"We go so that we don't have to listen to her bitch at us about not going," Rodney replied. "And yes, I distinctly remember both of us voicing strenuous objections to this sort of folly, not that our expert opinions matter one whit." Rodney knew it rankled both men to be so easily ignored by their superior, although Rodney himself was a little bit glad that John was feeling it now as well. Maybe this incident would give John some insight into why Rodney had been so irate about the whole Chaya fiasco--he had known that she wasn't being honest with them, but everyone with more control and power than him chose to ignore his warnings.

Rodney was absurdly glad that at least this time he had allies; John as well as most of the Earth-based residents of Atlantis were rather displeased with Dr. Weir's decision to acquiesce to the Athosians' demands. Kavanagh had summed up the crew's feelings rather succinctly when he asked why none of the scientists were getting to make a pleasure trip back to that geologically fascinating planet that had six moons, twin suns and a bright fuchsia sky--after all, it was the scientists who had figured out how to get the shields powered up, so hadn't they earned a vacation? All the Athosians were doing was complaining and ignoring the conservation efforts Rodney had implemented.

Of course, Rodney suspected that part of Weir's obsequiousness towards the Athosians came from the fact that it was her people who had woken the Wraith. He didn't agree with the logic, but he understood where she was coming from. Had Sumner and the rest of them not come upon the Athosians, Sheppard wouldn’t have shot that Wraith guardian and the galaxy would've been dealing with just a few Wraith for the next fifty years. Now they had thousands, maybe millions, of Wraith and no good way to stop them. But to Rodney, the real blame for all of this didn't fall at Sumner's feet, nor at Sheppard's, or Weir's. To blame them was akin to blaming chance itself, and in the overarching timeline of species' development, fifty years was less than a speck of dust. The Athosians weren't going to have any sort of weapon developed in fifty years, nor were the Genii or any other civilization they'd encountered.

One thing Rodney had learned from reading Dr. Jackson's accounts of the many planets they'd visited was that real technological advancement was the exception to a far-reaching rule that humans lived as primitively as possible while still meeting their survival and comfort needs. Most human populations simply didn't feel the urge to create, to innovate and to think long enough to make it past the industrial age.

"So, how badly is this going to end?" John asked, interrupting Rodney's thoughts.

Rodney looked around at the 'gate room. "Not to be purple in my prose, but I foresee rivers of blood and a critical shortage of morphine," He replied dryly. "Feel free to tell me I'm wrong and paranoid."

John shrugged. "Not in the mood for pot-kettle theory this morning," He admitted. Dr. Weir walked up at that point, cutting short their conversation.

"Are you sure you don't want to lead the mission?" Weir asked John as they watched Lieutenant Ford gather the Athosian-Marine team together.

"And do what? This is an Athosian trading mission," John replied. "Teyla as much as demanded I stay behind, and she specifically requested that if any of our people go, it be Ford. I had to practically beg her to allow the others to go too."

"Because, of course, none of us know what we're doing," Rodney said sarcastically. "And besides, we're sure to sabotage their precious trade mission and R & R time by, I don't know, wanting to keep everyone on Atlantis alive!"

"Rodney!" Elizabeth snapped, scowling in a way that made her look her age, "That was uncalled-for."

Rodney merely quirked one eyebrow and smirked. John carefully schooled his own expression into his favorite, military-issue noncommittal look and waited for the tech to dial up the planet the Athosians wanted to visit. He never tired of watching the wormhole form and imagining that he could feel a breeze coming off it as it shot into the open space of the 'gate room. It almost reminded him of the Pacific, churning and spilling over top of him with mindless fury.

John had been a little disappointed the first time he walked through the 'gate. He hadn't expected it to feel like the water it resembled--that would've been too easy, too simple and far too much fun. Still, it should've felt like something, anything at all other than what it did, which was nothing whatsoever. He walked into the shimmery stuff and then walked out the other side and why couldn't the Ancients have built in some cool special effects? John watched as Ford and Teyla walked through the gate, disappearing in a wet, iridescent sparkle.

After the 'gate was shut down again, John wandered off to check up on the current security rotation and find Bates. They needed to increase the scientist-contingent's weapons training and John wanted the Sergeant to head up the project.

Meanwhile, Rodney retreated to his lab, knowing that Dr. Weir wasn't pissed enough at him to follow him down there, not when Kavanagh was there as well. Rodney had a feeling that Kavanagh had either said or done something to unnerve Weir, and he was very privately pleased as punch. He didn't care what it was, so long as it kept the woman away from him.

Before the Atlantis mission, he and Elizabeth had gotten along rather well; she respected his intellectual prowess and he allowed that she knew how to make people agree with her. He'd been duly flattered that she'd wanted him on this mission and a great deal of the time they still worked well together now that they were stuck in a distant galaxy. Being here, though, had brought out aspects of everyone's personalities that otherwise would've stayed hidden. Rodney knew he'd become more extreme in his cattiness and irritability. Dr. Weir was quickly becoming another Captain Janeway and he couldn't help but be irked by it. He'd always thought her above the fecal fray of politics, except when absolutely necessary, but over the months they'd spent in Atlantis he'd seen her move from using political maneuvering only when necessary to implementing it as a first option. She seemed to forget that they were first and foremost a science mission. Failing that, they were a military mission with the goal of surviving. They did not need to make friends and influence people except when one or both goals could be achieved by doing so.

Granted, a lot of the time their goals were met using her methods, but Rodney hated those methods with a passion. They didn't need to send the Athosians out on a pleasure cruise; they needed to conserve their energy. The Atlantis mission personnel weren't being given shore leave; even he knew that soldiers didn't get vacation in the middle of a battle.

When Rodney got to his lab, he found Zelenka walking out of it. "Where are you going?" He asked curtly. He'd been planning on evaluating some of the data from Zelenka's new solar cells but he couldn't do that if Zelenka wasn't around. Well, he could, but he couldn't do it and berate the man at the same time.

Radek stopped briefly to grab Rodney's arm, then began walking again with Rodney in tow. "Dana was reviewing climatology sensors this morning," He said, his accent thickening in his excitement, "And there is something you should see."

Rodney felt the blood drain out of his face. "Am I going to hate this as much as I hated the last thing you and your cohorts found with one of Atlantis's sensors?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Zelenka said, frowning. "I don't foresee this being quite so bad as a hive ship."

They reached the sensor control display and Zelenka began pointing excitedly. "See? This is tropical storm that is gaining strength."

"A hurricane?" Rodney muttered. "So far, this is one of the Major's asteroids--not interesting."

"And this is another one, also getting stronger," Zelenka continued, still pointing, but this time at a different mass of what were probably clouds or something. Rodney wasn't entirely sure; he'd never been into meteorology.

"And the point of this is..." Rodney said, urging Zelenka to get to it.

"They are going to collide," Zelenka concluded, "Over Atlantis."

Rodney blinked. "Two massive hurricanes are going to meet up right here?"

"Yes," Zelenka confirmed. "From what we can tell, it happens every few decades--at least, is what Dana found in climate records for the planet."

Rodney looked up at the ceiling as though the Ancients had left great wisdom there. "Does this happen in the same place every time?"

Zelenka nodded. "Yes. The shield should protect the city, however. I do not think we are in any actual danger."

"Ah. When does this event occur?" Rodney inquired, turning now to look at the display again.

"Tomorrow?" Zelenka guessed. "Already we are seeing its effects; rain, wind and decreasing temperatures."

Rodney shook his head. No, Atlantis couldn't just have storms, or thunderstorms, or maybe a gale or two. Oh, no, the city had to be anchored in quite possibly the only spot on the planet where hurricanes regularly collided. But hey, they had a shield so all they were going to get was a show. "Why don't you inform Dr. Weir of this development?" He suggested to Zelenka before walking off to his lab, determined to get something productive done to counteract whatever havoc the Athosian's mission was going to wreak.

•••

By the time Teyla's IDC came through, the weather outside Atlantis's shield was a sight to behold. Rodney was standing outside on a balcony, watching lightning trace spider webs across the sky and down into the sea. He could see whitecaps on the water even in the murkiness of dusk, and suddenly wished he could feel the wind he knew was whipping itself into frenzy. The city looked like it was in an inside-out snowglobe; everything inside the shield was calm while the rest of the world pitched and frothed madly.

Rodney turned his back on the storm and retreated indoors as the 'gate klaxon sounded. Sheppard and Weir were already present, waiting for Teyla and Ford to return from the day's folly. Rodney could see the tension lining Sheppard's face and knew it was reflected on his own. Most of it was this mission overlaying the Wraith hovering above, with a side of two hurricanes looming nearby. It didn't matter that the shield was there; two hurricanes were intimidating and scary if for nothing else than their sheer power.

The 'gate opened and soon thereafter Teyla led a group of people through. Rodney quickly catalogued the Athosians as well as Ford and two Marines--Drauven and Gurtner if he wasn't mistaken. Nothing seemed amiss until more people walked through and Rodney reached for the rifle he wasn't carrying at the same moment John found the one he did have.

John started down the steps as soon as he saw strangers walking through the 'gate. "Ford?" He called out, aiming his P90 at the newcomers. "I don't recall anything about offering tours when we went through the briefing this morning."

Teyla intercepted the Major, obviously unhappy with his attitude. "Major Sheppard, these are representatives of the Dolti. They have offered to accommodate my people while the Wraith are a threat to the planet."

Dr. Weir had, by this point, joined the 'gate team and the new arrivals. "Welcome to Atlantis," She said congenially. "It is very kind of you to offer your hospitality to the Athosians."

The Dolti leader eyed Major Sheppard warily. "We understand the constant threat of the Wraith; it is only right that we help those in need of our assistance."

"Major Sheppard, I think we have this under control," Dr. Weir murmured, dismissing John from her presence.

"Excuse me?" John said, not yet ready to leave. "You're just going to let people we don't know into Atlantis?"

"Major, the Dolti are safe," Ford said. "We spent the day with them and nothing happened. They even have pretty good food."

Rodney listened from his half-hidden spot, snorting at Ford's comment. Pretty good food was not what he considered sufficient to risk their collective safety, and he definitely did not like the way some of the Dolti were looking around Atlantis. If he remembered correctly, mission protocol precluded bringing locals back to Atlantis. After the incident with Chaya, Rodney would've thought that everyone had gotten the picture.

He was wrong, though, because there were a half-dozen dress-wearing humans standing in front of the stargate, listening to Dr. Weir be a good little hostess. Rodney wondered off-hand why it was that so many human cultures insisted on putting their people in floor-length robes. Most of the ones that didn't were militarily inclined and preferred drab uniforms. Surely Earth wasn't the only place in the universe that understood the value of a pair of jeans and a well-worn sweatshirt.

Rodney figured it was time to get himself in a little trouble so he walked down to the central area and joined John in protesting this obvious idiocy. "Dr. Weir? May I speak to you for a moment?" He said as he neared the group of politely chattering people.

"Ah, Dr. McKay. Sheepa, this is the director of our scientific research," Dr. Weir said, indicating Rodney. "I'm sure he would be delighted to answer any questions you have."

"Your confidence is ill-placed," Rodney retorted, "As I'm disinclined to play tour guide. If you'll recall, Dr. Weir, I'm a busy man and this city doesn't keep itself running on its own." He turned to the suspicious-looking arrivals. "Please, feel free to stay out of any remotely interesting-looking area and don't touch anything."

"Dr. McKay, I would expect you to be more gracious as a host," Teyla growled, eyes narrowed to slits. "The Dolti are our trade partners and our honored guests."

"Yes, yes," Rodney said, rolling his eyes. "I can't forget the important parts of the Illiad, though. Fascinating bits of public art there, you know?"

John grinned grimly as Weir pursed her lips. "Dr. McKay, perhaps you should go to my office and wait for me there. Major Sheppard as well." Her voice left no room for misinterpretation, so John and Rodney reluctantly retreated to her office, knowing full well they were about to get royally chewed out.

"Do you get a really bad feeling about this?" Rodney asked John as they walked away, both men taking backward glances to the group of strangers currently talking with Weir, Ford, Teyla and Halling.

"Yeah," John muttered, glaring at the back of Dr. Weir's head. "When I get done with Ford, he's gonna be looking for his ass with a microscope."

"Reflex or electron?" Rodney inquired lightly. "When Weir gets done with us..."

John smirked. "Do you actually listen to her when she gets like that?"

They entered Dr. Weir's office and found a couple of chairs, slumping down in them with studied insouciance. "Only enough to be able to regurgitate important reprimands," Rodney replied. "I don't want to know what would happen if she thought I wasn't listening."

"I'd rather teach a Wraith how to waltz," John said letting his head roll back to rest on the wall behind him. "What would it take to get you to turn on the hot water for one lousy night?"

"More real chocolate--not power bars or that American Hershey's stuff--than currently exists in the entire city," Rodney replied. "Believe you me, if there was a way for us to have hot water, air conditioning and every light in Atlantis on, we'd have those things."

"I know," John murmured. "There are a half-dozen strangers wandering around Atlantis and we're stuck waiting for the headmistress to come slap our hands with a ruler."

Rodney laughed humorlessly and let the room fall into silence. There was no telling how long Elizabeth would be, as she had people to entertain. He hoped that if she wasn't going to be back for several hours, she would at least let them go back to work until she got around to reaming them new assholes.

Unfortunately for them, Dr. Weir showed up a few minutes later. Rodney straightened up a little bit. "I take it the Dolti have gone back to wherever they came from?" He asked as she took her place behind her desk.

"Actually, they're touring your lab," Dr. Weir said viciously. "Which I might just turn over to them. What the hell were you thinking? You do not treat guests like that! We need all the allies we can get."

"Despite the fact that Ford and Teyla violated mission protocol?" Sheppard said evenly. "Those rules are in place for a reason, you know. We don't know these people."

Elizabeth sighed tiredly. "I realize that the two of you only want to keep Atlantis safe, but this is beyond belief. Do you have any idea what you sound like? This isn't caution; it's paranoia. The Athosians have been trading with the Dolti for decades and really, you're expecting six middle-aged men to take over the city?"

"Chaya looked like a Venice Beach bimbo," Rodney spat acidly, "And oh yeah, she ended up being... what was it? Right! An ascended Ancient! Have you read the SGC reports? You can't trust potted plants, much less old farts in dresses!"

Dr. Weir's rebuttal was interrupted by a spate of Wraith fire, which was itself being drowned out by the sounds of two hurricanes sweeping around the city. The room fell silent for a moment, but before she could speak, yet another noise intruded--the 'gate klaxon.

John jumped to his feet and ran to the door, sticking his head out as it slid open. "Um...fuck."

"What?" Rodney asked, craning his head to look out the door.

"You were right, Liz," John said, checking his P90. "The Dolti aren't a threat to us. It's the Genii they just let come through the 'gate that're gonna cause us problems."

"Genii?" Dr. Weir whispered, coming around her desk. "What are you--

"Our old friend Kolya's here," John hissed. "And he's looking awfully chummy with the Dolti."

"Fuck," Rodney said, easing himself back into the office.

•••

John ran down the corridor, firing at the three Genii soldiers who were chasing him down. He could hear Rodney and Weir behind him, barking orders and shooting at their unwanted guests. He'd left the two of them with a specific game plan; Rodney was supposed to regain control of the 'gate while Weir was going to keep her ass alive. John was going after Kolya, since without him the Genii would be significantly less well-organized.

"Ford!" John shouted into his radio, "Report!"

John listened as first Ford and then Bates updated him on their status. The 'gate was no longer open, since the scientists and soldiers nearby had regained control of it moments before. Still, at least sixty Genii had come through and were quickly spreading throughout the city. John ordered the two men to get the civilians into secure areas and then start taking out the Genii. He didn't have to tell them how to do so; that much was quite obvious.

Two more Genii appeared and John shot them automatically, not bothering to try to subdue them alive. They'd put themselves in this position by trying to invade Atlantis, so they should've expected no less.

He was about to radio Rodney with new orders, since the 'gate was currently secure, when a distinct, loud whoosh swept overhead, followed by booming thunder. The city shook with the force of lightning strikes and the ensuring thunderclaps and John knew that the shield had failed. "McKay," He said into his radio, still running through the halls, "The shield's down."

The stream of invectives flowing into John's ear told him that Rodney already knew that. Another voice, thickly accented, said something about the northwest generator being offline. "Can you get to the generator and figure out what went wrong?"

Rodney said he could, so John suggested he go do that--with his P90, a suggestion that got him yet more colorful language. Another lightning bolt hit the city and John smelled ozone. "And do it fast," He remarked to the scientist, "I don't think the storm's letting up."

John did not want to think about what might happen if the Wraith figured out the shield was down.

Rodney stopped cursing John, knowing it was a waste of energy, and crept down the hallway towards the nonfunctioning generator. Dr. Weir went in the other direction, destined for the infirmary. There were Marines on the way to escort her, but Rodney wasn't comfortable with her staying in a location as obvious as her own office. The sound of Genii soldiers storming it a moment later just reinforced the feeling, but he didn't feel any satisfaction. The way they'd fired as they entered the room told him the Genii weren't looking for hostages. The hallways weren't as full of Genii as Rodney would've thought, but from what he was hearing over the radio, their own people were doing a pretty good job of subduing the invaders. Perhaps the Genii had underestimated their numbers and training.

"Oh dear God," Zelenka murmured into the radio as Rodney neared the generator. "Do it fast, McKay; storm is killing us."

"What happened to the generator?" Rodney asked, his question answered over the radio by a pair of soldiers. Three Genii had found the generator room and fired on it as they tried to subdue the Marines stationed there. "How bad?" He asked, nearing the room. When he got there, he stepped over a pair of Genii bodies and approached the generator.

"We stopped them before they got many shots off," One soldier said, trying to look helpful. "But it went dark right after the first hit."

Rodney quickly went over the main parts of the generator. Fortunately for them, the gel matrix containment system was intact; what was damaged was the controls. Four crystal plates were shattered, along with two conventional circuit boards. The display had a neat, round bullet hole in it as well. "Good news first," He said quickly into his radio, "The damage is very fixable. The bad news is I'm gonna need more supplies than we have stored here. Zelenka, Kavanagh--get five plates and two control circuits ready, and take the display panel off that geothermal modeling unit you've got rigged up."

Kavanagh gave a frightening, high-pitched cry that made Rodney's ears sing. He was about to remark on the man's lack of intestinal fortitude when he heard what had elicited the sound. All around the city came reports of Wraith materializing. Suddenly getting back to control was going to be very difficult.

Rodney ran back up the hall, ducking gunfire. He stepped behind one of the now-precious support beams, realizing that he was trapped by two contingents of Genii soldiers. They weren't nearly as organized as they had been, though, because they were as scared of the Wraith as he was. The distinct sound of a P90 firing was a welcome one and Rodney watched as the Genii blocking his path fell to the ground. Lieutenant Ford appeared and Rodney managed a brief grin.

"None too soon, might I say," He muttered as he ran to join Ford's men. "I need to get to--

"The controls," Ford said, putting himself in front of Rodney. Two marines fell in behind, protecting the scientist. "Is there any way to start up the shield without that generator? We were doing ok against the Genii until the Wraith showed up, but there's too many of both..."

"Shut up, I'm thinking," Rodney said as they rounded a corner. He knew he needed to find a way to do the impossible; if they didn't get the shield up it wouldn’t matter how fast they contained the Genii--they'd all be done in by three hive ships' worth of Wraith.

When they reached the main control area, Rodney found Zelenka and Kavanagh crouched behind the desks, avoiding stunner blasts and gunfire. "Ford?" Rodney said, gesturing towards the 'gate area, "Make yourself useful."

He then joined his staff on the floor. "What's our status?" He asked as he reached for the supplies they'd gathered.

"Shield is down, Wraith are here, lightning is destroying city," Zelenka summarized. An anguished cry ripped through their radio system. "Weir has been shot," He added, his face growing even more pale.

Rodney forced himself to concentrate, rising up to peer at the control display. He studied the power levels, noticing how they fluctuated slightly every few seconds. After a minute, Rodney made the connection between thunderclaps and power surges. "Zelenka, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there skinny metal poles on top of all the towers in Atlantis?"

Zelenka thought for a moment. "I think so, yes."

"Lightning rods," Rodney said, already reaching for the controls. "Kavanagh, figure out what the circuitry is for the lightning rods."

"What the..." Kavanagh began before his brain connected the dots. "They put circuitry on the lightning rods to channel the energy?"

"Yes," Rodney said, quickly accessing the schematics now that he knew what to look for. "They put the current into a buffer system. You and Zelenka should be able to route that power to the shields, if you let it enough build up. It might be sufficient to keep the shields going until I get the generator fixed."

"We will," Zelenka said from his new position next to Rodney. "Go fix generator. We figure this out."

Rodney checked over Kavanagh and Zelenka's work for a couple of minutes before gathering his P90 and a stunner he'd been left by Lieutenant Ford. A quick glance over the controls showed that the 'gate room was clear of Genii and Wraith--for the moment anyway--so Rodney headed for the broken generator.

•••

John listened silently as Rodney and the others found a way to get the shields up. He was lurking in the shadows just beyond Elizabeth's office, waiting for a chance to take out Kolya. The Genii leader was holed up in a corner, protected by a half-dozen of his men. Several Wraith were closing in on them and John thought it fitting that the Wraith kill the Genii here in Atlantis, the city they'd invaded in order to fight the Wraith.

Unfortunately for him, the Genii actually managed to fend off some of the Wraith--helped by the Marines that had come up the hallway perpendicular to the one John was in. He whispered in his radio for the soldiers to retreat, as there were more Genii soldiers in the corner than there appeared to be and they'd ambush his men if they got the opportunity. The Wraith went down easily, which meant they hadn't fed yet. It was for the best, John reasoned, since a well-fed Wraith was very difficult to kill.

As John had planned, the Genii came out of the corner once the Wraith were dead. They went in the direction of John's men and John crept towards the group as they passed. "Ok, take them now," He said once most of the Genii were clear of the pile of Wraith corpses and in a better location for his soldiers to fire. That left Kolya for John.

"Hi there," John said, firing his weapon at Kolya's shooting hand. Kolya yipped in pain, gripping his now-injured hand.

"You'll want me alive," Kolya said as he saw his men gunned down by the Marines. "Or the Genii won't negotiate with you."

John shrugged. "Or I could let you go; surely there's a Wraith in here willing to feed off you." Kolya's face paled further than the pain of his wound had driven him and John saw the general reach for a hidden weapon. The act gave John enough incentive to shoot again, this time into Kolya's midsection and other arm. The Genii fell to the ground, immobilized and screaming in pain.

John reached down and collected Kolya's weapons. "You shouldn't have fucked with us," He hissed, pushing Kolya onto his back. "We were no threat to you."

Kolya tried to speak, but all that came out was a froth of blood. John knew the signs of a punctured lung and knew Kolya only had a few minutes to live. He turned away and found a functional stunner next to a dead Wraith. Collecting it up, John ran back up the hallway to find Weir, who'd been hit by a stray bullet earlier. She'd been on her way to the infirmary anyway and had made it there despite being wounded.

The reports coming in were bloody but positive, if anything in a battle could be called that. As John neared the infirmary, the almost-background noise of the storm suddenly disappeared, which meant the shield was back up. A second later just that report came over the radio and John felt the first frisson of relief pass through him. If they could cut the Wraith off from the hive ships, and the Genii from their home world, they stood a real chance of regaining control of the city.