Chapter Eight

"The jumpers should have arrived by now," Hailing yelled above the noise. They had erected tenting across a narrow gorge, little more than a cutting in the side of the cliff, and so were protected from the worst of the wind and the rain. But outside-Hailing did not need Dr. Weir to confirm that this storm was not natural.

Droplets of water falling from his nose and chin, the engineer, Kwesi, leaned in close to speak into his ear. "If Dr. Weir said they were on their way, they will get here."

"I do not doubt Dr. Weir's word, or the pilots' intent" Halling moved to the entrance and, ignoring the wind and rain that pounded his face, looked up at the sky before replying. "But it has been too long. Perhaps they were forced to turn back. I should have left sooner to bring the others down from the mountains."

When they had first come to the mainland, his people's priority had been to learn what this world had to offer by way of new food crops and animals, medicinal plants, and spices that they could use both for themselves and for trading. Although Teyla's presence had been sorely missed, their explorations had been filled with the excitement of discovery. After establishing a base, they had then set up outlying hunting camps, including one up in the mountains, on the shore of a lake. There, the waters contained plentiful fish, reeds suitable for making rope grew along the banks, and the shores were thick with an excellent clay for making pots, something in which Jinto had expressed interest. For that reason, and believing that it was safe, Halling had encouraged his son to spend time up in the mountain camp.

"Jinto will be all right," Kwesi assured him, motioning for him to come back under cover. "They have sturdy shelter and their camp is on high ground, well above the lake's shoreline."

Reluctant to turn away from the mountains and his son, Hailing replied, "Perhaps, but they do not know the nature of this storm. If the jumpers do come, we have a better chance if we are together." He pushed rain-soaked hair from his face and shook the water from his jacket. "When we came to Atlantis, many of my people feared that the Ancestors did not wish us to trespass on their sacred home. While we are very grateful to you for helping us, perhaps this is a further warning that we should have settled elsewhere."

"I do not believe that to be true. On Earth, my own people have suffered much tragedy through the generations, but through it all, their spirit has remained strong." Kwesi squeezed his arm reassuringly. "Almost as strong as the Athosians. We will get through this together, but you must have faith""

"It is not my faith that concerns me. Those in the other camps and out hunting may suspect that this storm is not normal, but they cannot know that it will worsen, nor that they must make their way here. Can you promise me that, should the jumpers arrive, the pilots will go up into that and bring back my son?" He pointed to the maelstrom of lightning and clouds that swirled like an enraged beast around the mountaintops.

Any reply Kwesi might have given him was drowned out by a tremendous noise that momentarily cut through the howling wind and rain. The ground beneath their feet trembled, prompting Halling to step further outside and seek the origin of the sound. It was not an earthquake; of that he was certain, for he had been on many worlds where such things were common.

Ignoring the rain, others now joined him. Was it the river, perhaps? Slogging across the churned-up mud beneath his feet, Hailing moved out even further, away from the limited protection of the cliff and into the full fury of the wind and rain, hoping to see if the expected floodwaters had reached the main campsite. It was not something that he relished, on the contrary, but he needed affirmation.

Kwesi, too, had thought to check on the river. Walking just ahead of Halling, the engineer stopped and peered down at his feet, then abruptly turned to face him. In the harsh storm light, the man's dark skin was pallid, and his eyes grew wide with terror. "Run!" Kwesi took an urgent step towards Halling, grabbed his arms and shook them for emphasis. "Go as fast as your feet will carry you. Take nothing! Flee to the other side of river!"

"What?" Had they not come here to escape the rising waters? But Kwesi had already rushed back under the shelter, calling for everyone who was still there to leave. Following him, Halling yelled, "Why?"

Inside, Kwesi gathered together the items he'd used to communicate with Dr. Weir, shouting for people to hurry. Halling did not understand. They were already on high ground, well above the level of even the worst floods. He knew this because he had seen the marks on the riverbanks, and had always respected such signs. "Why?" he repeated. "What's wrong?"

Around them, people were staring at each other in confusion, reluctant to leave what little shelter the cutting provided. It was dangerous outside, not simply because of the river, but because wind gusts had already knocked over trees, and branches were flying everywhere.

"The clay!" Kwesi snatched up his bag, grabbed a fistful of Halling's jacket, and pulled him across to the wall of the gorge. While a few bushes and weedy plants clung tenaciously to the almost vertical face, patches of damp earth were visible in places. Some water dribbled down, but for the most part, it was far drier than outside. Using his fingers, Kwesi scooped a handful of the clay into his palm. "Too much water!" he shouted above the noise of the storm.

Though Halling still had yet to see why that was a problem, Kwesi's distress was enough to hold his attention and that of the others who had now gathered around them. The engineer manipulated the clay between his fingers, pounding and squeezing it. Without warning, it liquefied and flowed from his hands.

Although he did not understand how this could be, Halling instantly understood the implications. Rushing outside, he looked up at the huge mountain looming over them and was struck by a terrible sense of dread. He grabbed up the nearest child, thrust her into her father's arms, and yelled, "Everyone must go down and cross the river-now!"

Teyla staggered to her feet, trying to find order inside the confusion of the puddle jumper. The machine had rolled and, as far as she could ascertain in the dark, flipped over upon landing. It now rested at an unidentifiable angle to…what? The bottom of the ocean? It had been dusk when they had gone in, and the ship was still shifting periodically, as if caught in a wayward current. Perhaps they were still sinking.

A jagged flash illuminated the interior of the jumper. It was almost immediately followed by a second bolt of.. lightning! Relief swept through her. They had reached dry land, which meant that they could not be too far from the camp. Testing her com, she was not surprised to hear nothing but static.

The pain above her ear and the throbbing at the back of her eyes were indications that she had been rendered unconscious, although she had no idea for how long. "Lieutenant?" she called.

The next lightning flash confirmed that they had indeed landed upside down. Of Lieutenant Corletti she could see no sign. Teyla took a step-and froze when the jumper slid backward nearly its own length before coming to a jarring stop. She glanced at the windshield and saw nothing but violently thrashing branches. Their landing site, if it could be called that, did not feel at all stable.

"Lieutenant Corletti?" Another sharp ribbon of light allowed her to look into the back of the shuttle, and she quickly located the Marine's form sprawled up against the rear hatch. A pang of remorse struck Teyla. Had it not been for her insistence in continuing to the mainland, the young woman would not have been injured-or worse.

Although the jumper continued to shudder in the gusts, it seemed to have settled in position by the time Teyla cautiously made her way to the Marine. The flashes of stark white light were almost continuous now, showing all too clearly the lieutenant's grimace of pain. "Lieutenant?"

A soft moan was followed by colorful string of expletives. "My shoulder. It's dislocated."

"You are certain?"

"Oh, yeah. Not the first time." Biting her lip, Corletti brought her right hand across her chest to brace her shoulder before easing into a sitting position.

Having treated similar conditions in the past, Teyla said, "I can help, if you would allow me" The sooner it was set, the easier it would be and the faster it would heal.

"Where are we?" The pilot peered out through the cockpit. "Hell of a storm. At least we landed in one piece-more or less-instead of ditching in the ocean." In the ragged light her grin became a wince, but she added, "You know what to do? I'm pretty sure it's an anterior."

Finding a suitable location for first aid in the upended shuttle took several minutes. Eventually, Teyla braced the woman against the chairs and rotated her arm with decisive force. Corletti clenched her jaw, giving only a brief, wordless cry when her shoulder locked into position with an audible `click'.

Battling the obvious pain, the lieutenant hissed a series of short breaths through her teeth. "Oh…man," she said finally. "Feels better already-thanks."

"Are you certain that is your only injury?" The Marine's words of gratitude contradicted her pale features.

Corletti frowned at Teyla. "I figure I'm probably doing better than you. Your face is caked in blood."

"It is a scalp wound, nothing more. I have tried to call Atlantis," Teyla continued. "Perhaps the jumper's radio?"

"Doubt it " Allowing herself to be helped up, Corletti reached for the control panel and endeavored to power up the jumper. "Must have busted something when we hit, which makes us the luckiest people in the Pegasus Galaxy. I would have thought that anything violent enough to damage a jumper would have turned the contents into Spam."

"Spam?"

Pulling out a panel, Corletti replied, "You don't want to know-on either count."

Teyla used the light from her weapon to locate the medical kit. The lieutenant was favoring her left arm, and although the shoulder appeared to be in place, Teyla suspected there was additional damage. "Your arm needs to be strapped."

"Just a sec." Corletti managed to activate the HUD. "Oh, crap… Well, it could be worse. We could have gone right over the edge."

It took Teyla a moment to interpret the inverted display, but it seemed they had landed atop the uneven cliff directly behind the main camp. A careless movement might send them plunging to the ground. With no inertial dampeners to cushion the fall, it could prove to be fatal.

Under normal circumstances it would have been prudent to stay with the jumper, but Teyla knew only too well that a rescue was out of the question, at least until her teammates returned from offworld with a machine that might or might not exist. And while she had every confidence in Rodney's ability to operate such a device, it would take time. "Most of my people would have taken refuge in the gorge below us"

"How far below?"

"Perhaps two hundred feet."

"Okay." Corletti fastened her with a determined smile. "We have rappelling equipment stowed in the back."

"Your shoulder-"

"Is fine. It was a dislocation, not a break. Like I said, it's happened before. Nothing to get excited about." Corletti was already moving to the rear of the jumper.

Perhaps the Marine was being truthful on one level, but Teyla knew that the injury would be a hindrance. "I believe it is best if I climb down to the ground and locate a suitable anchor point." She found her pack and pulled it on, then crouched by the hatch, prepared for the onslaught.

Corletti opened the hatch. "Don't climb back up. I'll throw down-"

The howling wind tore the words away before they had fully left her mouth. Teyla had expected rain and wind, of course, but the water's impact on her face was like a million tiny punches, making it almost impossible to draw breath. The violent wind slammed her back into the bulkhead. Even the sound was like a physical force.

Ignoring the fierce pain of shredded twigs and branches slapping against her, Teyla lunged across the jumper and hit the mechanism to close the hatch, for Corletti had lost her grip and also been flung back. When the jumper was once more sealed and some order reestablished, she looked back to see the lieutenant. The woman's dark hair was plastered back off her dripping face, and she was clinging to the bulkhead that divided the two sections of the jumper. Only inches from her face, one end of a splintered branch had speared deeply into a supply kit.

Eyeing the near-deadly missile, Corletti spat out a mouthful of water and said, "Okay, let's rethink that. As much as I like shish kebabs, I really don't want to end up as one-whoa, what was that?"

The jumper abruptly slipped another short distance, but that did not concern Teyla so much as the blast of noise that reverberated through the hull.

Halling waited until everyone was clear of the shelter and making their way back down to the main camp before following. He understood that some of his people would be injured in the ferocious storm, but he also knew that the consequences of remaining under the shelter of the mountain would be catastrophic.

"We must keep going," he declared. "Move as if the Wraith were in pursuit!" Through the flashes in the sky he could see people fall and slip in the mud, but none were left behind. By the time they had all reached the outskirts of the main camp, two ominous cracking sounds had come from higher up in the mountains. He looked back but saw nothing. The storm had eased for a time, which, though it made for a smoother journey, provided them with less light.

At the main camp several hunting parties ran to greet them, wanting to know what was happening. Kwesi gesticulated wildly and pointed back the way they had come. When he motioned toward the river and headed in that direction, several people made as if to return to their tents.

"No! We must stay together," Halling told them, looking around for those who had been up at the lakeside camp. "Has anyone seen Jinto?"

"No one from the mountains has returned," replied a new arrival. "Perhaps we should stay here and wait?"

Kwesi's normally soft voice broke through the discussion. "Listen to me! We must cross the river and take shelter in the caves on the far side. Staying here is dangerous. Look!"

As a group, they turned and peered into the darkness. It took several moments, but the next series of lightning strikes confirmed what Halling had feared. Beyond the next valley, the entire face of two mountains had sheared away. He could not see what had become of the earth, but there was no doubt that it filled the valley beneath, cutting off the path to the lakeside camp. Any hope of going in search of Jinto was now lost.

The despair that gripped Halling was like none he had ever known, not even when he'd seen his wife taken by the Wraith. Losing her had been devastating, but they had lived under that danger all their lives. To abandon Jinto in a storm-

Cries and shouts of warning pulled him from his shock. Someone tugged at his sleeve, and he blinked away his momentary paralysis. His duty now lay with those still within his reach. "Make for the bridge!" he called unnecessarily. He would find another way of reaching Jinto, but to do so he had to stay alive.

Ahead of him, people had reached the section where the path narrowed through the trees and were beginning to cluster together. Halling was alarmed by a new sound, one familiar to them all. Now that the wind had lessened, he could hear the gushing of the swollen river. The roar grew louder with every step. Branches slapped his face, and several times he stopped to help children who had slipped and fallen. At the next bend, the sound of water became a roar, and people stopped moving. Someone was urging them to go back the way they had come.

Hailing made his way though the group."…don't have any choice!" he heard Kwesi declare.

"We barely made it across," replied one of the hunters who had spent the day on the far side of the river. "Uprooted trees have smashed into the embankment on both sides. Some of the places where the bridge is fastened are dangerously unstable. If anyone attempts to cross now, I believe it will break." The man shifted a brace of animals to his other shoulder.

The sense of desperation Halling had been fighting off now engulfed him, smothering his ability to think clearly. He was not a leader of his people. Not for the first time, he felt Teyla's absence deeply, and he suffered a momentary flash of resentment. The Wraith would come as they always had, and the arrival of people from Earth would not change that inevitable fact, no matter what Teyla hoped. She should have remained with her own people. She should be here to lead them.

"The risks of staying here are greater," Kwesi urged.

A particularly bright lightning strike seized everyone's attention. A deafening roar of thunder and another, more explosive crack followed. Hailing saw a long, narrow rent, as if a large knife had slashed a horizontal wound, high up along the face of the mountain directly behind the camp. The rain in his eyes and temporary darkness combined to disguise the motion, but the next flare of storm light revealed a far greater rift, as if the gash were opening. But this was no mere injury. Like a monster stalking them in the darkness, the slipping mountainside was captured in a series of still images momentarily frozen in position by successive flashes. Each terrifying glimpse revealed that the avalanche was headed towards the camp-and them.

On the next bolt, an involuntary cry tore from his throat. Mixed up among the cascade of earth and uprooted trees and boulders was a lifeless-looking puddle jumper. The awful realization turned Halling's stomach. Teyla had indeed come for them, but her ship had crashed on this most terrible of nights and was now being carried along by the torn mountain as if it were nothing more than a speck of dust.

Kwesi was the first to pull everyone from their morbid fascination, screaming through the rain that they must run for the bridge. Someone slammed into Halling's shoulder, bringing him swiftly back to the situation at hand. There was nothing he could do to help Teyla and anyone else who might be in the jumper.

Breaking into a run, Halling caught up with the others sprinting through the bushes. He now had his first glimpse of the river, swollen and churning at a great speed. Branches and darker objects, perhaps unfortunate animals, were being swept along. Among the noise, he heard Kwesi's voice, then spotted the engineer directing people onto the bridge. It appeared intact, despite the great tangle of trees that had rammed up against both banks. Many of the supporting ropes had broken, causing the bridge to sway, but it was nevertheless negotiable.

"You go across!" Hailing urged Kwesi. The engineer shook his head and helped a pregnant woman take her first steps. "Go! Help Ansi across and head for the caves. You have the radio-you must inform Dr. Weir of what has happened."

Two-thirds of the way across, another supporting rope snapped, and the bridge sagged until it dipped into the savage waters. Gripping Ansi close, Kwesi shouted for everyone to space out more evenly. On the far side, people were scrambling up a path that led to solid rock and the shallow caves. There, though exposed to wind and rain, Halling knew they would at least be safe from avalanches.

On the bridge, yet another rope snapped. Hailing could not be certain through the rain and flashes of lightning, but five or six people appeared to slip and fall into the tumultuous river. They were carried from view before anyone could react. Others clung to the ropes, their feet dangling in the water, while hands reached out to pull them to safety. Those on the far side, including Kwesi, pointed back the way they had come. Hailing could not hear their voices, but their faces twisted into awful screams.

Hailing looked over his shoulder. Again, it took moments for the lightning strikes to illuminate the area, but when they did so, a vise clutched his heart. It appeared as if the crumbling mountain had swallowed a section of the permanent camp. Part of his mind registered the fact that there was no longer any sign of the jumper.

Those negotiating the bridge-now little more than a few ropes and dangling planks-somehow managed to increase their speed, but then the last rope snapped, tossing many into the water. He rushed to the embankment, grabbing at hands and pulling people ashore, thankful to see that most had clung on and made it to the far side.

His thanks were short-lived, though. In another moment, he and all of those remaining on this side of the river would be overwhelmed by the disintegrating mountain. In those few brief seconds remaining to him, Halling decided that at least this would be a more merciful death than that which he would have suffered at the hands of the Wraith.

The rumbling grew so loud he could no longer hear the river. He stood quietly, waiting, and said a silent farewell to Jinto.

Elizabeth leaned on the railing of the gallery and watched the jumper emerge from the wormhole. Through the windshield she could see John's boyish grin, while Rodney was gesturing excitedly. "Welcome back, Jumper One," she called through her com. "Can I take it from your expressions that you've located Atlas's second machine?"

"Not exactly, but we may be able to go one better," replied the Colonel. "I'll let Rodney explain." The ship ascended from the control room floor to the jumper bay overhead, and Elizabeth left to go up and meet them, hoping that their news was better than hers.

The team had already disembarked by the time she reached the bay. Her hope took an immediate hit when she found them mostly empty-handed and sporting what seemed to be varying degrees of sunburn. Upon closer examination, she noticed that their uniforms were also rather the worse for wear and Ronon's coat appeared to have been attacked by some truly ferocious moths. "Gentlemen." She stared pointedly at the container in Carson's hands. "That doesn't look like what we were hoping for."

"This?" Carson lifted the vial. "Oh, no, on the contrary. Whatever this stuff is, it's quite dangerous." His gaze took in the others. "I want to see all of you in the infirmary as soon as you've gotten cleaned up and made your report to Dr. Weir. I'm sorry to be in such a rush," he added, moving past Elizabeth, "but I really need to get working on this."

"Oh, and my time is somehow less valuable?" Rodney brandished his laptop. "I've only got a planet-wide transformation to halt, but yes, by all means, let's spend a few minutes to confirm that none of us is getting the sniffles from the killer sand."

His atypical reaction set Elizabeth back a step. If Rodney, who was pathologically conscientious about his welfare, felt he had higher priorities than a post-mission exam, that was a weighty statement indeed.

"I'm sure you can keep your computer open while you turn your head and cough," John assured him dryly, starting the group in motion toward the doors. Addressing Elizabeth, he asked, "How's the evacuation of the Athosians going?"

As much as she hated being the bearer of bad news, Elizabeth had gotten a depressing amount of practice at it. "We've lost contact with Dr. Mane at the Athosian camp. Conditions deteriorated rapidly, and we had to recall the jumpers. Teyla and Lieutenant Corletti were unable to return. Based on their last known position, we presume their jmnper crashed on the mainland."

Both John and Ronon froze at that, their expressions going carefully blank at almost the same moment. Their disparate backgrounds notwithstanding, it seemed the two men had similar traits, at least when it came to their concern for a teanunate and their desire not to make that concern obvious to others.

"Corletti's good," John said resolutely. "If they were anywhere near land, she put it down all right."

"And Teyla can take care of herself," added Ronon.

Neither sounded fully confident.

"I believe you're both right," Elizabeth said, leading them down the stairs. "Unfortunately, there's no way we can start search-andrescue operations right now." For John, who had SAR in his blood, she knew this was a particularly galling choice, but she also knew he would understand. "The other jumpers just barely managed to make it back ahead of the storm. We've had to power up the city shield in order to prevent damage to Atlantis."

One of the large windows came into view, illustrating the magnitude of the storm and the glow of the shield. Rodney's pace slowed. "Tell me you're not operating it at full strength," he demanded. "Tell me somebody had the brains to-"

"Of course," Elizabeth reassured him. "Radek is still fine-tuning the optimization, but he's certain he can keep power usage to a minimum."

When they reached the briefing room they were joined by Caldwell, who acknowledged the team's return with a nod.

"Good. Conservation and protection are our new goals in life," Rodney said, taking a seat and setting his laptop down on the polished table. "We need to safeguard every nut and bolt in the city if we're going to have any chance at what I have in mind. I'm going to pull Radek off his shield project. In fact, all work needs to stop, because I need everyone's undivided attention."

"With the exception of the Daedalus repairs," Caldwell corrected.

"No. When I say `all work,' I mean without exception." Rodney ignored the impending objection from the ship's commander and pushed ahead. "We may be able to get the star drive operational and turn Atlantis back into a space ship."

His announcement was met with stunned silence. Elizabeth felt a rush of the same excitement that had accompanied her first steps into the city, nearly two years ago. Biting her lip in an effort to contain a smile, she sat forward. "Are you serious?"

Looking faintly smug at their reactions, Rodney continued. "I'll admit that I didn't completely believe it was possible at first, but I know exactly what needs to be done. I didn't have any trouble firing up the engines in the sister city we found on that delightful, intrigue-laden Renaissance Fair planet. Our only constraint up to now has been our limited power supply-and we've just found a veritable mother lode of ZPMs. By my count, Polrusso has twelve."

"Twelve?" Obviously the revelation had been played for maximum effect, and Elizabeth had to admit that it worked. "How solid is that information?" she asked.

"The tech doesn't lie," John confirmed. "But before Scrooge McKay over here gets carried away, you should know that it'll be tough to get our hands on that many. For one thing, the Polrussons have built their villages around the ZPMs. Since the terraforming process was never completed there, they depend on the power."

With even half that many ZPMs, they could conceivably fulfill the Atlantis expedition's original mandate to enhance the defensive capabilities of Earth. God, what an opportunity! "Tell me about the Polrusson people." Elizabeth rested her forearms on the table.

"Not the usual crowd." John shrugged out of his battered jacket. "They have a surprisingly good grasp of history, their own as well as the Ancients'. They're aware of the situation with the terraforming and have adapted well to a harsh environment. The government's democratic, with a group of Elders that hold down day jobs-one's a teacher. Artistic bunch, too. All in all, really normal and well-adjusted."

"Sounds too good to be true." Caldwell folded his arms. "What's the catch?"

"I had pretty much the same reaction." John grimaced. "Turns out they've got a hive ship parked somewhere on the other side of the planet."

Blinking, Caldwell replied, "That's a hell of a catch."

"The Wraith don't disturb the village all that often on the relative scale. The villagers tell ghost stories about a Wraith named Nabu, but the vast majority of the hive is hibernating." Rodney was dismissive. "For our purposes, it's a minor detail."

"Doctor, when it comes to the Wraith, there's no such thing. If all the other hives are awake, why not this one?"

"What makes you so sure that they're all awake?" Ronon asked.

That proclamation was met with four worried glances. "Oh, wonderful. Thank you. That's just the positive reinforcement I needed right now," Rodney snapped.

"Be that as it may, I have to agree with Colonel Caldwell," Elizabeth said. "If that hive is disturbed-"

"Two birds, one stone." Her chief scientist clearly had no intention of letting anyone rain on his parade. "Three birds, actually. These people want the terraforming machine shut down. We want the ZPMs. The hive ship — well, we know what it wants, but that's irrelevant. More importantly, it's located in a pre-oceanic basin. Pulling the ZPMs will release the reservoirs. The Wraith will be underwater before they know what hit them."

"Unless a Wraith comes along beforehand and feeds on someone with knowledge of the plan." Caldwell's counterargument was directed at Rodney, but his gaze was on John. Elizabeth recognized his implication, and felt a flicker of fresh sorrow at the loss of Aiden Ford. Not flinching from his superior's gaze, John remained silent.

"Okay," said Elizabeth, hoping to steer the conversation down a more productive path. "So whatever we plan to do should be closehold information, kept to only the Elders on Polrusso."

Rodney was already shaking his head. "Not possible. Most of the Polrussons live in settlements near the ZPMs because they need the Ancient-designed wells that tap into the reservoirs in order to irrigate their crops. Once the ZPMs are removed, those areas will be wiped out by the massive outpouring of water."

"Where will everyone go, then?"

Ronon, whose taciturn nature always seemed more pronounced in briefings, spoke up. "They've made plans."

After John elaborated on the villagers' intentions to move inland when necessary, Elizabeth began to warm to the idea. It did appear to solve a number of problems, not only for themselves but also for Polrusso. "You're certain that the Polrussons will be okay? There's no chance that removing power will leave them with an even less hospitable environment?"

"The Ancients terraformed countless planets," Rodney said. "From what I've seen, they had it down to a fine art. The Polrussons will be fine, but they all have to be ready and willing to move-every man, woman, child, and camel-looking thing. The good news is that they've spent generations expecting imminent shut down so they're prepared to pull up stakes at a moment's notice. The bad news is-"

"— that the entire population of the planet will need to know what's coming, which means it would only be a matter of time before the Wraith find out and react." Caldwell's reluctance seemed to be at least partly linked to Rodney's enthusiasm, but Elizabeth agreed with his assessment of the risk.

"What sort of time frame are we looking at to prepare Atlantis?" she asked.

Rodney made an impatient sound in the back of his throat. "The sooner I'm allowed to stop talking about the issues and start working on them, the sooner I'll be able to provide that answer."

"Why wait to collect the ZPMs?" Caldwell wanted to know. "If it'll reduce the amount of time for the Wraith to pick up on the plan, we ought to tell these people to start moving ASAP."

"You didn't read the diplomacy primer, did you? It's generally bad form to waltz in and say `excuse us, but you need to beat it so we can take your ZPMs to power up a cityship we pretended had been destroyed.' Look, it's going to take me most of a week, even if I forego sleep"-Rodney pointedly checked his watch, reminding them that it was past midnight-"to get everything set up both here and on Polrusso. As far as we know, Atlantis hasn't been a space ship for several million years. We can't just fire up the engines and expect everything to work perfectly. That's why we need every last technician and, dare I say it, Hermiod to stop working on the Daedalus and concentrate on prepping Atlantis."

"There was no sign ofAtlas's machine?" Caldwell pressed, still looking for options.

Irritated at being diverted from his message, Rodney threw him an incredulous glare. "The thing is, what, a twenty-centimeter-long piece of pipe, misplaced ten thousand years ago?"

Caldwell was unfazed by the obvious scorn. "So that would be a no.,

"Yes, Colonel, it would indeed." Rodney gingerly touched a raw patch of skin on his cheek. "In fact, I suspect Atlas actually triggered his device, thus causing the malfunction in the original terraforming program. Before I shut the terraforming down, I'll need to know if that's the case."

He looked to Elizabeth expectantly, waiting for a go-ahead. While she would have much preferred to have found a way to prevent the nanites from destroying the planet, she couldn't deny that the idea of Atlantis once again taking to the stars held a considerable thrill. So far, however, it was nothing more than an idea. Sometimes Rodney tended to get a little ahead of the curve. "All right, proceed. But do so with extreme caution. We can't risk alerting the Wraith on Polrusso."

"I'll ask Hermiod to stop work on the hyperdrive repair. I can tell you right now that he's not going to be happy about it " The set of Caldwell's jaw made it clear that his Asgard crewmember wouldn't be the only one displeased.

"Dr. Weir," said a voice in her earpiece. "We have an incoming call from the mainland. No visual, and the signal's weak."

She hurried out to the control room, the others hot on her heels. "Kwesi, can you hear me?"

"Just barely," Kwesi called. His words were fragmented by static, but she could tell he was upset. "We have moved as many people as possible to a more protected location across the other side of the river. Our original location and the main camp have been inundated by a mudslide."

And things just kept getting worse. "Casualties?"

"Some. I cannot guess at a number." The engineer paused. "How many jumpers were sent to retrieve us?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes. "Kwesi, I'm sorry. They couldn't reach you, and we had to recall them. We've lost contact with Jumper Three-the ship Teyla was on."

"That is what I feared. During the slide, we saw a jumper being carried down the mountain."

The tight knot in Elizabeth's chest that had begun to unwind with Rodney's proposal instantly snapped back into place. Damn it. She wanted to scream at the blatant unfairness of it all, but she didn't have that luxury. Looking at Teyla's teammates, she found the same bitter conflict reflected in their eyes.

"Until I see them dead, they're alive," the Satedan stated bluntly.

John hesitated for a second before nodding. "I'm with him."

Elizabeth wished she could share their faith.

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