Part 1 – The Alpha Site

The present

McKay couldn't run, not supporting her weight and so he let her drop to the floor, where she lay blood bubbling from her lips with every breath. He ran to the DHD, killed the incoming wormhole and dialled another address. He ran back to where she lay, pulled her up with him and dragged her with him through the event horizon. He repeated the manoeuvre four more times before he dared to dial the Alpha Site address. She was conscious again, although barely, and they staggered through the event horizon together. Once the wormhole deactivated he gently lowered her to sit leaning against the DHD facing the Stargate. Then he collapsed onto the ground next to her and then turned to kneel looking into her face.

"How are you?" he asked. Her eyes were dim and unfocussed. "Can you hear me? I need to hear you speak." He cupped her face in his hands and forced her to look at him in a bizarre reversal of roles. Her eyelids fluttered and she smiled briefly. Content that she was still alive and conscious, he gently removed the rough bandage he had stuffed into her jacket at her side and packed in a fresh cloth before getting out a bottle of water. He started to sponge down her face and wipe away the blood on her lips. She opened her eyes and he stared back at her, blue on hazel, concern clearly written on his open face.

She started to speak but he hushed her by gently kissing her lips. She smiled again.

"It will be OK, they will come soon, I promise," his voice was low and did not betray the uncertainty he felt. Hell, he did not even know if this place still was the Alpha Site. He would give them five minutes to contact them and then, if no-one came - he would have to think of something else.

"Here, drink," McKay held the bottle up to her lips whilst she drank. His concerned glance took in her pale skin with its slight sheen of sweat, her damp hair, wisps of which stuck to her forehead, her pale lips tinged with blue.

She was shivering again. "It's cold…." she said through chattering teeth.

"We are sitting here in the sun - you will soon warm up," he said.

She nodded and then asked him, "Where are they? Are they coming?" and then leant back against the DHD lapsing into unconsciousness again.

"Hello?" he said. "Are you awake? Wake up!" and shook her gently. No response.

"No!" he yelled. He stood up and staggered forwards towards the dense forest surrounding the Stargate. "Where are you, you bastards!" he shouted at the trees at the edge of the clearing. "Where are you?" It had been five minutes – their presence should have been investigated by now - obviously this Alpha site had been abandoned. It was time for plan B.

He frantically scrabbled around in the dirt and gathered together stones. How many did he need? He swiftly totted up the number of stones he needed - 64. How many times should he repeat the message? That meant another 128. He worked frantically, cutting and scraping his hands as he worked. Finally he had a small cairn of stones in front of the Gate then he ran to the DHD and dialled Atlantis and began to throw the stones at careful intervals into the event horizon praying that there was someone in the gate room who had the intelligence to decipher the message or who had the intelligence to record it and take the recording to someone who did.

Major Lorne's team had just come back from an off world mission when the Stargate activated again behind them. "Unscheduled off world activation."

"Raise the shield."

"Are we receiving anything?"

"Negative, Sir."

It was then that the first projectile struck the shield with a dull thud. "What was that?"

"Residual molecules seem to suggest it was just a rock?"

More thuds followed.

"May be a meteor shower hitting a Space gate?"

More followed. An irregular pattern of dull thuds hit the gate. A few moments silence and then it started again.

Elizabeth looked out of her office and looked questioningly at the duty officer sat at the main control panel. "We don't know what it is, Dr Weir." Elizabeth turned over her should to look at Radek who was sitting in her office. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked. Zalenka sat for a few moments listening and then his face became blank and expressionless.

After a few moments he spoke, a quiet whisper. "It's a message. It's Morse code." Zalenka exploded out of his chair. "It's Morse code," he repeated in a louder voice, "but I can hardly believe what it says. Give me a pen and if that was recorded play it back again." He sat and listened to the recording and scribbled for a few moments and then stared at what he had written. He sat for a few moments and, with disbelief written all over his face, looked up at Elizabeth who was still standing in the doorway.

"We need to send a MALP to that address NOW," he pointed at the Stargate where the shield was sparking with each dull thud as the sequence repeated itself, "and this is why". He thrust his scribbled note in front of her face.

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she read the note. "No…" she exhaled. "It can't be." She looked at Radek, hope dawning in her face.

"I agree, it can't, but we have to send a MALP just in case," the hope in her eyes was reflected in his.

McKay was kneeling again watching her and gently sponging away the sweat on her forehead. She opened her eyes. "Rodney, I want to lie down," and tried to raise her hand up to touch his cheek but failed.

"Well you can't," he said and took her hand in his and kissed it gently. "You've got to stay upright, you've got a punctured lung and I can't let you lie down, I'm sorry."

"Now who has the lousy bedside manner?" she mumbled and closed her eyes again. McKay felt panic rising up in him again. He couldn't fail, not now, not again. They had to get away. What would happen if they were caught was unthinkable.

McKay returned to his frantic collection of stones. What were those dunderheads thinking of? Didn't anyone in that damn city have an ounce of intelligence? He counted the stones. 64, yes, that was enough for one more message. He turned to the DHD but as he did he heard the dialling sequence kick in. He returned to her side and held her hands.

"They're coming," he whispered hoping he was right and that the incoming wormhole was from Atlantis and not elsewhere……

As he saw the MALP break through the event horizon he nearly wept with relief. He ran up to it and started shouting a message, "Elizabeth, it's me, Rodney. I need a med team here now. It's safe for the moment but they might catch up with us any minute so please hurry." He slowly turned the MALP's camera around in 360 degrees to give them the telemetry they needed. "It's just me and her so please come and please keep this wormhole engaged until you do to block the gate – as I said, I'm expecting company." He garbled out a few more instructions and then, as his exertions of the past few hours caught up with him, he crumpled down into a heap on the ground and then crawled slowly over to Sora to wait for help.