Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me! Just borrowing…
Chapter 1 – A Boring Mission
When Private Shanice Williams had joined the Marine Corps, it was not with the expectation of travelling to another galaxy to fight aliens, but Shanice was a woman who had always craved adventure and when she had been told about the Stargate and that she would be joining the Atlantis expedition, she couldn't have been more thrilled.
Two weeks after her arrival on the Daedalus, induction training completed, 'thrilled' was not the word she would use to describe her current state of mind. She had at first been pleased to find herself assigned to a training mission under the command of Colonel John Sheppard, even if it was just exploring the city rather than gating off-world. The Colonel had the reputation of performing amazing feats of heroism and self-sacrifice and Shanice was keen to see him in action. She, along with Privates Adam Phillips and Lisa Martinez, had been surprised by his relaxed command style. Standing to attention, saluting and 'sir, yes, sirring' were obviously not required. Instead, Sheppard seemed to specialise in a casual, yet alert efficiency, his soft-voiced orders short and to the point.
Initially the exploration was interesting; mapping a new area of one of the piers, discovering that it had been used for work rather than residence. There was an area with kitchen facilities which seemed to have been a mess hall and recreation area. There were lots of rooms whose function it was difficult to define; some with workbenches as if some kind of manufacturing had been carried out, some with desks and cabinets which must have been administrative areas. They had even found some public toilets, which made the mission much more comfortable.
But then they had discovered a science lab with an intact console and monitors. Colonel Sheppard said they had to go back and fetch Dr McKay. Which they did. And since then, all they had done was keep watch and listen to Dr McKay and Colonel Sheppard snipe at each other, which they did constantly and with obvious enjoyment, like a pair of pre-teens trying to see how far they could push their parents.
Sheppard was leaning against the wall, P90 held casually as if an extension of his arms, one eye on McKay and another on Phillips and Martinez, who were standing guard in the corridor outside.
Dr McKay began mumbling under his breath again. Shanice caught the words: "dragged me away from important projects," and "wasting my precious time."
"You got anything yet, McKay?" Sheppard interrupted the mumbling.
"In a word, no!" replied the scientist crossly. "It's like a blank slate, set up for data, but wiped of anything useful. It seems like some kind of monitoring system, but I can't work out what it's supposed to be monitoring."
"Anyway," he continued, "it's not so much what's here as what isn't here," said Rodney. "Look," he said pointing to the screen of his laptop, "this is the area we've mapped so far. This is the level we're on, and," he pressed a key and the display changed, "this is the area below."
Sheppard sauntered over and looked at the screen.
McKay pressed the same key repeatedly so that the display flickered irritatingly back and forth from one view to the other.
"See that?" he said. "That area there. It's the same on both levels: nothing. And if your mapping is correct, there are no doors leading into it. And yet if we look at a plan of the outside of the structure," he pressed another key, "there should be something there."
"So you're saying there's a secret room?" asked Sheppard, a crooked grin spreading over his face.
"Not just a secret room, a whole area over two levels, with no apparent access," said McKay, impatiently. "If your mapping is correct."
"It's accurate," confirmed Sheppard. "My guess," he continued, "is that the access is somewhere in here."
"And your reasoning behind that conclusion you've just jumped to?"
"This is the only place with any controls in, it's adjacent to the blacked-out area - I think it's some kind of control room," said Sheppard.
"It's possible," said McKay, grudgingly. "I should also point out something else. If you look here," he zoomed the display out so that the arm of the pier could be seen where it met the central section of the city, "each of the doors that lead to this pier are doubled up, like an air-lock, so that the interior of the pier can be completely sealed from the rest of Atlantis."
John frowned, chewing his lower lip. "So, a secret area and a security system to block it off from the rest of the city."
"Exactly," McKay agreed. "The question is, were they trying to keep something in, or out?"
Shanice had listened to the back and forth between the two men. It sounded like things were about to get interesting and she couldn't help step closer when Colonel Sheppard said, "Let's see what I can do," and gestured for Dr McKay to step aside so that he could sit down at the console.
"Oh, the amazing strength of your super-gene will solve the riddle straight away, no doubt!" sneered McKay.
Sheppard didn't respond, but calmly placed his hands on the Ancient console and closed his eyes. He relaxed and tried not to think of anything in particular, letting his mind clear. And then he used his mind as if he were powering up a jumper and also gave a mental command to 'open'.
There was a distinct 'snick' and Sheppard opened his eyes to see that a door had appeared in the previously blank wall. It slid open, revealing only darkness beyond.
He looked at McKay, smugly.
"Martinez, you stay here, Williams, Phillips, you're with us." Sheppard led the way through the door. He had switched the light on his P90 on, but as soon as they stepped through, the area lit up. There was just a small landing and a flight of stairs leading straight down.
Lights continued to come on as they descended. At the bottom a dimly-lit corridor led left and right for about five yards each way and then turned a corner, hiding what lay beyond.
"McKay, you and Phillips go left, Williams, you're with me," ordered Sheppard. "Check in in five minutes, or sooner if you find anything."
They went their separate ways, cautiously, listening and looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Sheppard and Private Williams turned the corner and a short way ahead of them the corridor ended in a doorway.
As they approached, the door opened smoothly, revealing a long, narrow, high-ceilinged room, with another door exactly opposite. Sheppard and Williams stepped forward together, one to each side of the doorway, scanning the room, P90s ready.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, three things happened: McKay's voice came over the radio, "Sheppard, we've found a door, but it won't open," closely followed by Martinez, saying "Something's happening up here!" And then the door slid firmly shut behind them. Sheppard spun round and felt either side of the door; it remained closed and there were no controls of any kind.