x_erikah_x | FIC: Devil Inside

DEVIL INSIDE By ErikaHK

Title: Devil Inside - Ch. 2/14

Word count: 1.400
Rating: PG
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett
Genre: Drama, Angst, H/C, Suspense, Gen
Disclaimer: Stargate and all related characters are the property of MGM Television Entertainment. Not done for profit, just for fun.

Summary: A mysterious entity takes over the bodies of the members of the Atlantis Expedition. Season 3 pre-Sunday. No spoilers.

Special thanks to my beta lauriel01!

Chapter 2

He woke up with voices all around him. He smelled dust in the air and felt the cold floor beneath his body. He moved his fingers. It felt good after all this time. His eyes flickered for a moment before opening. When it did he saw blurry faces staring down at him. He blinked a few times. His head was hurting. Even this unpleasant sensation gave him satisfaction. It was good to finally feel something after an unending void of blackness.

Someone spoke to him. He tried to make out the words. It was difficult after so long without any practice, but the other man continued to speak insistently. After a short period of adjustment he could access the information of the host body. The name of the other man was Rodney. He was irritating and very intelligent. He was a friend of the host. John Sheppard. That’s who he was now. He raised the corner of his lip. He looked at each one of the faces and started to sit up. They looked concerned.

A rush of information started to come through his mind. So much had happened after so many years. Ten thousand years. These people were descendants of his captors. The Lanteans had run away to their original galaxy, but they were back now. He would be able to complete his task now.

“I’m fine.” He finally managed to find his voice and form the right words.

“What the hell happened?” The irritating man asked.

“Just a buzz. Nothing more.” He answered calmly.

“Just a buzz?!” The other man continued. It looked like he did not know when or how to stop. He was making the headache worse. “You fainted!”

“I passed out.” He didn’t know why saying this was important, but he did. It was something that came from the brain of the host. After a lot of experience he learned not to stop these little demonstrations of personality emerging. It made it easier to avoid detection.

“You were attacked by a sphere of energy!” The annoying man raised his voice even more.

“Just a defense mechanism. You shouldn’t have touched it.” He managed to show some humor behind the phrase.

He liked this host. He had the strong body of a soldier and was on the top of the military hierarchy of Atlantis. Beside all that, he also had a pleasing personality. He never encountered an Lantean with sense of humor before. But these descendants seemed to have a lighter mood. He gave a pleased smile and received a roll of eyes from his new friend.

“Are you sure you are fine, Colonel?” A scientist with a different accent spoke.

“Yes,” He remembered the name of the man. “Zelenka.”

“Fine. Everyone back to work.” Rodney shouted to his staff then got up and resumed his observation on the prison box.

He got up too and felt his legs sustaining his body. His hands went straight to rest over the weapon attached to his vest. He was proud of himself. He was still able to perform his task perfectly even after all that time. He needed a plan now, so while his mind worked on it, he would just try to behave like the Colonel did normally. He got closer to Rodney.

“While you have fun in here, I’ll just get some fresh air.”

Rodney just waved his hand dismissively and didn’t pay much attention to him. He turned Sheppard’s body around and walked to the corridor. When he exited the building he felt the sunlight and the heat on his face. He closed his eyes instinctively. It was bright outside. He slowly opened them, taking his time to enjoy the sensation. It smelled of flowers in the field, the sky was bright blue and no clouds were visible. A man beside him was guarding the entrance of the ruins and saluted with intense energy.

“Colonel, Sir!” He was a young soldier.

He smiled. The host was amused by the liveliness of the young marines. He allowed himself some fun and saluted back before continuing his way out. His smile was broad while he stepped on the grass and saw the insects running and buzzing around his feet. He sat on the ground beside a tent and stretched his muscles. He would just stay here, relax and think about his mission.

…

“It’s useless!” Rodney’s frustrated outburst peaked the interest of the Chinese woman in the doorway.

She took a step forward. “What is the problem, Dr. McKay?”

“It has no more power.” He waved furiously at the box. “That damn burst of energy must’ve depleted it. Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

The small woman just continued to stare at him in silence.

“What do you want?” Rodney asked, irritated by her attitude.

“Dr. Zelenka is calling for you, Dr..” She lowered her head and left the room.

Rodney followed her out of the lab and into the control room. Radek still worked on the laptop displaying the encrypted ancient database.

“What do you have?” He asked the Czech.

“There appears to be a different algorithm for each folder of the database.” A deep line appeared on his forehead.

“Just what we need.” Rodney took the laptop away from the other scientist and looked at the progress. “At least you were able to decrypt the first phrase of the whole database!” He said sarcastically. “And look! Without translating it!”

“It’s a lot more complicated than the usual ancient codes.” Zelenka said defensively.

Rodney was typing commands to the notebook and another folder appeared. “It’s not that complicated! You just need a brain.” He snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name of the Italian woman. “Gasper, come here.”

“Gaspri.” The woman corrected before walking to him.

“Yeah, you know what this means?” He indicated the folder.

She approached him and leaned over the panel. She looked at the word for a few seconds before responding.

“That’s the word used to refer the idea of possession.” She spoke in a heavy accent.

“Really?” He wore an intrigued look. “What kind of research would ancients do about possession?” He opened the folder. The inside content was also encrypted.

“Great, a different encryption algorithm! Didn’t the ancients have anything better to do than invent new ways to make it more difficult to read their research?” Rodney took the laptop to the floor and seated himself before it to continue working on the problem.

“Rodney?” Radek stood over him, irritated.

“What?”

“I was working on that laptop.”

“Just take another one, we have plenty.” He heard the annoyed curse from the Czech as he immersed himself in the task.

…

The day had gone by when Rodney finally lifted his head from the screen of the computer. Beside him laid a pile of power bar wrappers and a few crumbs covered his lap. He felt tired and no progress whatsoever had been made on the code. Only he and Radek were left inside the room. He looked at his watch, surprised to find it was past eleven.

“Any progress, Radek?” He asked tiredly.

“Not much.” Came the equally tired response. “Why don’t we continue this on the morning?” He headed for the door.

“Good idea.” Rodney got up with his laptop under one arm and headed outside after Radek.

The night was cool and a fireplace lit the camp nearby. Sheppard was still outside his tent staring at the night sky like a damn fool. Suddenly he lowered his head, staring at the scientist with a confused look.

“What the hell?” He said getting up from his seat.

“What’s the problem?”

“What time is it?” Sheppard’s look was freaking him out.

“Eleven, er, I mean, twenty three hundred.” Rodney answered without looking at his watch. “Are you okay?” He asked after a few moments absorbing the confusion on his friend.

“I blacked out for the whole day?” Sheppard looked around the place.

“What do you mean blacked out?

“After the light thing.”

“No. What do you mean? You got up immediately after and came outside.” Maybe the energy strike had messed with his head?

“I don’t remember getting up.” The Colonel was obviously distressed.

“Are you sure?” Rodney examined his look closely to figure out what was happening.

No response came. Sheppard simply looked around nervously once more.

“What the hell is going on?” Sheppard finally asked.

…

TBC…

( Chapter 1 ) | ( Chapter 3 )