AN: Okay, there will have to be some reviews before I post on here again! I'm pretty much past the writing block for now, so we'll see how things go. I'm hoping to post again soon, but as I said before, classes are kicking my butt. I'm working on this as much as possible.
For those of you with Facebook, my roommates are coming up with some amazing jokes about their new stalker page. Just thought you'd like to know that.
Okay, enjoy and don't forget to review!
o0o
Elizabeth was not happy. Major Lorne had just dialed in, and she could tell by the sound of his voice that things hadn't gone well.
"Ronon searched the entire area for more clues as to where they went, but he couldn't find anything. If they're in a ship, they could pretty much be anywhere by now." Lorne broke off for a second before getting back on the radio. "Teyla says she can't sense any Wraith, so it's unlikely that they had anything to do with this."
Elizabeth rubbed her forehead. "What are your thoughts, Major?"
"Ma'am, I recommend setting up surveillance on the Gate, just in case something does come through here. I'd also like to bring a puddle jumper here and do an aerial survey of the river."
"Very well, Major. Leave three of your team and whatever equipment they need, and then come back through for the jumper. Atlantis out." Elizabeth stared at the Gate for a moment, wishing as she always did that John wouldn't get himself into these kinds of messes.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"There has to be some kind of mechanism hidden in the walls. You can't have a room without a door." John had spent the last four hours going over every inch of the walls around them, his frustration mounting as his search continued to yield nothing. "How are you coming with that radio?"
"I still can't get a signal. The walls are probably shielding everything, which means the signals I'm sending out probably aren't getting anywhere either. Of course, the trip in the river probably didn't help, either."
John bit back a curse and resisted the urge to punch the wall. He frowned as he eyed the wall again. "Hey, Jill? There's something off about this section. It's…rippling or – What the hell!"
John backpedaled until he was standing in front of Jill. The wall he had just been examining had seemed to melt, and then to his astonishment, a figure had stepped through. He couldn't tell what it looked like because it had a large black cloak on, kinda like a monk, but it was huge, whatever it was.
He stepped forward again, hoping to keep the thing's attention on him just in case it had any wild ideas about inflicting pain on its guests. That happened a lot in the Pegasus Galaxy.
"Who are you?"
The voice was very deep, and the words were spoken slowly, as though the monk thing wasn't used to speaking.
John took another step forward, trying to appear non-threatening. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. Who are you?"
The thing ignored him and looked in the direction of Jill. "Who are you?"
"Dr. Jillian Abbot," she answered calmly.
"You are the Ancient Ones."
John narrowed his eyes. "That depends on who's asking."
"We are Narech."
John looked questioningly at Jill, who shook her head. "We're not really familiar with anyone by that name. Could you elaborate further?"
The thing growled at him. "We are Narech. Students."
"Oh! Students. Right. Umm…what do you study?"
"Ancient Ones."
That didn't sound good. "Yeah, see, we're not Ancient Ones. We're just simple, honest folk like, well, like I'm assuming you to be. We'd just like to get back home and then we won't bother you anymore."
"Do not lie to us. We sensed you on our world. We brought you here for study."
Jill pulled herself to her feet, wincing. "You made the bridge collapse."
"That is correct."
John didn't have time for this. "Look, we're not really interested in being studied, so if you could just drop us off at the nearest Stargate, we'd appreciate it."
The thing swung out at him, catching him in the chest and pushing him into the wall. He slid to the floor, trying to catch his breath as Jill limped over to him.
"We will begin our study tomorrow." The thing moved back through the wall, leaving Jill to help John stand.
"You know, I'm really starting to worry about the kind of studying they'll be doing." John nodded to Jill that he could stand on his own. "We have got to find a way out of here and back to the city."
"And leave all this beauty?"
"Haha. I just don't like being away for long periods of time, especially right now."
"Oh. I see. You're worried about the spy taking advantage of you being gone."
"How did you know about -" Comprehension dawned on John's face as he realized exactly how she had known. "You're the spy."
Jill's face betrayed no emotion. "I'm an M.I.6 agent, on loan to the IOA. I was sent here to make a full report on the activities of the ranking officials in the city."