The Long Way Home

Chapter Eighteen: Consquences

You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in

Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On

The Chancellor's Chamber was a sizeable reception area containing a gorgeous mahogany table that Cass found herself adoring as she sat opposite Carson. Her fingers glided over the glossy surface as she straightened her posture in the matching chair that accompanied the assemble. Cass glanced up, catching the quizzical expression on Carson's features at her actions. She appreciated good craftsmanship and this sturdy, arresting piece of decadence reminded her of the table she had back home locked away in storage collecting dust. She had always had a thing for hand carved wood. When she was on leave from Afghanistan her and her sister would take her niece and nephews to the nearest craft or antique fairs in the district. It still astounded her that someone could make something so detailed.

"Do you and the table want to be left alone?" Carson asked her with an amused look upon his weary features.

It was rare that Carson suffered from sleepless nights but as he sat with his elbows resting upon the table reviewing her, Cass could tell that he had had the same amount of sleep that she had. The dark circles under his dark lashes highlighted the red rims of his vibrant blue eyes.

Her cheeks heated at his comment before Cass's hands settled in her lap to prevent her from fidgeting with impatience.

"I used to have one like this at home." she said by way of explanation. "I like the idea of sitting around something like this when you share a meal."

"Ours was more like a picnic table." Carson revealed with a small smile before interlacing his dexterous fingers and bowing his head.

There was a silence between them, it hovered in the air oppressing the two of them as they sat in the simple but luxurious surroundings. It was time to address the elephant in the room and Cass dreaded it with every fibre of her being. The pressure Carson was under was immense and she could see the moral implications chipping away at his soul as he gnawed on his lower lip in agitation.

"I really don't know how much help I can be." Cass said, peering at Carson through the dark fringe that feel over her eyes. "I have a basic knowledge of the vaccine, I'm not sure I even understand the stuff you've been altering."

"But you understand the stage we're at now and why it's important that they suspend the inoculations." Carson submitted. "We can't allow them to vaccinate thousands of people with a drug that hasn't been appropriately tested."

"This has gone so horribly wrong." Cass spoke into her hands as she rubbed them over her gritty eyes. "I'll shed no tears over Steve's death but they should have waited until after the autopsy on the test subject before even considering inoculating their own people."

After injecting the test subject with the vaccination that they hoped would prevent the Wraith from feeding on humans they had all born witness to what could only be described as a monumental event. Steve had tried his damned hardest to suck the life straight out of the test subject's chest with no avail. As it appeared the serum worked and the Hoffans and themselves had rejoiced at this turn of events.

Carson hadn't even known that they were putting the drug into mass production until Perna had informed him that the inoculations had began and she in turn had been one of the first to receive it. It was an idiocy in his eyes and he had marched straight into the Chancellor and told him as much. The results of one test were not enough to determine that the vaccination was fit for the general populace but the Hoffans were in denial, they wanted their line of defence against the Wraith, no matter the cost.

It was several days later that Steve had started to show symptoms of something much more sinister. The Wraith had been weak and irate due to starvation before that had brought him to this planet so when he had broke into convulsions and died originally they had assumed that was the cause of death before Carson had preformed an autopsy that instead showed that the serum proved toxic to the Wraith.

Which in turn led the Chancellor to begin vaccinating their own people with the drug immediately so that they would indeed have not only a defence against the violent creatures but also a form of biological attack. It had been John and Teyla that had stepped in at that point, talking to the Chancellor about the possible consequences surrounding such an idea. If the Wraith discovered that the entire planet of Hoff had been vaccinated with a poison that could kill them when they attempted to feed they would all be slaughtered to prevent the threat from spreading to other food sources.

Six hours after the conversation the test subject had died from acute respiratory failure. Due to the nature of his terminal condition an autopsy failed to show whether the serum had paid a part in his death or not. Carson had argued the point with Perna and the Chancellor but neither of them had budged on their standing of the situation and the vaccinations were still being distributed.

"Lassie." Carson addressed her, leaning across the table with his hands clasped together. "You know the real reason I've brought you here."

Cass pursed her lips together grimly before meeting Carson's stoic gaze with her own.

"It's been three days since the first round of people have been inoculated." Cass responded with the facts he had presented her. "If there were any side effects to the drug we should be seeing them any time now if the autopsy was anything to go by."

"Aye, it's just a precaution. It's our responsibility to provide the best care we can if there any ill effects because of this vaccine." Carson stated like the humanitarian he was.

Cass placed her chin on her palm as the two of them fell back into a thoughtful silence.

She hoped to God that Carson Beckett was wrong.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The medical centre was heaving. The place reminded him of an institute that pre-dated the nineteen fifties with it's décor and simplistic structure. It was insanely understaffed and ill equipped for the surge of people entering it's doors. There were people slumped in the hallway, leaning against the walls or huddled on the ceramic tiles in what seemed to be an entire queue of sick people. Their wet, rasping coughs filled his ears as he marched down the corridor towards the Treatment Room with intent and purpose.

The entire medical staff looked dishevelled, nurses clad in old fashioned uniforms were wheeling unconscious patients to and from varying locations in a bid to save them. He already knew from Carson's briefing only a few hours earlier that those were the people that they ought to be making more comfortable.

He pushed the doors to the Treatment Room open with both hands, swallowing hard at the sight before him. The beds were littered with people choking and gasping for air, as were the seats they usually used for visitors. Everybody in this room was either completely stationary, locked in respiratory distress or in a flurry of motion tending to the sick and dying.

Cass was in the midst of the madness, barking out orders to the Atlantian medical teams as she thrust things into their hands and pointed in the directions she required them to go. She was fierce and vibrant in situations like these. This was where she flourished and already John was stripping off his jacket and tossing it into the pile of belongings in the furthest corner. His hands were already in the closest sink as he scrubbed them raw with soap before snatching up the nearest set of latex gloves and snapping them on. He found himself in front of Cass as she raised her head to look at him.

What he saw in her eyes haunted him. There was nothing he could say to wash away the blood that marred not only her hands but his as well. Together they had created this problem or at least been part of it. Now was the time to respond to the fall out that was wreaking havoc upon this population.

"I'm here to help." he told her.

Cass pressed a hand held oxygen mask and pump into his hands before gesturing towards the opposite side of the room.

"There's precious little we can do for them but you can assist Carson in the Triage area over there." she said before turning her attention to the nurse that was beckoning her over.