Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Genre: Adventure/Drama, AU

Rating: T/PG-13

Word Count: 2652

Archive?: Ask me first. Thanks.

Pairings: None (thought a bit of unrequited Zelenka/OC. Radek's completely clueless about it!)

Notes: Evan gets whumped (again), and Radek 's on his own. More clues to who Nadiya is and what the heck is going on. I also expanded on Evan's geology background My husband's family used to go gem hunting while he was growing up and I included that. It makes sense for Evan to have that kind of experience, considering in "Enemy Mine" (SG-1), he was running a naquadah mine before coming to Atlantis.

Three

When Evan opened his eyes, he wasn't completely alone. Pottery and statues occupied the pedestals and an occasional painting adorned the walls. The ache in his head had died to a dull throb, but his throat felt dry. Evan reached for his canteen, unscrewed it, and took a small sip.

That's funny. It's only half full now. What happened? He had a faint memory of someone giving him water...but who was it? Evan frowned; the person's name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't recall who it had been. Maybe it would come back to him later.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the room and brought him unsteadily to his own feet. A woman in a white, sleeveless gown ghosted past him without acknowledging his presence. She stopped at the doorway, swept her hand over the control panel to her right and walked through. Evan scrambled to follow, but the door hissed shut before he got to it.

He reached out with his left hand and touched the control panel, but nothing happened. It's probably keyed to whoever that woman is. What's her name? Nadriya. So how am I gonna get out of here?

Suddenly, the door's surface rippled and Evan felt a hard pull on his body. Before he could react, it had completely enveloped him and spit him out the other side. His reflexes kicked in and he rolled to his knees. His head spun and he had to will himself not to get sick.

"Ow," he muttered.

He blinked in the low light to see the image of Nadriya at the other side of the room. The outline of a suit of alien armor was visible through her body, so he knew this was probably a hologram of her. Nadriya was bent over a tray of exotic jewelry, carefully noting details on a computer tablet. She straightened up and glanced over his shoulder at him.

"I believe the exhibits over there are suited to your temperament," she said warmly. "Just be careful when you handle them."

"Wait a minute---" A sparkle of light caught his eye and he turned his head in that direction. Along one wall was a collection of gemstones rings and necklaces in various metal settings. Nearby were faceted crystal sculptures made of exotic minerals. The lights threw rainbows on the ceiling in ablaze of color.

His jaw hit the floor. He'd gone gem hunting with his uncle's family as a teenager; emeralds in North Carolina, turquoise in New Mexico, diamonds in Arkansas. One of his uncle's friends was a master jeweler who knew how to tumble and polish the raw material and make exquisite pieces. Even those didn't hold a candle to these treasures.

"You specialize in the composition and the uses of the treasures within the earth. The stones hold great interest for you, I can see. They tell stories that most people cannot understand, but you can."

Evan jumped at Nadriya's honeyed voice in his ear. He hadn't even heard her approach, which was a bad sign. He tried to turn his head to address her, and succeeded with difficulty. It was as if his limbs were stuck in molasses and he felt a flare of pure panic as her breath tickled the back of his neck.

"How'd you know that?" he whispered.

"How did I know you are a geologist by training?" Nadriya chuckled as he shivered. "I know many things about you, Evan. You aren't like the others."

A drop of sweat slid down his forehead and into his hair. He didn't even bother asking how she knew his name. "How am I different from the others?"

"You protect life, not seek to destroy it. You struggle to understand, not presume superiority. You appreciate the soul, not deny it doesn't exist." She chuckled again and Evan gritted his teeth against a wash of warmth that set his face ablaze. "And you are not ashamed of who you are."

"What do you want with me?"

"To understand and to learn about those whom the Lanteans wished to destroy in their quest for knowledge." Nadriya's tone was hypnotic. "And then to reveal that knowledge to the unenlightened. The Lanteans were not as benevolent as they seemed."

"Lanteans?" Evan wasn't familiar with the term, but he guessed what it meant. "You mean the Ancients?"

Nadriya chuckled. "I suppose to your people, the Lanteans would seem ancient, yes. The word 'ancient' implies great age, which implies great wisdom. In many ways, they were hardly wise."

Evan knew that the Ancients had not been perfect; hearing Rodney McKay's complaints about their malfunctioning technology was proof of that. They'd waltzed back to Atlantis and practically booted the Expedition out with little more than a polite, "Thank you, we'll take over from here." They weren't exactly high on Evan's list, but the fact still was that they had built Atlantis.

The artifacts came from cultures that the Ancients had wiped out. Evan shivered again, this time with revulsion. Why?

"The answers are here. Let me show you." She slid her palms down his arms in a seductive manner that made him blush again. He wasn't an innocent, but this blatant show of control both unnerved and angered him. He couldn't stop her, and his voice was frozen deep in his throat.

She isn't a hologram if she can touch me! Dammit, let go of me! She guided his hands to an animal statue carved out of smooth rose quartz and placed his fingers on the surface. His thumb brushed against the symbol on the top of the statue and a jolt of electricity coursed through him.

Oh, hell, here we go again...

Radek Zelenka cursed as Major Lorne's body went into convulsions. He had been unable to rouse Lorne from deep unconsciousness and panic nearly overcame him. Then running footsteps approached them and Carson Beckett fell to his knees beside Radek. The Scotsman swore oaths under his breath as he took charge.

"Careful, Radek, we have to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Turn the major onto his side; we have to make sure his airway's clear---"

"Carson! The major struck his head and opened a cut. I cleaned and bandaged it, and he woke up briefly, but I wasn't able to keep him awake." Radek glanced sideways at the doctor. "How did you get in here?"

"I dunno. One minute I was out on the plaza, taking cover behind a marble bench with Elizabeth and the others...the next, I was in a dimly lit room surrounded by broken shards of pottery." Carson managed a shrug, even as he and Radek held on to Lorne. "There was a burst of light from the door to the building---"

"Yes, that's how we were sucked in too. I've spent some time trying to find a way out of here, but there isn't any." Radek blew out a breath as he felt the shudders ease, and in moments, Lorne was still. "We need to get the major out of here."

Carson nodded grimly. "He needs to be in the Infirmary. I don't have my medkit with me and if he's having seizures---" He broke off what he was going to say, but Radek knew what would happen if they didn't get out of here: Major Lorne would die.

A shadow fell over the walls, making Radek jump. It gathered itself into the faint image of a woman wearing an Ancient gown. Her dark hair was tied back in a severe bun, her features hard with determination. Carson sucked in a breath as the apparition hovered a foot or so off the floor, then moved deeper into the room. It stopped and turned expectantly towards them.

"Who is she?" Radek whispered.

"She's wearing the same sort of dress that Elizabeth's 10,000-year-old counterpart wore in the stasis chamber," Carson whispered back. "She's got to be an Ancient. I think she wants us to follow her."

"We can't leave Major Lorne, and we can't move him."

"Aye." He narrowed his eyes at the Ancient. "I don't know if she understands that---"

The woman raised a hand and pointed at Radek, then made a beckoning gesture. Then she turned slightly to Carson and shook her head. She turned and began floating away from them.

"She wants you to follow her, Radek. I'll stay here with Evan."

He swallowed hard, but he knew that Carson was more qualified to help Lorne than he was. "Take care of him," he said.

Carson clapped him on the shoulder in reassurance. "I will. Go, lad."

Radek managed a smile, then got up and followed the ghostly woman. She paused by the far wall and lifted her hand to a control panel. He frowned, for he could have sworn this was not here when he looked for a way out of the room.

"I don't have the ATA Gene," he spoke aloud, "but Carson does. Maybe he should---"

The woman turned to him and he could feel her glare. He swallowed again and passed his hand over the panel. The door slid open, much to his surprise. She passed through the portal, with Radek following close behind. The door slid shut behind him, cutting him off from Carson. He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Rodney had set up several laptops in the Ancient laboratory to process the information from the laboratory's computers. He programmed others to cross-index that information with the main Atlantis database. So far, what he, Zeina El-Hamra, and Elizabeth had analyzed was just short of amazing.

His screen currently displayed a manifest from an Ancient ship. It listed artifacts that matched many of those in the laboratory archive. Vases, tapestries, jewelry, pottery...a virtual treasure trove of items from many worlds in the Pegasus galaxy.

Daniel Jackson would die if he saw all this, Rodney thought. Then he mentally sighed and added, Again. Geez, the man's come back from the dead enough times...

"I wonder what Daniel would say about all this."

He rolled his eyes at Zeina El-Hamra . "Daniel? What, you two on first name basis?"

El-Hamra chuckled. "I worked with him at the SGC before coming here. The man is a certified linguistic genius." She gave him a sideways look. "Of course, you are a genius of two galaxies, while he is of only one."

"Flattery isn't going to go far with me, Hamster." Despite his words, Rodney felt honored by the sincerity of her tone. He was horrible with names, and hers was no exception, but he'd stuck her with that nickname after an incident with Carson Beckett, a mouse retrovirus, and mutant killer rodents on PXU-398. At least, Rodney used the nickname consistently, which said something. After all, it took months before he got Zelenka's name right.

The thought of Radek sobered him. Who knew what kind of horrors the Czech was experiencing in that building? Evan Lorne and Carson were also trapped in there; how much longer before someone else got sucked into that Ancient equivalent of a black hole?

The laptop he was working on beeped, indicating it had found something. He scrolled down the screen and shook his head. "Oh, no. This is so not good."

"What is it?" El-Hamra asked.

"This inventory has more than just a list of antiques. Look here---" He pointed at one set of symbols. "That look familiar to you?"

She nodded. "That looks like a Gate address."

"And it's not just any planet." Rodney split the screen into two, with the inventory on the left and a star map on the right. "MRF-197."

"Wasn't that the one with the Ancient device that nearly sucked your brains out?"

Rodney huffed, exasperated. "Thank you for the reminder, Hamster. The next one's PXJ-533---"

"The random personality switcheroo thing?"

He winced. Now he knew how it felt to be within Ronon's body, with some of the Satedan's more caveman personality traits. It was not an experience he wanted to repeat. Ever. At least he'd been spared being stuck in Teyla's body, unlike Sheppard. The colonel still refused to talk about the ordeal.

"MTX-232---"

"The fire suppression system that nearly drowned Lorne's team and half a city with them?"

Rodney huffed again. "That's the point. On every planet on this list, there was an Ancient device that didn't work the way it was supposed to, and half of those things nearly killed an important member of the Expedition...me."

"You mean they left a booby trap for anyone who came after them. That way, no one could scrutinize their actions too closely."

"Precisely." Rodney snapped his fingers. "The question becomes, what were they hiding?"

Elizabeth's voice came from the doorway. "I might have a piece to that puzzle, Rodney. "I looked up the name 'Nadriya' in Atlantis's database. Turns out she wasn't exactly Public Enemy Number One to the Ancients, but she was close enough to it."

"Really? The Ancients hated her?" Rodney frowned as Elizabeth came over and pulled up her research on El-Hamra's screen.

"She was a pretty big thorn in their side," John Sheppard said. Rodney jumped; he hadn't even heard Sheppard enter the room after Elizabeth. "Didn't exactly agree with their rules. Sounded like she was somewhat of a rebel."

Rodney's mouth twitched upward. "Ah, something you're quite familiar with, Colonel?"

"Let's just say she was very spirited, Rodney."

Elizabeth cleared her throat, then read aloud, "She was a vocal critic of the Council during the war with theWraith. The Ancients had sought allies in their fight, but only succeeding in alienating many of those potential allies. Skirmishes broke out, resulting in the destruction of countless civilizations. Nadriya and her followers wanted to preserve the remnants of those dying cultures, against the Council's wishes."

"Heartless," El-Hamra said.

"Look at it from their perspective, Zeina. The Ancients devoted all their resources to their war with the Wraith. They didn't have the manpower to spare. They were already losing by the time Nadriya entered the scene." Elizabeth shook her head. "It didn't stop her from trying. She got caught in a Wraith attack on PXV-784---"

John narrowed his eyes. "That's the pheromone booby-trap planet, isn't it?"

"Thanks for the reminder," Rodney shot back, his face red from embarrassment. "As I recall, everyone was affected by the pheromones, including you."

"I wasn't the one who decided skinny-dipping in the hot springs was a good idea---"

Elizabeth fought to keep a straight face. "Nadriya's group was either killed or culled in the attack. She was the only survivor. The Ancients found her and brought her back, but she'd been severely injured. Her mental state was fragile, and the Ancients provided her with the best of care. They allowed her to live in the rooms above her studio, permanently."

"They kept her a prisoner in her own dwelling," El-Hamra read. "I still say they are heartless."

John shook his head. "But what does all this have to do with Lorne, Zelenka and Beckett?"

'No, not you. You are like the others. You take and take and take, and never give. One day, you will reap the seeds of your arrogance.' I think she was referring to the Ancients, but she also directed it to us." Elizabeth's voice was quiet. "Think about it. What do Evan, Radek and Carson have in common?"

John frowned. "Carson's a doctor. Zelenka's an engineer. Lorne's a soldier. Not much in common there."

"All three give of themselves selflessly, John. Yes, Carson's a doctor, but he does it because he wants to. Radek does it when he helps you when Atlantis is in a crisis, Rodney. The same with Evan; he's your executive officer, and how many times has he saved your skin when you're in trouble off-world?" Elizabeth raised a quizzical eyebrow at both men. "And they're so quiet about it, we hardly notice it."

Rodney flushed and studied the screen in front of him, while John shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. She was right, of course she was right, but neither man dealt with emotional issues well. El Hamra said nothing, for she felt this was an awkward moment among the senior staff.

"All right...maybe you have a point, but it still doesn't answer why Nadiya took them." Rodney tapped keys on his laptop as he spoke, "or how we'll get them back."

"We have to contact Nadriya again and get her to release them." Elizabeth said in a resolute tone. "We have to find out what is it she wants and how we can settle this."

"How are you planning to get this woman to talk to us again? Every time she shows up, all she does is complain about how selfish and arrogant we are."

"Rodney's got a point. What if she won't talk with us?"

Elizabeth pressed her lips together and glanced at El Hamra. "She'll talk to us. It's obvious she wants something, but if we don't know what it is, we can't do anything. I have an idea that might work."