PART 3: Crocuta

"Wild animals will rest there,
the ruined houses will be full of hyenas."
-Isaiah 13:21 (New English Translation)

"I still don't get how you talked Elizabeth into this," John confessed, "Or why."

"It took me almost a month to convince her, not to mention another two weeks before it even got added to the mission schedule," Rodney retorted, "And the why should be obvious."

Without missing a beat, John guessed, "Because you have a secret desire to die in a forest that I never knew about?"

Rodney frowned at John in the way he normally reserved for people he thought were particularly stupid. It was a look John wasn't used to being on the receiving end of, and he didn't like it.

"Colonel," Rodney seemed to be measuring his words as he spoke them, using John's rank as if to emphasize the difference between them, "You know as well as I do what it would mean if we could make our own Zero Point Module. You know how much we could use another one, or another thousand of them. Of all the things we've found in the Atlantis libraries, how to design and build anything even close to the level of a ZPM power-wise isn't one of them."

John had of course already heard Rodney make this argument, and variations of it, every day for weeks, either as Rodney was making pitches to Elizabeth or while he was working out what his next pitch would be. From John's perspective, it was bordering on obsession.

"Even assuming we find this proto-ZPM, we probably won't understand how to make that either," John pointed out.

"Maybe," Rodney replied, "Maybe not. Either way, it's a shot at getting closer to having a viable defense against the Wraith. I shouldn't have to explain that to you."

Knowing Rodney as he did, John realized he'd just received a kind of backhanded compliment about his intelligence. Normally, Rodney was under the (surprisingly accurate) impression that he had to explain everything he knew about science and advanced technology to everyone. He didn't necessarily do that, seeing as he thought it was a waste of time to explain complex topics to comparative morons, but he didn't generally assume anyone had the slightest idea what he was talking about.

In truth, John did -in principle- understand where Rodney was coming from on this one. Though it was unlikely that they could actually recreate the ZPM even with a prototype to work with, it was possible that the study of said prototype would be more enlightening than the ZPMs themselves had proven to be, especially since they couldn't afford to risk damaging a ZPM and so mostly had to study dead ones.

Sometimes advanced technology was sort of like learning to read. Before a book could do you any good, you had to learn the meanings of the symbols that made the words (otherwise known as the alphabet), and then how the symbols were put together in order to make those words, and then what those words ultimately meant once you had them, and that was even before you got into sentences, paragraphs and the extensive debates on the proper application of semi-colons.

A proto-ZPM would be lesser technology, but it might be more comprehensible because of that, like learning the alphabet. After all, one could not have a compelling opinion about semi-colons if they didn't even know the letters of the alphabet. Simple shapes even someone with no artistic talent whatsoever could learn to draw acceptably well, no words at all, yet containing the essential building blocks that would later not only make reading easier, but possible at all. Twenty-six essential letters in English, forming the basis of all written communication in that language.

Even if a proto-type didn't get them to ZPM-level, what they learned from the proto-ZPM might aid the design and development (or ABCs) of other types of power sources greater than what humans currently knew how to do. And then, maybe later, they could learn enough to argue over punctuation.

But the key there was "might." It might do those things. And it might not. More significantly, at least from John's perspective, it might not exist at all. Rodney hadn't seen it, he only assumed it was there. Assuming it was dead, it might be no more useful than a dead ZPM, possibly even less. Even if that proved not to be the case, they couldn't just take the thing that powered this planet's only defense against the Wraith.

Elizabeth wouldn't allow it, for starters.

Given the possibility of repairing the towers and making this planet relatively safe (or safer) from the Wraith, Elizabeth's humanitarian instincts would kick in, and she'd make sure that instead of bringing the object back for study, they fixed whatever was broken about it and made the towers work, this despite the fact that the people of this planet had killed one Lantean already and taken a literal stab at killing another. Elizabeth would reason that the people were desperate, that it was a matter of survival, not an act of war. She'd want to broker peace with the people here, try to make allies of them, and establish the planet as a potential safe haven in case it became necessary to evacuate Atlantis or relocate people from another planet at some future time. She liked having options about things like that.

In John's view, that made this mission likely to be a waste of time. And a dangerous one at that.

What he didn't get was why Rodney, of all people, would think otherwise. Rodney was an eternal pessimist, and he hated taking risks with life and limb, particularly his own life and limbs. So it actually made more sense that Elizabeth could be persuaded into this insanity than that Rodney had been the one to do the persuading. There was something Rodney hadn't told her, and was refusing to tell John either. He had some other reason for going back, but John couldn't figure what it was.

At least they were going in slightly better prepared this time.

With the help of several unmanned probes, Rodney and Zelenka had determined where the Shayan Temple was, first using the landscape to estimate where a third tower would be located, and then triangulating from there. They had then confirmed the location of the Temple using a flighted probe, which had also revealed the area to be extremely unkempt, as if nobody had been there for quite some time, confirming the belief that the Bethashaya had abandoned the Temple when -as their apparent leader, Ellet, had put it- it became 'obsolete.' Additionally, they had found that there was a clearing no more than a half mile out from the Temple, big enough to park a puddle jumper. That considerably lessened the risk, since they could quickly get to the Temple without being detected using the jumper's cloak, and have an easy exit strategy if things started going sideways. It also meant their range of communication and ability to safely activate the Stargate was greatly increased.

Even so, John had brought Dorsey's team as backup. Additionally, though Rodney had insisted fiercely that he didn't need any help, Elizabeth had insisted with equal vigor that he put together a team to speed up the process of data gathering. Three teams in a jumper was a little bit cramped for John's taste, but not even the geek squad complained.

In theory, it should be a quick, relatively easy mission. But John didn't like it. Which was part of why his team was going, of course. The other reason being that Rodney and Major Lorne had the most experience with the terrain and the local peoples, and were therefore the closest to being experts that were available. Major Lorne wasn't yet ready to return to the field, according to Carson Beckett. Carson's word in medical matters was Law. Besides which, this being a mission John didn't like the looks of or want any part of made it exactly the kind of mission he needed to avoid sending Lorne on, at least for awhile.

So it made sense that Rodney was going, inasmuch as it made sense that this mission was happening at all. What didn't make sense to John was that Rodney seemed to actually want to go. The only thing John could conclude was that something had happened on the planet, something that Rodney hadn't included in his report or talked about. Something that made him feel like he needed to come back here.

The flight was relatively short, even though John circled a few times to be sure there was nobody around where they were landing. To Dorsey's politely silent but rather obvious annoyance, John assigned Dorsey's team to secure the area around the jumper. John's team would escort the researchers and guard them at the Temple. Because the jumper could remain cloaked and locked shut, Dorsey was probably of the opinion that his team would be put to better use coming along and providing support. But John had been cut off from his exit too many times in the past to risk leaving it unguarded now.

Once aimed in the right direction, Ronon took point. Uneasy about what might lie ahead, John set up a two-point travel arrangement, and took the secondary point position for himself. Rodney was charged with keeping all his people in line, and Teyla acted as rearguard.

For once, Rodney wasn't complaining. He knew even the barest hint of dissatisfaction with the mission would make an opening for John to suggest they just scrap the whole thing and go home. But what really kept him off the whining track was the fact that he had an unruly bunch of researchers who really had no business anywhere they were required to experience direct sunlight, and that kept him quite busy enough.

Despite John's best efforts to ensure that everyone in Atlantis had a minimum of training in field work, self defense and firearm usage, most of the members of Rodney's department seemed utterly immune to such training. Consequently there was a very small pool to choose from when looking for a crossover between the researchers and those who were at least as field competent as Rodney. Rodney might have been pathetic in the field, but the majority of the people working under him were worse. The few that excelled (relatively speaking) at picking up the military training were kind of at the low end of the brilliant scientist scale.

It was all Rodney could do to get his team focused and marching in the same direction, and keep them away from any distractions they encountered along the way. At least two of them were part botanist from what John could tell, because one kept drifting off to examine the local flora and another one was explaining how trees could grow in such harsh soil conditions as these. But by far the most annoying was one named Doctor Laurenson, who was clearly worried about the 'dangerous things' on the planet, while continually insisting that this was a colossal waste of his time and talents, and that he had an important project back in Atlantis that desperately needed his attention.

"The only thing that needs your attention is your work station," Rodney replied stiffly, "It looks like someone tossed it looking for the Holy Grail."

"It's part of my process," Laurenson said defensively.

"I found peanut brittle between the pages of your last report," Rodney shot back.

"I'm not the only one that snacks while I work," Laurenson objected.

"No, but you are the only one who shares your leftovers in such an unconventional -not to mention unwanted- manner," Rodney told him.

Laurenson bristled, but John noticed that Rodney had effectively won the original argument. Instead of talking about what a waste of time this was, Laurenson was too preoccupied defending himself to Rodney to complain or be worried about what might jump out of the shadows at him. John recognized the strategy because he'd used it himself many times, particularly on Rodney.

He wondered if Rodney was aware of it. He also wondered what Laurenson was brilliant enough at to make him worth putting up with. John assumed it had to be something. Rodney was kind of a universal jerk to everyone, but he didn't fire competent people because they annoyed him. Since he actually was the genius he claimed to be, Rodney was much too smart for that. Laurenson had to be good for something, especially since he was one of four people Rodney had picked for this.

Fortunately, it wasn't a long trip, though they traveled at a snail's pace and it felt like an eternity (nothing like listening to geeks whine and snipe at each other to make a minute feel like an hour). But the view of the Temple, once they could see it, made the trip seem worthwhile, even if that was all they got out of it.

"Whoa," John observed, "They weren't kidding when they called it a Temple."

Over the lip of the rise on which he and Ronon stood, the land dipped precipitously down into an almost bowl shaped valley, one studded with trees and boulders. In the center of the valley, the land rose steeply up again, forming a plateau, on which the Shayan Temple had been constructed. Once, not even all that long ago, the plateau had obviously been cleared, but already the ubiquitous trees were beginning to grow on all sides, though as yet they were mere shrubs. Had that not been the case, John could've flown the jumper right up to the outer structure of the Temple. In addition to the trees, the Temple was falling prey to lack of care. Creepers had gone up the sides, and grit and shale covered its surface, rendering it almost invisible from overhead.

The main building was distinctively Ancient in design, even John could see that. But there was a surrounding structure that was considerably different. Around the main building was an outer wall constructed of the same sort of stone that was prevalent throughout the area, large bricks of it had been used to form what effectively looked like a pyramid without a top. There was an incredible flight of steps at the front, leading up to a landing and open archway of the main structure several stories above ground level. That landing had probably formerly been a balcony instead of a front porch.

John wasn't much of one for looking at temples, but it struck him that this thing was massive, and a huge amount of human labor must have gone into building the surrounding structure. For a moment, he couldn't figure out why they'd have gone to all that trouble. Certainly the brick slabs weren't going to protect the Ancient building any more than the materials it was originally made from.

Then he came up with a theory he liked. Without the Ancient gene, the locals couldn't get the building to unlock nor could they activate anything inside. At some point, the doors to the balcony up top had either been blasted or jammed into the open position. Some time later, the people had built the surrounding pyramid-like thing to get them into what little of the 'Temple' they could. Probably they'd forgotten what the building was originally for in the thousands of years since it had been constructed. But it made sense that it had gained a religious significance even as its true purpose was forgotten, for it had once been the source of power for the towers that protected these people from the Wraith. It wasn't the first time John had seen an Ancient structure incorporated into the culture of a planet, and he was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last either.

John hadn't noticed when Rodney came up and joined them, and so started when Rodney remarked in a quietly awed voice, "That's really big."

"Uh… yeah," John acknowledged with a nod.

So big that it probably had served more than one function, and it would take Rodney and his team forever just to find what they were here to look for. It was a lot easier to find a power source when it still functioned. John wasn't looking forward to prying open doors to corridors, hoping to find the one leading to the main power source, which was probably dead.

"That's… uh… a lot bigger than I was expecting," Laurenson had now also joined them.

"I told you to stay back with the others," Rodney snapped irritably.

"You brought me here to study that," Laurenson said, gesturing towards the Shayan Temple, "Well, I have to look at it if I'm going to help figure out how it worked."

Rodney rolled his eyes, but decided not to pursue the subject for the moment.

"It's gonna take us half an hour just to get up the stairs," another member of Rodney's team who couldn't stay put. John was pretty sure her name was Hall.

"What are you complaining about?" Rodney wanted to know, "I was on the first mission, the one where I wound up in the river and almost drowned."

"Hence why I want to go back to Atlantis. Before anything like that happens to me," Laurenson remarked, "I didn't sign on to hike through woods filled with Amazonian women."

By now of course everyone had heard about Ellet of the Bethashaya. Rodney had described her as beautiful but terrifying, like a sundew, which was probably one of his more aptly worded descriptions. John had a lesser opinion of her, and his view had been strongly colored by the fact that she'd assaulted and attempted to murder one of his people for no real reason except because she could. When asked, Teyla and Ronon had offered similar remarks about her. John didn't know what Lorne had to say, he hadn't had any conversation of significance with the Major in a couple of weeks.

"Maybe you didn't read the fine print, then," Rodney challenged Laurenson, "Because you signed on to work for me, which means your job is whatever I say it is."

Laurenson fumed, but was effectively silenced. Rodney didn't have a very nice way of rallying the troops, but it sure did get them to fall in line, so that made it hard to argue with. Besides, who'd have the energy to win that argument with Rodney?

In truth, John had similar reservations to Dr. Hall, not because he resented climbing that many stairs, but because he didn't like being so exposed. There was no cover at all on the steps leading up to the main entrance, and it would take them a lot of time to get up (or down) the steps. Anyone who wanted them dead or just plain thought they were trespassing would have a perfect chance to pick them off the side of the pyramid using anything from a sniper rifle to a slingshot.

Ronon was looking at the pyramid with an expression that indicated he was thinking roughly the same thing that John was. Being in the open was a good way to get killed. Considering what he'd been through, it was frankly astonishing that Ronon showed little sign of being agoraphobic. He just had a healthy aversion to making a distinct target of himself by abandoning all sources of cover.

By this time, the rest of Rodney's team had joined them, as had Teyla.

"I don't like it," Ronon said decisively after they'd all gazed their fill at the enormous, patch-worked, cover-devoid chimera of a building.

"Nor do I," Teyla chimed in, seeing exactly the same downsides as John and Ronon did.

"Nobody likes it," Rodney pointed out, though John wasn't sure if he was seeing the risk of exposure or merely the unwonted flight of stairs between him and his objective.

It was no secret that Rodney didn't take well to stairs. But it was equally well known (though far less openly acknowledged) that he had a good couple years of field experience to sharpen his already razor-edged self-preservation instincts. Some part of him had to see the tactical disadvantage the team would be put to in climbing up the side of that thing.

"There's probably a concealed entrance somewhere," Dr. Hall suggested.

"Key word there is 'concealed,'" Rodney retorted coldly, "Meaning we probably won't be able to find it from the outside. Not in a reasonable amount of time."

"Okay," John said, before another fight could break out, "So here's a question: Who wants to go first?"