Teyla smiled in relief, feeling the weight of loss lift from her shoulders. "Thank you, Colonel."
"We are most grateful for your efforts," Hailing said. "Is there any news on the other hunting parties?"
"We have some of them on board. Due to the electromagnetic interference from the lightning Hermiod's having some trouble detecting everyone. We're getting there, though. I understand from the others that there's also a group up in the mountains?"
"Yes, Halling's son and five-"
"Sir," Novak called. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a report from Atlantis. In an attempt to retrieve Dr. McKay from Polrusso, they have sustained a number of severe injuries due to caustic sand coming through the Stargate."
"What's their status?" Caldwell took a step toward her station.
"They're asking us to return immediately. Dr. Weir isn't sure they can even dial out to the Alpha site, and they're afraid they won't be able to activate the city's star drive without Dr. McKay's help"
"They didn't get him back?"
The nervous young woman shook her head. "No, sir. He's presumed dead."
Feeling a deep stab of sorrow, Teyla said a short, silent prayer for her friend. There was little time for anything more.
Exhaling heavily, the Daedalus's commander turned back to her. Before he could begin, she spoke for him, knowing what was coming. "You must return to Atlantis."
"With evacuation options diminishing, our priority now has to be repairing the hyperdrive. We can't do that while we're out here. I'm sorry." His regret was sincere, she knew, and she appreciated it.
"I understand." Giving Halling the briefest of glances, she continued. "We must ask you to send us back to the surface"
"Teyla, you need not go," Hailing said immediately. "Jinto is my son."
"And I am your leader, and his. I could not claim to be so if I abandoned either of you." She was dismayed that Halling had thought to make the comment. Had she been separated from her people for so long that they no longer knew where her heart lay?
Corletti cleared her throat. "Sir, with your permission, I'd like to go back as well. I may still be able to get Jumper Three operational."
Surprised, Teyla opened her mouth to voice an objection, but Caldwell reacted first. "That shoulder looks bad, Lieutenant"
"Due respect, sir, I can't screw it up any worse at this point. It'll keep."
Caldwell's gaze moved over each of the trio in turn. "All of you need to understand that, if I send you back, the odds are good that it'll be a one-way trip. I can't make any promises about being able to return for you before the exogenesis machine begins producing nanites."
"We understand, Colonel," Halling said. "Our choice has been made"
Her superior's scrutiny did not cause Corletti to waver. "That's a kid out there, sir," she said simply.
"All right. Good luck."
Teyla closed her eyes, thinking of Rodney and hoping that his death had somehow served his cause. The Daedalus was the last hope for both his people and hers, and she understood that leaving it now made it unlikely that she would ever be reunited with any of them. But her people's best chance for survival lay with her adopted team, and that was enough.
If she were to die this day, she would do so unafraid. She nodded to the Asgard, and the beam swept her away.
Chapter Eleven
John dropped his head and stared at the floor of the lab, feeling beaten and aged. A few grains of sand still lanced the side of his face with pinpricks of heat, and he brushed them off. Hadn't he learned by now never to take anything for granted in this godforsaken galaxy? He'd had the possibility of a sandstorm half in mind; it was the reason why he'd brought the jumper despite the lab's proximity to the 'gate. But he'd never actually voiced that thought, never pointed out the obvious fact that arriving in a jumper assured their protection against the vagaries of climate.
"We…we came as soon as we realized a storm was upon us. Often we have no warning!"
Vend was stammering about some guy who'd offered to wait by the 'gate for Rodney to return, but John couldn't make himself listen. For a brief moment his anger redirected itself toward Rodney. Had he taken the jumper back to Atlantis and left it there, or not used it at all? The man had an advanced degree in self-preservation-why hadn't the risk crossed his mind? Such a pointless, inexplicable, infuriating, stupid waste… God, what were they supposed to do now?
A loud crack jerked him from his thoughts. Ronon had punched the glass again. John pushed himself up from the floor, knowing that trying to make sense of it all would be a waste of time. Rodney was gone. Atlantis was not, and they all needed to get their heads in the game fast if they were going to be of any help in protecting the city.
Still chalk-white, Radek lifted shaking hands to reposition his glasses. "I should have gone," he murmured. "I told him that it was in his computer, but I did not bring it. My ankle is not so bad that I could not have gone…"
"Radek, knock it off," John said quietly but firmly. "You can't hold yourself responsible for anything that slipped Rodney's mind, whether it's data or the jumper. Right now, we have to concentrate on what we can do for everyone else. All right?" He turned to the Polrusson, who was still babbling on about the abrupt nature of the storms. "How long will this last?"
Visibly shaken, Vend replied, "There is no way of knowing. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes days. Although this is difficult and unpleasant, you must understand. We are able to bear the storms, so their length has never held much importance."
"To you. It matters a lot to us." Ronon stalked toward him, letting his anger show. "If your people can stand being outside, they need to go out there and find McKay."
"There will be little of him remaining by now." Shira cast her gaze downward, but the sadness in her voice was evidence that she spoke from experience. "Sometimes only yellow sand blows, other times a mixture of both, as you encountered on arrival. As you can see, this was a red storm."
"Even so. Having the body is important to our people."
At that, John glanced over. Our people. He'd never heard Ronon use such a phrase before, and he hoped it hadn't taken a teammate's death to make the Satedan feel that way.
"Of course," said Vene. "We will assemble a group immediately to search for your friend's body. After all he has sacrificed for us, it is the least we can do-but do not hope for much. As Shira has said, this is a red storm."
John swallowed, recalling Carson's words just a few hours earlier.
"I will accompany you back to the village," Vend offered. "I assume that you want to return to your home when possible."
"You assume right." Seeing Radek motionless in front of the computer, John reached out to grip his shoulder. "Radek?"
After a moment, the Czech shook himself and looked up. "We can still accomplish the water release and gather the ZPMs. I will need time to run more simulations, but…this is something Rodney would have wanted."
"Yeah, it is." And maybe it would keep Radek, and the rest of them, functionally sane in the process. John addressed Vend and Shira. "Can you give us a minute? We need to finish up some things here."
The Polrussons nodded and stepped out into the corridor, their faces darkened with regret. Once they were out of earshot, John said, "I didn't want to say too much with them hanging around. Elizabeth said that a lot of the sand got into the control room. What kind of damage could it have done?"
It took Radek a moment to process the information before he admitted, "I do not know the systems as well as Rodney. Could be big problem. I will not be able to say without investigation. But I can extend the life of the city shield once we recover the ZPMs from this planet. At least there will be time then to repair Daedalus."