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Atlantis Calling
"Despite all the people she feels something hollow in the room. Sometimes, in her head, there's the sensation of a bright white, penetrating light, turning to grey, turning to black."
From Mean Spirit by Will Kingdom.
Colonel John Sheppard collapsed for the fifth time in two days. Each episode started with a sudden blinding white light; his vision would begin to dim and then everything would turn black as he lost consciousness.
Dr. Jennifer Keller had subjected the colonel to every diagnostic test that she felt appropriate. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him. She had consulted with every doctor on her staff, including the new psychologist, Dr. Ross Warren. If the colonel’s problem wasn’t physiological, perhaps he was suffering from Delayed Stress Syndrome. Dr. Warren, however, could not find any indication that Sheppard had excessive difficulty coping with the stress of his command position. Which, after reviewing the colonel’s mission reports of the last five plus years, he found that fact incredibly unnerving. The entire expedition should be raving loony tunes, having endured what they had while serving on the Atlantis base.
Keller had recalled Dr. Carson Beckett from his monthly medical clinic on M3X-655 for a consult. He was sitting across from her now in the conference room as they conferred with the doctors at Stargate Command. Richard Woolsey, Director of the Atlantis Expedition was also with them. They were listening to Dr. Carolyn Lam, Chief Medical Director, at the SGC, who had just completed her review of Sheppard’s test results.
“Jennifer, how is Colonel Sheppard doing right now?”
"He’s resting and appears to be fine. The colonel will have one of these blackouts, be unconscious for twenty to thirty minutes, then wakes up with no after effects. I am just concerned that if he has enough of these events, he will suffer harm.”
Dr. Lam shook her head, “We’ve gone over and over the colonel’s data. We can’t see anything that you have missed or anything that stands out to us. We are just as much in the dark as you are.”
General Landry was sitting with Dr. Lam. “Woolsey, do you think that we need to bring the colonel to Earth so that we can have some neural specialists have a look at him?”
Woolsey looked over at Dr. Beckett, who was shaking his head no, “No, general, the colonel’s in excellent hands here, so I don’t believe that will be necessary, for the moment. We can manage his care for now. If there is something on Atlantis that’s causing it, taking him from the source might be detrimental to discovering the cause. If Sheppard appears to be in danger, we will certainly reconsider our options.”
Addressing Keller and Beckett, Landry asked, “Doctors are you in agreement with Mr. Woolsey?”
Keller nodded affirmatively, and Beckett replied, “General, there isn’t a tougher man in the SGC than John Sheppard. The colonel will be fine, and we'll find out what's going on.”
“Doctors, we'll keep doing research to see if we can find some similar situations, and will let you know. I hope you can find out what is happening to Colonel Sheppard, before he suffers any damage from this. Good luck to all of you,” Lam gave them a reassuring smile.
General Landry ended the call, “OK, people, keep us informed, Landry out.”
Through the closed doors of the conference room, they could hear the stargate disengage. The three Atlantians sat in silence for a moment, each lost in their thoughts of the colonel’s condition.
Woolsey spoke first, “Neither of you has any idea as to what could be happening to Colonel Sheppard?”
Beckett and Keller both shook their head, the expressions on their faces grim and serious. Beckett was twirling his coffee cup, and Woolsey imagined the mug spinning off the table if he let go of it. As he was watching, Beckett stopped twirling the cup, slamming it on the table.
"Damn it, something is causing Sheppard to have these blackouts. We should be able to figure this out. I know that there’s no physical damage to the colonel as of yet; but he is becoming increasing frustrated and antsy sitting around, waiting for the next blackout.”
“Doctor, you know the colonel, he’s most likely frustrated that he’s been pulled off active duty. He says he feels fine, except for the blackouts, that is.” Woolsey leaned back in his chair. “McKay has Zelenka and Franklin looking for any anomalies in the atmosphere, the environmental systems, whatever else they can think of to examine. Something should give us a clue if there is an outside influence to these blackouts.”
Beckett added, “Major Lorne is reviewing recent mission reports with Teyla and Ronon. Perhaps they will uncover a clue to something Colonel Sheppard might have been exposed to off-world. Something is causing this; we have to find it.”
Woolsey was about to dismiss them when Dr. Julian Jackson’s voice activated their COM’s. “Dr. Keller, the colonel is having another blackout.”
Keller answered, “On my way,” as she and the two men hurried from the conference room.
~ooOOOoo~
Slowly, the sounds of the infirmary were getting louder. He could hear the beeping monitors, the muffled voices, and soft, squeaky footsteps on the tile floor. He opened his eyes cautiously, glad to find someone had turned out the damned light over his bed. Feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder, he focused on a figure standing next to his bed.
“Colonel, are you back with us?”
“Marie, yeah, I’m here; I think.”
“How do you feel?” Marie adjusted the oxygen cannula in his nose, slapping his hand away as he tried to remove the annoying tubing. “Colonel, this has to stay, Dr. Keller’s orders.”
“Hey, Marie, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt me,” as he continued to try and pull the tube away.
“But I will, colonel, if you try to pull that out,” Dr. Keller told him as she walked up, Beckett and Woolsey on her six. They had been waiting in Keller’s office for Colonel Sheppard to become conscious.
Marie smiled at him, “Busted, colonel, sorry.”
Dr. Jackson, or Dr. J, as they called him, walked over to stand next to Marie, “Doctors, Mr. Woolsey, sorry I wasn’t able to give you an update when you arrived earlier. I had to stitch up a Marine, who slipped on the stairs. The colonel decided to take another little nap on us. Same situation, he grabbed his head, put his hand over his eyes, and then passed out. This time he was out for about twenty-two minutes.”
Keller looked at Sheppard, “How are you feeling?”
Sheppard sat up, rolling his head to stretch out his neck muscles. “Like every other episode, I feel absolutely fine.” As Keller and Beckett both reacted to his ‘I’m fine’ mantra, he laughed. “No really, I’m fine; I feel great. Like all the other times, the only pain, I feel is from the blinding light. That when my head really hurts for a couple of seconds. Then I black out, and when I wake up, I feel great.”
“There was nothing different about this episode, lad?”
“No, Carson, there was nothing, nothing at all.” Marie had stepped away, returning with a pitcher of cold water and muffins. He smiled at her, picking up a muffin and taking a big bite.
Keller looked inquisitively at Marie. The nurse replied, “He’s usually really hungry and thirsty after he wakes up.”
“Colonel, have you been hungry and thirsty after each episode?” Sheppard nodded as he finished off the muffin.
“Dr. J, let’s do another metabolic screen on him. He must be expending a lot of energy each time these blackouts happen. We need to see what’s happening. I want this test done every two hours so that we have some idea if something is going on.” As she ordered the new blood tests, Sheppard gave her a not so nice look. “Colonel, no lollipops for you if you keep making that face.”
~ooOOOoo~
There was no way of knowing when the next blackout could occur and Sheppard had begged Keller to let him take a walk. He promised he would take Ronon. Ronon would keep him out of trouble. The colonel was always anxious to get out of the infirmary; however, there was persistence this time that seemed unusual to Dr. Keller. When the begging got more than Keller could handle, she let him go. As she watched him pull on a t-shirt and track pants over the scrubs he was wearing and put on his sneakers, she called Marie over, “Put an EMT team on standby with a Gurney, I’d rather be prepared.”
Keller then tapped her COM and called McKay, “Rodney, I have allowed Colonel Sheppard to take a walk. He says he’s going stir crazy. I have this really strange feeling that it’s more than that. Ronon is going to accompany him; I don’t want him by himself. Can you track them, and keep me informed as to where they’re going?”
“Sure, I can track him, but why are you so concerned about where he might go?” While talking to her, he punched up the sensors. Within seconds, he had located Sheppard and Ronon's transmitter signal.
“Rodney, I just have this feeling that John didn’t just want to go for a walk, he needed to go for a walk. There was something strange about how he pestered me to get out of here. Before you say anything, I know he whines about being in the infirmary, actually he’s usually just testy, you whine, but this was different. I can’t put my finger on it, but it was different.”
“Your suspicions are good enough for me, Jennifer. I am going to patch the sensors to your station so you can see where he is. If Ronon is with him, he won’t stop him from going anywhere as long as he thinks Sheppard’s not going to get hurt. And I do not whine.”
“Yes, you do. Thanks, Rodney.” Jennifer proceeded to her office, and saw that Rodney had sent her the sensor feed; she clicked on the icon. She watched as the two bleeps stepped off a transporter at the base of the tower. “Where are you going, John Sheppard?”
~ooOOOoo~
As if he had read Keller’s mind, Ronon asked Sheppard the same question, as they stepped off the transporter. “Where are you going, Sheppard?”
"I need to get to the main computer room." Ronon stopped him, looking at him with a quizzical look on his face. Sheppard shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know why; I just know I need to get there." He wrenched his arm away from Ronon, and took off down the corridor. He was heading to the stairs that led to the central computer room. Power is spiking in computer room.”
~ooOOOoo~
Rodney was getting concerned. Sheppard had headed directly for the central computer vault in the tower below the surface of the city. Why would he be headed there? As he sat staring at the screen, tapping lightly on the edge of his keyboard trying to decide what Sheppard was up to, Radek Zelenka’s voice blasted in his ear. “Rodney, there is an overload in the computer system; I cannot bypass it and it is getting worse.
Rodney quickly flicked his screen to the computer monitoring program and was shocked at what he found. Atlantis main computer was building up power that it was going to have to dissipate somehow. An explosion, the most likely way, and Sheppard and Ronon were heading right to it.
“Radek, get to the ZPM room as quick as you can. Pull the ZPM and the naquadah generator that is connected to the computer system, we might be able to stop the build up and prevent the explosion. Tell Woolsey to get everyone out of the tower. I don’t know if this thing explodes what kind of damage it’s going to do.” McKay left his lab at a dead run toward the computer room, screaming over the COM at Sheppard and Ronon to get out of there.
~ooOOOoo~
As he raced down the stairs, Sheppard became increasingly agitated. Flashes of extremely bright white light danced across his eyes, and the pounding in his temples was getting stronger. He had a vague feeling that someone was trying to talk to him. He reached out to Atlantis, but he couldn’t connect with her. Sheppard realized that he hadn’t been able to communicate with her since his blackouts began. Something was wrong.
As he reached the door, the colonel halted, the light in his eyes was flashing at a very rapid rate, and he was disoriented. Ronon grabbed him as he started to fall, but Sheppard recovered and pushed him away. He was hearing a faint voice in his head. He was certain the voice was saying “help me” as he passed his hand over the door sensor and opened the main computer room door. As he entered, he could hear Rodney yelling at him not to go in, but it was too late. He was just past the threshold when the room blew up.
~ooOOOoo~
The force of the blast pushed Ronon backwards into the corridor, landing on Dr. McKay, who only a few steps behind him. Ronon was stunned. It took a moment for the Satendan to shake off the cobwebs, and become oriented. There was muffled ringing in his ears and cuts on his arms, face and neck, but he struggled to his feet. He and McKay had slid across the floor to the foot of the stairs. Rodney was laying very still, his shoulder pushed into the bottom riser at an odd angle. As Ronon checked the scientist for a pulse, relieved to find a strong steady beat under his fingers, he was concerned Rodney's shoulder was broken. His relief quickly turned to fear, as he remembered that Sheppard has just walked into the computer room when the explosion happened. He had to find Sheppard.
Ronon stood at the doorway, peering through the haze left by the fire suppression system, trying to locate Sheppard in the computer large room. As his eyes adjusted to the hazy darkness, he could just make out a form lying across the room. He ran to Sheppard, attempting to avoid the broken glass and debris on the floor. He rolled his friend's limp body over as gently as he could, pressing his fingertips against the colonel’s neck. He sucked in a deep breath when he felt a faint, thready pulse. Ronon was about to pick Sheppard up when he heard Dr. Beckett’s voice.
“Leave the colonel there, lad; we’ll take care of him. Ronon, you have some bad cuts that need to be tended to. Go out into the hall; someone will take care of you.” Beckett brushed past him, kneeling beside the colonel as two EMT’s with a Gurney entered the room.
Ronon returned to the corridor, which was filling up with Marine firefighters, medics, and scientists, including Dr. Zelenka. He saw Keller talking to McKay, who was now sitting up holding his shoulder, pain evident on his face. When she saw Ronon, Keller’s eyes widened, and she moved her head slightly, as if to ask how Sheppard was without saying it out loud in front of Rodney. Ronon quietly told her, “He’s alive, that’s all I know.”
Ten minutes after the explosion, McKay was in a bed in the infirmary’s main ward. Rodney was alternately demanding information from Zelenka on the damage done by the explosion, and from the medical staff about Sheppard’s condition. “Radek, you’re sure that the computers are working?” He listened to Zelenka, who was still in the computer room, through his COM and then replied. “Fine, keep looking for the reason the power spiked, and watch that it doesn’t happen again. Keep me informed.”
“Damn it, Jackson, get your hands off of me, and tell me where Sheppard is, right now,” Rodney was getting very agitated at the lack of information, he was getting regarding the colonel. Dr. J turned to the nurse with him and ordered a sedative for McKay. McKay took advantage of Jackson looking the other way. He jumped out of bed on the opposite side, and headed for the trauma unit.
Spotting Jennifer, he ran up to her grabbing her arm, “Where is Sheppard, how is he?”
“Rodney, what are you doing out of bed? You may have a concussion, and at best, your shoulder is badly bruised. We need to get you x-rayed.” Jennifer tried to steer him away from the area, but from the frantic look on his face, she knew he would not settle down until she let him see Sheppard. “All right Rodney, you can see Colonel Sheppard, but just for a minute.”
Jennifer led Rodney to one of the bays in the trauma room and pulled back the curtain that was blocking two sides of the colonel’s bed. Sheppard was still unconscious, his face pale with a few cuts along his forehead. Dr. Beckett was carefully removing glass fragments embedded in the colonel’s left arm by the blast. On the treatment table beside him sat a small stainless steel bowl that was holding the bloody shards he had already removed. Keller walked up to Sheppard’s bed on his right side and motioned for Rodney to follow. Rodney couldn’t move, he decided to stay at the foot of his friend’s bed. From outside the trauma unit, he could hear Ronon complaining about being treated, and wanted to know how Sheppard was. He asked the question for both.
“Carson, is Sheppard going to be alright? I mean, that blast was extremely strong, and he was in the room.” As he looked at Carson, he was thinking about another blast that had taken his good friend Carson Beckett. At least, Carson came back to them. He didn’t want Sheppard to leave.
Beckett looked up at Rodney for a second, and then continued to remove the glass shards. “The colonel suffered a pretty major trauma, Rodney. He obviously took the full brunt of the explosion. We’re running tests now to determine the extent of any internal damage, and we’ll know more shortly.” Becket winced as he pulled a two inch shard of glass from the colonel’s arm. “Rodney, so far he is fairly stable. His blood pressure is a bit lower than I would like, but for now, I don’t think he is in any immediate danger.”
“Rodney, let’s get you back to bed and get you checked out. I’m concerned that you may have hit your head. The blast threw you and Ronon pretty hard into the stairs." Jennifer turned to steer Rodney back to his bed. B she could leave his bedside, Colonel Sheppard’s bloody right hand grabbed her left forearm.
Startled, Jennifer turned to see that Sheppard’s normally expressive green eyes were wide open staring at her. She had never expected to see the courageous colonel look fearful but that was the only way to describe his expression. Jennifer was trying to regain her voice so that she could ask him if he was alright. She couldn't get the words out.
Sheppard spoke, breaking the silence; his voice hoarse, strained, and pitched slightly higher than usual. There was an uncharacteristic note of fear his voice. “You must help me; I cannot reach him, they are preventing me from communicating directly. They will destroy me, and him; they will destroy everyone.”
Jennifer was still speechless, but Rodney was not. He asked, “Who is trying to destroy you?”
“The ones who have come, they are very, very old. They came before when I was very young, and had just begun my journey. They tried to capture me then, and when they were not successful, they attempted to destroy me. They left something behind those many years ago, and they now wish to have it back. I do not know if I have what they seek any longer; the others purged my files when they abandoned me, and returned to Terra. I tried to reach him so many times to warn him, to ask for help, but they were interfering. They caused me to hurt him. I would never hurt him; I could never hurt him, yet I have. Help me, please.”
Sheppard’s hand that had been gripping Jennifer’s arm very tightly released her, leaving a bloody, redden imprint of his fingers that was already beginning to bruise. As his arm fell to the side of the bed, Sheppard lapsed into unconsciousness again. Dr. Beckett immediately began to check the colonel’s vitals. Jennifer looked at Rodney, “What was that? Who was that? That wasn’t Colonel Sheppard.”
Rodney’s face was ashen, “No, it wasn’t Sheppard. It was Atlantis speaking through him and she’s in danger.”
Rodney felt a hand on his shoulder, and realized that Teyla was standing behind him. “Rodney, if Atlantis is in trouble, then John is in trouble, as are we. What do we need to do?”
Rodney looked at her and then tapped his COM, “This is Dr. McKay; Chuck, are the computers working?” He paused, waiting for Chuck's answer, “Then start a full diagnostic on the entire system immediately. Zelenka, bring my tablet to the infirmary now and bring Graves with you.”
“How will running a full diagnostic be helpful?” That question from Richard Woolsey. He had arrived in time to witness Sheppard channeling Atlantis. “If I can keep the computer busy and keep whatever is trying to get in there from succeeding, it might buy me enough time to figure out who, or what, is doing this. Get me a chair please.”
Jennifer wasn’t having that, “No, Rodney, you are going back to bed, now. You’ve been injured you need to be examined, and you need to rest.” Grabbing McKay by his good arm, she tried to pull him away from Sheppard’s bed. He didn't budge; he in his heels and stayed put.
“Jennifer, I have to be close to Sheppard, Atlantis may only be able to communicate through him. Now get me a chair.” Radek chose that moment to arrive at the lab with Rodney’s tablet; roughly pulling it from Radek’s hand, he immediately began sorting through files.
Woolsey looked at her and quietly said, “Dr. Keller, you need to get Dr. McKay a chair.”
Keller reluctantly agreed to allow McKay to stay close to Sheppard; however, only if he was in a bed. She placed Rodney in the trauma bay next to Sheppard and drew the curtains back so that he could see the colonel. Rodney had settled in without seeming to realize where he was. For the next half-hour, as the doctor’s continued to attend to Sheppard. McKay was conferring with Zelenka and Dr. Alice Graves, head of the base IT team. Richard Woolsey was standing next to McKay’s bed waiting for the scientist to tell him what happened in the central computer room.
Woolsey finally felt he had been left out of the discussion long enough. “Dr. McKay, what do you think happened?”
McKay looked at Woolsey, as if he didn’t realize he was in the room. “Oh, Woolsey, sorry, I didn’t see you there. We think that what occurred was not so much an ‘explosion’, but was more like an energy burst, which emanated from the ancient computer. It as if the computer was attempting to throw something out. t's a miracle that the computers are working at all. There’s a lot of code in the programming that we have never seen before. It appears that something or someone has hacked into the main computer, but we can’t find where it came from.”
“What does all this mean, doctors? Is this base in danger, do I need to order an evacuation?” Woolsey looked from McKay, to Zelenka, to Graves expecting an answer.
Graves answered the director, shaking her head in disbelief, “We simply don’t have a clue, sir.”
~ooOOOoo~
Weightless, floating in inky blackness; he was aware of someone trying to communicate with him. The sounds reaching him were faint, almost like the sounds of a crystal wind chime softly tinkling in a gentle breeze. Then he felt impressions of words dancing through his thoughts, words he could not yet understand. Reaching out, he concentrated on the lilting sounds, trying to bring them closer.
She could feel him calling out for her as she attempted to meld her thoughts with his, but the intruders kept interfering. These intruders believed the city-ship still carried the same ones that they had fought so many, many years ago. She had tried to tell them over and over that she did not know if what they sought was still in the city, but they would not believe her. She had to protect him and those with him. These new inhabitants of Atlantis were not the enemy these intruders feared. They should not be in danger. Having reached the limit of what she could do to meld with him without hurting him again. She could only hope he would realize that he was strong enough to come to her.
“Atlantis, are you there; please can you hear me?” He focused as intently as he could, willing his thoughts to reach out to her. He felt a wisp of her thoughts float through his mind, and deepened his efforts to connect with her. “Atlantis, I need for you to tell me what’s wrong? W do you need from me?” He was becoming disoriented as he was spinning wildly through the blackness, unable to control his movements. Abruptly, the spinning stopped as his mind connected with hers, and he could feel her relief as she slid into his thoughts.
“I am relieved that you could find me; they were preventing me from reaching you. You are so much more powerful than you imagine, but you do not yet believe you are. You will learn.”
“Atlantis, who are you talking about, who is preventing you from communicating with me?”
“They came when I was very young. The others had just embarked on my initial voyage from the Alteran home world, and we had only been on our mission for a few months. We were exploring a galaxy that was unknown to the others when they found us. They are called the Ninge, and they are powerful and very advanced.”
“The others invited several Ninge on board to exchange information and discussed an alliance as well as offer assistance in whatever way they could. It became apparent that the Ninge did not want an alliance or to exchange information. They wanted to take me, and more importantly, the zero point modules from the others. They made their demands while they were still in the city. The others simply put them in the holding room in order to negotiate a way out of the situation.”
“Why would they need the ZPM’s? How could they possibly use them?"
“Their technology was based on crystals, but they did not possess an energy source which would allow them to travel as fast as I could. They wanted that; they wanted to be able to travel between galaxies. Their ships were large, and their technology very advanced, but their engines were simply not as powerful as mine.”
“One of the Ninge party had stowed away in the city, and no one realize until too late that he was not with the others when they were detained. The Ninge was able to penetrate my system, implanting a program which transmitted data back to their ship. They wreaked havoc with life support, with the hyperdrive, but the scientists were able to quarantine the file before the Ninge program could do any damage, or learn about the Alteran home world. The others negotiated the release of five of the Ninge detainees, keeping the leader of the delegation and the one who stowed away as prisoners while they continued to negotiate the removal of the implanted program. However, it was at that point that the Ninge discontinued communications. They began to fire on the ship, but their weapons could not breach the shield. I was very stronger with a full compliment of zero point modules. I was able to engage the hyperdrive and escape.”
“I don’t understand; your maiden voyage was thousands upon thousands of years ago. Why are they coming after you now?”
“I do not know. They keep telling me that it is here, and they want it back. However, I do not know what they are talking about. I believe that the others had documented the events of the encounter with the Ninge. When the others departed for your world, they purged all of the data regarding the Ninge, including the program.”
“The program had existed in me for a very long time. The scientists did not know if deleting the Ninge program would destroy part of me, so they did not remove it; they quarantined it. When they left me, they purged it because they had only hoped that their kind would find me one day, but they did not believe that would happen. Therefore, if I had lost important data, it wouldn’t really matter.”
“Those ancients could be pretty hard-hearted bastards.”
“I do not know exactly what that statement means, but I suspect it means that they were thinking only of themselves. I no longer mattered to them.”
“Well, Atlantis, you matter to us. I promise, we will protect you as best we can. We need to figure out what we have to do to stop this. Where are these Ninge now?”
“They are not far away, but they are very well hidden. I am not exactly certain how they are hidden but they are. The Ninge are a great deal more advanced than they were during our first encounter. They are insistent that the thing they are seeking is here with me. I do not know what or where something that could belong to the Ninge would be.”
“If they are hidden, say in a ship with a cloak, how are they communicating with you?”
“They are very powerful, John Sheppard, they are sending a signal from their location that has entered my programming. I tried to reach you, but every time I got close, they would block me, and you would suffer. I am sorry, I would never hurt you, but I knew that I had to communicate with you. They sensed that I was attempting to communicate with someone, and they fought me. I thought that perhaps, by luring you to the place where I exist, you would be able to hear me. I was almost in your mind when they caused the energy surge, and you were injured. I feel a sadness that you suffered because I was too weak to fight them.”
“How are you able to talk with me now, and they are not trying to stop you?”
“Because, John Sheppard, you initiated our melding, they cannot tell if you are a normal program that is interacting with me or a threat to them. You, too, have come a long way since our first encounter.”
“I didn’t come far without your help. I need your help now, to determine what we need to do here. Now that we have melded, I think you called it, if I wake up will I lose the connection with you?
“No, I can maintain our thoughts together now that you have come to me. I can wake you up if you would like.”
“I would.”
~ooOOOoo~
“Atlantis, are you here?”
“Yes, I am here, and you are waking up.”
He became aware of whispered voices nearby, and he could hear a monitor quietly beeping in time with his heart beat. His eyes fluttered; he opened them for a very brief glance around him. He was certain one of the voices was Rodney, and he desperately needed to talk with Rodney. Trying to say his name, only a low groan came from his mouth, but it was enough. He heard Rodney call his name.
“Sheppard, Sheppard, are you awake. Come on flyboy, we need for you to wake up.” Rodney was next to his bed immediately yelling, “Jennifer, get in here, Sheppard’s awake.”
Teyla’s soft, soothing voice was music to his ears as he heard her chastise Rodney, “Dr. McKay, have we all not asked you to refrain from yelling in the infirmary? You need to remember to be quieter.”
Sheppard chuckled, “Yeah, Rodney, you shouldn’t be yelling.” It wasn’t until he opened his eyes, and saw Rodney smiling broadly that he realized he had spoken those words out loud.
Doctors Keller, Beckett, and Jackson sent everyone out of the trauma unit while they examined the colonel. Only Rodney, still confined to his bed, remained. He was full of questions, which he had been asking one after another.
“Meredith Rodney McKay, if you are not quiet this instant, I will find the largest needle in this infirmary, and I will give you a sedative in your gluteus maximus.” The look on Jennifer Keller’s face was enough to let Rodney know she wasn’t kidding. Keller received a stony glare in return from Rodney. Sheppard laughed out loud and then coughed grabbing his abdomen, “Dr. Keller, please don’t make me laugh. My body feels like it has been hit by a very large jumper.” "
"Colonel, you are very lucky to be alive. That energy burst thingy that hit you was very powerful. You were lucky that your internal injuries aren’t worse than a few bruised organs.” Keller watched as Marie finished replacing an IV hub in Sheppard’s right hand, and connected a new bag of saline. Seeing the face Sheppard was making, Keller shook her head at him. “Colonel Sheppard, sorry, I know you don’t like the IV’s, and all the other things we do to you. However, you know what; you wouldn’t have to have all of this if you would only stop getting hurt all the time. It would certainly make my life easier.” She turned toward the door and the three doctors and one colonel watched her walk away.
Dr. J sighed, “She doesn’t look like it, but Dr. Keller is a lot tougher than she looks.”
Rodney simply said, “Don’t I know it.”
Marie was helping Sheppard get settled, he had wanted to sit up. He was just getting comfortable as Woolsey, Teyla, Ronon, and Major Lorne appeared.
“Colonel, I hear you are feeling much better.” Woolsey came to the side of Sheppard’s bed and sat down.
“We are also glad to see you awake, colonel.” Teyla moved over to Rodney’s bed and jumped up to sit on the foot of his bed.
“Thanks, guys; it’s good to be awake and know that there shouldn’t be anymore blinding white lights. While I was unconscious I melded” watching Rodney’s reaction, he inserted, “her word, not mine, with Atlantis. She couldn’t reach me to warn us that she was under attack. The blackouts I was having were a result of these beings blocking her by using some kind of energy beam on the city. She had quite a story to tell me; the beings that are attacking her now are the same ones who attacked her when the city first left the Alteran home world. We have to find a way to stop them."
~ooOOOoo~
When Sheppard was finished conveying the story Atlantis had told him about the Ninge, no one spoke for a moment. They were all trying to assimilate the fact that the Ninge was an extremely old race, and appeared to be quite formidable.
Rodney managed to shake off the story first. “Zelenka, check the database and see if you can find any mention of the Ninge that might still be there. Put Dr. Franklin on finding that energy beam that they are sending toward us, get Chuck to help him. Also, get Graves to start checking the crystals for deleted data. It’s a long shot but maybe we could find the purged file.”
Zelenka nodded, “Rodney, if the purged data was stored on crystals the Ancients may have taken those crystals with them when they returned to Earth or they could have destroyed them.
“I know Zelenka; just do the best you can.” As Zelenka left, Rodney turned to Sheppard, “Does Atlantis know what these Ninge are planning to do if we can’t find what they are looking for?”
Sheppard closed his eyes and was silent about a moment. When he finally opened his eyes, he replied to Rodney, “They have threatened to destroy her if she does not produce whatever it is they are looking for.”
Woolsey asked, “Have they given her a timetable, colonel?”
A few seconds passed before the colonel said, “Yes, by tomorrow.”
Woolsey shook his head, “That is certainly not enough time. We need to talk to these Ninge and try to negotiate for more time. Colonel, ask Atlantis if she can convey a request for a meeting with the Ninge.”
Sheppard closed his eyes again; a couple of minutes later he spoke, “She will ask them, but she is not convinced they will listen to her.”
“McKay, how is it that this race that I don’t think has the gene, can talk to Atlantis?” Sheppard asked.
“Good question, Sheppard. The only way that I think they could do so is if they have a highly sophisticated program to interact with an AI at this level.”
“An AI?” Woolsey asked.
“Artificial intelligence, Mr. Woolsey; Atlantis is actually a very, very advanced artificial intelligence system. She is a computer with the ability to reason, articulate, and learn.
Sheppard smiled, “I actually think she’s a pretty nice girl.”
McKay gave him a very disgusted look, “You would, Captain Kirk, you would.”
The next couple of hours passed in relative quiet. Atlantis had informed Sheppard that the Ninge were considering their request to talk. She would let him know as soon as they reached out to her again.
Rodney was in constant contact with Zelenka and the other scientists that were looking for clues, but too little time had passed for them to have had much luck. Ronon and Teyla had gone to the mess hall on a food run. They were finishing up a late lunch when Sheppard stopped in mid-bite of his apple and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had a message from Atlantis.
Tapping his COM, he called Woolsey. “Mr. Woolsey, the Ninge will appear to us in exactly one of our hours. Better put the tea on.” Looking over at Teyla and Ronon, he made a request. “Could one of you get me a uniform from my quarters, and something for Rodney to wear as well?” With a nod, both of his teammates left the infirmary.
“Sheppard, you know that Jennifer is going to have a conniption if I try to leave. She'll go ballistic if you try. Why can’t the Ninge just meet us here?”
“Afraid of a tiny little doctor, Rodney?” Sheppard cocked his head, flashing a slight grin at his friend.
“No, of course not…at least most of the time. However, she is hell on wheels when someone’s sick.”
Sheppard knew better, but he couldn’t help but laugh. The coughing and pain was almost worth Rodney’s face as he admitted he was just a tad bit afraid of Jennifer.
Forty-five minutes later, after fending off one very pissed off doctor, Sheppard and Rodney had joined the rest of the command staff in the main conference room. Now they waited.
~ooOOOoo~
They were not exactly certain how the Ninge would “appear”, as Atlantis had described their arrival, but the hour was almost up. Woolsey was standing quietly in the same spot that he had when he first walked in the room about ten minutes before. Sheppard felt he looked nervous. Understandable, it wasn’t often that they had visitors from a race as old as the Ninge.e was about to say something to Woolsey, to see if he could loosen him up a bit, when a humming sound filled the room.
Near the doors leading from the conference room a soft, almost iridescent blue glow appeared. As the light coalesced, three humanoid forms began to appear. When the process was complete, the humans in the room reacted with wonder at the beings standing before them. The Ninge were extremely tall and excessively thin; Sheppard estimated the Ninge height to be at least eight feet tall. Their skin was virtually translucent and had a grayish-pink tone. Their hair was silky, silvery white, pulled back and platted into braids that fell to their waists. The three Ninge were wearing clothing that consisted of floor length tunics of a milky diaphanous material worn over white opaque long sleeved shirts and pants. The most commanding thing about them, other than their height, was the large gold medallions attached to heavy chains that they wore around their necks. At the center of each medallion was a symbol carved into what looked like ivory and each Ninge wore a different symbol.
Richard Woolsey stepped forward to greet their “guests”. “I am pleased to welcome the Ninge to Atlantis. My name is Richard Woolsey, and I am the director of the Atlantis Expedition.”
He was starting to introduce the rest of the Atlantians when the Ninge standing in the middle raise a hand, “Is it true that you are not of the original crew of this vessel? Their voices had a very melancholy tone.
“Yes, that is correct. The original inhabitants of Atlantis returned to a former home some 10,000 years ago, leaving the city for their descendents. Many of those here are direct descendents, the rest of us evolved from the Atlantians when they seeded our planet. We were fortunate to locate Atlantis several years ago and fulfill the wishes of the original Atlantians.”
“Then the computer intelligence was telling us the truth. Is it also the truth that what we seek is not here?”
Woolsey answered, “We do not know what you are seeking, and therefore, we cannot answer that question with any validity. If you would tell us what you left on Atlantis when you visited before, perhaps we could help.”
The apparent leader of the group stared at Woolsey for a few moments. “I do not think you capable of helping us. If the Atlantians destroyed what we are seeking, then this city-ship is of no use and will be destroyed.”
Sheppard and Rodney both jumped up, but Rodney was quicker, “Look, don’t come here a few million years later and expect us to remember where you left your trinket. We have access to a database that might give us some answers, but Atlantis told you the truth. The files concerning your race were purged from the computer when the original Atlantians left. Atlantis couldn’t tell you where your object is because she doesn’t know. However, we have other resources, and we might, possibly, be able to locate what you seek.”
Woolsey stepped closer to the Ninge, “We would be happy to cooperate with you if you would allow us to. We have no quarrel with you, and would gladly give you what you are seeking if we knew what it was. I am asking for adequate time to locate the item, perhaps a month or more.”
The three Ninge turned to each other, their backs to the expedition members. Woolsey looked over at Rodney and Sheppard, who shrugged his shoulders. At this point, they didn’t know what else to do.
When the Ninge turned back to them, the leaders spoke quietly. “We will give you thirty of your days to locate what we seek.”
Rodney realized they were about to leave, “Hey, you need to give us a clue; what are we looking for?”
“You will know what we seek when you find it.” With that cryptic answer, the three Ninge dissolved in a cloud of iridescent blue mist.
~ooOOOoo~
The next week was a blur of activity as the research to find whatever the Ninge wanted consumed the Atlantis personnel. Dr. McKay had been released from the infirmary the day after they met the Ninge, his shoulder only badly bruised. He was leading the search for the ‘Ninge thing’, as it had quickly been dubbed by the scientists. Woolsey was hovering over Dr. McKay, which was causing McKay to become very agitated.
“Mr. Woolsey, don’t you have somewhere else you would rather be?” McKay had his nose almost on his computer screen. He was scanning line after line of code, flashing past on the screen. McKay and the others were looking for any remnants of the computer program had been uploaded to Atlantis by the Ninge, eons before.
“No, I need to be here; I want to know what is going on.” Woolsey seemed agitated.
McKay’s lips drew into a thin line, “Well, you are making me nervous just sitting there.”
“Then give him something to do, McKay.”
Both McKay and Woolsey reacted to the familiar voice. “Sheppard, you escape from Jennifer’s clutches?” McKay was smiling at his friend.
“Actually, I was officially released, thank you very much. So, I came down to see what I could do to help. You have two volunteers; put us to work, McKay.”
“How are you feeling, colonel?” Woolsey asked as Sheppard sat down on the stool next to him.
“Pretty good, still a bit stiff but I was lucky. Zelenka told me that from the data they recorded of the energy blast that Atlantis must have realized what was happening. She told me she pulled the energy back as much as she could with the time she had, which is probably why I ended up, pulled into the room. was lucky, only ended up with a bruised liver and gallbladder, and very sore muscles.”
“No more blackouts?” Woolsey asked; concern for his military commander obvious.
“No, Atlantis can reach me without effort now that the Ninge have withdrawn their energy probe.” Looking over at Rodney, he could see the incredibly intense look on the scientist’s face.
“Rodney, you need all hands, give us something to do.”
Rodney looked up at Sheppard and stared at him for a few seconds, then tapped his COM, “Zelenka, can you transfer some of the translated database to a couple of pads, and bring them to me? Woolsey and Sheppard can review the data and help with the work load.”
Within fifteen minutes, Zelenka entered with two pads, and Woolsey and Sheppard began reading.
Ten days later, they were no further along than they had been the very first day of the search. The computer geeks could not find any record of the Ninge still in the database, or in the crystals that stored purged files. The Ancient translators, along with Teyla who had been learning the Ancient language, were working around the clock to translate as much of the unread database that they could. With the massive amount of data, it was overwhelming. It would take many months to translate a fourth of the remaining database.
“Woolsey thanks; I had forgotten what a good meal taste like.” McKay was shoveling food into his mouth at warp speed. His comment about a “good” meal brought some raised eyebrows from a few of the less enthusiastic fans of the mess hall fare.
“So, everyone, where do we stand?” Woolsey asked of the assembled group. Looking around at each face, he already knew the answer, they were nowhere.
McKay swallowed his latest bite of food, “We are…well…we are absolutely screwed at this point. We have not found any mention of the Ninge in the database, or in the purged files. Sheppard assigned teams of Marines and airmen to search the city for anything. Hell, we’ve been for six years, and we still haven’t been able to search more than a third of the city. We're open to any ideas. e have twenty days, people; we need to figure this out.”
McKay’s words were met with silence as everyone in the room tried to avoid looking at each other. They realized the stakes were extremely high. The Ninge had vowed to destroy Atlantis if they didn’t locate whatever it was that the Ninge desired.
Woolsey felt the need to say something, “Everyone, you are the best and the brightest in two universes. If anyone can figure this out, you can.” He’d never been good at pep talks. Looking around, he could see he hadn’t done well this time either.
Silence descended on the group again, and Woolsey attention was drawn to Colonel Sheppard. The colonel was sitting across from him, absently tapping the table with his fingers. Woolsey knew that meant that the wheels were turning rapidly in the colonel’s head. He was about to ask if Sheppard had an idea, when the colonel leaned forward and spoke.
“McKay, if the Ancients did delete the files, and they didn’t destroy them, and they aren’t here, then they have to be somewhere. Could they have taken the crystals with them to Earth? Maybe they wanted to keep records of the most powerful races that they had encountered?”
“You mean taken them to Earth when they left Atlantis 10,000 years ago?” McKay asked. Sheppard nodded yes and McKay continued, “But how would we know where they left them on Earth or, even if they were still intact?”
Sheppard smiled ever so slightly. “Well, we know that SG-1 found a pretty big cache of treasures, including some serious Ancient tech, when they discovered Avalon under that mountain in England. Have you looked at the inventory list to see if they found any crystals?”
McKay stared blankly at Sheppard, not saying a word. The scientist’s eyes widening to the point that Woolsey thought his eyeballs would pop out. McKay jumped up, snapping his fingers. As he ran from the room, he told Sheppard, “Flyboy, you deserved that MENSA status after all.” Sheppard ran out of the conference room behind him and the rest of the group followed.
McKay headed straight to the control room. “Amelia, dial Earth, I need to speak to Dr. Lee, now.” Amelia began to dial immediately, but still looked for Woolsey, who nodded his OK.
Looking over at Sheppard, McKay began to talk in his most excited voice. “Sheppard, it stands to reason that if they took the crystals with them, that Mryddin would have been responsible for their safekeeping. He had possession of all the other artifacts. In addition, he had a lot of gold and jewels that had somehow come into the Ancient’s hands.”
Woolsey interrupted, “Mryddin was actually ‘Merlin’ wasn’t he?”
McKay snapped, “Actually, the other way around but yes, the same person.”
The gate tech at SG-1 answered, and Amelia informed him that Dr. McKay would like to speak to Dr. Lee, ASAP. A few minutes passed before Dr. Lee’s face appeared on their screens. “Dr. McKay, it is good to hear from you. We haven’t had a chance to speak in a long time. How are things in the Peg…?”
“Lee, shut up and listen to me. Do you have an inventory list of the items SG-1 found at Avalon?”
“Yes, we have a list of the items we kept, and the items that were returned to the British government. Why are you interested in the list? I mean most of that stuff, other than the two big pieces of Ancient tech, is in storage at Area 51? We have scheduled research to begin on the artifacts in about six months. I mean with the fight against the Ori and the Wraith coming to Earth, and then Atlantis here for those months, a lot of research has been put off.”
“Lee, do you know if there were any crystals on the list?” McKay was getting really exasperated.
“Let me see; I am pulling up the list now. Let’s see…” Lee seemed to take his time to review the list.
“Lee, sometime today,” Rodney barked. Sheppard laid his hand on McKay shoulder to calm the scientist down.
“Oh, yeah, yeah...hang on. Yes, there was a small box that contained about 15 crystals. They were catalogued, but never looked at from what I can tell. Is this what you are looking for?” Lee smiled.
“Never looked at...crystals from the Ancients, and you people never bothered to look at them? Where the hell was Carter when you found the damn things? Why didn’t Carter or Jackson at least take a look at them?” McKay was becoming quite agitated and red-faced.
Woolsey answered, “Dr. McKay, Colonel Carter was engaging the Ori at the time. No sooner did they defeat the Ori, before she was assigned to Atlantis. It is understandable that some of the items in our possession were not researched immediately.”
Not at all appeased, McKay turned back to Lee. “We need for those crystals to be examined now; you need to look at anything that has to do with a race called the Ninge.”
The Ninge…well, that is certainly a funny name. Why do you need to know about them?” Lee was smiling again.
McKay pursed his lips, taking a deep breath, and quietly said, “If you do not do this now, the Ninge may destroy Atlantis. That important enough for you?”
Lee nodded, looking a bit sheepish, “I will have the crystals brought from Area 5, ASAP.”
“Lee, just download the data, and send it to us; McKay out.”
McKay sat down in a chair that Zelenka hurriedly put under him so that he didn’t hit the floor. Sheppard looked at Dr. Z and laughed as Zelenka shrugged his shoulders. McKay just sighed, “Now we wait.”
~ooOOOoo~
Fourteen hours later, Dr. Lee transmitted the data that had been stored on the crystals recovered from Avalon. Lee suggested that they might like to review the crystal labeled AAACry-2. Ronon asked what that meant, and McKay told him, Ancient Avalon Artifact Crystal number 2 without looking up from the data.
“Bingo, here it is and is this very interesting. Woolsey, get the team together; I think we have a start, if not an answer, as to what the Ninge are looking for.”
Once everyone was assembled in the conference room, Rodney began to recount entries from the private log of the first commander of Atlantis. The log entries told the story of the two Ninge that stayed on Atlantis.
“When the Ninge broke off negotiations and started firing on Atlantis, the Atlantis commander, Theonisus Asculphus, ordered the ship into hyperdrive, and they left the Ninge galaxy. On board they still had two Ninge hostages, Grimme Nor and Lavisine Nor. They had purposely kept both Ninge. They wanted the program removed from the computers, and could not determine how to do so without destroying a great deal of Atlantis’ own program.”
Rodney continued, “According to the records, the Ancients attempted to reason, coerce, threaten, and whatever else they could think of to force the Ninge to remove their program. The Ninge refused. During that time, the health of the two Ninge was deteriorating rapidly. The Ninge apparently had very rigid dietary requirements. The Ancients tried to find the right combination of food items and supplements that would keep them alive, but they were losing the battle. Asculphus ordered Atlantis to return to the Ninge galaxy. e wanted to take the hostages back to their people, who the Ancients hoped could help them.”
“During the trip to return the sick Ninge home, Asculphus managed to develop a civil relationship with Grimme. Grimme divulged to the commander that his race was aggressive, always searching for new technology that could benefit them. Atlantis had simply been too tempting a target to turn down. Grimme had argued that the Ancients seemed like reasonable people and might share their knowledge and their power source, but the others had no use for diplomacy. The program had been uploaded, against Grimme’s wishes. When Atlantis began having difficulties with life support and navigation, Grimme ceased his efforts to a peaceful solution. He was very pleased that the Ancients had been smart enough to block the program’s progress. When informed that their people were hostages, Grimme also knew that it was a matter of time before their ship fired on Atlantis.”
“Grimme knew that the Atlantis shield was extremely effective in keeping the air supply inside the dome and frigidness of space out. What he did not know was that the shield was also more than strong enough to keep their powerful weapons from penetrating the shield. The Ancients, in good faith, sent all Ninge, but Grimme and Lavisine back to their people. The Ninge did open fire, and Atlantis simply left the galaxy.”
“The last entry in the log concerning the Ninge has to do with the deaths of Grimme and Lavisine. Despite their efforts, the Ancients failed in their task to keep the two alive, until they arrived back in the Ninge galaxy. I’ll read Asculphus’s last log entry for you.”
‘This is a sad day for Atlantis. We had only hoped to keep these two men long enough for them to help us rid our computer of their program. We were going to return them to their people. In our ignorance of their needs, we only sentenced them to death, as we could not provide proper nutrition for them to live. Lavisine died first; at least he died in the company of Grimme. Grimme did not have that comfort. I tried to provide him with a proper passage, but I wonder if I was only appeasing myself in my efforts. As he prepared to take his last breath, Grimme told me that he had spent his life trying to turn his people from violence to peace. He said he was at least happy to die among peaceful explorers.’
‘Upon their deaths, I ordered the two men to be placed in burial capsules and released into space. We located a nebula that seemed appropriate; it was long and thin and consisted of wispy, pale gasses, a fitting resting place for the Ninge. I had their adornments removed and boxed for possible return to the Ninge should we encounter them again. My next order was to resume our original course away from the Ninge galaxy.’
‘May we forgive ourselves for our actions. We are on a mission of peaceful exploration, bringing new life to these galaxies. We failed so early in our quest, and it cost the lives of two souls.’
No one sitting in the conference room spoke for several minutes. They were still absorbing the anguish that was evident in Asculphus’ words. His recount of their encounter with the Ninge was powerful not only for its content, but it was a piece of history of the city they all had come to love. Woolsey looked around the room at these men and women who had devoted so much time to discover the events of many millennia ago on Atlantis. The looks on their faces told him the impact the story had on them.
He started to speak, thinking that as the current leader of Atlantis, he should comment on those powerful words. However, he didn’t; he had noticed Colonel Sheppard’s fingers tapping the table. He waited, smiling as Sheppard began to speak.
“Rodney, I think I know what the Ninge are seeking. Does that inventory list that Lee sent include what was given to the British government?”
“Yeah, it does.” Rodney opened the list as Sheppard sprung from his chair to look over McKay’s shoulder.
At the same time, Sheppard and McKay yelled, “There it is, that’s what they want.”
Sheppard looked at Woolsey, “We need to talk to General Landry.
~ooOOOoo~
On the thirtieth day, the command staff and team leaders, who had worked on the project were waiting in the conference room for the Ninge to appear. Atlantis had told Sheppard only a few minutes before that the Ninge had contacted her. They had returned on the appointed day, and wanted what they were seeking.
An ancient box sat on the conference room table. The Atlantians were certain that the box contained the item that the Ninge wanted so desperately. It had taken a bit of talking to retrieve the item. Sheppard and McKay spoke with General Landry who in turned spoke, to the US State Department. The State Department contacted the British government, and the item, which had been catalogued and given to the British, was returned to Stargate Command. A SG team gated to a planet at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy where the Daedalus, already underway for Pegasus, waited for them. Colonel Caldwell beamed the package the team had brought with them aboard his ship and then they pushed the engines as hard as they could and arrived on Atlantis with twenty-four hours to spare. Caldwell and his executive officer, Major Marks, were also in the conference room.
As the humming began, McKay flashed Sheppard a nervous grin, “I hope this is what they wanted, Sheppard.”
“Rodney, what else could it possibly be?” Sheppard didn’t think that Rodney looked completely convinced.
The three Ninge who had visited before materialized in the room, and wasted no time. “Do you have what we are seeking?”
Sheppard picked up the box and walked over to the Ninge, “I believe we do,” and he opened the box. From the expressions that passed over the translucent faces of the Ninge, there was absolutely no doubt that the items were what they had sought from Atlantis.
“You found them; we did not believe you would after all this time. We are sorry that we caused you pain, and that we resorted to threatening you. We would have not carried out the threat to destroy Atlantis. We are peaceful and have been since the revolution, which began shortly after Grimme Nor disappeared.” The Ninge speaking reached into the box that contained several rings and two medallion and chains. He selected one of the medallions and removed it from the box. In the center was yet another carved symbol, one just like the symbol on the Ninge’s medallion, who had taken the old medallion from the box.
“We thought it would be better if we appeared to be the same violent race you first encountered. We recently found an account of the events when our ship and Atlantis interacted written by a crew member who left the ship due to an illness. She was not onboard when the ship was destroyed by a solar emission. Until we found this account, we did not know what had happened to my ancestor, Grimme Nor. After he died, Grimme who had been a leader of the peace movement became a martyr and his followers prevailed in their efforts to change our ways. We have been at peace since then.”
McKay spoke, “You will also find a crystal that contains the information about Atlantis and the events of their meeting with the Ninge. It will explain what happened to Grimme and his companion. Hopefully, the information there will ease any tension left between us.”
The Ninge spoke, “We are grateful. It may be a long time before we meet again. We do not venture far from our homeworld. If we do meet again, it will be as friends.” As the humming started, the three Ninge bowed to the Atlantians, and disappeared into blue mist.
~ooOOOoo~
It was late on the day that the Ninge had come for their items. A tired, but happy, group of Atlantians was sitting in the outdoor dining area at the base of the tower. Snack dishes, coffee cups, water bottles littered the table in front of them.
“McKay, we never know what is going to happen next around here.” Sheppard was leaning back in his chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him.
“I must say colonel, before the expedition arrived the only danger we were in was from the Wraith.”
“Don’t want you guys to get bored.” Sheppard grinned. Jennifer was sitting next to him, and she got up from her chair to take her trash to the waste container. Sheppard reached out with his right hand and gently grabbed her left forearm.
“Good, looks like the bruises I gave you are all gone. Sorry about that.”
“No problem, but I believe that you were under the influence of Atlantis at the time. So I suppose if anyone is to blame for my bruises, it would be Atlantis.” She smiled as Sheppard let go of her arm and continued to the trash.
Sheppard was a bit surprised when he felt Atlantis enter his mind, “Does the healer really believe that I hurt her?”
He laughed and thought, “I don’t think she is angry, she just knows that you were trying to reach us to warn us. So I suppose in some way, it was you, directing me to stop her so that they would listen to you.”
“Interesting. I have never been accused of hurting someone before, certainly not intentionally. I shall have to consider this. Perhaps it would be a useful tool when I feel my systems being tampered with. I am satisfied that this situation with the Ninge was resolved.”
"So are we, Atlantis, but we couldn’t have done it without you.” He felt the calming presence of Atlantis leave him at that point.
As they parted, Sheppard was thinking that he pitied the next engineer who fiddled with Atlantis’ circuits. Atlantis was realizing that the hollowness she felt when the Ninge had occupied her was gone. She could now communicate with John Sheppard, and that made her feel content.
The end…