sga_flashfic | Only with the Best Intentions by lavvyan (Men and Machines)

Title: Only with the Best Intentions
Author:

lavvyan
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Elizabeth had been the first.
AN: Vaguely inspired by something

kuna_yashmaa said to me a few weeks ago. Set post-season 3. No particular spoilers. ETA: And have I been Jossed or what? *g*

~~~

Elizabeth had been the first. Comatose and damaged beyond the capabilities of human medicine, she had been the perfect candidate to test the experimental medlab Szeczinski had discovered in what they'd designated Block 5 of Atlantis' snowflake layout – after all, it wasn't as if she'd had anything to lose. With the ZPM Carter had brought they had more than enough power to operate the equipment, and sure enough Elizabeth had awoken with a tired smile and a brain made up mostly of nanites.

She was exactly the same as before, both in character and intelligence. Then Parrish lost most of his right hand and part of his face to an acid-squirting carnivorous plant. Rodney made him as good as new; better, if he dared say so himself, admiring the intricate design of Parrish's cybernetic finger joints. Nanites in the blood stream made sure that neither the new body parts nor the artificial skin of Parrish's face were rejected by his body. A medical miracle without any ill effects: the lure was hard to resist. And there were few who even tried.

Miko disposed of her much-hated glasses and gained self-confidence. Lorne and seventeen other soldiers breathed deeply even after halon gas had destroyed most of their lungs. The explosion in Lab 26 had people mourn various equipment, but not a single life. Cadman came out of her Wraith encounter with a laugh and a whole-body renewal, as young and annoying as ever. And Rodney the benefactor of them all.

It was by pure accident that he discovered the side-effects.

The discussion with Elizabeth was pointless, really. She wanted to hire three physicists and two engineers when Rodney needed two physicists and three engineers, something to do with a quota he couldn't care less about. They had reached an impasse and Rodney's frustration its peak, so he demanded a lot harsher than he'd meant to, "Damn it, Elizabeth, will you just see it my way!"

And she blinked and replied, "Yes, Rodney."

Twenty-three minutes later Rodney had gotten over his uncharacteristically quiet freak-out and immersed himself in the Ancient database, learning what he could about an abandoned medlab in Block 5 that wasn't so much a medlab as it was a production site for work drones, making useful citizens out of criminals – and hapless humans, once the crime rates had gone down. Learning about dormant nanites and altered neurological paths.

Learning about the operator's override command.

At first, Rodney was horrified, feeling guilty and sick and nervous. When no hordes of righteously angered ex-patients stormed his quarters to demand his head, he relaxed a little. People went on staying calm and entirely oblivious, and Rodney went on saving lives and limbs, promising himself that he would never utter a word about the override command and never abuse its power.

Except for perhaps suggesting brownies as a regular breakfast component. And having his laundry done twice with hypo-allergenic washing powder and extra fabric softener. But those were small things that didn't hurt anyone and hardly made an impact. Not even the beginnings of a slippery slope, honestly.

Well, all right, there was that one time when he had Elizabeth cancel a mission that would have been military recon and send the team to trade for seira beans – a specimen of the Pegasus flora deliciously close to coffee – instead. That was no big deal and no one even suspected anything. Neither was there a word of protest when Rodney had several marines move his belongings to bigger and better quarters, because really, someone who regularly saved Atlantis and its inhabitants from certain doom deserved a modicum of relaxation in his few hours away from work. And if Sheppard had started watching him with narrowed eyes, well, that ceased being a cause for concern when a rock slide off-world bashed most of his head in. Really, he was lucky Rodney managed to save him at all.

And so it went on, harmless and quiet and the best for all concerned, until someone had to go and ruin it all. Radek had no right to accuse Rodney of being an egoistical, ruthless power mongerer, and he had no business trying to shut the nanites down.

Like Rodney hadn't shielded them from electromagnetic pulses a long time ago.

The fight that broke out was as asinine as it was short. Rodney's people, lead by Ronon Dex – who had only lost a finger but gained so much more – and Colonel Sheppard, overwhelmed the hopelessly inferior humans in no time at all. One by one, they were brought to the medlab in Block 5. One by one, they realised that Rodney only strived to protect them all. One by one, they thanked him.

Radek was the last. "You will regret this, Rodney," he promised. "Earth will not let you get away with this."

Rodney nodded. "Possibly," he agreed. "In the meantime, why don't you make sure that the shield's at full capacity?"

And Radek, eyesight freshly corrected and nanites nesting in the back of his brain, inclined his head. "Yes, Rodney."

And that was that.

The city fell silent after Radek's improvement. Rodney kept the override active at all times now, lest some of his scientists gathered to try and figure out how to deactivate the nanites. Their non-genius minds simply wouldn't comprehend that he only wanted the best for them, but he still regretted the necessity of shutting their unique personalities down like that. On the upside, Atlantis was running more smoothly than ever.

Also, it wasn't as if Rodney would be at any risk of feeling lonely.

"Sheppard." He snapped his fingers, and one of his two-hundred and thirty-seven best friends stepped to his side. "Banter."

"Why, Rodney," Sheppard drawled, his expression almost amused, "getting bored already?"

"Well, excuse me if my mind is in need of a little more stimulation than that of your average hotshot flyboy."

"Your mind is in need of something, all right," Sheppard agreed amicably and cuffed him lightly over the back of his head.

Rodney grinned.

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