"Oops!"

McKay sat down on a piece of Ancient equipment, not really caring at the moment what it was, to eat his breakfast--well midmorning snack consisting of a turkey sandwich and some chips. And chocolate. Can't forget the chocolate. He had just finished the sandwich off when Sheppard asked for the new schematics for the Puddle Jumpers.

"Sorry?" McKay asked, startled. His mind was far from ships' schematics and the question threw him for a loop. "Schematics? What schematics?"

Sheppard answered, "The ones you were supposed to have for me a half hour ago?" His tone dripped with sarcastic disgust. "What schematics...what's in those sandwiches of yours anyway?"

McKay blinked at him and frowned. "Oh those schematics. Keep your shirt on flyboy I've got `em...uh..." he paused, trying to recall the last time he'd seen them and said finally, "In my office...I'll uh...get them later."

"How much later?" Sheppard growled, his eyes narrowed on the hapless astrophysicist.

"Later..." McKay hedged, "Well, gotta go. Meeting. See ya."

//All essential personnel please report to the `gate area. I repeat, all essential personnel report to the `gate area.//

McKay groaned and looked forlornly at the uneaten portions of his food. Sheppard didn't allow him to mourn too much though as he grabbed his arm and pulled him along behind him.

As they reached the area, people could be seen bustling about, preparing for the arrival of Teyla and Ford with their exploration team. Both Sheppard and McKay had been injured in an earlier mission and had been `grounded'--so to speak--to the base. As Weir had pointed out, at least they hadn't been confined to quarters.

"Do you have the new schematics, Major?"

The major turned and glared at McKay as he replied, "No ma'am. //Somebody//" as he stressed the word `somebody' his glare at McKay deepened, "forgot to give them to me."

"I well..I..I was busy!" McKay blustered.

"Doing what, eating?" Sheppard retorted.

"As a matter of fact, yes," McKay said, "I was //eating//. I need to keep my strength up for..."

"Gentlemen, please," Weir interrupted, "Save the testosterone matches for the shower rooms."

"Atlantis doesn't have shower rooms," McKay responded, although half- heartedly, chuckling a little. He hated it when she took that tone with him. It always made him feel like a school child who'd been caught out in a prank.

Weir raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "All right, we're expecting..."

She was interrupted by the wormhole opening and shots being fired through, one hitting her.

"Elizabeth!" Rodney yelled as the woman fell to the ground in a slump. He rushed forward and knelt by her side, feeling at her neck for a pulse. A large red stain was forming at her left hip, blood dripping onto the floor.

He looked up at the familiar 'whooshing' sound of the stargate shutting down. Lieutenant Ford was holding an unconscious Teyla, and behind them Sergeant Bates was being leaned on by Stackhouse and a soldier Rodney didn't know by name.

"Medical team to the 'gate room!" Sheppard shouted as he helped Ford gently lower the Athosian woman to the ground. "What happened, Lieutenant?" he directed at Ford.

"We were attacked, sir," Ford answered, sounding out of breath, "By unknown hostiles."

"The people you were..."

"No, sir," Ford interrupted immediately, "They, were, as I said, unknown. We were negotiating a trade deal with the Minorans, when the entire village was nearly burned to the ground. We barely escaped, sir. Teyla was the first to be hit, before we realized what was going on, in her right shoulder and hip."

Sheppard nodded and glanced around the gate room, noting as he did that Dr. Weir and Ford's team weren't the only injured. Peter Grodin was holding his right arm, but still upright and manning the controls. Technician Wong was sitting on the ground, clutching his head as blood seeped through his fingers. The others were shaken, but didn't seem to be hurt.

John sighed. This was not good. It was bad on any day, but the fact that Dr. Beckett and nearly eighty percent of his medical team were on the mainland trying to stem off an epidemic among the Athosians. He had imposed a quarantine, and travel to and from the mainland was not viable.

Dr. Janice Greenwood walked briskly into the gate room at that moment, took stock of the situation and immediately had the other four medical personnel left on the base take Dr. Weir and Teyla to the infirmary before assigning McKay, Ford and Bates the task of getting Stackhouse and Jones looked after.

Sheppard took the first aid supplies she handed him and knelt by Wong, cleaning the head wound. It was, thankfully, only superficial, but as it was a head wound, it still bled profusely at first.