had understood the basics of the dispute correctly.
Dr. Shaw smiled. “Since I don’t have the gene, I’ll stay in Ultima Thule, for the time being; besides, I’ll be needed there for the period of settling down. I’ve been selected to lead the whole expedition, not just he science department; that’s Markova’s job.”
“But she doesn’t even have the gene!” Professor Taylor protested.
“Neither have you,” Dr. Shaw pointed out. “It doesn’t matter, as she’ll have Doctors Sato, Kusanagi and Grodin to help her.”
“What about me?” Jack asked. “I’ve got the gene, too… and so does Ianto.”
“I’ll need Mr. Jones with me to help organize things in Ultima Thule,” Dr. Shaw said. “And since we’ve taken the gateships to Athos, I need all those who can fly them over there, too. You particularly; to train other gene carriers in piloting.”
Jack nodded in understanding. In truth, he didn’t really mind. He preferred to stay wherever Ianto was, for the duration, although he didn’t like the fact that his team would be split up as well.
“Captain Magambo is more than qualified to serve as the military commander of Atlantis in my absence,” he said. “We can rotate the job between the three of us later,” he added, looking at Marion Price, who nodded.
“I’d be happy to do some geeky stuff for the time being,” she replied. She was a good engineer who loved her job, aside from being a UNIT officer.
Dr. Shaw smiled in satisfaction. “Very well. I’d like all section heads to work with Mr. Jones on establishing a rotation schedule. I want to know who’ll be in Atlantis and who’ll be in Ultima Thule at any given time. We’ll also need to assign quarters to everyone in both places, as people will need to have a stable environment, wherever they happen to work,” she looked at Ianto. “Corporal Bell will work with you on the logistics. She’s extremely efficient, as you already know.”
Ianto nodded and made notes in his Torchwood-issue PDA. Working with Corporal Bell was something he’d enjoyed greatly while they’d been still planning the expedition. He’d no doubt that they’d get along well again. The logistics of organizing the lives of both groups and harmonizing them with each other promised to be mind-numbing, but he was used to such things. He’d done something similar for Torchwood One for a while, right before the Battle of Canary Wharf, and there had been four times as many people as here.
“Do you want me to assign quarters for the Athosian representatives as well?” he asked.
Dr. Shaw looked at Teyla. “Would you like to establish a presence on Atlantis?”
The two Athosians and Corrigan discussed the question for a moment, then Teyla shook her head.
“I shall not send anyone to live on Atlantis permanently,” she said. “This is not our way to live. But we would like to have a place reserved for those who may come to the City of the Ancestors for a short visit. The same for the old city on our planet.”
“Understood,” Ianto filed away the request. “Since you tend to have large families, I’ll reserve one of the bigger quarters for you, in the area that will hopefully be the family wing one day. Even if the families will mostly stay on Athos.”
“That will be excellent, thank you,” Teyla replied simply.
“I would like to stay for a visit,” Halling added. “To watch the message of the Ancestors, to know their city a little… There is much that needs to be added to the Traditions. Then I shall return to the old city and do the same.”
Dr. Shaw had no objections, and with that, the meeting was adjourned. The deadline for working out a rotation for all expedition personnel was set for three days from then.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the following three days Ianto was so extremely busy Jack had barely seen hide or hair of him. He remained on Atlantis for that time period, for simply practical reasons. The unknown planet upon which ocean Atlantis was currently floating had a 29-hour-day, as opposed to Athos, whose day had only a 22-hour-rotation. He simply needed more time to get the work done.
Doctors Nichols and Mendoza had been excited when they realized the difference, opportunities of a research of several lifetimes forming before their mind’s eye.
“Think about it!” the palaeontologist, a handsome, slightly long-haired young man from Chile, enthused. “Studying the differences in the evolutionary process caused by that would be a project large enough for an entire university! And there’s only the two of us! We’re so winning a Nobel Prize for this… well, we would, if this whole thing wasn’t strictly confidential.”
Dr. Nichols, short, stocky and bespectacled, nodded enthusiastically. He wasn’t a very pleasant fellow to work with, not usually - the only scientist people avoided more was Professor Taylor - but right now, he was beaming with excitement.
“At the same time, we must take the effect into consideration that the divergences from Earth’s 24-hour rotation might have on our people,” Martha warned, “whether they’re here or in Ultima Thule.”
“Especially when they’re hopping back and forth between the two places,” Owen added sourly.
“Aye, that can be a problem,” Dr. Beckett agreed. “I’d suggest havin’ people in the same place fer a month or two apiece, or else we could end up with sleepin’ schedules gone to the dogs fer good.”
“Where are you staying?” Captain Price asked.
“I’m goin’ to Ultima Thule fer starters,” Beckett replied. “I’m a geneticist meself, and aside from keepin’ an eye on the wee ones, I’d be the most useful helpin’ Doctor Suresh - both of them - with mappin’ the Athosian genome. Plus, I wanna study Athosian herbal medicine and its possible affects on human physiology. Sooner or later, we’re gonna runnin’ out of our medical supplies, and if that happens, I wanna have somethin’ else to rely on.”
He sighed and looked at Martha. “I’m leavin’ things in your capable hands here, love. You’re much better with this technical stuff than I can ever hope to become anyway.”
“Perhaps; but you’ve got a much stronger gene,” Martha pointed out.
Beckett smiled at her tiredly. “Ya’ll do just fine, love; and if not, ya’ll have Peter to help you out. To be honest, I dearly love the thought of living in a natural environment for a change.”
With that, he left to reorganize the medical staff, so that the two halves would work smoothly without each other. Ianto checked his and Martha’s name on the list, then he looked at Jack.
“What about Owen?” he asked. “Are we taking him with us to Athos?”
“Hell, no!” Jack replied with emphasis. ”He’d insult the locals, drink all the moonshine he can lay his hands on and have poor Carson in tears within days. You know how much he hates the countryside.”
“No more than I do,” Ianto muttered darkly. Jack gave him a rueful smile and touched the nape of his neck in a brief, comforting gesture.
“That’s different. You had a traumatic experience. Owen’s just a through and through urban animal… and a nasty one at times. Carson wouldn’t stand a chance against him; the man is too gentle-hearted. Martha, on the other hand, is more than capable of putting him in his place.”
“Can I shoot him?” Martha asked with an evil gleam in her pretty eyes.
“I’ve tried that,” Ianto told her. “It doesn’t work. Just insult his professional pride, that hurts him more than anything.”
Martha nodded nonchalantly. “I can do that. What about the rest of the team?”
“I’d like Miss Costello to stay here,” Markova said. “I found that I can work with her very well.”
Jack looked at her in surprise for a moment, then shrugged. “Fine with me. That means Mickey has to stay, too. Tosh anyway. It seems that it’ll be just you and me and our two PCs, Ianto. They’ll come with the civilian security.”
“Suzie will be relieved,” Ianto replied sarcastically. “Well, someone ought to make the sacrifice.”
“Oh, c’mon, Ianto, Andy isn’t that bad,” Jack said.
“No,” Ianto agreed blandly. “Andy isn’t. I never protested against his presence.”
“You know my reasons,” Jack said after a short, tense pause.
“Yeah, I do,” Ianto replied. “Doesn’t mean I have to like them,” he checked the aforementioned names, then pocketed his PDA. “Well, we’re done with personal issues for the time being. Let’s face the horrors of distributing our equipment between the two groups next.”
“You never give an old woman a break, do you?” Corporal Bell complained, but she went with him to re-check the packing lists willingly.
Captain Price gave Jack an inquiring look. “Domestic squabble?”
“More like a disagreement… and a long-lasting one,” Jack answered with a sigh. “Well, let’s form our survey teams and decide who goes where for the first rotation.”
Chapter 13 - The Promised Land
Author: Soledad
Aithor's Note: For disclaimer, rating, etc. go to the secondary index page
Trémois is borrowed from the French cop series “Julie Lescaut” and is here to make the lovely fanarts_series happy. She wanted some Frenchmen in Atlantis. Trémois was played by actor Jérome Anger.
System tech Corelli is one of the nameless extras sometimes seen in the Control room. Chang Lee is the nameless system tech played by Yee Ji Tsou. Dr. Moosekian is a recurring OC, “played” by Rory Cochrane. Dr. Mendoza is an OC, “played” by Santiago Cabrera. Ignácio Yniguez is an OC, “played” by Richard Yniguez.
CHAPTER 12 - PHOENIX RISING
Dr. Svetlana Markova loved being in charge of Atlantis, even if it was only a temporary assignment. It reminded her of her previous command, in Siberia, near Kuybishev Base. Here like there, they were just a couple of brilliant and dedicated people, cut off from the rest of mankind - there by the snow and the great distances, here by uncounted tons of sea water. Here like there, they could only count on themselves, and that created a unique atmosphere of camaraderie.
Sure, the living conditions were far from ideal, even compared with those at Kuybishev Base. In order to save as much energy as humanly possible, they never ventured beyond the Gate room, the Control room and the adjoining facilities. They even lived in the small, one-room quarters that had once served as the resting room of duty personnel… two people in one room, to use as little power as possible.
It wasn’t always comfortable, but it gave them more time to try saving Atlantis. And since everyone worked ungodly hours, they didn’t have the time to develop cabin fever.
Markova wasn’t surprised that Peter Grodin and Martha Jones chose to share quarters. Everybody knew that those two had had something running back at the SGC already. Or even further back, at Antarctica Base, where both had worked for a while before joining the Atlantis expedition. The only question up to debate had been whether Dr. Jones had broken up with her fiancée for Grodin, or had she started an affair with Grodin because she’d broken up with her fiancée, for comfort.
Not even Dr. Zelenka seemed to know it, which was definitely a first; the man usually knew everything. But perhaps he was just being a loyal friend. After all, he’d worked with them on Antarctica, too.
Markova, for her part, ended up sharing quarters with Suzie Costello, mostly because all other women seemed extremely wary around the Torchwood technical expert. She found the arrangement satisfying. Suzie was a quiet room-mate, with a somewhat anal-retentive hang to keep her surroundings neat and well-ordered, and while Markova wasn’t quite that obsessed with neatness herself, she appreciated not having to bunk with a schlub.
Besides, it gave her the chance to know Suzie a little better.
Searching the database for the failsafe mechanism was progressing slowly. With the help of Zelenka, who proved to be as ingenious as he’d been in Siberia, despite not having the gene, Toshiko had managed to localize and shut off all nonessential systems and to reduce life support for the few rooms they actually occupied. Even so, power was nearing its limits.
“Another section on the far side of the city flooded an hour or so ago,” Dr. Moosekian, a scruffy little engineer from Armenia, reported glumly.
Markova frowned. She had known Moosekian for years, had worked with him from time to time, and knew the man didn’t panic easily. Was their situation truly so dire?
“Is there no way we could spare more energy?” she asked.
Peter Grodin, who was coordinating the practical side of things, shook his head. “We’d done all that we could,” he replied in that supremely educated English accent of his that tended to give her an inferiority complex. “Unfortunately, Professor Taylor was right: even occupying this room is draining more power than the city would use in a year if left empty.”
“Our only chance is to find the failsafe and let the city rise, as long as the shield is still holding,” Trémois, one of the French engineers added. “Or to flee through the Stargate after the others with the last watts of our power.”
Markova nodded her understanding - it wasn’t anything they hadn’t discussed before dozens of times - and walked to the window of her (or rather Dr. Shaw’s) office. Atlantis spread out below her, glittering like white mist through the clear water. So beautiful. So full of secrets begging to be unravelled. So many questions to be answered. The thought that they might not get the chance to do so filled her with melancholy.
Someone stepped up to her, and turning slightly she saw that it was Antonio Corelli, one of the systems technicians, on his way to relieve Chang Lee from duty.
“Here it comes,” the handsome, elegantly greying Italian said softly.
Markova raised a questioning eyebrow, and Corelli gestured towards a distant spire. The surface of the forcefield that was covering it rippled; then a slow rumble could be perceived, shaking the floor beneath their feet. In the distance they could see air bubbles rise from the windows of the flooding tower.
“Another part of the shield has failed,” Markova realised. “We don’t have much time left. If we could by ourselves just another day, maybe…”
Corelli shook his head. “The city is sacrificing parts of itself to sustain the main areas,” he said. “But catastrophic shield failure…”
“… is inevitable,” Markova finished for him. “Yes, I know that, Mr. Corelli. The question is, what can we still do before that happens.”
“Actually,” Toshiko put her head into the office,” there’s a lot we can do. Or so I hope; I think we’ve finally found it.”
“The failsafe?” Markova asked, not quite daring to trust her ears. Yes, she had hoped - but that hope was build on very thin ice.
Toshiko nodded. “We think so, yes. Care to come down and take a look?
We, that was herself, in close teamwork with Doctors Kusanagi and Zelenka. All the others had merely been assisting; Suzie Costello before all else, although she, like Zelenka, was seriously hampered by not having the gene. They were brilliant, all four of them, much more so than their files stated. If Toshiko Sato said they might have found the failsafe, chances were very good that they had found it indeed.
Markova followed her down to the Control room, giving the monitor displaying the shield status a fleeting glance. It did not look good. All areas were flashing red now. She only hoped her quartet of quiet geniuses hadn’t made a mistake, because this sure as hell would be their only chance.
“Show me,” she said listening to Toshiko’s rapid-fire explanations. Zelenka chimed in, switching to Russian when his English vocabulary capitulated in face of the challenge to express himself properly, and from this bilingual dump of information, Markova finally came to understand the outline of things.
It might work. On the other hand, if it didn’t, the shield would just collapse, without the city rising to the surface, and they’d all die. As simple as that.
A low rumble vibrated through the entire city, and the floor began shaking under their feet violently. All around her people became deathly pale all of a sudden, fighting their panic with visible effort.
“Shield is collapsing,” Grodin said in a tight voice, his face ash grey.
Markova looked at Toshiko. “We have no choice. Do it. Now.”
Toshiko nodded and started typing away at a frantic speed, snapping orders to Miko Kusanagi in Japanese. The two women were working so fast that their fingers became a blur over the controls. Perhaps, perhaps they were gonna make it…
Suddenly, a massive jolt shuddered through the city, throwing people and equipment to the floor. Someone was screaming; the Gate flickered and powered down. The noise was incredible; the shaking so intense that Markova had the feeling her teeth may come loose any moment.
Grodin hauled himself upright, having momentarily overcome his panic, and staggered over to the DHD.
“I’m dialling Athos,” he announced. “We need a way out.”
“No!” Markova shouted. Grodin stopped, hand poised over the first symbol. “Dialling out now will just use up the last of the remaining power,” he yelled over the noise. “This whole section will flood before we can make it out.”
The mere idea filled her with mind-numbing panic. Memories of the planet with the sentient water came up, uninvited, and she began to shake with the remembered horror of it. Grodin stared at her in confusion.
“Staying is not an option!” he yelled back.
She grabbed his arm, more for support than to hold him back; his skin felt so warm under her icy fingers, so alive that she could have drowned in the sensation. She held on for dear life, as if she feared she’d lose it without his not-quite-so-calming presence, he was panicking just as much as she was, but at least he was there, warm and solid and human, and still very much alive…
At the same time, she noticed a shift in the light. It was getting brighter.
“It’s happening now, can you feel it?” she murmured, barely audible through the noise. “We’re moving!”
The noise was now changing, too. It was no longer a rumble as rather the sound of… rushing water, straining metal. Flooding perhaps? No; the sound wasn’t inside. It was outside, and she briefly wondered how it was possible to hear it through the thick metal hull of the city… of the ship.
She could feel her stomach lurch. It was a feeling similar to the one she always had in rapid-speed elevators. Damn inner ear problems! She hoped she wouldn’t end up throwing up all over the controls… this time.
Because they wee definitely moving. They were rising! Atlantis was rising to the surface!
Standing in front of the huge window, arms wrapped around each other protectively, Toshiko Sato and Miko Kusanagi watched the ocean slip away from the planes. It was replaced by waterfalls cascading from roofs and spires, as brilliant, glorious sunlight streamed through the water and refracted into multiple rainbows that sparkled across the room, casting colourful patterns on the stunned face of Dr. Zelenka, who was beaming like a child and stared out of the window with open-mouthed awe.
He murmured something in Czech, completely overwhelmed with both the beauty of the outside world and the fact that they weren’t going to die, after all.
“We’re on the surface!” Grodin breathed, helping Markova, whose knees had suddenly given in, back to her feet. Then he gave Toshiko a look full of respect. “How did you know…?”
“I didn’t; not for sure,” she replied simply. “I just wasn’t willing to give up.”
Markova smiled. “I was hoping for just another day, but it looks we’ll get more than that, after all,” she said. “Call the rest of our people, Mr. Grodin. We have some good news to share and plans to make.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The good news came close to a wholesome shock for Dr. Shaw; but it also meant that they had to re-think their entire strategy, and that required careful planning. To discuss the matter properly, she, Kirkitadze, the heads of the various science sections, Jack, Ianto, Captains Magambo and Price and others whose opinion would be considered important, returned to Atlantis.
They had to define the immediate future of their little colony, so Dr. Shaw had invited the Athosian elders along with them. Whatever they’d decide, it would affect the Athosians as well. They had a right to vote, assuming the Earthers wanted to explore the Ancient city any further.
As the ones who usually spoke for their people, Teyla and Halling accepted the invitation with their natural dignity, even though setting foot on Atlantis had visibly shaken them. As it turned out, the city had been as much the subject of ancient legends among the Athosians as it had been on Earth; and they had different views on it. Teyla clearly saw it as a piece of their history coming alive again, while for Halling, it seemed to be some sort of holy relic. Still, they both dealt reasonably well with being there.
As for the expedition members, they were slowly getting over the euphoria of having saved Atlantis and turned their brilliant minds towards the practical issues of the future now lying before them. Because the sobering truth was that by saving the city, their problems hadn’t lessened a bit. In truth, they’d perhaps gotten up another notch, and Dr. Shaw found herself assigned to the task of breaching that fact to the others.
A task Jack didn’t envy her for a bit.
“Let us assess the current situation,” she said, speaking slowly, so that the Athosians, too, could follow… or Corrigan could translate for them if necessary. “We have saved Atlantis from being crushed by the pressure of thousands of tons of seawater… so far that is a good thing, in my opinion. We’ve come here in the first place to find and to study the city; now we get the chance to actually do so. However, we still haven’t solved the power problem,” she looked at Markova. “Can you give me our current power status?”
“The last ZPM is depleted,” Markova answered, “but limited power has returned now that our own generators aren’t trying to hold back an ocean. Life support systems are working…”
“Do we need them?” Martha asked. “The planet’s atmosphere is breathable, aside from the inevitable allergens…”
“Which we havtae research very carefully, if we’re gonna live here for the duration,” Carson added. “Compare them with those we may find on Athos, too, if we wanna see whether the Athosians would react allergic to anything here. They seem a healthy and robust people, but…”
“But every planet has its specific biosphere, so there’s always some risk involved,” Dr. Lorenzo Mendoza, their only palaeontologist, finished for him.
“Excuse me,” Teyla raised a hand. “I am afraid I do not understand the problem. As far as I know, the plants and animals are very similar on most of the inhabited worlds my people have visited.”
“Yes, but those people you visited all live fairly close to the Stargate… to the Ring, aren’t they?” Mendoza asked.
Teyla nodded. “Within a few hours’ walk, yes.”
“It’s the same way in our galaxy, wherever the Gates are in a temperate part of the planet,” Mendoza said. “Traffic through the Stargates most likely has spread some plant species around, at least in the area in close proximity of the Gate. So, if a certain group lives, say, a mile from their Gate, and another group about the same distance of a Gate on a different planet, their living conditions would be much closer to each other than to groups living a hundred miles away on the same planet.”
Teyla and Halling talked among each other in low voices, checked with Corrigan whether they’d understood everything correctly, and then they both nodded in agreement.
“It would explain why we find so many similar plants on the planets of our trade partners,” Halling said thoughtfully, “and why the rare goods always come from some other part of the same planet.”
“Exactly,” Mendoza agreed. “There could be still significant differences, which is why our botanists need to compare the local fauna on both planets, and that bug expert, Doctor Mahesh Vitaysomething, has to take a close look at the insects native to both places.”
“Vijayaraghavensatyanaryanamurthy,” Dr. Chandra Suresh corrected. “He’s a nameworthy entomologist, probably the best of his generation.”
“Nameworthy is the understadtement of the century,” Jack muttered. “Only the Slitheen had worse names than that little guy.”
“I can understand that Americans find it hard to remember,” Dr. Suresh Sr said in the somewhat condescending manner of someone who represented a culture that was thousands of years older, “and so has he. That’s why he’s accepted being called simply Doctor Mahesh.”
“Yeah, and because he was sick and tired of everyone calling him Bug,” Dr. Mendoza grinned.
Captain Magambo tapped her pen against the glossy surface of the Ancient conference table and turned back the discussion to its actual topic.
“Those are all valid concerns, but I think we’ve frogotten about the most important question,” she said. “Professor Taylor, can our generators supply enough power for the shield for defensive purposes?”
She instinctively turned for answers to someone she’d known well from previous experience, even though Taylor might not been the right person to provide answers, not even having been on Atlantis in the recent days.
“Not even close!” the professor replied, arms folded. He clearly saw their situation as a personal offence.
“Then we have a serious problem,” Magambo noted. “On the surface, without the shield, we’re target practice.”
Professor Taylor gave her a withering look. “I’m acutely aware of that, Erisa. Thank your for reinforcing it. We’d be really lost without the brilliant insights of the military.”
“Actually, you would,” Jack retorted. “What Captain Magambo is trying to get into that thick Welsh skull of yours is this: Atlantis is on the surface. Last time she’s been on the surface, she was besieged by the Wraith and nearly destroyed. The only way the Ancients could save her was to sink her. Now we’ve brought her back to the surface with only a handful of soldiers with way inferior weapons to defend her. So, the quiestion is not only how we can hope to defend her, but also whether we can take the risk of bringing our people back here.”
“Of course we can, are you bloody insane?” Professor Taylor practically exploded into Jack’s face. “We must. That’s why we came here! The knowledge, the technology, probably even the weapons of the Ancients… it’s all here, we just need to find it and make it work!”
“True,” Liz Shaw agreed smoothly. “But you must also admit, Professor, that while we’re doing that, we won’t need, say, the botanists, the teachers, the medical scientists, the anthropologists and the likes here in Atlantis. They could work much easier and better in the ancient city on Athos.”
“Not to mention that - unlike Atlantis - the city actually still has a shield,” Jack added. “Not such a strong one as Atlantis used to have, but… adequate, if one can trust Doctor Kavanagh.”
“You can,” Zelenka said. “Calvin is grossly paranoid. If he says a place is safe, it is safe.”
“We can’t split the expedition up!” Professor Taylor protested. “We can barely cover the most essential workplaces here as it is, and…”
“Yes, we can,” Markova interrupted him coolly. “In fact, we must. Based on Doctor Simpson’s preliminary report, there’s probably a great deal of useful technology in the city of Athos… does it have a name?”
“I think it might have been called Ultima Thule,” Corrigan said. Jack and Ianto kept their poker faces, not wanting to reveal the secret of the ghost machine just yet.
Markova nodded. “Spasiba. Perhaps some of that technology, being a lot older than the one in Atlantis, would be more easily accessible for us.”
“And don’t forget the library!” Corrigan added. “Granted, the dialect is a little tricky, but…”
“I’ve developed a very effective translation software for alien languages,” Toshiko offered. “Perhaps if I uploaded it to your laptop, it might help.”
Dr. Shaw nodded. “Sounds promising. In any case, we can’t afford to simply ignore whatever knowledge and technology we may find in Ultima Thule. It could even give us a better understanding of the technology we already know, since the Ancients seem to have had a definite aversion against user's manuals.”
“There is another aspect, a non-technical one,” Dr. Suresh said quietly. “It would be healthier for the children to live in a natural environment… despite the potential allergens. These planets seem largely unpolluted, due to the lack of advanced technology. Against local pathogens, they can develop immunitites or get shots, but they are still the lesser risk than whatever might be hidden in Atlantis.”
“What do ya mean, man?” Beckett asked, frowning.
“As far as we can tell, Atlantis was the last fortress of the Ancients,” Chandra Suresh replied with an elegant shrug. “They were losing the war, and they were most likely desperate. Desperate people tend to take desperate measures to prevent their refuge from falling into enemy hands.”
“You mean chemical or biological weapons!” Jack realized. “Booby traps all over the city, perhaps.”
The geneticist nodded. “Precisely. They’ll most likely spare any gene carriers, but would we want the children to run free in the city before we can be sure that it’s safe?”
“What you say does have its merits,” Kirkitadze admitted. “There’s even the possibility that unauthorized access - say, the lack of the ATA gene - may trigger a self-destruct mechanism we haven’t discovered yet. We have to use the opposite method Captain Harkness’s team used in Ultima Thule: sending the gene carriers in first, so that Atlantis would accept the search teams without triggering any self-defence weapon system.”
“That would make it easy to decide, how to split expedition,” Zelenka said a little regretfully. “Gene carriers stay, everyone else leaves.”
Jack shook his head. “That wouldn’t work. Firstly, we’re not nearly enough to do even the preliminary work in Atlantis. Secondly, we’re needed in Ultima Thule, too. The vital areas only allow access to gene carriers.”
“So, what’s your suggestion, Jack?” Dr. Shaw asked. “Because I assume you have one.”
Jack nodded. “We should rotate the teams between Ultima Thule and Atlantis,” he said. “At the very least the technicians and the military personnel, so that they can get used to working in both places. As for the science department, we’ll have to see where they can be more efficient.”
“Knowing the Ancients, they’d have extensive labs in both cities,” Corrigan supported the idea. “The individual science sections can choose the ones with the more suitable equipment, regardless of the location. It will take some time to figure out the logistics, but this might indeed be the most efficient use of our resources.”
“Speaking of resources, “Ignácio Yniguez, their lead botanist injected, “what about food production? I know we’ve brought enough dehydrated food to feed the expedition for a year, but we can’t live on that exclusively. Besides, sooner or later we’ll run out of it.”
He was a heavily built, middle-aged man of Mexican origins, coming from a very poor agrarian family and thus with ample first-hand experience with food-growing. He’d laboured hard on his father’s small lands as a young man.
“We can’t just start growing Earth plants on Athos!” Dr. Mendoza protested. “Not without a thorough research of the local flora. Or else we could cause a planet-wide plant plague.”
Ianto cleared his throat. “Actually… I’ve taken a look at the internal map of Atlantis, with the help of our data storage device, and found the hydroponics gardens. Apparently, the Ancients were aware of such dangers and chose to grow their food on the ship herself.”
Yniguez nodded in obvious relief. “Well, that will take care of the problem, at least for the immediate future. We’ll still have to give the local foodstuff a try in the long run, but that’s what Cristina Piccoli is here for. She’s a plant geneticist; she might figure out how to cross-breed Earth plants with local ones, to make them adapt to the new biospheres later.”
“We can keep Parrish and Brown in Ultima Thule, while Piccoli and you give the hydroponics gardens a try,” Mendoza suggested. “The oceanologists should stay, too; there’s nothing for them on Athos. At least not anywhere close to the Gate.”
“Let us not get lost in details,” Dr. Shaw interrupted. “I’ll work out a schedule with the help of Mr. Jones and Corporal Bell shortly, taking the suggestions of the section heads into consideration.”
“And where will you be?” Teyla asked, after having cleared with Corrigan that both she and Halling had understood the basics of the dispute correctly.
Dr. Shaw smiled. “Since I don’t have the gene, I’ll stay in Ultima Thule, for the time being; besides, I’ll be needed there for the period of settling down. I’ve been selected to lead the whole expedition, not just he science department; that’s Markova’s job.”
“But she doesn’t even have the gene!” Professor Taylor protested.
“Neither have you,” Dr. Shaw pointed out. “It doesn’t matter, as she’ll have Doctors Sato, Kusanagi and Grodin to help her.”
“What about me?” Jack asked. “I’ve got the gene, too… and so does Ianto.”
“I’ll need Mr. Jones with me to help organize things in Ultima Thule,” Dr. Shaw said. “And since we’ve taken the gateships to Athos, I need all those who can fly them over there, too. You particularly; to train other gene carriers in piloting.”
Jack nodded in understanding. In truth, he didn’t really mind. He preferred to stay wherever Ianto was, for the duration, although he didn’t like the fact that his team would be split up as well.
“Captain Magambo is more than qualified to serve as the military commander of Atlantis in my absence,” he said. “We can rotate the job between the three of us later,” he added, looking at Marion Price, who nodded.
“I’d be happy to do some geeky stuff for the time being,” she replied. She was a good engineer who loved her job, aside from being a UNIT officer.
Dr. Shaw smiled in satisfaction. “Very well. I’d like all section heads to work with Mr. Jones on establishing a rotation schedule. I want to know who’ll be in Atlantis and who’ll be in Ultima Thule at any given time. We’ll also need to assign quarters to everyone in both places, as people will need to have a stable environment, wherever they happen to work,” she looked at Ianto. “Corporal Bell will work with you on the logistics. She’s extremely efficient, as you already know.”
Ianto nodded and made notes in his Torchwood-issue PDA. Working with Corporal Bell was something he’d enjoyed greatly while they’d been still planning the expedition. He’d no doubt that they’d get along well again. The logistics of organizing the lives of both groups and harmonizing them with each other promised to be mind-numbing, but he was used to such things. He’d done something similar for Torchwood One for a while, right before the Battle of Canary Wharf, and there had been four times as many people as here.
“Do you want me to assign quarters for the Athosian representatives as well?” he asked.
Dr. Shaw looked at Teyla. “Would you like to establish a presence on Atlantis?”
The two Athosians and Corrigan discussed the question for a moment, then Teyla shook her head.
“I shall not send anyone to live on Atlantis permanently,” she said. “This is not our way to live. But we would like to have a place reserved for those who may come to the City of the Ancestors for a short visit. The same for the old city on our planet.”
“Understood,” Ianto filed away the request. “Since you tend to have large families, I’ll reserve one of the bigger quarters for you, in the area that will hopefully be the family wing one day. Even if the families will mostly stay on Athos.”
“That will be excellent, thank you,” Teyla replied simply.
“I would like to stay for a visit,” Halling added. “To watch the message of the Ancestors, to know their city a little… There is much that needs to be added to the Traditions. Then I shall return to the old city and do the same.”
Dr. Shaw had no objections, and with that, the meeting was adjourned. The deadline for working out a rotation for all expedition personnel was set for three days from then.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the following three days Ianto was so extremely busy Jack had barely seen hide or hair of him. He remained on Atlantis for that time period, for simply practical reasons. The unknown planet upon which ocean Atlantis was currently floating had a 29-hour-day, as opposed to Athos, whose day had only a 22-hour-rotation. He simply needed more time to get the work done.
Doctors Nichols and Mendoza had been excited when they realized the difference, opportunities of a research of several lifetimes forming before their mind’s eye.
“Think about it!” the palaeontologist, a handsome, slightly long-haired young man from Chile, enthused. “Studying the differences in the evolutionary process caused by that would be a project large enough for an entire university! And there’s only the two of us! We’re so winning a Nobel Prize for this… well, we would, if this whole thing wasn’t strictly confidential.”
Dr. Nichols, short, stocky and bespectacled, nodded enthusiastically. He wasn’t a very pleasant fellow to work with, not usually - the only scientist people avoided more was Professor Taylor - but right now, he was beaming with excitement.
“At the same time, we must take the effect into consideration that the divergences from Earth’s 24-hour rotation might have on our people,” Martha warned, “whether they’re here or in Ultima Thule.”
“Especially when they’re hopping back and forth between the two places,” Owen added sourly.
“Aye, that can be a problem,” Dr. Beckett agreed. “I’d suggest havin’ people in the same place fer a month or two apiece, or else we could end up with sleepin’ schedules gone to the dogs fer good.”
“Where are you staying?” Captain Price asked.
“I’m goin’ to Ultima Thule fer starters,” Beckett replied. “I’m a geneticist meself, and aside from keepin’ an eye on the wee ones, I’d be the most useful helpin’ Doctor Suresh - both of them - with mappin’ the Athosian genome. Plus, I wanna study Athosian herbal medicine and its possible affects on human physiology. Sooner or later, we’re gonna runnin’ out of our medical supplies, and if that happens, I wanna have somethin’ else to rely on.”
He sighed and looked at Martha. “I’m leavin’ things in your capable hands here, love. You’re much better with this technical stuff than I can ever hope to become anyway.”
“Perhaps; but you’ve got a much stronger gene,” Martha pointed out.
Beckett smiled at her tiredly. “Ya’ll do just fine, love; and if not, ya’ll have Peter to help you out. To be honest, I dearly love the thought of living in a natural environment for a change.”
With that, he left to reorganize the medical staff, so that the two halves would work smoothly without each other. Ianto checked his and Martha’s name on the list, then he looked at Jack.
“What about Owen?” he asked. “Are we taking him with us to Athos?”
“Hell, no!” Jack replied with emphasis. ”He’d insult the locals, drink all the moonshine he can lay his hands on and have poor Carson in tears within days. You know how much he hates the countryside.”
“No more than I do,” Ianto muttered darkly. Jack gave him a rueful smile and touched the nape of his neck in a brief, comforting gesture.
“That’s different. You had a traumatic experience. Owen’s just a through and through urban animal… and a nasty one at times. Carson wouldn’t stand a chance against him; the man is too gentle-hearted. Martha, on the other hand, is more than capable of putting him in his place.”
“Can I shoot him?” Martha asked with an evil gleam in her pretty eyes.
“I’ve tried that,” Ianto told her. “It doesn’t work. Just insult his professional pride, that hurts him more than anything.”
Martha nodded nonchalantly. “I can do that. What about the rest of the team?”
“I’d like Miss Costello to stay here,” Markova said. “I found that I can work with her very well.”
Jack looked at her in surprise for a moment, then shrugged. “Fine with me. That means Mickey has to stay, too. Tosh anyway. It seems that it’ll be just you and me and our two PCs, Ianto. They’ll come with the civilian security.”
“Suzie will be relieved,” Ianto replied sarcastically. “Well, someone ought to make the sacrifice.”
“Oh, c’mon, Ianto, Andy isn’t that bad,” Jack said.
“No,” Ianto agreed blandly. “Andy isn’t. I never protested against his presence.”
“You know my reasons,” Jack said after a short, tense pause.
“Yeah, I do,” Ianto replied. “Doesn’t mean I have to like them,” he checked the aforementioned names, then pocketed his PDA. “Well, we’re done with personal issues for the time being. Let’s face the horrors of distributing our equipment between the two groups next.”
“You never give an old woman a break, do you?” Corporal Bell complained, but she went with him to re-check the packing lists willingly.
Captain Price gave Jack an inquiring look. “Domestic squabble?”
“More like a disagreement… and a long-lasting one,” Jack answered with a sigh. “Well, let’s form our survey teams and decide who goes where for the first rotation.”
Chapter 13 - The Promised Land