A/N: This story is a birthday present for my good friend and Beta buddy, ladygris.

Hehe! It is a very sneaky writer who gets the birthday girl to help make her own present.

Many, many good wishes for your very special day!

~Sandy

Atlantis Awaits

Chapter 1

Discovery

The building resembled the Dorandan power complex that had been destroyed along with the planet and most of the solar system in an abortive attempt to complete the work the Ancients had started. Only the giant weapon was missing. Instead, four cleverly disguised transmitters gazed silently down on the city below.

The room was vast, dwarfing the four humans who dared to come within its walls. An enormous monitor seemed to be a part of the wall covered the upper two-thirds. Windows looked out onto what had once been well kept gardens and beneath the overgrowth the faint outlines of statues and long dry fountains could be seen.

Cradling his P-90, John Sheppard walked the perimeter of the room while Rodney turned in circles with his scanner. Not seeing anything of interest, John called out, "You're sure this is the place?"

"Of course I'm sure or we wouldn't be here." He tapped a few keys on his scanner then put it away and took out his computer. "The energy signature indicates that there is at least one ZedPM in this building and I am not leaving without it."

Teyla peered at the consoles lining the center of the room and along the wall opposite the windows. A layer of dust coated everything though as long as this world had been abandoned, there should have been more. As she was thinking it, the hum of the environmental systems came on, taking the stale scent from the air. "What if it is nearly depleted as the one in Atlantis was when you first arrived?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it and not before. Now no talking while I'm…" Rodney's voice trailed off and he began walking toward the corner farthest from where they'd entered. "Hello."

His teammates recognized that tone. Something had caught his interest and anything that interested Rodney was usually worth looking into. They didn't bother to ask questions, just followed him to a nearly invisible door. He tapped a few keys on what looked like a keypad, the door sliding into the wall to reveal a set of stairs leading down. Turning a beaming smile on them, he pointed. "The material of this building shielded the energy signature enough that it was barely there. But now I can say without reservation that there is definitely a ZedPM down these stairs." His excitement was dimmed by the fact that it was pitch black just a few steps in. "And hopefully there's nothing else down there like a, uh, big scary monster."

~~O~~

Chuck tapped on the open door of Woolsey's office. "Sir, we just received a message from MY9-571. Dr. Beckett advised us not to return to the village until he gives the word due to an outbreak of a severe flu-like illness that has nearly everyone knocked out. There haven't been any deaths as yet, but he doesn't want to spread it to the personnel of Atlantis or to other planets."

"Did he say how long this would last?"

"No, sir. Just that he'd contact us when it was safe to return. If he needs anything, he'll let us know. We're to send the supplies through with a MALP only."

"Understood. Let me know when we hear something more."

Nodding, Chuck returned to his station.

~~O~~

The light from the flashlights and on the weapons they carried bobbed and flickered over every surface though there was little to see until they reached the bottom. From what they could make out, it looked like a high tech waste treatment plant. John, Ronon and Teyla were too busy following Rodney, senses alert for any danger that might try to sneak up on them, to figure it out.

He stopped in front of a door, an Ancient biosensor to the right. Prying off the cover, he rearranged the crystals, but nothing happened. "What? Oh, come on! You have plenty of power!"

Standing just behind his friend, his back to the door, John kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. "Did you try 'open sesame'?"

As if those words had indeed been the magic phrase, the door slid open. Rodney manipulated the crystals again and the lights came on. The four friends stepped inside, speechless at the sight before them.

His voice soft, almost reverent, John said, "Rodney, are those…"

Equally awed, Rodney nodded. "Three fully functional, never been used ZedPMs and a truckload of drones."

~~O~~

"Sir?"

"Yeah?" Evan, on point, glanced over at Lieutenant Paul Coughlin as he moved alongside.

"I wanna just say thanks for getting us taken off that detail to the planet with the giant cats."

"Developing an allergy, Lieutenant?" Evan asked with wry amusement.

"No, sir. It's just…she always cries when I leave and it makes me feel bad that she can't come with us."

Relenting, Evan shrugged. "It was the same for me when I was at college. My dog, Tango would sit at the door and cry every time I left." The sadness seeped back in for one more trip through his memory. "She passed just before I started basic."

"Sorry, sir. Think Mitzi will be upset that I won't be coming back?"

"Maybe. I'm sure she'll be okay though." He spied movement up ahead. "Stay sharp, team. We're here."

~~O~~

"…And if I had to guess, I'd say there were about three thousand drones stored there as well." Rodney was fairly dancing with impatience to examine their find closer. "And no, I don't know why they were being stored at a waste treatment plant."

While just as excited about the windfall as the physicist, Woolsey restrained his enthusiasm more out of habit than anything else. "How long has the planet been unoccupied?"

"Does it matter? No one lives there. We need the ZedPMs and the drones. I say we just pack it all up and ship it here."

"I agree." John added his voice to Rodney's. Like Woolsey, he controlled his eagerness to examine the weapons that were used to defend Atlantis.

"Now that that is settled, I really need to get to my lab. We have testing to do before the actual installation and I'd like to do that as soon as possible. The longer we stand here talking is that much longer Atlantis goes without full power."

"The city's only had one ZPM for ten thousand years. It'll survive another few minutes, Rodney."

"But…"

Woolsey nodded, releasing Rodney from the meeting. "Take whatever personnel you need to complete the testing, Doctor. I'd like the city running at maximum efficiency as soon as possible." The scientist wasted no time in leaving, the two men watching him run across the bridge to the Operations area. Moments later, he was gone taking Chuck with him.

John crossed his arms, amusement on his handsome face. "He's really, really excited."

"I see. I'll contact Generals O'Neill and Landry with the news." He returned to Operations where Amelia had taken over for Chuck. "Dial Earth, please, Amelia."

"Yes, sir."

~~O~~

The ZPM room was a hive of activity as most of the science and research department either assisted with the testing of the ZPMs or just wanted to watch filling the room with an air of exhilaration. And not just the science team was present. The outer room was filled to capacity with off duty personnel who also wanted to bear witness to the proceedings. Soon Atlantis would be at full power for the first time since the Ancients had been defeated in the war with the Wraith and no one wanted to miss it. Those who weren't able to be there in person were watching on video feeds.

Using his position as head of the military to gain a front row advantage, John watched as Radek and several other senior team members conferred with Rodney over the test results, nodding and pointing at the screen. They looked happy with the results and that could only be a good thing. He wanted to pace but he'd already heard Rodney's thoughts on that so he stayed in place, arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

Around him, people were speculating what would happen when the city finally achieved one hundred percent power but John ignored them in favor of tuning into the conversation between Rodney and Radek. For one of the few times since they'd first arrived, the two men were not fighting. His attention was grabbed a few minutes later when all but Rodney and Radek moved to the periphery of the room.

"Okay, boys and girls. This is it." Rodney tapped his headset. "McKay to all personnel. ZedPM number two is ready for installation. Stand by." He turned to Radek. "On my mark…three…two…one…mark!"

The Czech pressed the top of the ZPM and it slowly sank into the console. A whine came from the device as it added this new power source to the one it already had. Radek turned. "Well?"

"All power levels are stable, no fluctuations. Looking good all across the board." A flash of irritation crossed his face when the spectators cheered. He turned to John needing his approval for a job well done. "Sheppard?"

The Colonel had his eyes closed rubbing his forehead, shoulders slumped as if in pain. "Yeah? Oh, uh, great job guys. What about the third one?" Glancing around the room, he noticed several others doing the same, the skin around their eyes pinched. There was something about these particular staff members, but he couldn't remember what just now. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard whispering. He shook his head relegating it to his imagination and tried to pay attention to Rodney and his team.

"We'll do some testing before installing the final ZedPM." Rodney peered at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

John stood up straight, his hand dropping to his side again. "I'm fine. Let's just get on with it." He let his eyes wander around the room seeing Chuck working just inside the door. The Gate Tech leaned on the console with one hand while the other rubbed his eyes until Rodney shouted for him to get back to work.

~~O~~

More than an hour later, Rodney finally proclaimed that the tests on the second ZPM were complete and they were ready to bring the city up to full power. Some of the spectators had wandered away though most had stayed. This was a momentous occasion and they didn't want to miss it.

Rodney and Radek had their heads together nodding and conferring in the language of physicists pointing and scanning, occasionally raising their voices in disagreement.

John watched and waited. Though his headache hadn't gone away, at least it hadn't gotten worse. When they were done, he planned on going to the Infirmary for pain killers. He'd have done so already but he wanted to be here when Atlantis returned to her former glory. Rodney's voice echoing over the PA brought his attention back to the room. He moved over to stand as close to the ZPM console as he could get so he wouldn't miss anything.

"Stand by for activation of the third ZedPM." As the head of the science department, Rodney claimed the honor of installing it. He set it in place, paused for a moment's reflection and laid his hand on top pressing gently until it lowered into place.

The lights flickered momentarily then steadied brighter than they had since they'd arrived. A cheer went up around the room and out in the hall. John knew it was happening all over the city.

But something was wrong. His headache suddenly increased to an unbearable level, he clutched his head, teeth clenched in pain. The last thing he heard before losing unconsciousness was Rodney's voice calling out.

~~O~~

As soon as the last ZedPM came on line, Rodney's headache got worse. Much worse. He frequently got them when working too many hours without bothering to rest or eat as he had been since they found the ZedPMs and drones. A groan and a thump swung him around in time to see John slump to the floor. "Sheppard!" He started to go to his friend, but dizziness assailed him as his hand came up to tap his headset. "M-Med-medical to-" The pain in his head shot up and his body shut down.

~~O~~

Shouts of alarm came from around the room and the hall within seconds. After checking on Rodney and Chuck, Radek tapped his headset as he went to John's side. "Medical to the ZPM room stat!"

"You'll have to wait. We have reports of people passing out all over the city." Jennifer's voice sounded in his ear, worried yet controlled. In the background he could hear voices calling out to each other as medical teams were sent to help.

"Rodney is one of the injured along with Colonel Sheppard, Sergeant Campbell and a few others." Around him, the onlookers were doing what they could for those who had collapsed, which wasn't much. For the most part all they could do was turn them on their backs and make sure they were able to breathe. A few medical personnel were in the group, moving from one to the other making quick assessments and reporting the Infirmary. Taking one last look around, he exhaled loudly, apprehension in his expression and his voice. "Jennifer, I cannot be certain of my conclusion as I do not know the others affected, but the injured here all have the ATA gene."

TBC