"It's in the middle of that glowing panel near the terminal," replied the pilot of Jumper Five. "You can't miss it."
It was an expression that Teyla had frequently heard Rodney use, a statement of fact that almost always indicated the opposite-which was the situation now facing her.
"Which terminal?" Witner queried from behind her. "There's about twenty of them, and all of the walls are covered in screens."
"What?" Dr. Zelenka asked quickly. Teyla could almost picture him sitting forward and pushing his eyeglasses back on his nose. "It must be a complete second laboratory. In this case, the ZPM is likely to be located in an adjoining room, perhaps to the rear."
Picking his way across upturned chairs and broken shelves, Witner said, "This is not looking good, Dr. Z."
Teyla walked around the far side of the lab, and noticed the rungs of a ladder. She looked up to see them end at the ceiling.
"Five more minutes," Colonel Sheppard announced over her com. "Then you'll have abandon your search and get out of there. Wild geese are not on the day's menu."
Familiar with the colloquialism, Teyla replied, "I have not found any birds, Colonel, but I believe I have discovered the adjoining room." She climbed the rungs and pushed open a section of the ceiling. Lifting her head, she saw a pedestal at the center of a darkened rotunda, the walls of which were adorned with unfamiliar symbols and lights. She climbed up into the room and gazed around in satisfaction. "Sergeant!"
Witner was already on his way up the ladder. "Yup. That's it." The Marine came and stood beside her, then placed his hand on a nearby panel, much as Teyla had seen Dr. McKay do on Atlantis. The ZPM rose halfway out of its compartment.
"We are ready," Teyla announced, feeling a surge of relief. They still had time, and so did the Polrussons.
"Be prepared to take off as soon as you have the ZPMs," cautioned Dr. Zelenka. "Remember, these units form part of a power grid that was never intended to be accessed in this manner. The removal of two ZPMs will instantly impact the force fields all around the planet. We cannot be sure what will happen, nor how quickly."
"We're ready to get the hell out of Dodge " Witner stood with his hands poised on either side of the power module, shifting his weight from foot to foot in anticipation.
"When I count to three, pull them at the same time. All right?" Teyla heard Radek draw a deep breath. "One-two-three!"
Witner pulled. The ZPM remained solidly fixed. Amid whoops of triumph from the crew of Jumper Five, a flash of despair struck Teyla. "It does not respond," she shouted to Dr. Zelenka.
"Rotate it," he replied, his voice calming.
"That's not the problem," Witner told them.
It was then that Teyla saw that the ZPM had not fully risen from its compartment. Having already tried to rotate it in both directions, Witner's gentle movements to tug it free became increasingly forceful. It refused to budge. Looking closely, he observed, "There's grit in the rings."
"Leave the ZPM. Go-now!" Through the cracking noises around her, Teyla could not discern whether it was Colonel Sheppard or Dr. Zelenka yelling through her com. Clutching the ZPM to maintain his balance, Witner glanced at Teyla. The fear and determination in his eyes swiftly transformed into relief when a tremor allowed the ZPM to fully rise. He snatched it from the pedestal as a second, even greater rumble shifted the entire room to one side. This time, deep fractures appeared in the wall and sand immediately began to pour in.
"Teyla, Witner! Get out of there!"
There was no mistaking Sheppard's voice, but his order was no longer necessary. Teyla reached the ladder and, glancing back to ensure that Witner was with her, all but flung herself down into the room below.
"We got it!" Witner announced.
The next shudder twisted the entire framework of the laboratory, tearing the walls apart and allowing huge quantities of sand to pour in. The sergeant maintained his grip on the ladder even as it fell from the wall. Teyla attempted to move clear, but the tremendous cascade of sand and clutter of furniture in the lab hindered her movements, and she was struck heavily on the shoulder. Instantly her mouth began to fill with sand.
"Teyla!"
Finding purchase on an upturned bench, she hauled herself to her feet, spitting out grit. "Go!" she yelled at the Marine, motioning towards the exit-which was already shrouded by a curtain of falling sediment, fine as dust, swirling around the room and reducing visibility even further.
Tucking the ZPM under his arm as if it were Colonel Sheppard's prized football, Witner made for the jumper. His legs were longer than Teyla's, and the sand was piling up along her path, hindering her further. Surely the walls would collapse before she reached the ship. "Do not wait for me!"
Witner might have heard her as he staggered into the jumper, but he gave no acknowledgement. The rumbling around her grew so loud that the noise became almost a force unto itself, crashing down on her head along with the now-shattered remnants of the ceiling. The sand sucked at her feet, then her knees. She tried to claw her way out, but her arms became embedded.
I am not yet ready to die! With a monumental effort, she heaved herself free, took a few more steps and hurled herself into the back of the jumper, activating the hatch as she fell hard against the bulkhead.
With the closure of the hatch, the noise abated, but not the terrible shaking. Teyla made her way to the cockpit as Witner detached them from the laboratory. Ahead, just beyond their force field, the loosely packed sand and gravel began to move sideways. The immense rush of water that followed slammed the jumper to the side, tossing it beneath a furious maelstrom.
"Son of a bitch," John cursed. He should have done a recon orbit right at the beginning of all this, no matter how impatient Rodney had been. The coordinates of the Darts had led them to what had to be the deepest trench on the planet, only ten minutes from the 'gate and well out of sight. When the life signs indicator finally lit up, it did so with style.
"Huh," said Ronon, looking about as surprised as he ever got.
"No kidding." Approaching, John got a bigger shock when the canyon widened. There were tens, probably hundreds of thousands of life signs down there-more than the HUD could differentiate, stretching out as far down the canyon as he could see. They lit up the display like the Las Vegas Strip.
And not a single one of them was Wraith.
He fell back in his seat, and the dizziness that swamped him had nothing to do with the vertigo creeping back into his senses. "Oh, God," he whispered.
This wasn't a hive ship. It was a thriving human civilization — one that would soon be underwater.
Chapter Nineteen
The information was coming at him almost faster than he could take it in. John choked back his initial shock and forced himself to analyze the situation. Darts were skimming back and forth across the canyon, scooping up dozens of people at a time. As the jumper neared, he brought up a magnified view. None of these people appeared to be fleeing the Darts. Just the opposite, in fact; they were waving frantically, trying to draw attention to themselves.
The Darts moved methodically, steady beams of Wraithlight playing across the ground in deliberate patterns. Their strategy couldn't have been more different from the hit-and-run tactics employed by the Wraith. Somehow, there had been a terrible mistake.
"Shoot them!" Ronon yelled, his features instantly darkening at the sight of the Darts.