STARGATE ATLANTIS: Dead End Read Online Free Page B

it, then,” said Ronon.
    Sheppard spoke into the comm link. “Jumper’s good to go.”
    “Very good,” came Weir’s voice from the Operations Center. “You’re clear to leave when ready.”
    Sheppard ran his fingers over the Jumper’s control mechanism and McKay felt vaguely resentful of the man’s easy familiarity with Ancient technology. He didn’t seem to realize quite how lucky he was.
    “Here we go, boys and girls,” Sheppard said, casting a final watchful eye over the diagnostic readings streaming across the lower half of the HUD. “Watch yourselves on the other side. There’s a storm blowing.”
    “Oh, that’s just great,” muttered McKay. “We had to take off when there’s a storm blowing. Would it have been so hard to pick a clear window?”
    “From what I can tell, there’s
always
a storm blowing,” said Sheppard, maneuvering the Jumper into position. “Quit complaining. You’re the one that started all of this.”
    “I’m so glad you’re here to point these things out,” McKay grumbled.
    Sheppard ignored him and continued nudging the Jumper round.
    The ship hovered for a moment before powering the thrusters. Ahead, the surface of the Stargate shimmered with the vast energies of the contained event horizon.
    “Good luck,” Weir said. “Bring back something good.”
    McKay almost responded with a ‘like frostbite’ quip, but bit his tongue. Sheppard gave the necessary command and the Jumper responded with the strange, inertia-less movement so typical of Ancient technology. The sleek craft shot forward, the gate room blurring into the familiar split-second of wild disorientation before they were spat out.
    Except they weren’t. Something had gone wrong. Instead of emerging into a new world, they were hurtling along a snaking, whirling tube of energy.
    “This isn’t good,” Sheppard growled. “Oh, this is
really
not good…”
    The HUD ran with strange figures. The Jumper lurched sideways, scraping along the edge of the wormhole limits. McKay was thrown roughly against Ronon as the Jumper listed crazily.
    “What is happening?” Teyla yelled.
    “Ask McKay!” Sheppard snapped, battling for control of the Jumper.
    “What? This isn’t my fault!” McKay protested, heart thumping with alarm. “This didn’t happen to the MALP!”
    Unbuckling himself with fumbling fingers, he stumbled over to a control panel in the rear of the Jumper — and was nearly hurled straight into it by a fresh yaw sideways. “Keep this thing on the road, will you?”
    “You wanna fly?” Sheppard looked like he was struggling to maintain control.
    “We’ve got massive power loss,” shouted McKay, desperately flicking a series of controls. “We’ll need to use the Jumper’s own supply to get us out.”
    Teyla gave him a sharp look. “Can you do it?”
    “If I can’t, we’re beyond screwed!”
    “Any time you’re ready…” Sheppard ground out.
    John pulled the Jumper into a long, tight arc that rolled waves of nausea around McKay’s stomach. He swallowed hard.
    “OK, OK! I’m there. Are you getting anything now?” The Jumper swooped dizzyingly and McKay clamped his jaw shut, making a mental note to check the inertial dampeners.
    “I’ve routed all power to navigation,” Sheppard barked. “Something’s picking up on the display. I think we’re on the way out.”
    McKay slumped back in his seat and attempted to buckle up. “This didn’t happen to the MALP,” he muttered. “Zelenka must have gotten something wrong with the calculations. I should have run a final check myself. If you want something done…”
    He stole a quick glance at Ronon and Teyla. The huge Satedan was untroubled. Nothing seemed to faze him. Teyla was similarly stoic. They were both far too calm. God, he hated that.
    The Jumper lurched again. The readings suddenly changed, and a stream of data cascaded across the screen.
    “OK, we’re getting out of this,” announced Sheppard. “Get ready. We’ll be