Exogenesis

"All of them?" Once again the phrase `too good to be true' sprang to mind. "Aren't there twelve of the things?"

Radek shrugged. "It is possible that we may lose one or two, but with several jumpers participating, I do not foresee a problem retrieving them."

John glanced over at Ronon, who looked just as surprised. "Sounds like we caught a break for once"

Their radios signaled simultaneously. "Sheppard, McKay. I'm coming back through."

"How's the tooth, Rodney?"

They heard a huff of indignation from the other end. "Excruciating, thank you, but that had absolutely nothing to do with the delay. If people would just respect the workspaces of others, we wouldn't have these problems. Someone made a unilateral decision that my computer had to be evacuated to the Alpha site, and consequently I wasted far too much time-"

There was a break in the transmission as Rodney presumably entered the wormhole. "Calm before storm," muttered Radek.

Then Rodney's voice returned. "-could have…Ow! What… Um, got a slight problem out here, guys. Except-no, not slight at all. Massive problem."

John vaulted off the bench and ran to the exit. The inner doors obligingly opened, but the outer set refused to budge. "Rodney? What's going on out there?"

Something pounded on the door. Rodney's urgent "For God's sake, let me in!" was immediately followed by cry of agony unlike any John had ever heard. "It's burning me! I can't see-it's in my eyes…"

A surge of horror-fueled adrenaline raced through John's veins. He turned around and yelled, "Radek! Open the doors!"

Color fled from Radek's features, and his fingers flew madly across the keyboard. "I can't. The system will not allow me!" He leaped from his chair and hurried to the control panel by the doors, calling, "Rodney! The jumper-you must get inside!"

Fists banged ineffectually at the closed doors. "I can't see… Someone help me! Please!"

The words ended in a choking scream that tore through John like a knife. "Rodney! Dammit — get to the jumper!"

It was less than thirty feet away, but in a sandstorm, just as in an Antarctic blizzard, that might as well have been thirty miles.

Radek shouted in triumph. John dimly heard a warning yell from Ronon, but then the doors abruptly opened, and a blast of blood-red sand flung John back.

Instinctively, he turned his head as he fell, fiery pain spraying against the side of his face. Before he could get his bearings, a force field snapped into existence across the outer doorway, sealing them off from the raging storm. Where the hell was Rodney?

"…located DHD-I'm…dial by feel!"

"Airlock has a failsafe," Radek realized, his eyes wide with shock. "It must have detected the sand."

"There has to be a way around the failsafe. Find it!"

Behind the force field, a dark red rain of grit whipped past. Scrambling to his knees, John stumbled back inside the lab, and noticed that Shira and Vend had arrived. He wouldn't make it through the sand unprotected, but with some help, maybe… "Uene, give me your robe!" He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the acid sand that stung his hands.

Next to him, Ronon was slamming his fist into a large window, but nothing was happening. Furious, he kept striking it, then drew his weapon. Radek shouted, "No! It is protected by the same force field. The entire laboratory is sealed. You shoot in here and-"

Face contorted in rage, Ronon jammed his weapon back into its holster.

"Give me your damned robe!" John yelled at Vend again, taking a step towards him. The Polrusson stood frozen with shock and sorrow.

Radek grabbed John's arm with a surprisingly fierce grip. "You cannot get out; Rodney cannot get in. The lab is sealed!"

Over the screech of the wind, Rodney's voice was weakening. "God, it's pulling the skin off my fingers! I can't feel the symbols…"

Damn it, he couldn't listen to this and not do something. His throat constricting, John turned a desperate gaze to Radek. "Get us out there!"

The scientist only shook his head, as helpless as the rest of them. "I cannot."

"Perhaps this way?" Shira suggested, running to the doors that would lead them back to the village.

John knew that it would take at least twenty minutes to reach the 'gate by that route, but he had to try. He bolted to the door, only to stop when the signal from Rodney was abruptly cut off. Even the hiss of the storm no longer reached them. Afraid to do much more than breathe, John reached for his radio and turned back into the lab. With his view obscured by the wall of sand beyond the force field, he couldn't even verify that the 'gate had opened. "Control, do you read?"

"Reading you fine, Colonel," a tech's voice replied promptly. "Did you dial in?"

Thank God. Some of his tension ebbed away, but it didn't stray far. "No, McKay did. When he gets to you, he's going to need a medical team ASAP."

"Sir, we haven't received his IDC."

"What? Lower the shield! McKay's already inbound."

"I'm sorry, sir, without an IDC-"

"Lower the damned shield!"

There was a disturbingly long pause before the tech replied, "Sir, I've had to override the inbuilt safety protocols… 'gate shield down."

"Clear everyone out of the control room and get essential personnel into HAZMAT gear. The sand here is a killer."

"Yes, sir. We're getting some coming through already. No sign of Dr. McKay yet"

The next few seconds stretched intolerably. In a subdued voice, Radek said, "The sand will keep the 'gate open. The particles have sufficient size and momentum to be detected by the system."

Spinning around, John speared Vend with his stare. "Why didn't you warn us?"

His lips trembling in obvious distress, the Polrusson replied, "I…came to do just that, to warn you not to leave. The storm came upon us suddenly. We did not know your friend had not yet returned!"

A yell issued from the tech. "Sir, we still don't have Dr. McKay, and sand is blasting through the 'gate! People are getting hit-" The man's pained scream melted into a cacophony of cries from the Atlantis personnel.

"Colonel!" Dr. Weir's voice joined the bedlam. "I just got to the control room. What's going on?"

"McKay arrived back here in a sandstorm, and the lab locked him out," John said tersely, clutching at a few last threads of hope. "You have to give him more time. He can't see-"

"We can't wait! Our people are suffering terrible injuries. The sand is eating away their skin! God knows what it's doing to the equipment. We may not be able to function much longer."

John sat down hard on the floor, determination evaporating as reality began to set in. It had been too long by now. Raising his head, he saw Ronon's distant gaze and knew that he believed Rodney had to be dead. Wild anger and grief swamped John's soul, and he turned away until he could regain some control.

"This cannot be," whispered Radek, pulling his glasses off and bringing a hand to his face. "He only returned for some data. That is all. There was to be no danger!"

"John, I don't have a choice!" Elizabeth was yelling, and the piercing screams around her triggered memories that John really didn't need to replay just now. "I have to raise the shield. Get back here as soon as you can."

The transmission ended. John detached his radio from his vest and looked at it for a long moment. Deciding that control was overrated, he hurled the device against the wall.

When the brilliant white flare faded from her vision, Teyla found herself on the bridge of the Daedalus. Beside her, Halling was already looking around at all the activity in the room.

Colonel Caldwell greeted them, perfunctorily returning Corletti's salute. "We've picked up everyone near the camp, from both sides of the river, and a number of your people from downstream," he told the Athosians. "Some of them were badly injured, so we beamed the entire group to the infirmary. Dr. Beckett is attending to them."