When they had most of the drones out, Rodney crawled out from under the drive pod, intending to go inside and check Zelenka's work. Some of the Eidolon were watching from a safe distance, including Edane, the young one who had tried to talk to Teyla. They seemed to be more curious about the technology than anything else, and spoke among themselves in a perfectly ordinary way. It was still incredibly unnerving.
As Rodney was heading around the bulk of the jumper toward the hatch, Edane stepped forward, saying, "Please let me help. Our technology is different, but I think I know enough that I could assist you."
"Oh, no, I appreciate the offer, but you know, classified material, regulations-" Rodney backed toward the ramp where Ronon had stationed himself "We just can't-"
"He means `no, thanks,"' Ronon said, with an unfriendly grin, and Rodney bolted inside.
Just inside the hatchway, he almost ran into Sheppard, who demanded, "What happened?"
Rodney shook his head, waving it aside. He was a little annoyed at himself for overreacting. "Nothing, nothing." Inside the rear cabin, they had the lower side panel open and Teyla was crouched beside it, removing the drained crystals from the matrix. Rodney scanned their work with a frown, while Sheppard glared suspiciously out the hatch. "I'm going to make sure Zelenka isn't about to short out the main bus."
Rodney went forward to the cockpit, where Zelenka was crouched under the console. "What was that?" Zelenka asked, blinking up at him worriedly.
"One of the Eidolon asked to help." Rodney waved a hand, dismissing it. "Seems to mean well, but…"
"Large `but,"' Zelenka agreed fervently. "Working in close quarters-"
"Yes, huge enormous `but."' Being in a small enclosed space with an alien who might be able to suck the life out of you with a touch wasn't exactly Rodney's notion of an ideal work environment either. Maybe the uncertainty of not knowing whether the Eidolon could feed on them-No, no, the certainty would definitely be worse. Rodney sat on his heels to look inside the console, taking the light away from Zelenka to flash it over the crystals. "How is this going? You've got the polarity aligned properly?"
"No, I thought I'd ignore such fine details so we could explode when drive pods engage." Zelenka clutched his head, wincing. "It's almost done."
"Good, good. Ah…" Rodney threw him a look, his mouth twisting uneasily. He was responsible for get ting Zelenka and Kusanagi into this, admittedly way out of their depth and normal working conditions. And it was a different situation, but it still gave him some unwilling insight into how Sheppard felt about losing Ford.
Rodney didn't like thinking about Ford, especially that last encounter on P3M-736. The glimpses of the real man under that enzyme-driven insanity had been more disturbing than anything else, making you think it was somehow still possible to reason with him, to bring him home. But at least Rodney had accepted that he was gone, and wasn't sublimating his issues by trying to adopt Ronon, Conan the Barbarian's less progressive cousin, like certain Air Force Colonels he could mention. Whatever, he felt the need to apologize to Zelenka, and he hated that. "I'm…ah. Sorry."
"What?" Zelenka stared, then peered into the console. "What did you do?"
Rodney made an impatient gesture. "About this. Before we left base camp, Sheppard asked me if I was certain I wanted to bring you and Kusanagi, and I said yes, that you needed the experience." He let out his breath. "This wasn't the experience I meant."
Zelenka frowned. "I admit, I do not like crashing in jumpers, or shooting, or fear, but… It was very fine to see the spaceport, and the giant Quantum Mirror, before it tried to kill us."
Rodney lifted his brows. "So you're okay with all this."
"No, no, I still blame you for bringing me here, but…" Zelenka shrugged. "This is our lives now."
"Right." It was, sadly, true. Rodney pushed to his feet, going back to work.
John didn't kiss Zelenka when the jumper powered up, but he felt a little like it. They weren't free and clear yet, but he didn't feel quite so much at the mercy of the Eidolon's whims. He put the board on standby and pushed out of the seat, stepping into the rear cabin. "Good job, Radek."
"Yes, Dr. Zelenka," Teyla added with relief. "That was very well done, especially under these circumstances."
Zelenka nodded, sinking down on the bench. "Yes, very good. I'm going to lie down now." Then he slumped over.
John lunged forward to catch him, easing him down to the padded bench, while Teyla lifted his legs up onto it. John tried to check his pulse, but Zelenka just batted at him without waking and snored. John said, "I can't tell if he passed out or fell asleep on his feet." He straightened up, wincing as his own injuries reminded him that abrupt movements weren't a great idea. "I guess the snoring is a good sign."
Watching Zelenka with concern, Teyla gave John a quick nod. "I will stay with him."
"Just make sure he doesn't fall off the bench. That'd be about all he needs."
John walked down the ramp, noting that there were only five male Eidolon watching them now. There were a few others up on the raised platform where there seemed to be another control area.
Rodney received the news that the jumper was working again with a preoccupied grunt and a "Hello, didn't I say stay away from the bomb!" From what John could tell at a distance, Rodney and Miko were almost done: the currently inert energy drones were wired together in a bundle, with C-4 packed in. They were carefully attaching the detonators now. The theory was that when the C-4 exploded, it should simulate an impact on a target, which should cause the energy drones to detonate. Rodney kept saying it had worked in the lab with a single test drone a few months ago, so it should work on this larger scale. Rodney also freaked out every time John so much as looked at the thing, so John stayed over near the ramp with Ronon.
He was waiting there when Kethel approached. The Eidolon stopped a cautious distance away, and said, "The Matriarch wishes to speak with you."
"The what?" John said, then realized he must mean the Queen. "Okay." He looked around at Rodney and Miko, who were watching uneasily. "I'll be back." I hope.
As John started away, Ronon followed him, looming at John's elbow. John stopped to tell him, "Stay with the jumper." By that he meant, "guard the others." Teyla was the only one not distracted by a delicate task at the moment, and she was occupied with Zelenka.
Ronon's expression said he got the message, but he didn't look happy. "That a good idea?"
John looked up at him, narrowing his eyes. "That's an order." Having to glare Ronon into submission all the time was going to give him a crick in the neck.
Ronon looked sullen, gave Kethel a look that promised death at some point soon, and went back to the jumper.
John followed Kethel to the back of the maintenance area, through an archway into one of the smaller control rooms. The Queen was standing at a console, and when John approached she touched a panel. A holographic display sprang to life, showing a 180 degree view of the Mirror platform. There was a group of drones and a few male Wraith moving along the Mirror's giant frame. Looking for the controls, John thought, frowning at the display. The scout ship was still hovering dangerously near the Mirror. If this Mirror had been as unstable as the one in their reality, it would have been erupting continuously.
The Queen said, "They have been trying the lower level entrances into the complex. Fortunately, we have had time to block all the passageways with containment fields, and the evacuation of our personnel is nearly complete." Trishen had told them that the Eidolon were evacuating the installation through the underground passage to the spaceport. In this reality it had never been blocked by a collapse. The Queen added, "The Wraith have attempted to contact us three times, with increasing impatience." She didn't sound particularly worried, more as if she considered the Wraith's impatience as a sign of incompetence on their part.