Fighting Passions - Ronon Dex - Stargate Atlantis

The Real World

We all stand in the infirmary, desperately trying to find a solution to Elizabeth's nanite poisoning, and current coma.  As far as Beckett and I can tell, when Niam choked her, he infected her with nanites. In an effort to keep everyone safe, Beckett has created a quarantine zone where anyone who touches her or enters that area will need to be in Hazmat suits. 

"What've you got, Doc?" John asks.

"It's gettin' worse. It's not just her brain anymore. They're spreading throughout her body.  We're losing her."

They all look at our scan of Weir's body, seeing the high concentration of them in her brain and spine.

"Those are all nanites?" Teyla asks. 

"Aye. They've spread throughout her entire body." 

"How'd they get inside her?" Ronon inquires.

"As far as I can tell," I start, "When Niam put his hand around her neck in the puddle jumper, he infected her with nanites and they began replicating before we even landed back here." 

Sheppard sighs. "How much time does she have?"

"I don't think their intention's to kill her. If that were the case, they could've easily done it already. I don't think there's enough of them to survive on their own. They need Elizabeth's body as raw material."

"So they're attempting to assimilate her? To transform her into one of them?" Rod infers. 

The doctor nods. "Until they can reach sufficient numbers to form a viable independent entity, I would say so, yes." 

"And this is how they replicate?" Teyla cocks her head.

"I don't think so. I think this is a last resort to survive." I answer. 

Ronon looks to Carson. "How do we stop them?" 

"EMP. Maybe we can hit em with the electromagnetic pulse like we did last time." The raven-haired colonel suggests. 

"Unfortunately sir, we're past that now. From what we can see, the nanites have literally bonded to her nervous system. If we try to take them out like that, there's a high probability that it'll kill her." 

"Then, how do we help her?" 

"In the petri dish, her white blood cells attack individual nanites as though they were a bacterium or a virus, quite successfully. But for some reason, inside her body, there's almost no immune response whatsoever. It's as if the nanites themselves have convinced her immune system that they pose no threat." 

"How do they do that?" John asks.

I have no idea. I've begun administering drugs to help boost her immunities."

"Doesn't seem to be working."

"Not yet. I've just increased the dosage. For the moment, we're losing this battle." 

I take a deep breath and walk over to a computer trying to figure out more ways so we can save Elizabeth but my limited knowledge of medicine is making it difficult. 

I bury my head in my hands desperately trying not to break down in the middle of medbay, when I feel a hand on my shoulder. 

"This must be an immense amount of pressure. How are you feeling?" 

I look up at Teyla. "Nowhere near the pressure, Beckett must be feeling. I'm just trying to help."

"You always doubt yourself in these situations. When you do this you make it harder for yourself. Alison, as my friend, tell me, how are you feeling?"