STARGATE: ATLANTIS

FLUXING THE CAPACITOR

CHAPTER TWO: IDIOT-LESS

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" The Canadian tech called to the already aware expedition members in the gate room as klaxons whirred to life. There was a whoosh and: "Major Lorne's I.D.C., Dr. Weir."

"He's early for check-in. Lower the shield." Dr. Elizabeth Weir activated her radio as Colonel Sheppard came to stand beside her on the balcony overlooking the Stargate below. "Major?"

"Dr. Weir, we have a slight... er, problem," a clearly nervous Lorne reported over the com.

"What'd McKay blow up this time?" Sheppard asked and Elizabeth pinned him with a glare. He at least had the intuition to looked chagrined.

"Colonel Sheppard? Nothing. Nothing was blown up..."

Lorne was dancing around the subject.

"What happened, Major?" Elizabeth said before Sheppard opened his mouth. "I take it there is some matter of concern considering you dialed in early?"

"Yes, ma'am. Dr. McKay-"

"What'd he do?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at the Colonel.

"Nothing, sir. It was my fault. Dr. McKay's... gone."

"Gone? What do you mean 'gone'."

"He means, sir," another voice, female, cut in, "that Dr. McKay was in one of the alcoves of the Ancient facility when we accidentally activated something."

"Lieutenant Cadman?" Elizabeth queried.

"Yes, ma'am."

"What the hell did you activate?" Colonel Sheppard demanded.

"We don't know, sir."

"Stackhouse. Where did McKay go?"

"We don't know, sir," Lorne sighed.

"There was a humming noise, and the glass door came down trapping the Doc in the alcove. Then there was a flash, and he was just..." Stackhouse explained.

"Gone," Elizabeth finished with a sigh.

"I take full responsibility, sir," Lorne said loudly.

"With all due respect, sirs, ma'am, it was all our faults," Cadman ground out in irritated loyalty, standing by her C.O.

"As much as I appreciate your acceptance for consequences of your actions, this isn't helping Rodney," Elizabeth said over the arguing team. "Now, what do you need from our end?"

"Drs. Zelenka and Beckett. As much as I get the science team out here trying to help, Dr. Zelenka's probably the best for the job with McKay indisposed." Lorne clarified.
"Understood. And Carson?"

"We don't know what that machine did to him, ma'am. McKay's likely hurt." Cadman informed them succinctly.

"Is there any evidence of that?" John asked worriedly. Elizabeth couldn't help but be a little less peeved at him when he became concerned for Rodney, no matter how he's been treating him in the aftermath of the Arcturus project.

"No, sir," this time the Sergeant spoke, "but better safe than sorry."

"Alright, we'll have the team together as soon as possible. Weir out."

The gate shut down.

As Elizabeth reached for her ear piece, Colonel Sheppard stopped her.

"I'll do it. I'm going with them."

Elizabeth nodded, and would have smiled when Sheppard left to contact Radek and Carson if worry for Rodney hadn't been eating at her.

---

Rodney's first thought as he regained consciousness was he was surrounded by idiots. Honestly, was he speaking Ancient when he'd said 'don't touch anything.' Maybe he hadn't grunted enough for it to translate into Neanderthal.

But why was he keeping all this to himself? Surely those at fault for his current state deserved to know the fruits of their moronic labor?

"Alright, who the hell touched something," Rodney called out opening his light-blinded eyes slowly, "they... shouldn't have...?"

As it turns out, he wasn't surrounded by idiots. There was no one else here.

"Oh, god," Rodney squeaked hoarsely. He tried to stand up off the glass littered floor only to find that not only did his aching muscles not appreciate that one bit, but the floor wasn't the only one littered with glass shards. "OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow..."

Rodney leaned conscientiously against the alcove wall, breathing deeply and slowly. As much as he didn't feel like being comparable to Swiss cheese, he had to be glad that the glass had broken because he would be trapped behind it and in this entirely too small space, otherwise.

He took in another deep breath and then walked through the facility with the support of the wall Rodney was quickly becoming friendly with, for now at least.

Rodney examined the currently idiot-less area. The facility had been practically stripped of anything of use or purpose, pretty much anything that might be helpful to him. Damn it.

Then it hit him, they had left him here. Rodney knew the Colonel was pissed at him, but he thought he'd applied to the whole 'never leave a man behind' shtick. They'd just... left him here...

Unless! Unless there was an incident on Atlantis and they'd had to leave right away! But in that case they'd still left him here and took the time to pack up the technology that had once been around him.

Rodney didn't really want to think about the other option: Wraith. Everyone might have been culled. And the Wraith stole all the technology? That didn't make sense either; they usually just blow it up.

Like you? A nasty little voice that sounded a bit like his mother sneered in the back of his head. He told it to stuff it.

In the case that the off-world team had been culled by Wraith with a taste for Ancient tech (as unlikely as that was, and why hadn't he been culled with the others, unless they thought he was dead, yes, that was it, not that he's been left here, nope), Rodney needed to get back to Atlantis so Dr. Weir could form a search team.

He wouldn't give up.

---

Thanks to those who reviewed. Oh, and Z, yeah, that's the exact description of a beta, well, mine anyway.

Please review. All are welcome.

Lilith.