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crossoverficTitle: An Ounce of Prevention
Author: karrenia
Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis/Sliders
Rating: PG
Characters: Dr. Carson Beckkett, Elizabeth Weir, John Shepperd
from Sldiers: Mallory Quinn, Rembrandt "Remy" Brown, Professor Arturo,
and Wade Welles.
Summary: The timer the Sliders use to travel between dimensions misfires
stranding them at the Pegasus Base. Meanwhile, Dr. Beckkett makes a few of his
own surprising discoveries about the newcomers.
Word Count: 3,338
Disclaimer. Stargate: Atlantis and all of its characters, events, devices, and ships belong to their respective creators and producers, and are not mine. The same applies to the Sliders series. Note: The story references events from the current 2nd season of Atlantis and the 1st season of Sliders.
"An Ounce of Prevention by Karen
Rodney hates any feeling remotely associated with the loss of control. In his mind, that is the only reason why the drug addiction forced upon him by Aiden Ford is so distasteful. The fact that the drug in question is a distilled version of the Wraith enzyme made for human use, like a steroid, really does not help matters.
Rodney is unable to imagine living a life where withdrawal symptoms become so severe that he will reach the point of bouncing off the walls, or worse, climbing them.
He should be putting his intelligence to good use, helping the team he'd been under a great deal of pressure to get a Wraith glider engines online and flight worthy.
Back at the Pegasus base, Rodney lies on his back on his hard bunk staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep because that restless mind of his persists in replaying the entire episode over and over in his mind. He tells himself that Dr. Carson Beckett knows more about the enyzyme than even the insane Ford and his one-man crusade to stop the Wraith.
Rodney tells himself that it its because of of Colonel Sheppard's efforts to intervene on his behalf that his dosage of the enzyme is far less than that of Ronon or Teyla's.
Everything will work out for the best, that all he has to do is find a positive somewhere in this equation. Most of the time this method of claming his anxiety works when he is working on physics or engineering equation. However this method does not always work when it comes to a personal problem or a social situation.
Finally, unable to take it anymore, Rodney rises from his bunk and goes over to the computer monitor to check on where Sheppard might be. It only partially registers that the digital readout on his chronometer glows a steady, deep green 2am.
Rodney wavers between getting up and pacing back and forth in the space that separates
his bed from the small chest of drawers that holds his clothes, and on tops the few personal items he brought with him to Atlantis side of the Stargate.
The funny dry sensation on the roof of his mouth tastes much like the bag of cotton balls he keeps in the drawer of his end table and he reaches for the thermos of water sitting on the end table. He fills a stryofoam cup with water and gulps it down, as he tries to avoid darting a glance at the tiny silver cylinder stuffed into the far crevice where the table meets the wall. Rodney finishes all the water and staggers back over to his bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Meanwhile in another part of the Pegasus Base Colonel John Sheppard grumbles about why is it necessary for 'some' people meaning Teyla and Ronon to pick ungodly early hours for training sessions.
He rubs his eye sockets with the backs of his hands to rid them of the grit of broken slumber as he walks down the hallway. Upon arriving at the lift that will take him to the training room, he punches the up button and he enters the lift, and then pulls the door closed.
Sheppard refuses to succumb to the urge to yawn and succumb to his fatigue, determined not to let his irritation show, or to let them use that to their advantage when they cross staves.
Teyla and Ronon are already at it when Sheppard arrives, and even through the metal bulkheads he can hear the audible thudding and clacking of wooden weapons. Shrugging off the jacket of his uniform Sheppard reaches for his pair of the practice weapons, he clears his throat, waiting for a lull in to make his presence known.
"Sorry I'm late for the party," Sheppard says, "but do you mind if I step in?"
"Colonel Sheppard," Ronon grunted, "We've been expecting you."
"Well then, let's get it on."
"On where?" Teyla asks, arching one elegant brown eyebrow.
"Never mind," Sheppard shrugs, raising his wooden quarterstaff and waggles it around, "It's an old Earth expression. I'll explain it to you later, if you want."
Enter the Sliders
Mallory Quinn punches up the codes to activate the wormhole that will lead to yet another alternate reality. He has done this so many times since he left home that it has become almost a routine. The theoretical physicist side of his nature automatically calculates the precise mathematical equations making such a phenomenon possible. However, the devil-may-care adventurer side of his nature is eager to explore their next destination.
His friends and fellow travelers: Professor Maxmilian Arturo, Rembrant "Remy" Brown, and Wade Welles have exhausted the possibilities of their current whereabouts and are as anxious to be gone as he is.
Jumping through the artificial wormhole thus created by Quinn's handheld device is much like jumping into the crest of an oncoming gigantic ocean wave and then submerging. The rush is nothing like he has ever experienced before and he knows on a both a personal and instinctual level that his friends feel something similar in their own way. Otherwise they would not have survived this long sliding from one alternate reality to a next, or stuck with him through both triumphs and disasters.
As they emerge on the other side of the wormhole Quinn steps out into the middle of a room the decor of which reminds him of a Japanese dojo complete with a screen room separator made with wicker. Contact with the hard wooden floor giving his left knee a nasty knock he feels even through the fabric of his denim jeans.
Professor Arturo is the next to emerge, all but falling bodily on top of Quinn's kneeling form; followed closely by Remy and Wade. Untangling from each other with more than a little, Quinn attempted to their bearings by pulling out his hand held from his pocket. He hopes that his fall did not damage the equipment. A few seconds to examine it, with the Professor looking over his shoulder is enough to satisfy Quinn on that score at least. Now all he has to figure out is where and when, and what their next course of action should be.
"Well, well, this certainly is a nice kettle of fish ya'all have gotten us into again," Remy states, glancing around at the room, his distinct accent rumbling through the room. "Don't suppose you know where we are this time, boss?"
"I'm working on it," Remy," Quinn replies.
"Not that I'm telling you how to do your job,"Remy added, glancing around, noting the that the puzzled looks on the faces of the three people in the room are rapidly turning to curiosity and then suspicion. "But could you work faster, please?"
"Quinn," Professor Arturo added,"We seem to not have the leisure to wait around why you fumble with your toy. It would behoove you to work with more speed for it appears that time is of the essence. Arturo found himself staring into the face of tall dark skinned woman, poking the sharpened end of a quaterstaff into his left flank. Wade stood beside him, trying to stare the other woman down.
Quinn looked up from his calculations when he feels an audible thunk of a wooden slat clack against the side of his head. He looks up to see a very tall man, with dread locks threaded through his long black hair and a stern warning look in his dark eyes. All in all, it made for a rather intimidating scene. Quinn scrambled away on his knees and with a glance at his friends, he rose quickly to his feet, gesturing for the others to do likewise.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" Ronon demanded.
"Hey, no fair stealing my thunder," Sheppard said. "That was supposed to be my line."
"This is a serious situation, Colonel Sheppard, and despite the late hour, these intruders must be dealt with accordingly," Ronon."
"First things first, Ronon. We question them and then if the situation warrants we'll report them to Dr. Weir or security, whichever comes first."
"Colonel?" Quinn echoed, "of what country's military and or government are you a part of?
"I have the honor of serving in the good old United States Army," Colonel John Sheppard, and who might you be?"
"I guess we'd better dispense with the formal introductions before this go much further, I'm Mallory Quinn, these are my friends, Professor Arturo, Rembrandt Brown, and Wade Welles. We've been away on a sabbatical for a while, so we're a little out of the loop about current events? Where are we?"
"You're civilians aren't you? Seeing Qunin nodded, Sheppard added: "Which means that you've compromised a government facility, and I can't afford the security risk until I've asked you a few more questions and then answered any you may have."
"Most likely the are Genni spies, although, "Ronon tilted his head to one side and thought the matter through, "that explanation does not take into account why they would have appeared here in the training room instead of the gate room without setting of the security alarms."
"Ronon, not now. This trip you say you're on, what kind of research are you conducting, and is there some kind of educational or government organization that sponsors it?"
"Ah, theoretical physics," Quinn muttered. "And we're privately funded through Professor Arturo's estate."
"More to the point, how did you manage to get into the base in the first place," Teyla added.
"That, Madame, is not as easily explained away. I feel a bit parched, might I ask for a glass of water for myself and my comrades?"
Teyla nodded, and with her wooden staff dangling from one hand she went over to a side cabinet and filled two plastic cups with water from the thermos, and then returned with them to hand them to the intruders. Seeing that if they couldn't answer any questions put to them the matter would take that much longer to resolve.
"Have you heard of the Genni?" Ronin bluntly asked, in an attempt to confirm his suspicions.
"The what?" Wade asked. "Never heard of them before."
"How about the Wraith?" Sheppard asked, darting a look of reproach at Ronon.
"No, not those either." Quinn sighed, wondering how much more of this they would have to take.
"We'll wherever they come from, it's getting late and we won't get to the bottom of this tonight, go on to bed, Teyla, Ronon. That's an order. In the meantime, I'll escort our guests to a temporary holding quarters until 0800 hours and then we'll get Dr. Beckett and Dr. Weir apprised of the situation."
"What if we don't want to go?" Quinn asked.
"Tough, you’re not being given a choice". Sheppard grinned, You see, this my base, so my rules, get the picture?"
"Yeah, we got it," Remy replied.
******
The Infirmary, 0700 hours, the next morning
With the sleeves of his white lab coat rolled up Doctor Carson Beckett prepared the syringes alongside his assistant and issued orders on the proper mixture for each of his new patients waiting their turns on the observation beds. Colonel Sheppard had brought them about half an hour earlier with instructions that they each be tested for any traces of the Wraith enzyme or other potential bio hazards. Also, he had been given to understand that they would not be harmed or mistreated in any way, given that were intruders and less than forthcoming about the circumstances of how they managed to get inside of the Pegasus base. So far, they threat appeared rather mild.
"I'll be a monkey's uncle," Beckett whistled.
"What are you talking about," Wade asked, curious at the tone in the doctor's voice and the puzzled look on his face.
"I'll not be lying to ye, if I didn't tell you straightaway that even I am amazed by the results of the blood work we have on ye all." Beckett nodded.
"Is something wrong?" Remy asked.
"Nothing, nothing wrong, and I will rule out any medical danger the five of you might pose to base personnel and civilians stationed her, so ye needn't worry about that."
'If it's all the same to you, Doc, " Wade said, 'but that does not reassure me a whole lot."
"I can't tell you everything, you understand, but we've got a medical situation on our hands that until recently has pretty much confounded both our medical and scientific staff." Beckett paused to consider how exactly and whether or not he should mention anything about the Wraith or Lieutenant Aiden Ford and considered it better not to say anything about them without approval or further information on his current 'guests'.
Instead he said: "We're dealing with a hostile threat, and certain members of the our front field teams have been subjected to a enzyme with the equivalent properties of an amphetamine.
"A drug addiction." Remy shook his head. "I fail to see what that has anything to do with us or whatever results you got out of our blood work."
"You see, while I don't know where you came from, somewhere along the way I believe you may have picked up the necessary white blood platelets that will help me synthesize an antidote to the effects the enzyme has on our people."
"Great, just great," Quinn muttered.
"I don't understand why this does not come as good news. It means I can help our people and you folks will be release into better quarters than a holding quarters." Beckett explained.
"Oh joy," Remy replied.
Meanwhile in her office, Doctor. Elizabeth Weir considers the contents and the implications of the preliminary report submitted by Colonel Sheppard's, Ronon and Teyla's initial encounter and questioning of the five intruders.
She considers that matter sitting behind her desk with her elbows on resting on the surface, the fingers of both hands laced together.
The fact that the small group did not come through the Pegasus base side of the Star Gate was enough to being concerned about.
Added to that unwelcome fact was that none of them had any knowledge of any known alien races, hostile or otherwise, more or less put them five strangers into a category bordering on unknown and what the hell do we do with them?
Weir unlaced her fingers and leaned back in her chair. Standing up she gathered up the report and stuffed it back inside the folder, deciding that she would go to the medical lab and see for herself what was happening, by now Dr. Carson Beckett should have completed his medical exams of the intruders.
Will it work?
Wade doesn't know what to make of this place, sure its filled with military personnel but its far different than of the parallel worlds that she has had first hand experience with; she can see swatches of colored fabric adorning the uniforms and medical garb of the staff in the infirmary; the fact that they represent countries of from the United States, Canada, and several European countries means that a mission of some kind is being conducted by citizens of the globe. By all indications, one in mutual cooperation. She can't recognize the uniforms either, and they, with some degree have not been exactly forthcoming about the nature of that mission. She doesn't know exactly how to feel about this, so she alternates between anxiety, anger at the confinement, and the urge to get up and do something about it, or at least yell very loudly at some in a position of authority. If it accomplishes nothing else of us it will at least relieve some of her building tension. Wade glances around at her fellow Sliders.
Quinn is angry, Professor Maxmillian Arturo is genuinely curious and has that familiar gaze, which means that he has found something intriguing, and Remy just looks tired.
They were given glasses of water to quench their thirst and some beef jerky, so these folks weren't totally uncaring of them, but Wade just wanted to get this present ordeal over with as quickly as possible.
"Hello, allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Elizabeth Weir, and I have the honor of being in charge around here."
"At least, some with authority," Quinn muttered, standing up and approaching here.
"Look, we've been question, confined, and then poked and prodded," Quinn added. "I don't mind the questions, I do mind when my people mess with my friends and don't give me any good reasons as to why."
"Calm down, Quinn, acting angry and demanding will not serve us very well, I imagine," Arturo mildly said.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about, personally," Mckay added, "I was told this was urgent and that Teyla, Ronon, yours truly and Colonel Sheppard all had to be present."
"The fuss, Rodney, is that thanks to our five new friends, I think I may have synthesized an blood antidote to the Wraith enzyme," Beckett replied, not in the least bothered by Mckay's cynical tone.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Rodney exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how long we've been working on that or just how astronomical the odds are that anyone could unlock the genetic codes to even come close to something like that?"
"He is very much aware of the difficulties, Rodney," Colonel Sheppard said.
"My mouth tastes like I swallowed cotton balls," Rodney muttered. "You rousted me out of bed for this?"
"Stop complaining; that's an order."
"I think we should give the doctor the benefit of the doubt," Teyla added.
"I agree," Ronon nodded.
"What if it doesn't work? Have you tested it? Dr. Weir asked.
"I don't know what you're all so hot and bothered about it," Remy interrupted, "Either it works or it doesn't, leastaways you get us out of ya'all's hair, and we'll be on our merry way."
"We didn't come here to make any trouble, and if you find something in our blood that helps, fine and dandy, but we're just passing through trying to get home," Quinn said.
"We understand your situation, and once we get through this, I will personally see to I that we find a way to help you reach your home," Weir said.
Rodney is torn about whether or not is a good idea to volunteer to take the first shot of the blood serum.
One side he wants more than anything to be rid of the addiction does, one the other hand he is sure that he can trust this cure Beckett and his staff had developed. It is not because that the cure came from five strangers he barely had time to learn their names; its more of a delicate matter. He rolls up his sleeve, and squirms around to get a more comfortable position on the exam table while he waits for the effect of the antidote to take effect. Rodney is thinking the so-called 'cure' will most likely turn out to be worse than the disease, or the addiction.
On similar exam tables, Teyla, Ronon and John Sheppard all wait for the results of the experiment.
Aftermath
"I'm worried about McKay, you know how he feels about both the Wraith and the Ford, ever since the incident with the enzyme," Weir said.
"I understand, Ma'am," Colonel John Sheppard replied, 'but McKay's a big boy, and whether he likes it or not he's going have to buck it and take the treatment prescribed by the good doctor."
"The fact that a treatment for the addiction caused by the Wratih enzyme adapted for human use came from the blood serum from five strangers doesn't bother you?"
'Honestly, " Sheppard replied, "it does just a little bit, but right about I think beggars can't afford to be choosy when it comes to finding a cure." He shrugged. As far as I can tell our guests are not entirely thrilled with the situation either."
"Can you really blame them?" Teyla said.
"They helped us," Weir smiled. "I think its more than fair repayment of that debt to talk to them and at least find them better accommodations."
"You mean we're getting sprung, Ma'am?" Remy smiled his most winning and charming smile at the attractive auburn-haired woman.
"Yes, Mr. Brown, we are hereby springing you." Weir smiled.
0900 hours, the next morning in the base operations room, the Sliders discover a dismaying stumbling block to their plans of a quick way home.
“The timer malfunctioned.” Quinn seemed unusually delighted but what, normally for the Sliders would be bad news.
"Which means that will be stuck at the Atlantis base for the immediate future until they find out why the gate's energy emissions are interfering with the timer's calculations," Arturo exclaimed, "This is extremely fascinating. The physics implications alone would make for a study in and of itself, but I shall not go into details for we need practical solutions to our problem not more questions."
"What can possibly be exerting that magnitude of energy on the timer?" Quinn asked, a puzzled look furrowing the smooth line of his brow.
"I overheard our hosts talk about gates, and coordinates, and starmaps," Wade helpfully added, "At the risk of bringing up a tired cliche, 'I don't think we're in Kansas any more, Dorthoy.'"
"I don't think we're even in our own galaxy, Wade," Professor Arturo smiled trying to take the sting out of his words and give the young woman a reassuring smile at the same time.
"Well, there are worse places to be stuck, and we can spend the time getting the timer fixed, right?" Wade asked.
"Right you are," Quinn replied.
Conclusion
Mallory Quinn was having more than a few doubts regarding the Atlantis base personnel about that fact that his timer wouldn't function because of all the antimatter energy coming from the big circular and very heavy piece of technology that they referred to as the Star Gate. His group had traveled from one world to the next, to multiple parallel dimensions in the past without too much trouble.
Even during the more harrowing slides when they had quite literally been on the run for their lives, the timer had worked with more than a little tinkering, and they had been able to slide. Quinn wonders if she ask Professor Arturo to run the calculations once more just to be sure, but she sighs and wonders what the point would be. They've been over the calculations over a hundred times since they were told to stay put. Quinn finds that if he's going to be honest with himself then this place is certainly fascinating and he can understand and even agree with the Professor about the relative merits of staying on at the Pegasus base. The only problem is that he and his friends are trying to find their way home. Of late it has become an overriding goal:
Because every time a slide took them to a place resembling home that they left behind so many jumps ago, there was more than likely something or someone getting in the way and bursting the bubble of their dream of reaching their proper home.
Being stuck on a military base in a galaxy that isn't even remotely in the neighborhood of Earth that was isn't what Quinn would term an adequate alternative to reaching home.
It's a damn sight better than nothing or even the places where they're either dead or wanted felons. 'It's usually a crap shoot anyway when it comes to having to deal with the consequences of our own actions or that of our counterparts in parallel worlds.' Quinn thought.
After all, he's had time to go over the pros and cons with his friends, Rembrant "Remy" Brown would like to stay. Wade Wells is torn, but she is curious to find out what other adventures they are likely to find or to find them in this new place.
Author: karrenia
Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis/Sliders
Rating: PG
Characters: Dr. Carson Beckkett, Elizabeth Weir, John Shepperd
from Sldiers: Mallory Quinn, Rembrandt "Remy" Brown, Professor Arturo,
and Wade Welles.
Summary: The timer the Sliders use to travel between dimensions misfires
stranding them at the Pegasus Base. Meanwhile, Dr. Beckkett makes a few of his
own surprising discoveries about the newcomers.
Word Count: 3,338
Disclaimer. Stargate: Atlantis and all of its characters, events, devices, and ships belong to their respective creators and producers, and are not mine. The same applies to the Sliders series. Note: The story references events from the current 2nd season of Atlantis and the 1st season of Sliders.
"An Ounce of Prevention by Karen
Rodney hates any feeling remotely associated with the loss of control. In his mind, that is the only reason why the drug addiction forced upon him by Aiden Ford is so distasteful. The fact that the drug in question is a distilled version of the Wraith enzyme made for human use, like a steroid, really does not help matters.
Rodney is unable to imagine living a life where withdrawal symptoms become so severe that he will reach the point of bouncing off the walls, or worse, climbing them.
He should be putting his intelligence to good use, helping the team he'd been under a great deal of pressure to get a Wraith glider engines online and flight worthy.
Back at the Pegasus base, Rodney lies on his back on his hard bunk staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep because that restless mind of his persists in replaying the entire episode over and over in his mind. He tells himself that Dr. Carson Beckett knows more about the enyzyme than even the insane Ford and his one-man crusade to stop the Wraith.
Rodney tells himself that it its because of of Colonel Sheppard's efforts to intervene on his behalf that his dosage of the enzyme is far less than that of Ronon or Teyla's.
Everything will work out for the best, that all he has to do is find a positive somewhere in this equation. Most of the time this method of claming his anxiety works when he is working on physics or engineering equation. However this method does not always work when it comes to a personal problem or a social situation.
Finally, unable to take it anymore, Rodney rises from his bunk and goes over to the computer monitor to check on where Sheppard might be. It only partially registers that the digital readout on his chronometer glows a steady, deep green 2am.
Rodney wavers between getting up and pacing back and forth in the space that separates
his bed from the small chest of drawers that holds his clothes, and on tops the few personal items he brought with him to Atlantis side of the Stargate.
The funny dry sensation on the roof of his mouth tastes much like the bag of cotton balls he keeps in the drawer of his end table and he reaches for the thermos of water sitting on the end table. He fills a stryofoam cup with water and gulps it down, as he tries to avoid darting a glance at the tiny silver cylinder stuffed into the far crevice where the table meets the wall. Rodney finishes all the water and staggers back over to his bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Meanwhile in another part of the Pegasus Base Colonel John Sheppard grumbles about why is it necessary for 'some' people meaning Teyla and Ronon to pick ungodly early hours for training sessions.
He rubs his eye sockets with the backs of his hands to rid them of the grit of broken slumber as he walks down the hallway. Upon arriving at the lift that will take him to the training room, he punches the up button and he enters the lift, and then pulls the door closed.
Sheppard refuses to succumb to the urge to yawn and succumb to his fatigue, determined not to let his irritation show, or to let them use that to their advantage when they cross staves.
Teyla and Ronon are already at it when Sheppard arrives, and even through the metal bulkheads he can hear the audible thudding and clacking of wooden weapons. Shrugging off the jacket of his uniform Sheppard reaches for his pair of the practice weapons, he clears his throat, waiting for a lull in to make his presence known.
"Sorry I'm late for the party," Sheppard says, "but do you mind if I step in?"
"Colonel Sheppard," Ronon grunted, "We've been expecting you."
"Well then, let's get it on."
"On where?" Teyla asks, arching one elegant brown eyebrow.
"Never mind," Sheppard shrugs, raising his wooden quarterstaff and waggles it around, "It's an old Earth expression. I'll explain it to you later, if you want."
Enter the Sliders
Mallory Quinn punches up the codes to activate the wormhole that will lead to yet another alternate reality. He has done this so many times since he left home that it has become almost a routine. The theoretical physicist side of his nature automatically calculates the precise mathematical equations making such a phenomenon possible. However, the devil-may-care adventurer side of his nature is eager to explore their next destination.
His friends and fellow travelers: Professor Maxmilian Arturo, Rembrant "Remy" Brown, and Wade Welles have exhausted the possibilities of their current whereabouts and are as anxious to be gone as he is.
Jumping through the artificial wormhole thus created by Quinn's handheld device is much like jumping into the crest of an oncoming gigantic ocean wave and then submerging. The rush is nothing like he has ever experienced before and he knows on a both a personal and instinctual level that his friends feel something similar in their own way. Otherwise they would not have survived this long sliding from one alternate reality to a next, or stuck with him through both triumphs and disasters.
As they emerge on the other side of the wormhole Quinn steps out into the middle of a room the decor of which reminds him of a Japanese dojo complete with a screen room separator made with wicker. Contact with the hard wooden floor giving his left knee a nasty knock he feels even through the fabric of his denim jeans.
Professor Arturo is the next to emerge, all but falling bodily on top of Quinn's kneeling form; followed closely by Remy and Wade. Untangling from each other with more than a little, Quinn attempted to their bearings by pulling out his hand held from his pocket. He hopes that his fall did not damage the equipment. A few seconds to examine it, with the Professor looking over his shoulder is enough to satisfy Quinn on that score at least. Now all he has to figure out is where and when, and what their next course of action should be.
"Well, well, this certainly is a nice kettle of fish ya'all have gotten us into again," Remy states, glancing around at the room, his distinct accent rumbling through the room. "Don't suppose you know where we are this time, boss?"
"I'm working on it," Remy," Quinn replies.
"Not that I'm telling you how to do your job,"Remy added, glancing around, noting the that the puzzled looks on the faces of the three people in the room are rapidly turning to curiosity and then suspicion. "But could you work faster, please?"
"Quinn," Professor Arturo added,"We seem to not have the leisure to wait around why you fumble with your toy. It would behoove you to work with more speed for it appears that time is of the essence. Arturo found himself staring into the face of tall dark skinned woman, poking the sharpened end of a quaterstaff into his left flank. Wade stood beside him, trying to stare the other woman down.
Quinn looked up from his calculations when he feels an audible thunk of a wooden slat clack against the side of his head. He looks up to see a very tall man, with dread locks threaded through his long black hair and a stern warning look in his dark eyes. All in all, it made for a rather intimidating scene. Quinn scrambled away on his knees and with a glance at his friends, he rose quickly to his feet, gesturing for the others to do likewise.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" Ronon demanded.
"Hey, no fair stealing my thunder," Sheppard said. "That was supposed to be my line."
"This is a serious situation, Colonel Sheppard, and despite the late hour, these intruders must be dealt with accordingly," Ronon."
"First things first, Ronon. We question them and then if the situation warrants we'll report them to Dr. Weir or security, whichever comes first."
"Colonel?" Quinn echoed, "of what country's military and or government are you a part of?
"I have the honor of serving in the good old United States Army," Colonel John Sheppard, and who might you be?"
"I guess we'd better dispense with the formal introductions before this go much further, I'm Mallory Quinn, these are my friends, Professor Arturo, Rembrandt Brown, and Wade Welles. We've been away on a sabbatical for a while, so we're a little out of the loop about current events? Where are we?"
"You're civilians aren't you? Seeing Qunin nodded, Sheppard added: "Which means that you've compromised a government facility, and I can't afford the security risk until I've asked you a few more questions and then answered any you may have."
"Most likely the are Genni spies, although, "Ronon tilted his head to one side and thought the matter through, "that explanation does not take into account why they would have appeared here in the training room instead of the gate room without setting of the security alarms."
"Ronon, not now. This trip you say you're on, what kind of research are you conducting, and is there some kind of educational or government organization that sponsors it?"
"Ah, theoretical physics," Quinn muttered. "And we're privately funded through Professor Arturo's estate."
"More to the point, how did you manage to get into the base in the first place," Teyla added.
"That, Madame, is not as easily explained away. I feel a bit parched, might I ask for a glass of water for myself and my comrades?"
Teyla nodded, and with her wooden staff dangling from one hand she went over to a side cabinet and filled two plastic cups with water from the thermos, and then returned with them to hand them to the intruders. Seeing that if they couldn't answer any questions put to them the matter would take that much longer to resolve.
"Have you heard of the Genni?" Ronin bluntly asked, in an attempt to confirm his suspicions.
"The what?" Wade asked. "Never heard of them before."
"How about the Wraith?" Sheppard asked, darting a look of reproach at Ronon.
"No, not those either." Quinn sighed, wondering how much more of this they would have to take.
"We'll wherever they come from, it's getting late and we won't get to the bottom of this tonight, go on to bed, Teyla, Ronon. That's an order. In the meantime, I'll escort our guests to a temporary holding quarters until 0800 hours and then we'll get Dr. Beckett and Dr. Weir apprised of the situation."
"What if we don't want to go?" Quinn asked.
"Tough, you’re not being given a choice". Sheppard grinned, You see, this my base, so my rules, get the picture?"
"Yeah, we got it," Remy replied.
******
The Infirmary, 0700 hours, the next morning
With the sleeves of his white lab coat rolled up Doctor Carson Beckett prepared the syringes alongside his assistant and issued orders on the proper mixture for each of his new patients waiting their turns on the observation beds. Colonel Sheppard had brought them about half an hour earlier with instructions that they each be tested for any traces of the Wraith enzyme or other potential bio hazards. Also, he had been given to understand that they would not be harmed or mistreated in any way, given that were intruders and less than forthcoming about the circumstances of how they managed to get inside of the Pegasus base. So far, they threat appeared rather mild.
"I'll be a monkey's uncle," Beckett whistled.
"What are you talking about," Wade asked, curious at the tone in the doctor's voice and the puzzled look on his face.
"I'll not be lying to ye, if I didn't tell you straightaway that even I am amazed by the results of the blood work we have on ye all." Beckett nodded.
"Is something wrong?" Remy asked.
"Nothing, nothing wrong, and I will rule out any medical danger the five of you might pose to base personnel and civilians stationed her, so ye needn't worry about that."
'If it's all the same to you, Doc, " Wade said, 'but that does not reassure me a whole lot."
"I can't tell you everything, you understand, but we've got a medical situation on our hands that until recently has pretty much confounded both our medical and scientific staff." Beckett paused to consider how exactly and whether or not he should mention anything about the Wraith or Lieutenant Aiden Ford and considered it better not to say anything about them without approval or further information on his current 'guests'.
Instead he said: "We're dealing with a hostile threat, and certain members of the our front field teams have been subjected to a enzyme with the equivalent properties of an amphetamine.
"A drug addiction." Remy shook his head. "I fail to see what that has anything to do with us or whatever results you got out of our blood work."
"You see, while I don't know where you came from, somewhere along the way I believe you may have picked up the necessary white blood platelets that will help me synthesize an antidote to the effects the enzyme has on our people."
"Great, just great," Quinn muttered.
"I don't understand why this does not come as good news. It means I can help our people and you folks will be release into better quarters than a holding quarters." Beckett explained.
"Oh joy," Remy replied.
Meanwhile in her office, Doctor. Elizabeth Weir considers the contents and the implications of the preliminary report submitted by Colonel Sheppard's, Ronon and Teyla's initial encounter and questioning of the five intruders.
She considers that matter sitting behind her desk with her elbows on resting on the surface, the fingers of both hands laced together.
The fact that the small group did not come through the Pegasus base side of the Star Gate was enough to being concerned about.
Added to that unwelcome fact was that none of them had any knowledge of any known alien races, hostile or otherwise, more or less put them five strangers into a category bordering on unknown and what the hell do we do with them?
Weir unlaced her fingers and leaned back in her chair. Standing up she gathered up the report and stuffed it back inside the folder, deciding that she would go to the medical lab and see for herself what was happening, by now Dr. Carson Beckett should have completed his medical exams of the intruders.
Will it work?
Wade doesn't know what to make of this place, sure its filled with military personnel but its far different than of the parallel worlds that she has had first hand experience with; she can see swatches of colored fabric adorning the uniforms and medical garb of the staff in the infirmary; the fact that they represent countries of from the United States, Canada, and several European countries means that a mission of some kind is being conducted by citizens of the globe. By all indications, one in mutual cooperation. She can't recognize the uniforms either, and they, with some degree have not been exactly forthcoming about the nature of that mission. She doesn't know exactly how to feel about this, so she alternates between anxiety, anger at the confinement, and the urge to get up and do something about it, or at least yell very loudly at some in a position of authority. If it accomplishes nothing else of us it will at least relieve some of her building tension. Wade glances around at her fellow Sliders.
Quinn is angry, Professor Maxmillian Arturo is genuinely curious and has that familiar gaze, which means that he has found something intriguing, and Remy just looks tired.
They were given glasses of water to quench their thirst and some beef jerky, so these folks weren't totally uncaring of them, but Wade just wanted to get this present ordeal over with as quickly as possible.
"Hello, allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Elizabeth Weir, and I have the honor of being in charge around here."
"At least, some with authority," Quinn muttered, standing up and approaching here.
"Look, we've been question, confined, and then poked and prodded," Quinn added. "I don't mind the questions, I do mind when my people mess with my friends and don't give me any good reasons as to why."
"Calm down, Quinn, acting angry and demanding will not serve us very well, I imagine," Arturo mildly said.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about, personally," Mckay added, "I was told this was urgent and that Teyla, Ronon, yours truly and Colonel Sheppard all had to be present."
"The fuss, Rodney, is that thanks to our five new friends, I think I may have synthesized an blood antidote to the Wraith enzyme," Beckett replied, not in the least bothered by Mckay's cynical tone.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Rodney exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how long we've been working on that or just how astronomical the odds are that anyone could unlock the genetic codes to even come close to something like that?"
"He is very much aware of the difficulties, Rodney," Colonel Sheppard said.
"My mouth tastes like I swallowed cotton balls," Rodney muttered. "You rousted me out of bed for this?"
"Stop complaining; that's an order."
"I think we should give the doctor the benefit of the doubt," Teyla added.
"I agree," Ronon nodded.
"What if it doesn't work? Have you tested it? Dr. Weir asked.
"I don't know what you're all so hot and bothered about it," Remy interrupted, "Either it works or it doesn't, leastaways you get us out of ya'all's hair, and we'll be on our merry way."
"We didn't come here to make any trouble, and if you find something in our blood that helps, fine and dandy, but we're just passing through trying to get home," Quinn said.
"We understand your situation, and once we get through this, I will personally see to I that we find a way to help you reach your home," Weir said.
Rodney is torn about whether or not is a good idea to volunteer to take the first shot of the blood serum.
One side he wants more than anything to be rid of the addiction does, one the other hand he is sure that he can trust this cure Beckett and his staff had developed. It is not because that the cure came from five strangers he barely had time to learn their names; its more of a delicate matter. He rolls up his sleeve, and squirms around to get a more comfortable position on the exam table while he waits for the effect of the antidote to take effect. Rodney is thinking the so-called 'cure' will most likely turn out to be worse than the disease, or the addiction.
On similar exam tables, Teyla, Ronon and John Sheppard all wait for the results of the experiment.
Aftermath
"I'm worried about McKay, you know how he feels about both the Wraith and the Ford, ever since the incident with the enzyme," Weir said.
"I understand, Ma'am," Colonel John Sheppard replied, 'but McKay's a big boy, and whether he likes it or not he's going have to buck it and take the treatment prescribed by the good doctor."
"The fact that a treatment for the addiction caused by the Wratih enzyme adapted for human use came from the blood serum from five strangers doesn't bother you?"
'Honestly, " Sheppard replied, "it does just a little bit, but right about I think beggars can't afford to be choosy when it comes to finding a cure." He shrugged. As far as I can tell our guests are not entirely thrilled with the situation either."
"Can you really blame them?" Teyla said.
"They helped us," Weir smiled. "I think its more than fair repayment of that debt to talk to them and at least find them better accommodations."
"You mean we're getting sprung, Ma'am?" Remy smiled his most winning and charming smile at the attractive auburn-haired woman.
"Yes, Mr. Brown, we are hereby springing you." Weir smiled.
0900 hours, the next morning in the base operations room, the Sliders discover a dismaying stumbling block to their plans of a quick way home.
“The timer malfunctioned.” Quinn seemed unusually delighted but what, normally for the Sliders would be bad news.
"Which means that will be stuck at the Atlantis base for the immediate future until they find out why the gate's energy emissions are interfering with the timer's calculations," Arturo exclaimed, "This is extremely fascinating. The physics implications alone would make for a study in and of itself, but I shall not go into details for we need practical solutions to our problem not more questions."
"What can possibly be exerting that magnitude of energy on the timer?" Quinn asked, a puzzled look furrowing the smooth line of his brow.
"I overheard our hosts talk about gates, and coordinates, and starmaps," Wade helpfully added, "At the risk of bringing up a tired cliche, 'I don't think we're in Kansas any more, Dorthoy.'"
"I don't think we're even in our own galaxy, Wade," Professor Arturo smiled trying to take the sting out of his words and give the young woman a reassuring smile at the same time.
"Well, there are worse places to be stuck, and we can spend the time getting the timer fixed, right?" Wade asked.
"Right you are," Quinn replied.
Conclusion
Mallory Quinn was having more than a few doubts regarding the Atlantis base personnel about that fact that his timer wouldn't function because of all the antimatter energy coming from the big circular and very heavy piece of technology that they referred to as the Star Gate. His group had traveled from one world to the next, to multiple parallel dimensions in the past without too much trouble.
Even during the more harrowing slides when they had quite literally been on the run for their lives, the timer had worked with more than a little tinkering, and they had been able to slide. Quinn wonders if she ask Professor Arturo to run the calculations once more just to be sure, but she sighs and wonders what the point would be. They've been over the calculations over a hundred times since they were told to stay put. Quinn finds that if he's going to be honest with himself then this place is certainly fascinating and he can understand and even agree with the Professor about the relative merits of staying on at the Pegasus base. The only problem is that he and his friends are trying to find their way home. Of late it has become an overriding goal:
Because every time a slide took them to a place resembling home that they left behind so many jumps ago, there was more than likely something or someone getting in the way and bursting the bubble of their dream of reaching their proper home.
Being stuck on a military base in a galaxy that isn't even remotely in the neighborhood of Earth that was isn't what Quinn would term an adequate alternative to reaching home.
It's a damn sight better than nothing or even the places where they're either dead or wanted felons. 'It's usually a crap shoot anyway when it comes to having to deal with the consequences of our own actions or that of our counterparts in parallel worlds.' Quinn thought.
After all, he's had time to go over the pros and cons with his friends, Rembrant "Remy" Brown would like to stay. Wade Wells is torn, but she is curious to find out what other adventures they are likely to find or to find them in this new place.
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