“Something’s wrong," Rodney said. “I’ve put Sheppard on open comm.” He moved to another keyboard and continued to work quickly. “And we should have MALP imagery … now.”
Everyone crowded around the computer screen. The camera was pointed away from the gate, so the only thing to be seen was a wall of rainforest vegetation, but they could all hear the sound of Sheppard’s strained breathing through the control room speakers. Rodney paused for a second, swallowed the lump in his throat, then focused on repositioning the MALP.
Teyla said, “John, can you hear me? Can you tell us what has happened?”
Sheppard answered almost immediately, voice low, his words clipped but clear. “Triggered the mother of all booby traps. I’m not going anywhere for the moment.”
As Rodney turned the MALP in a tight semi-circle, vision of a straight row of thin metal spikes jutting up from the gate platform appeared on screen, standing about half a meter high and spaced closely together. The pointed tips looked brutally sharp. The MALP spun a little further and Sheppard came into view. At first glance Rodney had a fleeting, stupid thought that John was trying to stretch out a leg cramp … his upper body was leaning forward, his head was down, and one arm was stretched out to the side, so that could brace himself against the lower curve of the stargate. Sheppard’s left leg was angled out behind him, while the other leg was twisted awkwardly at the knee. Something was very wrong with the positioning of that front leg…
Rodney realised what he was looking at. His throat incredibly tight, Rodney heard himself saying, “Oh … God.”
One of the spikes was protruding from Sheppard’s lower right thigh, very close to the knee.
Ronan was immediately in motion, heading back down towards the gate. “Shut it down. I’m going through.”
On screen, Sheppard turned his head, looked straight at the MALP and shouted, “No! Stand down!” Once the order had been given, Sheppard bit down on his bottom lip and screwed his eyes shut. His face, already pale from shock, drained completely of color. The arm he was using to support himself began to tremble harder against the gate.
Teyla spoke before Rodney could begin to explain the situation he’d only just come to fully comprehend himself.
“Colonel Sheppard cannot move away from the gate, Ronon. There is no way he could avoid the new wormhole forming if we should try to go through to help.”
Yep, Rodney thought. That about summed it up. And then came another thought, that it was a very good thing he hadn’t opened his mouth just then. Because there was absolutely no way he could have said those words so calmly. And he wouldn’t have said those words anyway. More likely he would have said something like, Sheppard is the proverbial deer in the headlights, Conan. Kawoosh equals obliterated colonel, get it?
Rodney scrubbed his face with his hands, then said to the marine closest to him, “You and your friend go get Weir and Beckett. Tell them I’ll explain everything when they get here.”
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chiming
Re: So Near, So Far PG Part 2
Date: 2011-01-09 12:24 am (UTC)From:Everyone crowded around the computer screen. The camera was pointed away from the gate, so the only thing to be seen was a wall of rainforest vegetation, but they could all hear the sound of Sheppard’s strained breathing through the control room speakers. Rodney paused for a second, swallowed the lump in his throat, then focused on repositioning the MALP.
Teyla said, “John, can you hear me? Can you tell us what has happened?”
Sheppard answered almost immediately, voice low, his words clipped but clear. “Triggered the mother of all booby traps. I’m not going anywhere for the moment.”
As Rodney turned the MALP in a tight semi-circle, vision of a straight row of thin metal spikes jutting up from the gate platform appeared on screen, standing about half a meter high and spaced closely together. The pointed tips looked brutally sharp. The MALP spun a little further and Sheppard came into view. At first glance Rodney had a fleeting, stupid thought that John was trying to stretch out a leg cramp … his upper body was leaning forward, his head was down, and one arm was stretched out to the side, so that could brace himself against the lower curve of the stargate. Sheppard’s left leg was angled out behind him, while the other leg was twisted awkwardly at the knee. Something was very wrong with the positioning of that front leg…
Rodney realised what he was looking at. His throat incredibly tight, Rodney heard himself saying, “Oh … God.”
One of the spikes was protruding from Sheppard’s lower right thigh, very close to the knee.
Ronan was immediately in motion, heading back down towards the gate. “Shut it down. I’m going through.”
On screen, Sheppard turned his head, looked straight at the MALP and shouted, “No! Stand down!” Once the order had been given, Sheppard bit down on his bottom lip and screwed his eyes shut. His face, already pale from shock, drained completely of color. The arm he was using to support himself began to tremble harder against the gate.
Teyla spoke before Rodney could begin to explain the situation he’d only just come to fully comprehend himself.
“Colonel Sheppard cannot move away from the gate, Ronon. There is no way he could avoid the new wormhole forming if we should try to go through to help.”
Yep, Rodney thought. That about summed it up. And then came another thought, that it was a very good thing he hadn’t opened his mouth just then. Because there was absolutely no way he could have said those words so calmly. And he wouldn’t have said those words anyway. More likely he would have said something like, Sheppard is the proverbial deer in the headlights, Conan. Kawoosh equals obliterated colonel, get it?
Rodney scrubbed his face with his hands, then said to the marine closest to him, “You and your friend go get Weir and Beckett. Tell them I’ll explain everything when they get here.”