"No!" John broke off his course, causing the jumper to veer awkwardly. "Can't you see? They're trying to save those people"
Ronon's answering look made it clear he thought his team leader was unbalanced in more ways than one. John ignored him. "Jumpers Four and Five, what's your status?" Dammit, dammit, dammit! "Teyla! Witner-respond!"
"Jumper Five here, sir," came the reply. "We had a close call-everything collapsed on us as soon as we pulled the ZPM. But we're headed for the 'gate now."
Nothing from Jumper Four. "Four, respond," John tried again, with growing dread. If the structure had collapsed on Teyla and Witner as well… "Five, is there any way you can put the ZPM back where you found it?"
It was official now: everybody thought he was losing it.
"Due respect, sir, are you nuts? The whole thing's washed away. About half a mile of the cliff has already disintegrated. There's water gushing out everywhere. We're dialing the 'gate now."
John had no sightline to the lab from his current position, but he had a suspicion about where the Darts were headed. What the hell could they do now? "Radek, what's going on with the area where Teyla's ZPM was?"
A response came, but not from Radek. "Jumper Four is here," Teyla announced belatedly, sounding winded. "We were caught in the structure's collapse and barely escaped. The water has broken through the rock face, but only in a limited area, taking the structure with it. We have the ZPM and are returning to the 'gate."
"It may take a while for the fractured rocks to give way," Radek said. "Still, Colonel, you have very little time to look for Rodney."
John ached, from the fading painkillers and from the knowledge of what they'd just set in motion. If Rodney was in fact dead, at least he wouldn't have to live with the consequences of their actions. "The situation," he replied dully, "just got a little more complicated."
"Sir, Jumper Five has gone through the 'gate," Lorne reported. "There are now multiple Darts inbound to the lab from your direction. Permission to detach Jumper Two in order to engage them."
"It is not necessary," said Radek. "They cannot breach the lab's force field."
"I'm aware of that, Doc. I asked because I think Jumper One could use some backup."
"Negative," John said sharply. "Radek, disengage the force field."
About four different voices exclaimed, "What?"
"Sir, please repeat that order," Lome said, his voice taut.
"You heard me. What are the Darts doing?" John aimed for the nearest group of people on the ground, made up mostly of children by the size of them, and set Jumper One down on the floor of the gorge with a jarring thud.
After a pause, the Major answered, "That's weird. A bunch of people just appeared outside the lab, looking kind of dazed. All but one of the Darts have taken off and are headed back in your direc tion. Why would the Wraith dump people-?"
"They're not Wraith! Lower the damn force field and let them in before the ground collapses out from under them!"
Comprehending that they had to evacuate as many as possible to high ground, Ronon made for the rear of the jumper and opened the hatch. The ambient noise in the jumper rose as a dozen voices expressed their gratitude. Having trouble hearing his com, John leaned forward and cupped a hand around his good ear.
Radek's voice was immediately audible. "Rodney!"
With a surge of hope, John jerked upright. "Where?"
"Here, in the lab-with.. Pro boha." Radek sounded stunned and possibly a little repulsed.
Other voices soon overlapped the scientist's on the frequency. Above the commotion, John could clearly hear Vene's shouts. "Kill them! Kill the Wraith! Force them outside for the water to carry them away!"
Ronon's surprised grunt from the rear of Jumper One prompted John to turn in his seat, and suddenly all the reactions made sense. Sort of.
The kids clambering aboard the jumper were… different. Deformed, if he was being brutally honest. Many of them wore hooded robes, but those only partially masked their distorted features. Eyes and ears askew, misshapen limbs-it was like a lineup for Ripley's Believe It or Not.
"Lorne," John commanded with all the authority he'd ever possessed. "Stop Vend. Those people are not Wraith!"
When the jumper was filled to capacity, Ronon closed the hatch. John lifted off, trying to compensate for the craft's additional weight, and headed for the lab. "Everybody hold onto something if you can," he called over his shoulder. "This isn't one of my better days."
Flying around a bend in the gorge, he was struck speechless by what lay beyond the windshield. Several miles of the canyon wall had collapsed, and water was pouring out at an unimaginable rate. The flood was almost an entity of its own, primal in its wildness and astounding in its sheer force. The sight was beautiful, and terrifying.
Behind him, his passengers gasped in horror. John wanted to apologize, to explain somehow, but any attempt would have been pathetically inadequate. Instead, he turned his attention to the emerging scuffle on the radio.
"All of you, back off!" Lome was yelling over a crowd. "Just calm down!"
From the jumble of sounds, John guessed that the panicky cliffdwellers who had remained behind to witness the spectacle were now mobbing whomever the Darts were depositing on the lab's doorstep. Probably people much like his passengers. Radek was still babbling something about Rodney, who'd apparently been beamed in along with the first group of people. And they were people. The life signs indicator verified that fact, although some of the signatures were closer to Ancient than human. He blinked at the HUD in confusion. What in God's name was going on with this planet?
The sharp report of a P-90 told him that Lome was out of options and about to enforce martial law. Coming up over the cliff, John cringed at the repeated abuse of his favorite ride and all but slammed Jumper One into the sand beside the lab. He stood, waited for his balance to catchup, and lunged for the hatch. As badly as he wanted to get back to the trench and save more people, he had to put a stop to the massacre about to happen.
In theory, transit by Wraith beam should have felt as instantaneous as transit by Stargate. It didn't. There was a significant period of disorientation involved. When Rodney found himself whole again, he swayed on his feet and instinctively reached out. Turpi's hand steadied him.
Slowly, he became aware of the sounds of fighting and shouting that surrounded him. This was the Ancient lab, he was sure. He recognized the smooth metal floor under his feet. What was-?
A deafening clamor tore away the last tatters of his stupor. These days, he'd be able to identify a P-90 anywhere, even one foolishly fired in an enclosed space. The weapon presumably achieved its intended effect: everyone fell silent, except for a voice that he was certain belonged to Major Lorne.
"Rodney!" Radek was suddenly inches from his ear, pulling him away from Turpi's hands, and shouting excitedly in a mixture of English and Czech.
Rodney grasped blindly at his colleague, his bandaged hands bouncing off the other man's shoulders. "Tell me you haven't removed any of the ZPMs. Tell me!"
The ensuing pause trampled on his remaining hope. "It is too late."
"Oh, God! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
The syncopated rhythm of two pairs of boots joined the cacophony. "You used us!" Sheppard was fuming at someone-Vene, most likely. "You set this up to slaughter thousands of innocent people!"
"They did not know," Nabu declared from somewhere nearby. Rodney hadn't realized he'd beamed in with them.
Vend apparently hadn't caught on to the real issue at hand yet. "The Wraith are a scourge upon us. Why would we not rid ourselves of their evil?"
"Your people have not seen a Wraith in generations," Nabu responded scornfully. "You would not know how to recognize one unless it fed upon you."