FIC: Remember Groom Lake (Chapter Two)

[dr-dredd.livejournal.com]

Title: Remember Groom Lake
Author: dr_dredd
Genre: Gen, Drama, Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Warnings: Mild swearing
Spoilers: None
Summary: An experiment in artificial wormhole generation goes horribly wrong. Eureka/Stargate Atlantis crossover

Author's Note: Takes place during Season One of Stargate Atlantis, immediately after "Hot Zone." Also takes place in Season One of Eureka, several weeks after "Primal."



Chapter One is here


Chapter Two

Atlantis

Radek threw a pencil across the room at Rodney and screamed something at him in Czech. Watching the scene from the doorway of the lab, John winced. Dr. Z. was usually much more even-tempered. Rodney must really be pushing his buttons today.

“It was only a suggestion,” Rodney said stiffly.

“I have suggestion for you, too! I suggest you go take a flying f...”

John knew he had to intervene before blood was shed. Carson wouldn’t be happy if his well-earned day off was interrupted. Clearing his throat, the colonel took a step into the room. “Playing nicely, kids?”

Rodney huffed. “I was merely saying that Radek might want another set of eyes to check over his calculations.”

Zelenka turned red. “No. What you actually said was, ‘Give me that so non-moron can take a look.’”

John acted quickly to forestall the next round of geek smackdown. “What are you working on, anyway?”

Rodney folded his arms across his chest. “We’re working on that artificial wormhole generator I discussed in the meeting yesterday.”

“About that,” said John. “I’m sure it’s fascinating, but why bother? Isn’t the gate itself a method of artificially creating wormholes?”

“Yes, but in case you hadn’t noticed, it requires an awful lot of power!”

Radek pointed at a small device that looked uncannily like a hair dryer. “Rodney seems to think there is a ZPM-like power source in there which will generate large amounts of energy when recharged, thus allowing for wormhole formation without the use of a stargate.”

“All that power in that little thing?” John was skeptical.

“Look, the Ancients had to start somewhere when they were developing ZPM’s,” Rodney argued. “It makes sense that they’d have also created something smaller.” He looked wistful for a minute. “If what I found in the database is true, they were also developing ZPM-like technology on a much larger scale, too. Project Taris or Turus, or something like that. Think of what we could use that for...”

“You’re drooling, McKay,” John smirked.

“Am not!” Rodney surreptitiously wiped at the corners of his mouth. “Anyway, if we can make this work, there’s a chance we can use it to open a wormhole to Earth.”

John turned to Radek. “I take it you don’t agree.”

The Czech shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t agree. We just have no way of testing Rodney’s theory. According to the database, it takes a certain piece of equipment to recharge that thing. But the Ancients did not see fit to mention what that piece of equipment was.”

Rodney gave a long-suffering sigh. “I told you, already. We can hook up one of the naquadah generators and give it a minimal charge. Jump-start it, so to speak. It will at least allow us to take some preliminary readings.”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa!” John held up his hands. “Didn’t we say in the same meeting that we’re running short on generators?”

“Exactly!” Radek agreed. “It is not worth taking the chance of destroying another generator... and possibly us with it!”

“And that’s why I think someone should look over your calculations. You’ve obviously made a mistake if you think that...”

John interrupted again. “I think this is where I came in. It’s not me that you’re going to have to convince, though. It’s Elizabeth.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eureka, Global Dynamics facility

The Global Dynamics complex was starting to freak Jack out. He was still having nightmares about long, dark, creepy tunnels, and exploding Nathan Starks. LoJack seemed equally unhappy; he pressed his furry body against Jack as the two of them got out of the car.

The guard in the security booth nodded to Jack politely as he and the dog approached the entrance. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Nah. I’m just here to make sure things are back to normal after our little invasion of the Pod-Starks last month.”

The guard tried not to snicker. “Normal, sir? Around here?”

“Good point,” Jack admitted. “Say, would you happen to know if there are any new tests planned for today?”

“Excuse me?”

Jack tried to figure out some way of asking his question without revealing that he had blindly followed a dog without a hint as to what was going on. “Is anyone testing anything that has the potential to destroy all life on Earth or permanently scramble everyone’s television?” Two weeks ago Jack had been forced to put Fargo under protective custody when an unfortunate lab accident had taken out everyone’s TV at the precise moment when the Battlestar Galactica season finale faded to black on a pivotal cliffhanger.

At the other man’s puzzled glance, Jack just looked down at LoJack and shrugged. “Never mind. I’m sure any trouble will find me soon enough. Let’s go, pooch.”

o-o-o

Nathan Stark sat back in his desk chair and gave the woman standing in front of him his most innocent-looking smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Allie.”

Allison Blake wasn’t buying it. “Sure you don’t. You’re the director of Global Dynamics, but you don’t know anything about what’s going on down in Section Five.”

“I didn’t say I don’t know what’s going on. I just said that there’s nothing sinister or even very exciting happening.”

Allison put her hands on her hips. “Sorry, but that isn’t going to cut it. First there’s the chip that Walter Perkins appropriated. I did a little digging, and it’s light-years ahead of everything else we’ve got. I had to call in a lot of favors to get access to the really classified files.” She frowned. “Then there’s Carl Carlson. Something emanating from Section Five mutated him, for God’s sake! And now the latest rumors...”

Nathan leaned forward and stared at her intently. “Rumors of what?”

“Holes opening up in thin air, people vanishing and reappearing miles away, things like that.”

He gave an internal sigh of relief. For a minute, it sounded like she had found out about the Artifact. Nathan smiled. “Is that all? That’s not Section Five. It’s actually something that Henry and Warren King have been working on.”

Allison looked incredulous. “Warren? He’s still around after the Perkins fiasco?”

“Sure.” Nathan shrugged. “He may have been demoted from GD director, but he’s still a damn good scientist. And between you and me, I think he’s actually happier now. But don’t just take my word for it. We’ll go talk to him and Henry and they can put your mind at ease about the project.”

Footsteps approached them as they walked down the hall, and Nathan groaned when he saw who it was. The damnable Sheriff Carter and... “What the hell is that mutt doing here? If it hadn’t been for him...”

Carter smirked. “Hello to you, too, Nathan.” LoJack looked at him reproachfully, and even Allison glared at him. Jeez! What was it with women and dogs, anyway?

Nathan cleared his throat. “My apologies. Perhaps what I should have said was, ‘Why have you brought that poor animal back to GD?’” The second phrasing wasn’t much better, to judge from the eyerolls and low growl that were directed at him. Tough crowd.

Allison interrupted impatiently before the sheriff could reply. “Can we get back to the business on hand, please?”

Carter looked at them expectantly and raised an eyebrow. Nathan sighed. “Allie and I were on our way to talk to Henry. You’re welcome to join us, if you like.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Atlantis

Rodney checked the monitor leads one final time and then nodded to Radek. Together the two scientists joined a group of observers at the other end of the self-contained lab. John and Elizabeth, who Rodney had finally persuaded to allow the use of a naquadah generator, were standing next to the main control console. Ford and Teyla were also there, and Carson was standing in the back, looking nervously at the tangle of wires that connected the Ancient device to its new power source. (The physician had insisted on being present, commenting sarcastically about how Rodney’s experiments tended to drum up business for him, but he still didn’t look happy about being around unknown technology.)

“We’re ready,” Rodney told the group.

Elizabeth still looked dubious. “Are you absolutely sure about this? Even if today’s test is successful, it’s still a long way from having any practical applications.”

Rodney almost snapped back that of course he was sure and could they just get on with this before they all died of boredom or old age, whichever came first? Something in Elizabeth’s voice stopped him, though. There was skepticism, yes, but also a tinge of desperation. He knew that she sometimes prowled the halls late at night, worrying about the inevitable Wraith attack on the city, and she obviously didn’t want to let herself hope that his project could be an escape hatch.

The old Rodney would never had noticed this, but things had changed since he’d almost died from the nanovirus. (Okay, he’d never been in any real danger of dying, but he hadn’t known that at the time.) That experience had driven home the point that these people were his family. Sure, Carson was like a bossy older brother and John and Aiden acted like annoying little brats sometimes, but they were family nonetheless. He’d never admit it to anyone, of course, but he just might have become a little more sensitive. Just a little.

So instead of letting loose with the snark, Rodney simply nodded and said, “Yes, I’m absolutely sure.” He reached down and flipped a switch on the console. The generator began to hum and new data appeared on the screen of his laptop.

“Power level at five percent and holding,” said Radek.

“Good, good,” Rodney said absently. His eyes were intent on the computer screen. “Interesting. It’s emitting an E-M field, but the detectors are picking up some odd fluctuations. Raise the power to ten percent.”

“Done.”

Rodney looked up at the device for a second, then returned his gaze to the computer screen. “Hmm. Now there’s a second field, perpendicular to the first one. They’re interacting, but...”

There was a sudden flash of light that made everyone in the room duck instinctively. When no explosion followed, Rodney popped up again. “What the hell was that?”

“Both fields have doubled in strength!” Radek’s voice was disbelieving.

“Did you turn up the generator?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Radek paused as he looked at his own computer screen. “Rodney...”

“I see it.” He typed furiously. “Exotic particles. Where are they coming from?”

John cleared his throat. “Um. Do we need to worry about being in the same room as the strange radiation-spewing machine?”

Rodney shook his head absently. “Probably not. Anyway, this lab can be sealed off just in case we need to contain something.”

John snorted. “Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Shut it down,” said Elizabeth.

“But...”

“Now, Rodney!”

“Shutting it down.” He hit a few keys, and the generator turned off. Elizabeth gave a small sigh of relief.

Radek, though, was looking at the Ancient device with growing horror. “It’s still on.”

“What?!” Rodney yelped. “What’s powering it?”

Radek muttered under his breath in Czech. “I don’t know! It’s drawing energy from... somewhere.”

The device itself was glowing now. Everyone in the room except Rodney and Radek started edging towards the door. Another flash of light stopped them in their tracks, though. When the light faded, standing next to the naquadah generator was a large, shaggy dog.

“What the hell?” said John. The dog and the humans in the room gaped at each other for a minute, then the dog threw back its head and howled.

“You got that right, buddy,” said John.

TBC