Chapter One

A gray world.

A dead world.

A world where the earth is covered in the brittle bones of the dead and the soil remains forever of ash and ember; a place where no sun can quite reach, yet there is light enough from the countless pits of fire to see the outline of motionless bodies as they stretch across the seemingly endless molten pits toward the north.

This is a place of death; a planet of quiet disposal, and the Genii liaison that had provided them with the gate address could not have remotely prepared the Atlantis team for the sights they beheld as they gazed down the steep slope that ran from the cliff where the Stargate was held.

The sounds of grating metal and the roar of a crackling unrestrained flame echoed deep across the dark lands reaching the ears of the four perched high above. Colonel Sheppard and his team spoke not a word as they stared down disbelievingly at the lava streaked mountains and the treacherous black terrain, the wisps of heavy smoke from the mounds of burning rubble just reaching the ends of their noses.

Small dark creatures scuttered below through the endless maze of black pits and streams of red hot liquid. They appeared to be workers of some sort, carting objects back and forth from one pile to another, each of them staying in a perfect formation and never straying from the line formed of their fellow workers.

One worker at the very end of the line seemed slightly lagged compared to his well-timed companions and when he tripped over a fallen piece of metal sticking oddly from the ground that sent him face-first to the earth with a howl, not one of the others stopped to aid him or even appeared to take notice.

Then out of the darkness, from the camoflauge of a large rock came a taller creature, too far away to be properly seen by Sheppard and his team. He approached the fallen worker with meaning in his step and he did not hesitate before grabbing the extended arm of the worker as he lay there begging for help, and dragged him towards the nearest lava rivers edge.

A swift kick to its head sent the fallen creature into the searing hot river with only a moment to gurgle a wild scream before he succumbed to the intensity of the rivers heat.

"Oh my God," Rodney said quietly, putting a hand to his mouth

Colonel Sheppard grimaced before replying solemnly, "Let's just find the guy we're looking for and get the hell outta here. We're not even sure this guy knows anything anyways."

Teyla, who was just behind the Colonel to his right, nodded nervously and held her weapon at the ready as she poised to follow him down the rocky slope, though her fearful brown eyes never left the sights below.

Ronon stepped forward, blocking Sheppard from moving any further and stared down at him with an earnest fear stretched across his face.

"I've heard of places like this before Sheppard. This is a 'ruined planet', a disposal ground for convicted murderers and worse. Any culture is welcome to dump their dead or condemn their criminals to enslavement here in the hopes that their rotting souls will never find peace.

People say…people say evil is born here. And that those who remain too long become taken."

Sheppard cocked his head to the side and replied quickly, "Taken…..taken by what?"

Ronon looked back over his shoulder toward the land just as a groaning metallic sound blasted through the air quickly before dying out strangely and echoing on the thick night air.

"Taken by darkness," he whispered.

Sheppard bit his lower lip involuntarily as he followed Ronon's gaze down and he waited a moment, taking in what Ronon had said before he spoke yet again.

"Look, I know this place is super creepy guys but Lorne and his team have been missing for three days. This is the only lead we've gotten so far- okay a really crappy Genii lead I know- but as long as we find this guy Balaam quickly and find out what he knows, everything should be fine and we'll get the hell outta here. Okay?"

Rodney, Teyla, and Ronon all nodded in agreement, being reminded of Major Lorne's disappearance gave them all a feeling a renewed confidence and determination as they followed Colonel Sheppard as he began their descent into the darkest land any of them had ever known.

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