Descent

"Hey, Mary, you okay?"

I am startled by the question, but I flash John a smile and reassure him that I am fine. I do not tell him of the sinking sensation in my stomach, or the tingling I feel on the edge of my mind, as though another wraith were close, but as yet…dormant. Instead, I return to staring into space, because there is not much else to look at where I am, sitting on the floor behind the chair where Dr. Weir sits and at Dad's feet.

"She's probably bored out of her skull."

I try not to laugh at Dad. He does not do well when there is nothing to do. I must find something to keep his mind occupied on trips in the Jumpers.

Mum comes up the front and taps Rodney on the shoulder. He looks up, and she murmurs, "Um, shot gun…is it?"

"Oh, come on," he cries exasperatedly, but when Mom continues to smile calmly at him, he has no choice but to switch seats with her and move to the back of the Puddle Jumper with the rest of the scientists. "I don't know why I have to do this….What?"

Zelenka sounds deceptively innocent. "Nobody said anything."

"You don't have to, do you? Look, it's not my fault things are hard to find on the bottom of the ocean."

Poor Dr. McKay. It really isn't his fault. Things on the bottom of an ocean will tend to drift in 10,000 years, especially with the terrible hurricanes that this ocean in subject to every now and again. But it is far easier to blame a man than an ocean.

"Rodney, you said you knew where it was," Radek reminds him, his accent only serving to amplify his air of long-suffering patience.

"I said I knew its last known location. It is a mobile drilling station, remember? Obviously that's gonna take a few hours," counters Rodney testily. No one in this jumper, with the possible exception of Ronon, is more anxious than he to find the station. He is no better at sitting still than my dad, and he is anxious for the nearly limitless energy it promises.

"If we don't find it soon, this is gonna be your last known location," snarls Ronon, and I place my hand on his knee, trying to calm him. My dad is a wonderful man, but his temper is short, and his patience worn thin by inaction and endless talk.

"Oh, zing!"

"Okay, kids. Do I have to pull this thing over? It's hard enough being in this damned thing for hours without listening to you guys," John shouts irritably over his shoulder as he guides us through the deeps.

I withdraw into myself as McKay and the scientists in the back begin to banter quietly. The tension in this ship is oppressive to me—I am very tempted to put everyone but Sheppard to sleep until we find the drilling station. Not only to give me a respite from their flaring tempers, but to give my ears a rest. Honestly, when they speak 'conversationally' it is almost too loud for me. This semi-shouting is giving me a head-ache.

"You know what? Shut up!" McKay's voice is edged with the panic he feels when it appears he has failed at something very important and everyone keeps reminding him of this.

"You know what? You shut up, OK?"

"Will you ALL please be quiet?!" I finally shout over the growing mêlée. It is a decided advantage of having a 'wraithian' voice—when I yell, everyone listens. "Thank you. I don't want to hear another word not relating to course change until we get there!"

John casts me a grateful look as the scientists gape. McKay opens his mouth to argue, but Sheppard cuts him off.

"No! Stop it! She was relaying my message," he tells the Canadian. "So, like the lady said, shut up, unless you have something important to say."

"Like the HUD's up?" McKay asks snarkily.

"Finally!" Sheppard mutters under his breath when he sees that we have finally located the station. "OK, kids, we're here."

Radek and Rodney hurry forward to look at the display as John uses it to guide us to dock.

"Well, hopefully it won't take too much longer to power up the station," John says a moment before a few of the outer lights on the station come on.

"That wasn't so hard," Dr. Weir quips happily.

"Now all I've gotta do is dock this thing and we can find out what this place is all about."

As we pull into the station's dock, the tingling on the edge of my mind grows into a burning flame, and the knot in my stomach hitches itself tighter. I glance at my mum—she feels it too.

There is another wraith near by.

TBC

A/N: Yes, another lame opening. But hang in there! And please review! Pretty please!