A/N: This isn't my best chapter. I've been very sick, but wanted to get this chapter finished and uploaded so please be kind.
"Okay," Elizabeth looked around the conference room. "We've got the DHD working and it looks as though we're ready to see a structural engineering team to the ruins to see if they're stable enough for our science team to study."
"Dietz is still recovering from his injuries." Rodney stated. "I suggest we put Arnie Kelso in charge of the engineering teams."
"Arnie Kelso?" Elizabeth looked down at her list. "Isn't Lonnie Newton next in charge after Dietz?"
Rodney nodded. "Yes, he is, but Kelso has proven that he can keep his head on Jurassic. Newton has never been off of Atlantis and has never expressed interest in doing so. He's a little….skittish." Rodney managed to inject just a hint of disdain into his voice.
John and Teyla grinned at each other remembering the first few times McKay had went off world with them. He had jumped, flinched, and ducked at everything little thing.
"Do you really want Jurassic to be his first experience?" John added nonchalantly, backing up Rodney's choice.
He was in on Rodney's game plan. They had in fact spent a couple of hours working out different arguments to any obstacle Elizabeth could put up. It was true Newton wanted to stay safely on Atlantis, but that could be partly to the somewhat exaggerated details of the danger he'd be facing on Jurassic that John, Rodney, and Ronon had given him when they asked him if he was going to spearhead the engineering project. Newton despised McKay and would have vetoed his presence so it was essential to the plan that Kelso be in charge instead of Newton.
Elizabeth eyed the two men. "I see your point. Kelso it is then." Elizabeth clicked her earpiece. "Arnie Kelso please report to the conference room."
"While we wait, what about the military rotation?" Elizabeth asked John.
"I was hoping to send a team with experience on Jurassic at first along with a second team to break them in, but Parker's the only team that qualifies except ours and I'm not sure Parker's the right one to send since they're still integrating Lt. Nelson." Sheppard frowned thoughtfully.
"We could pull Marketts team from Belaran. They have experience guarding civilians if not Jurassic. I'm sure they'd like a break." Elizabeth suggested.
"I don't think they'll think of Jurassic as a break. Still we should pull them from Belaran. Perhaps send Parker's team there for a couple weeks - easy duty, a chance to get familiar with each other."
Elizabeth nodded and made a notation on her tablet.
"It's either us or Captain Allen's team. Allen just came off light duty and is itching to get off world and the rest of his team has been to Jurassic." Sheppard finally stated.
"Why not both of us?" Ronon rumbled right on cue. "We go as the team with experience and take Allen's team to break in."
"That sounds like the way to go." Rodney piped up as the conference room doors swung open and admitted Kelso.
Kelson glanced around at the assembled personnel and swallowed nervously. "You requested to see me, Ma'am?"
Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. "Yes, Arnie. Come in; sit down."
Arnie cautiously sat down. He didn't think he had done anything on Jurassic to get himself in trouble, but perhaps he had offended Sheppard's team in some obscure way. Why else would he be called in to face the top brass?
"How would you feel about leading the structural engineering team on Jurassic?" Elizabeth asked.
"Leading?" Arnie swallowed. "On Jurassic?" He nearly squeaked.
"Yes." Elizabeth leaned back in her chair and waited for his response.
"Um, Ma'am Lonnie Newton is next in line in the Engineering Department." He looked around a little confused. "Shouldn't he be the one in charge of the project?"
"Mr. Newton has apparently expressed a desire to stay on Atlantis and you have received votes of confidence from Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay." Elizabeth informed him.
"Really?" Arnie looked pleased and ill at the same time.
"Kelso," Rodney leaned forward. "We're talking Ancient ruins not caves. No traipsing back and forth day and night through the jungle. A more humid Belaran." He keyed up the drawing of the ruins making sure to show the side with the most intact wall. "A fortified wall around the ruins and electromagnetic poles around the areas being surveyed. And Reanna says the only dinosaurs she saw on this side of the mountains were a few frilled lizards."
"Ah, well, that does make a difference." Arnie looked a little less terrified as he took in the huge structures and the surrounding wall. "Do I get a say in my team?"
"Of course. We'll need two full teams. They'll be there approximately four weeks."
"I accept then."
"Good!" Dr. Weir beamed at him. "You have three days to get your personnel together, packed and in the jumper bay. I'd like to see a personnel and a supply list within the next day and a half." She gave him a nod.
Arnie nodded and stood up. He quickly left the conference room his mind whirling with choices and possibilities.
"Don't think you're fooling anyone, Rodney." Elizabeth smiled tolerantly at him as she referred back to the conversation Kelso's arrival had interrupted. "You just want to get to the ruins four weeks earlier than everyone else."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Elizabeth." Rodney replied indignantly. "I'm part of the team. I've put in my time on the firing range and I think I've proven myself over the years and on Jurassic. If the team goes, I should go."
"If I agree to John's team going, it will be to guard the engineers. I'll expect the entire team to guard the engineers not disappear for hours only to be found studying some obscure tech in a yet to be cleared building." She leveled a stern gaze at him.
Rodney's hands twitched nervously. "I can, ah, guard the engineers as they study the, ah, structural integrity of the buildings. I don't have a problem with that at all." He looked at Elizabeth earnestly.
Elizabeth grinned at him. "I'm sure you can….and will. Of course, if you happen to accidentally notice something while guarding them…."
"Well, you know, if its blatantly in plain sight…." Rodney grinned back at her mischievously.
"We'll guard in pairs." John said dryly. "We'll go with Allen's team; stay a week or two then trade off with Thompson's team. Parker can trade off with Allen a week later followed by Marketts, Buivere, Jenkins, and Lorne."
#
Three days later the jumper bay was full of barely awake engineers yawning and staggering under their packs. The marines were loading one puddle jumper with gear, equipment and supplies. Half of the engineers would be in a second jumper with Allen's team and the other half in a third jumper with Sheppard's team. After unloading and securing the perimeter two of the jumpers would return to Atlantis.
Reanna was off to one side talking to Ronon and Teyla. She was desperately trying to remember every detail she could to increase the safety margin.
"I…I will come with you." She finally said frantically.
"No, Reanna," Teyla replied gently. "I do not believe that would be wise at the moment."
"But, Rodney…"
"We'll protect him." Ronon said firmly.
Reanna looked over to where Rodney was standing with John supervising the loading and briefing the engineers that had never been to Jurassic. "He called me his daughter." She whispered. "I do not wish to lose two fathers."
Teyla and Ronon traded looks. Daughter? What had happened to niece?
"We love him too." Ronon said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust us."
Reanna took a deep breath and nodded.
"Okay everyone it's time to go." Sheppard called out. The engineers and marines trouped aboard the jumpers.
Ronon and Teyla followed Sheppard into the jumper. Rodney looked over at Reanna. She was hugging herself trying to be stoic and not embarrass him in front of the others. With a silent sigh, he held out his arms. Reanna rushed into his embrace, hugging him hard. "Please be careful."
"I will. I'll even listen to Sheppard and Ronon." Rodney murmured softly placing a kiss on her forehead. "Now go on people are staring."
Reanna hugged him hard one more time and ran from the bay. She hurried down the stairs to the control room coming to a stop against the railing just as the first jumper lowered down from the bay and shot forward into the Star Gate. The other two quickly followed and then the Gate shut down. Reanna remained at the railing, gripping it tightly, thinking of her friends, her family, now on Jurassic without her to protect them.
#
The jumpers cleared the Gate and veered northwest toward the mountain range. Several colorful birds scattered before them their raucous calls shattering the silent morning.
Below them, startled grazers took flight racing across the meadow and disappearing in the trees.
"Atlantis, we are through the Gate and headed for the ruins. Nothing more threatening than a few large birds." Sheppard reported. "We'll dial in before nightfall to give a preliminary report."
"Copy, Colonel Sheppard. Atlantis out."
#
"Re, they'll be okay." Evan's voice was soft and sympathetic behind her. "Come on," he placed his hands on her arms, "let's take a walk."
Reanna hung her head with a sigh and released the railing allowing Evan to turn her toward the back stairs. Dejectedly, she took the stairs down to the corridor and slowly trudged down the corridor with Evan. Finally, she sighed and straightened up. "I wish we could just leave that world alone. Stay away from it."
"Reanna, they are in the jumpers; flying high above all the dangers of Jurassic. They'll land as close to the ruins as possible."
"There are still dangers once they land; different kind of predators."
"Which you've told them about."
"What if the buildings collapse?"
"That's what the engineers are there to determine. If they don't think the buildings are stable, the scientists don't go in."
"I know I'm being silly." She said softly, looking up at him.
"No, not silly." He sighed. "That world signifies your every worst nightmare, your every fear, but McKay is going to be in those ruins a lot and you can't stop that and you can't let yourself become overtaken with fear the entire time. It's not good for you or for anyone else. When you show so much terror, you increase other peoples' fears since they know that you know what to expect."
"So I must be brave for them." Reanna sighed.
Evan pulled her into his arms and held her tight. "You don't have to act brave around me." He murmured.
#
Rodney fidgeted with barely contained excitement in the co-pilot seat as they quickly passed over the meadow and the forest that hid Reanna's small cave then they were flying over the edge of the cliff and the plain stretched out below them. It had taken him awhile and some very intense thought to finally figure out the one argument most likely to get him to the ruins with the engineers. Radek had been fool enough to bet him that he couldn't convince Elizabeth to send him with the advance team. Ha! He had won that one. He grinned smugly as he studied the detailed drawing of the ruins. He was even willing to stand guard duty in order to be here four weeks before the others.
Looking out the side Rodney could see the river and a small lake shimmering in the distance. Pterodactyls glided on the currents while brachiosaurus' lumbered sedately across the flat ground. Smaller animals could be seen moving under and around the gentle giants.
"Do you see them? Pterodactyls!"
"Amazing!"
"Are those brachiosaurus'?"
"I think so."
Rodney and Sheppard grinned at each other as the other two jumpers talked back and forth in stunned surprise. The creatures were breath-taking especially from the safety of the puddle jumpers. Several of the engineers and marines in their jumper tried to get a view out of the window. Ronon and Teyla moved to the back to give them room up front since they had seen the creatures already.
Ahead Rodney could see the mountains looming larger and larger the closer they got. As they skimmed the mountains he saw huge slow moving shapes on the high snow covered slopes.
"Sheppard," he said in an excited voice, "look." He pointed down at the shapes.
John looked over at him. "Mastodons?"
"Or Mammoths."
"Want to get closer?" John's eyes glowed with excitement.
Rodney just gave him a look.
John grinned and guided the jumper lower until the shapes took definition. Everyone in the back of the jumper jostled to get a view of the great beasts before they were past them.
"Jumper 2 and 3 we're slowing down for a little sightseeing." John said as he slowed the jumper so they could get a good look. Smaller shapes moved stealthily behind the mammoths.
"Wolves?"
"Probably."
The jumpers cleared the mountain range and soared over a forest that blanketed the lower sides of the mountains and spilled down into the flat lands before giving way to grasslands.
Minutes later all discussion on the differences between the jungle by the Gate and forest on this side of the mountains ended as the ruins came into view. Huge herds of some deer-type animal raced across the mesa startled by the jumpers.
"Fresh meat." Ronon rumbled happily.
"No MREs" Teyla added with a grin.
Everyone fell silent as they took in the massive size of the buildings and the wall that surrounded them. Rodney was, for once, too overwhelmed to speak. He just turned a glowing countenance toward Sheppard and grinned, a face-splitting grin.
"You're like a kid at Christmas." John teased, grinning back at him.
"This is going to be so much better than any Christmas I have ever had." Rodney said joyfully. He turned back toward the ruins taking in the arched bridges that spanned the river and connected to buildings on the other side. "Radek is going to be green with envy when I send him a video feed." Rodney gloated as he operated the video camera.
Ronon chuckled at his exuberance. It was very rare indeed that the cynical façade slipped in public and rarer still that he showed such boyish glee.
"Let's take a quick air survey before landing." John said to the other two jumpers. "See what we can of the defensive wall then we'll know where the most obvious weak points are."
"Yes, Sir."
Slowly, the three jumpers circled the ruins. The marines studying the wall from a defensive standpoint; the engineers that could fit in the front section taking a quick once over of the structures; Rodney stared enraptured at the structures imagining all the equipment, experiments, and knowledge stored inside the rough buildings.
"It'll take an entire day just to survey and secure the perimeter." Captain Allen said.
"I'm not sure we can even secure the entire area." Kelso replied. "Some of that wall is nothing but rubble."
"Yes, yes, yes all good observations." Rodney snapped impatiently. "But better, more accurate observations could be had from the ground." His hands flew over his keypad as he uploaded the aerial view and queued it to send to Radek's computer when the Gate activated.
Sheppard chuckled. "You heard the man. Where do we set down, McKay?"
Rodney pulled his gaze from the spire with obvious reluctance. "As much as I hate to say it, one of the smaller buildings are probably the best bet for stability, but I'm not an engineer. Kelso is and he's in charge of this phase so, Kelso where do we set up camp?"
"Oh, ah," Kelso spluttered momentarily caught by surprise at Dr. McKay deferring to him. He studied the massive outpost in front of him. "I believe you are correct, Dr. McKay. The northeast building looks to be mostly intact and we should be able to confirm structural stability before dark of at least a good portion of it."
The jumpers landed near an opening in the wall and the marines poured out. They quickly scanned the immediate area and made their way through the wall and into the outpost. They planted two poles, but didn't activate them. Instead, they left two guards and moved on into the interior. They checked out the immediate surroundings and made a quick sweep inside the building before giving the all clear.
The back entrance had collapsed and the main door to the building was stuck open so they stuck two more poles up. These they activated.
The engineers cautiously left the jumpers and hurried toward the relative safety the stone walls provided. They unpacked their equipment and in the company of Atkins and Brenner began an external survey of the building.
Rodney stood in the middle of a huge pile of equipment. He looked around hungrily, but knew he wouldn't get two feet before Ronon or Sheppard stopped him, especially since they were both eyeing him like hawks. "What?" he finally asked. "Just standing here."
"Uh huh," Sheppard drawled. "I'm serious, McKay. Don't go in any building until we get the all clear."
"Wasn't even thinking of it." Rodney replied innocently.
"Then what were you thinking?" Ronon asked suspiciously.
Ah, Rodney had been saving this question. "I was wondering why they built the outpost so far from the Gate."
His team mates looked suspicious still, but they had to admit it was a valid question.
"Drier climate." Jing said from where he was analyzing data by the building. "The high humidity and excessive foliage on that side of the mountains would have wrecked havoc on this type stone."
"Then why not locate the Gate here? Fewer predators. Enough room to place the Gate within walking distance or even within the outpost itself." Rodney was genuinely confused by the arrangement.
Jing looked at him blankly. "I have no idea. Yet. Perhaps one of your scientists can answer that once they begin studying this place."
"Hmmm, perhaps."
He looked at Sheppard; Sheppard gazed back knowledgeably. Finally, Rodney shifted irritably and asked testily. "So what? We stand here and stare at each other all day?"
Sheppard's eyes narrowed. "No, we need to secure the perimeter. Atkins and Brenner will stay here with the engineers. Allen and Mortens – sweep the interior. Ronon and Teyla go left; take some poles secure the breaks in the wall. Rodney and I will go right and do the same."
They split up and began walking the perimeter. Rodney and Sheppard walked silence for awhile as they studied the wall for damage.
After about an hour, Rodney said, "You know we really shouldn't be paired up."
"What?" Sheppard frowned at him.
"We shouldn't. You love a mystery as much as I do. And these buildings are full of mysteries."
"We aren't going in."
"No, no of course we aren't. I'm just saying." Rodney slanted a look at him.
"You're going to have at least two weeks."
"Yes, two weeks of guarding the engineers and not being allowed to study anything."
"True, but you can prioritize."
"Prioritize?" Rodney scrunched his face up.
"Yes." Sheppard drawled. "As you are 'guarding' the engineers you can take note of what's in each room and then make a list of what you want to explore first."
Rodney's face lit up. "You're right. Maybe guard duty won't be as big a waste of time as I originally thought it would be."
Sheppard nodded and stopped at the next gap in the wall. "You know, this wall isn't as solid as it appears from a distance. I don't think we have enough poles to secure the entire outpost."
Rodney stopped and pulled out a scanner. He pulled up the schematic of the outpost and saw how little they had actually covered. "I believe you're right."
Sheppard clicked his radio. "Plan revision." He said. "We're going to run out of poles before we run out of wall. We're going to have to secure a smaller area. Pull the poles up to the building we're going to be in. We'll secure the immediate area tonight."
"Yes, Sir."
"Copy, Sheppard."
"Colonel Sheppard, the engineers have finished the external survey and are ready to enter the building."
"Roger, Corporal. Keep us informed."
"And don't touch anything." Rodney added firmly. "Not even if it looks empty; especially if it looks empty. It most likely isn't."
"Yes, Sir."
They met back at the building and strung the poles between the wall and the building cordoned off the space between the building and the next building and the wall.
"There! Safe and sound." Sheppard grinned.
Teyla grinned back at him.
"Just in time for lunch." Rodney said, rubbing his hands together. "And since the hunter hasn't had time to bring home the bacon," Ronon glared at him; he smirked back. "I guess its MREs."
"Ah, Sir, if you don't need us anymore, we'd like to head back." One of the jumper pilots said to Sheppard eyeing the MREs.
"I think we're good here. We'll just finish unloading and you can head back."
"We've already unloaded."
"Alright then. Go."
It was getting dark by the time the engineers were satisfied that the building wasn't going to collapse on them overnight. Sheppard had Mortens take the jumper up and dial into Atlantis and report their progress. The gear was carried into the building and arranged to give at least a semblance of privacy. With sixteen people in one room, large though it was, there wasn't going to be much privacy.
Sheppard and Allen was setting up a guard duty roster just to be on the safe side; the engineers were unpacking and arranging equipment and laptops and trying to decide on a definite course of action now that they were here and could see the actual size of things; the marines were mostly outside staying out of the way.
Teyla came up to Rodney who was routing through the pile of MREs. "Any good ones?"
Rodney snorted. "If we had a fire to heat them up."
"We need only to go get wood." Teyla said suggestively.
Rodney looked at her with a gleam in his eyes. "Sheppard!" He barked.
"Busy."
"We're going to get firewood."
Sheppard waved a hand distractedly at him.
Rodney and Teyla traded glances. One day Sheppard would learn not to answer them when distracted. They gathered Ronon up on the way and headed out.
"Manny, want hot food?" Rodney hissed as he passed the engineer.
"What? Yes." Manny said fervently.
"Help collect wood. Come on." Rodney saw the hesitation on his face. "We've got Teyla and Ronon and we'll collect a marine or two in passing and we'll take the jumper."
"Alright." Manny agreed gamely.
Outside, Ronon growled, "Atkins, come on."
Atkins started toward them not even questioning the order.
"Whoa," Mortens called out. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Firewood." Ronon stated.
"I need to clear…."
"Sheppard already cleared it."
"Just let me…."
"You think I'm lying?" Ronon asked silkily.
"Ah, no." Mortens swallowed. "Go ahead Atkins."
Rodney powered up the puddle jumper and smoothly guided it toward the tree line. He set down as close to the forest as he could get. "Different dangers here." He said as the back hatch lowered. "Prehistoric wolves, bears, tigers, etc. so stay alert."
"Atkins and I will watch." Ronon said.
They tried to stay to the edges of the forest while gathering enough wood to heat not only dinner and breakfast, but also to keep the chill off during the night. Small woodland creatures could be heard high in the trees and deep in the brush, but no large predators made an appearance in the deepening gloom.
They made several trips back to the jumper, piling the wood up on each side leaving a narrow path down the middle. Finally, judging they had enough, Rodney made his way to the pilot seat, powering up the jumper as the rest entered the jumper.
"Shields! Now!" Ronon yelled.
Automatically, Rodney thought 'Shields!'
The force field activated with a low hum. Rodney spun around and froze. Lumbering slowly toward the jumper was the largest gorilla he had ever seen. Even on all fours the thing was as tall as the jumper. The gorilla stared at them curiously before reaching out a massive hand. Even with the shield activated everyone took a step back from the opening as the gorilla's hand blocked practically the entire opening.
The gorilla roared with pain as the shield flared and electricity raced through it's palm. Instinctively, the gorilla swung, attacking the source of its pain. The shield flared brighter as its hand bounced harmlessly off. Roaring, the gorilla flung itself at the jumper causing it to rock slightly.
"Rodney, do something!" Teyla hollered.
"What do you suggest?" Rodney snapped, fear sharpening his voice.
"I could shoot it." Ronon pulled his gun.
"Hello, shield. You want me to deactivate it?"
Ronon snarled in frustration.
"Okay, okay." Rodney breathed. "Think; don't react." He sent a thought to the jumper and the back hatch closed. "I'm going to try and take off angled away from King Kong and the forest."
"Good idea." Atkins agreed weakly.
"Yes, good idea as long as he isn't strong enough to knock us into the trees." Rodney said, concerned and concentrating hard on controlling the jumper.
A heavy blow knocked them sideways slightly. Rodney's face clenched and sweat beaded across his forehead as he fought for control. He heard the shrill scrape as the shield slid across the tree branches then they were in the clear and headed for the outpost.
It was fully dark when the landed outside the wall and began unloading the firewood. Brenner and Mortens came out to help them. Soon they had a small fire going inside and the MREs were heating up.
"Man, you should have seen it." Atkins said to Brenner. "It must have been ten, twelve feet tall on all fours!"
"Surely you're exaggerating." Brenner scoffed.
"I'm telling you, Dr. McKay called it King Kong."
"King Kong?" Sheppard inquired with a sharp look at his team. "Anyone want to tell the rest of us what Atkins is talking about?"
"Giant gorilla." Rodney said distractedly as he checked his dinner.
Sheppard raised an eyebrow.
"A giant….gorilla came out of the forest as we were preparing to leave. It was curious about the puddle jumper." Teyla informed him. "We raised shields, closed the rear hatch, and returned here."
"Curious?"
"It tried to touch it."
"And then just about knocked us into the trees as we were taking off." Rodney told him. "No harm done!" He assured him quickly. "Shields held."
Sheppard just stalked outside to check on the jumper himself. Everyone was eating hot MREs when he came back in.
"Well?" Rodney asked sulkily.
"It's fine." Sheppard said.
"Told you."
Sheppard didn't respond. He just retrieved his own MRE from beside the fire and sat down to eat. When he finished he said, "Everyone should get some sleep. Guard duty – two hour shifts: Rodney and I'll take first shift, Allen and Mortens, Ronon and Teyla, then Brenner and Atkins."
No one argued. The engineers eagerly crawled into their sleeping bags. Sheppard motioned to Rodney and together they walked outside. In companionable silence they walked around the perimeter. The full moon shone down illuminating the buildings and casting inky black shadows.
"They expect you to wander off and explore on your own." John said after awhile.
Rodney just glanced at him and hmphfed.
"They expect me to keep you out of trouble."
At that Rodney snorted. "Right. Who's usually right beside me when strange technology blows up?"
John chuckled. Neither of them could resist a new toy. It was a miracle that they were both alive as many times as ancient technology had backfired on them. Asking John to keep Rodney out of trouble was like asking the thief to watch the store.
They were passing the space between the two buildings when John stopped and stared past the electromagnetic poles. "McKay." He whispered.
Rodney stopped and turned toward him. "Wow!"
Standing just outside the field was two huge gray wolves. They were over three feet tall at the shoulder and muscles rippled as they moved. The moonlight washed over them making them glow slightly in the dark. They were watching the two men with a disturbing amount of intelligence in their eyes.
"Wow?" John asked.
"What? You don't think their cool?"
"Well, yeah. I mean everything on this planet is extinct on Earth. So, yeah, wow. I just expected a….different response from you."
Rodney looked at him. "They can't get to us, right?" He asked a little nervously.
"Right."
"Then….wow."
"I wonder…." John trailed off. "Come on." He started walking again.
Rodney followed him curiously. "Wondered what?"
"How smart they are."
They walked silently past the second building. John held up a hand stopping Rodney at its edge. He cautiously peeked around the building and moved back quickly. One of the wolves was sitting at the fence watching, waiting.
"Stay here." John whispered and jogged silently back to the other end of the building. Sure enough one wolf was watching. "That's disturbing." He muttered as he moved back toward Rodney.
"They split up." He told Rodney softly.
Rodney looked startled then he peeked around the corner himself. The wolf was looking directly at him. He jerked back. "That's not normal behavior, is it?"
John shrugged. "I'm no wolf expert, but I don't think so especially since there hasn't been humans on this world for them to watch before. We need to be very careful when we're outside the protected area."
"No kidding."
"Let's go." John said and headed back toward the building they were using as a base camp.
"Look at this." Rodney held out his arm. All the hair was standing up.
John nodded and held out his. The hair was standing up. "They creep me out, too."
They spent the remainder of the two hours in front of the base camp building. When they woke Allen and Mortens to relieve them they told them about the two wolves.
"We'll hopefully finish this building today. We located the staircase last night, but didn't want to try it in the dark." Arnie said the next morning over breakfast.
"So perhaps one building a day?" Rodney asked optimistically.
Arnie laughed. "No such luck, Doc. This building and maybe the one next to us could possibly be done in two days each – possibly. Jing and I were planning on scouting the others after breakfast. Check the external condition; get a clearer picture of their size and come up with a more concrete game plan."
Rodney looked over at Sheppard, communicating wordlessly. Sheppard nodded back. They would escort the two engineers not just to placate Rodney, but also because his team had more experience on this world.
And it would keep Rodney outside and away from tempting buttons and dials.
"We'll escort Arnie and Jing around and get a good look at the rest of the layout ourselves." Sheppard said to Allen. "I'm hoping to find a way to get to the top of the wall so we can see what's going on outside."
Allen nodded. "A secure position for a lookout. So we can know if something is creeping up on us. That would be nice to have."
Sheppard's team geared up while Arnie and Jing gathered their tablets and equipment. First they went to the second building within their defensive perimeter. It was a squat, two story building like the one they spent the night in. It was made with some type of reinforced stone that was a reddish brown earth tone. The stone had crumbled in several areas and there were jagged cracks running through the walls. The windows were still intact indicating that they weren't made from regular glass because even the Atlantean windows would have broken by now if not protected by the force shield. One window had very little wall still supporting it. They spent the next half hour or so examining the stability of the outer walls and jotting notes down on the tablet.
From there they moved toward the barrier. The building ahead of them was three stories with a open dome on the roof. Arched openings interspersed with windows on each floor. The dome had open archways. It too showed signs of aging and weathering. Chunks were missing from the walls and cracks ran crazily through the stonework.
"Wait here." Sheppard said to the engineers as he deactivated the field and his team stepped through. Teyla reactivated the field before they moved off to reconnoiter the area. They split into two groups, Rodney going right with Teyla while Sheppard and Ronon went left. The silence was eerie as they slowly came together on the far side.
"I'll stay here. Ronon take the far corner. Rodney the corner to my left and Teyla stay with the engineers."
Rodney took his station and pulled out his scanner. All friendly life signs would be within the safe zone or right around the building and he'd like to know that something was coming at him before it got within harming him distance.
Teyla waved Arnie and Jing over and stayed close to them as they examined the second building. The two men studied a handheld device and muttered to each other before typing in notes.
"What does this device do?" Teyla asked curiously.
The two men looked at her surprised at the question.
Rodney snorted in amusement. "She's as curious as a cat." He said to the engineers. "And very bright." He added at Teyla's offended stare. "She's already picked up quite a bit about Ancient technology from me."
Jing blinked and looked at Teyla. "This device measures the density of the material in front of it. We know approximately how dense this material should be in order to support the weight of the structure so if it shows up as considerably less dense then we know we need to be extremely careful when examining the interior and perhaps even call Atlantis for structural supports before entering."
Teyla looked around the area verifying that all was still calm. Rodney waved the life signs detector at her. "I got it."
She gave him a grateful nod and turned her attention to the device. "Show me."
The next twenty minutes were spent instructing Teyla in the way the device worked and how to read the findings it displayed as they worked their way around the building. When Ronon realized that Teyla was getting a lesson he sauntered over and demanded his own lesson. Teyla grinned and took over his post and with a sigh the engineers repeated the last twenty minutes with Ronon.
They crossed over to the fourth building. The engineers cautiously staying close to Sheppard's team. As they passed by the tall spire McKay gazed at it and sighed before tearing his gaze away and focusing on the detector.
"We'll get there." Sheppard said.
Rodney just nodded forlornly and kept his attention on his current job. He didn't usually play guard; he was usually guarded, but he did know how to be alert and on the lookout for danger when he had to be. He knew that he wasn't proving himself to his team on this mission, but to outsiders. Allen's team and the engineers who thought he had only said he would fill the role of guard in order to get to the ruins.
"We've got something coming from that direction." He pointed toward the southeast. "Three bogies. Looks like they came through the wall."
They swiveled to face whatever was headed their way. Arnie and Jing staying behind the others.
"If we say run," Sheppard said quietly, "head for the poles."
"They're coming around the corner….now." Rodney hissed.
Around the corner came three animals. No one fired as they waited to see what the creatures would do. They were fairly large and black and white. They stopped and stared balefully at the stranger's on their world.
"Badgers?" Rodney asked.
"Badgers aren't that big." Sheppard replied.
Rodney looked put out. "Prehistoric badgers. Better?"
"Yes."
Teyla and Ronon glanced at the two men. "Do we shoot?" Ronon asked.
"Badgers don't generally attack unless provoked. They're foragers."
"Vicious foragers." Sheppard waved them to back up when the badgers began snarling. Slowly they backed up giving the creatures space so they wouldn't feel threatened.
After several long moments, the badgers turned and waddled off.
"Cool," Jing murmured. "Living history."
The fourth building was a carbon copy of the third one. The dome on this one was collapsed on one side.
"The first two buildings I'd say two days a piece." Jing said to Arnie. "These last two though are going to take maybe four days. They appear to have suffered more with age and those domes look very unstable from here."
Arnie nodded. "Four days minimum. From the exterior of this one we may need to bring in structural reinforcements.
Rodney stared at them. "You're saying its going to take almost two weeks to get just these four buildings cleared?" He asked agitated and impatient.
Jing shook his head. "No, Dr. McKay. We'll split into two teams. One in each building. So a week unless there's a lot of extensive damage internally."
"Which we doubt considering the outer walls are remarkably well preserved." Arnie added.
"We need to find a way to repair the walls." Ronon stated.
Arnie and Jing looked at each other. "Well, technically, we know how to make brick and mortar. We could run a spectra-analysis and see if the right materials are in the ground here and bring in another crew."
"I'm not sure Elizabeth is going to approve bringing more people here." Teyla said thoughtfully.
"We can't secure this big a place with the poles. We don't have enough." Sheppard got a distracted look on his face as he thought of all the alternatives. "Run your analysis when we get back to base."
"Yes, Sir." Jing replied.
"It's almost lunch time. Want to head back?" Sheppard asked the engineers.
"What?" Rodney snapped before they could respond.
"I don't think it would be wise to eat out here, Rodney."
"Power bars. Fast, tasty, excellent pick-me-up."
The others all grimaced.
"You do know you are the only one to think those things are tasty." Sheppard retorted.
"Perhaps if we take a look at the spire first. See what kind of condition its in before we head back for lunch." Arnie suggested tactfully. "It is the only building left this side of the river."
Ronon hid a grin at the way Rodney's face lit up. Somehow Arnie Kelso had figured Rodney out and apparently liked him or was terrified of him since he was keeping Rodney content. Kelso didn't look terrified.
Sheppard sighed, pretending to be put out. "Okay, let's go look at the spire."
"Oh, please!" Rodney sniped. "You want to see it as much as I do."
Sheppard just gave him a bland look and pulled out his sunglasses. "Come on, kiddies. Let's continue to tour."
Rodney wasn't fooled. He had known John Sheppard for too long. Those sunglasses wasn't to protect his eyes from the sun. It was to hide the gleam of excitement in his eyes.
Rodney made sure to keep glancing at the detector as they made their way over to the spire which rose above them, towering high above the other buildings. The blue-green metal shimmering in the sunlight.
"Now see, that's what I don't get." Rodney huffed, waving a hand at the spire.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Oh, come on, no one else has noticed anything weird here?" He looked disgusted and disappointed.
"Besides the fact that the two spires are the only thing that actually looks like the Ancients built them?" Sheppard drawled with a smirk.
"Exactly! The other structures look Aztec or Mayan in design and they are from natural building material. Except for some of the windows. The spires are distinctly Ancient."
The two engineers looked sheepish. "We noticed, but didn't really think anything about it." Arnie admitted.
"Hmmm," Rodney swept them with a scathing look, dismissing them.
"So, perhaps there was another civilization here and the Ancients just took advantage of an abandoned outpost." Sheppard hazarded a guess.
"Or, they had the primitives build the outpost for them around the twin spires." Rodney replied.
"Why do that?" Ronon asked. "Why not build more Ancient buildings. They last longer."
Rodney looked around for a few moments. He studied the buildings and the spires and thought about the distance to the Gate. "Maybe they were cut off."
"Maybe they were abandoned. Perhaps they couldn't get back to Atlantis before the….retreat to Earth." Sheppard expanded on Rodney's train of thought.
"Does it truly matter?" Teyla asked pointedly.
"Ah, no, not really. Just a matter of curiosity." Rodney admitted.
Arnie and Jing had in the meantime been studying the structural integrity of the spire. After a little over half an hour, Arnie sighed. "We can only determine the stability up so far before it structure is out of range of our device, but the bottom portion seems to be in amazingly good condition."
"Yes!" Rodney shouted gleefully, grinning over at Sheppard who couldn't resist grinning back.
"You know, if we just opened the main doors and stepped just over the threshold the lights would probably turn on and we could see how stable the lower level was."
Sheppard looked over at Rodney. "True. We wouldn't have to go in far. There might be…"
They were moving toward the doors as they talked. Ronon and Teyla groaned and quickly moved in front of them, blocking their way.
"Stay out." Ronon rumbled.
"We weren't going to…."
"There might be some way to secure the walls."
"A force shield."
Sheppard nodded at Rodney's suggestion. "Exactly! We might be able to secure the entire perimeter."
Teyla just frowned at them. "We do not enter any building until the engineers clear it."
Sheppard and Rodney pouted slightly.
"You're right," Sheppard gave in charmingly. "We're getting ahead of ourselves."
"We were?" Rodney looked puzzled.
Sheppard stared at him.
"Oh, right, ahead of ourselves." Rodney smiled at Teyla and Ronon.
Sheppard turned toward the two engineers with an expectant look.
"What?"
"No."
"We are not clearing the spire after such a preliminary scan."
"I'm sorry, Sirs, but you're just going to have to wait."
Sheppard and Rodney looked at the gleaming spire and then at each other. They both heaved huge sighs. Sheppard seemed to gather himself; he looked around the area. "Okay, let's head back. After lunch I want to find away to get up on that wall."
"I was going to hunt." Ronon said.
Sheppard looked over at him.
"You like MREs?"
Shepard grimaced. "Okay, who did you intend to take with you?"
"No one."
"No. At least one other person. And not Rodney."
"Hey!"
"You aren't a hunter."
"Mortens, maybe Allen." Ronon said grudgingly.
Ronon placed a firm hand on Rodney's shoulder and propelled him forward. Rodney nearly tripped as he was looking over his shoulder at the spire instead of watching where he was going.
"No need for manhandling!" Rodney snapped jerking away from Ronon and stalking forward.
"McKay," Ronon called after him.
"Just….go hunt something." Rodney snapped over his shoulder.
"Suddenly testy." Sheppard muttered, staring at his retreating back.
Arnie and Jing looked confused unsure of what had set Dr. McKay off.
"Loss of balance," Teyla murmured.
"Did anyone see him eat this morning?" Ronon asked. He shut his eyes and shook his head slightly at the negative responses. "Great. I'll go save the others from him." He loped off after Rodney.
As the rest of them crossed the barrier they heard Ronon's impatient voice. Sheppard held up a hand, stopping everyone.
"Stop. You know it's your blood sugar."
"I don't need a nursemaid!"
"Then eat."
"I hate you sometimes."
"I know you love me."
There was a rude noise and then a rustling sound. "Happy now?" Rodney's voice still had an edge to it.
"No."
Sheppard looked over at Teyla. He indicated going around the building in the other direction. Teyla nodded. It would be at least ten minutes before the power bar elevated Rodney's sugar and he became his loveable self again.
They met up with the rest of the expedition outside the front of the building. Arnie and Jing went into an immediate huddle with the rest of the engineers to go over the results of the days work and plan for tomorrow. Sheppard and Teyla went over to the rest of the marines.
"Found a way to the top of the wall." Allen told them. "Wouldn't go so far as to call it stairs and I wouldn't want to have to hurry up them."
"Well, hopefully we won't have too." Sheppard said. "Ronon's wanting to go hunt some of those deer like animals. He's not a fan of MREs. Any volunteers to join him?"
"If you don't need me, I'll go with him." Allen said. "Used to hunt with my dad growing up."
"Just point me in the direction of the stairs."
"Yes, Sir." Allen said. "We found a couple places of the side walls, but they were mostly gone. The only intact stairs are behind the Spire."
"The Spire?" Sheppard looked disgusted.
"Knew we should have explored more." Rodney crowed coming up to them with Ronon.
"Captain Allen has volunteered to hunt, Ronon and I believe I'll join you, too." Teyla said.
"Sure, have fun." Sheppard drawled. "Rodney and I'll will gather the report for Atlantis and send them a progress update."
Arnie came up to Sheppard and McKay as they were finishing up the progress report. "Bert ran an analysis on the soil and we can make brick and mortar to repair the walls if you can talk Dr. Weir into sending another team."
Sheppard and Rodney grinned smugly at each other. "Sure thing."
The two men walked to the jumper. The ship lit up and began humming before Sheppard even reached the pilot's chair. Rodney made a rude noise and Sheppard smirked at him.
"Some day when you're all grown up….."
"Shut up, Sheppard." Rodney retorted without heat.
John chuckled quietly as he slid into the chair.
Rodney shook his head in disgust. "Do you show off to everyone or just me?"
"Just you."
"I thought so."
They flew up over the mountain range to get within line of sight with the Gate.
"Dial the Gate." Sheppard said.
"Surely we aren't going to just hover over the ruins."
"We can report from here, Rodney."
"When did you get so boring?" Rodney huffed, pressing the Gate coordinates in for Atlantis.
"Boring?" Sheppard glared at him.
Rodney made an affirmative noise being careful to keep his face a mask of derision; he concentrated hard on not letting the grin he felt show.
"Atlantis, this is Dr. McKay." He sent his IDC. "I'm sending today's progress report." He keyed up the report on his laptop and sent it.
"We're receiving, Dr. McKay."
"Is Elizabeth around?" Sheppard asked as he sent the jumper slowly forward toward the mountains.
"I'm here, John."
"Elizabeth, we've been discussing the state of the surrounding walls with Kelso. There are several large gaps and we all agree that repairing them would be a good idea."
"You want to repair the walls?" Elizabeth sounded dumbfounded.
John angled down toward the mountain tops cloaking the jumper so as not to frighten the animals. Something that looked like wooly mountain goats played on the rocky slopes while huge mammoths lumbered sedately across the lower regions.
"There are too many gaps to secure with the electromagnetic poles." Rodney stated.
"Why can't you just secure the immediate area?" Elizabeth asked.
Rodney and John both sighed silently.
"Lizabeth, we're going to be here for months – months! Our people will be twice as safe if we take the time now to repair the walls, especially when we expand out with the research teams." Rodney argued.
"We're talking four more engineers. They can work in the same area as the rest of the engineers. They be behind the protective barrier internally and we'll put a couple of marines on them for external protection." Sheppard added calmly while swooping toward the forested area and pointing out the giant gorilla that was strolling among the wide spaced trees. His eyes glowed excitedly as he mouthed 'King Kong' at Rodney.
"Told you." Rodney mouthed back.
Sheppard shook his head amazed that Rodney had gotten the jumper away from the giant without damage.
As they watched the gorilla put out a hand and casually pushed a slender tree out of his way. The tree groaned as its roots left the ground and it toppled over.
"Okay, John. I'll get a team together and send them your way tomorrow."
"Thanks, Elizabeth."
"They'll need to bring equipment for making brick and mortar." Rodney added before the Gate disconnected.
They turned toward the plateau that stretched out beside and in front of the ruins.
"Ah, the mighty hunters." Rodney pointed toward three tiny figures.
"Let's go see what they've caught."
As they got close they saw that they were gutting two of the deer-like creatures. Sheppard de-cloaked at a distance and slowly approached. Ronon looked up and said something to Teyla and Allen. They looked up and then returned to the chore of gutting the animals. Sheppard landed nearby and he and Rodney joined them.
Rodney screwed up his face at the carcasses. "I'll, ah, wait…in the..." He hurried back toward the jumper.
"Told you – not a hunter." Sheppard said loudly.
Rodney stopped and turned around. "Higher brain functions." He tapped his temple as he turned and disappeared into the jumper.
It wasn't long before they appeared at the bottom of the ramp with the butchered deer.
Rodney leaped from his chair. "What! Surely, you aren't bringing that in here? It'll smell like dead animal for weeks!"
"You want us to carry it back?" Allen asked in disbelief.
"If we hadn't circled around to you, what would you have done?" Rodney crossed his arms and held his ground at the open hatch.
"We would have walked and would have been very tired." Teyla said.
"And cranky." Ronon growled.
"Or you could walk." Sheppard retorted.
Rodney's eyes shifted beyond them widening slightly. "Fine, whatever; in." He stepped to the side and placed one hand on the hatch switch.
They all turned to look behind them as they automatically stepped forward. Several rangy looking wolves were slinking up behind them drawn by the smell of blood and raw meat.
Teyla let loose a volley of bullets hitting a couple of the wolves. They yelped as they fell to the ground. The others paused cautiously.
The pause gave them enough time to get in and get the hatch closed. They heard snarls and growls outside as heavy bodies thumped against the jumper. Sheppard lifted off smoothly and within a few minutes they were back at the ruins.
Over roasting meat Sheppard told them that they'd be getting another team tomorrow to begin repairing the walls and the engineers told them they had finished up the first building and it was structurally sound enough to allow the scientists in.