Gulping back his fear, Rodney grasped her arms as best he could, anchoring himself on her in more ways than one. "I thought you'd left me… alone, I mean. Left me alone " He'd thought that he depended on her for sight, but that wasn't the half of it. Never before had he felt so strongly about another human being. "I'm-Before, what I said about my mind-"
"I have no choice. To talk to you I must speak into your mind."
In an instant he realized that he hadn't heard a single word or note actually pass from her lips to his ears. He couldn't be deaf, or he wouldn't be hearing the background noises the way he did. But there hadn't been any background noises when he first awoke, had there? No creak from the bed, no shifting of fabric, not even his own choked gasps in the throes of the nightmare. Just her.
"Your ears and the organs for hearing were destroyed, but they are now healed," she reassured him.
"Would you speak to me aloud? Could I hear your voice now?"
"You have been hearing the only voice I possess. This is my deformity. I cannot speak or hear as you do-only with my mind." She lifted his hand in both of hers. He could not discern what his bandaged fingers rested against, but his suspicions were confirmed when she instead pressed her lips softly to his. He felt no movement, yet heard her speak. "I will protect you, come what may. I will not have you die. You are too special."
Rodney had often thought himself too important to die. He might have even said as much on occasion. It was a wholly different sentiment coming from Turpi, because he could keep nothing from her. This time he knew-for the first time in his life, really knew-that she loved him. Not because he was brilliant; just because he was him.
It was overwhelming, and as tempted as he was to give in to the unfamiliar emotion, it still scared the hell out of him. "Do we know how far out the Darts are now?"
"They will be here soon," Turpi replied, drawing back but remaining close.
Which only served to remind him that he was about to be beamed up into a Wraith Dart. Rodney tried not to wince. It wasn't the beaming that bothered him so much as the dumping out on the other end. And there was also the small matter of not getting shot out of the sky by his friends. Normally he appreciated Sheppard's quick reflexes, but this was anything but a normal day.
So many variables, so many ifs. So many people here, all of them depending on him. He had to save them.
He had to save this incredible woman who had saved him.
The latest wave, definitely seismically generated, as Elizabeth now knew, was the strongest yet. Her fingers were beginning to ache from clutching the rail. Of course, every wave had been the strongest yet. The scientists who'd stayed behind to compose the last group of evacuees had gauged the forces to be significantly higher than those of Atlantis's rising nearly two years ago. The portion of the city that remained underwater was being constantly pummeled by the surges from beneath, so they'd had to extend the force field. As feared, the system that anchored Atlantis in a fixed position was also being taxed to its limits. Any minute now, she expected the entire apparatus on the seabed-indeed, the entire seabed-to collapse, setting Atlantis adrift. Even with the force field extended, it would be like sitting in a huge glass bowl, protected from the elements but tossed into a raging sea. The structural integrity of the city might survive, but its inhabitants would be thrown around mercilessly.
For a brief, bizarre moment, she imagined her people as tiny fragments of glitter in a snow globe, ruthlessly shaken by an ancient god whose wrath they had incurred by daring to claim the city for themselves.
Angry with herself for thinking of Ea as anything other than a grieving, embittered, very mortal being, Elizabeth turned toward her office and spoke over her shoulder to the last remaining 'gate tech. "Get the final group ready to go."
"Ma'am, we can't."
She whirled. "What do you mean, we can't?"
Trembling fingers belied the young man's calm voice. "The city's moorings have been diverting more and more power to hold us in position. That system's begun to fail, so the inertial dampeners have also been employed. We've drained too much power to dial the Alpha site."
"Not even for a few seconds?"
"No, ma'am. The city shield will fail "
And if the shield failed, the 'gate room would fill with water-and possibly gray goo-before the vortex even stabilized. Elizabeth pressed her fingers to her temples, only to scramble for a handhold when the city shook again. There wasn't much more to be done now, was there? "Control room to Daedalus."
"Caldwell here" In the background, she could hear the sound of cutting tools. "We've just about finished fabricating the components we need."
Thank God for that, at least. "That's good to hear, Colonel, because the last group of city personnel is coming your way. We don't have enough power left to dial the Alpha site, so we're going to have to shut down everything other than the shield, moorings, and stabilizers to conserve power."
"Understood. We've got plenty of room for a few more people."
"Thank you. Hopefully the teams on Polrusso will be back any moment with a ZPM or two. We just need a little more power to give us time to evacuate."
"Hermiod's made some updated calculations. He thinks two ZPMs might give us enough time to finish the hyperdrive repairs," Caldwell said. "Are we really down to minimums already?"
This last question was more a statement of disbelief, but Elizabeth answered anyway. "I'm afraid so."
"All right. Send all remaining personnel in the city to the Daedalus. When the control room crew is done powering everything down, we'll beam the last of you here."
"Then I'll see you in a few minutes." Elizabeth slowly edged over to the communications console, finding it difficult to keep her balance as the floor tilted under her feet. She reached out to toggle the citywide channel. "All personnel, report to the Daedalus immediately. Due to our worsening situation, nonessential city power will be terminated in five minutes. That will include the transport systems, so drop whatever it is you're doing and"-she swallowed hard, determined to inject a sense of absolute control into her voice in spite of what she was saying — "abandon the city. I repeat, abandon everything now and report to the Daedalus. There will be no further announcements."
Closing the channel, she felt bleak helplessness settle into her bones. They'd lasted as long as they could. It was up to Radek and his group now.
I'm sorry, she silently told the city and its long-departed people. I know this wasn't what you intended, certainly not what you had hoped. We did our best.
With an expression far too grave for his young face, the tech started to run down a checklist. All over the city, the last remaining lights began to wink out.
Chapter Eighteen
"I would like to renew my statement that this is an absolutely insane research method." The endless wait was getting on his last nerve. Rodney badly wanted to pace, but knew he'd end up on his ass if he tried. "This experiment was destined to be a colossal screw-up from the beginning."
"I understand why you think so. But it is proving to be successful." Turpi's fingers traced patterns on his arm. "The terraforming machine is dormant, but the shield remains in order to hold back the water until the toxic mountains have completely eroded. If the Wraith had not forced the Ancestors to abandon Polrusso, the people of this world would not have forgotten their destiny: that their children's children would one day develop abilities equal to those of the Ancestors-superior, even, for we will be able to defend against the Wraith."