10 – What about Colonel Sheppard ?

(Sub-Atlantis – House – 13.02.2022, 0800)

Sheppard was eating the weirdest breakfast. A mix of potatoes, strawberries and eggs. After a couple of hours, he had gone back to the market and successfully sold the two jackets. He had quickly discovered that clothing was worth a lot of money. ~Or what passes for money around here.~ As for what he had bought…the pickings had been slim. Strawberries and potatoes were the only grown thing. Beyond this, the only foodstuff available were eggs – which were the most expensive thing around – and rat meat. Sheppard was not desperate enough to eat rat. ~Yet.~ So he had skipped the meat. He also figured that they needed to save the rest of their money. Their breakfast had taken about a third of the cash they had.

"Where did you get the firewood ?" Zara asked, while Sheppard thought it was odd to see a Wraith eat normal food.

"Somebody chopped up the stalls of the people who were killed," Sheppard said.

He had been handed a bundle of firewood by an old, thin Human. The man had not said a word. They had found a pot and four plates in the tiny kitchen of the house. The only other in the kitchen had been a single knife. Sheppard had then proceeded to make breakfast. As he had done so, he had begun plotting their escape. The first piece of the puzzle was a ventilation shaft that was wedged between their house and the next one. He knew that the shaft was too narrow to pass through, but he figured it would allow them to communicate with the lower circles.

"Zara, has anybody ever escaped from Sub-Atlantis ?"

"No, even if you make it to the surface, that would only put you in the city proper."

"That's why the security goes up as you go down ?" Banks began. "Because the lowest circle is near the bottom of mesa ?"

"Yes," Zara said. "I've never been down there, but I've overheard guards talking. If somebody ever managed to break the outer wall, they could walk out into the desert. But there is nowhere to go, Colonel. There's only sand out there."

"One miracle at a time," Sheppard said.

He finished his breakfast and dropped his plate in the kitchen sink. Then he went outside to get a closer look at the ventilation shaft. It was carved from the rock, with rusty metal ventilators pushing the air around. Sheppard pointed his weapon at the shaft and pulled the trigger.

(Sub-Atlantis – Cell – 13.02.2022, 0800)

This morning. Guide had fed on two more elderly Humans. They had given him just enough years to keep him from starving. But it was clear that remaining here was not an option. So he would have to escape this place. The problem was that the cell he was in, had clearly been build to prevent just that. Then he noticed the floor. It was made out of slabs of stone. Some were big, others were small. ~It's not much, but it's better than nothing.~ And one of the Humans he had fed on, had carried a spoon. ~This will have to do.~ He waited for them to remove the bodies. Then he began digging.

(Sub-Atlantis – Street – 13.02.2022, 0817)

Sheppard had blasted a hole into the shaft. He had stuck his head inside to find that it was blocked in both directions. There were rosters above and below. ~Okay, this is going to complicate things.~

"You're not the first to try to escape," A male voice began. "That's why they gave that house to man you found."

Sheppard pulled his head out of the shaft and turned around to see…~Todd ?~ But then remember where he was. He was looking at the local version of Todd. Like the rest of locals, he was thin and pale. And like the Wraith of this universe, he lacked a feeding hand. Todd – or Guide – was standing outside the house on the other side of the shaft. ~Must be his place.~

"Really ?"

"He was an informant for the Terrans, that's why he was murdered and robbed," Todd said. "Somebody found out and that was it for him."

"I'm John Sheppard, by the way," Sheppard said. "And you are…"

"Guide," Guide said with a nod.

"So, Guide, you up for an escape ?" Sheppard tapped on the wall of the shaft. "Because I have an Atlantis in an alternative universe to save. And there is no way that I can do that from in here. So me and my friends are breaking out."

"You are certain of yourself. The town graveyard is filled with people who made the same mistake, Sheppard."

"I don't doubt it, but," Sheppard sighed. "I lost a lot of my friends when that city was destroyed," He had done his best not to think about it, but now it was coming home. "What else do I have to lose ?"

There was a pause, then Guide walked into his house. He came back with what appeared to be a wooden cylinder. But when he handed it to Sheppard, it turned out to be something else. The piece of wooden had been hollowed out. It had also been fitted with two mirrors and two lenses, which converted it into a crude periscope.

"You're not the only one with escape plans, John."

"This is nice work," Sheppard said as he used the periscope to take a closer look at the inside of the shaft. "And it may have just gotten us a step closer to getting out of here," He handed the device to Guide and pointed to a section of the shaft. "Right there, see it ?"

"Wait," He used the periscope to study the section that Sheppard had indicated. "I've never seen that before. I've studied this shaft using that…" He pointed to a roster higher up the shaft. "…but I've never been able to make my own hole. So I was never able to check this section out. What are we looking at ?"

"An electricity cable. The gate that blocks the way to the second circle, is too heavy for a single person to lift by hand. To there is probably an electric motor connected to a lever on the other side, where we can't see it. This cable provides power to that motor."

"So we can cut the power and lock the guards out ?"

"Even better. Once the power is cut, we can lift the gate just far enough to have somebody slip through. Then we reconnect the power and the person on the other side, pulls the lever. And we have our passage to the second circle."

"And then what ?"

"Then we start working on getting down to the third circle."

"Sounds like a plan," Banks said as she joined them. "But how do we do the reconnecting part ?"

Guide didn't say anything, but the smile on his face made it clear that he had a plan.

(Sub-Atlantis – Cell – 13.02.2022, 0821)

While one version of Guide was helping Sheppard escape, another had managed to make a hole in the floor of his cell. The large stones were connected to one another and the walls by means of rebar. But some stones were too small for that to work. He had found a small collection of stones that he could remove. It had allowed him to create a hole that was big enough to reveal that there was nothing underneath the floor, but sand. The hole was not big enough to escape through. Still, he had kept digging. Suddenly, there was a loud crack. Guide looked down to see….Green ?

~What in the world ?~ He stopped digging and lay down on the floor so that he could get a closer look at whatever was below. ~Impossible.~ Beyond the hole was a collection of plants. Guide realized that this meant that his cell was on the lowest level of the prison part of wherever he was. The level below his location appeared to be a massive greenhouse. It made sense. If they shipped the food in from some off-world source, the prisoners might be able use the dock as an escape route. So they grew the food for the prisoners on the planet itself.

The question was, how could use this discovery to get out of here ?

(Sub-Atlantis – Street – 13.02.2022, 0828)

The answer to Banks' question had shocked Sheppard. He and his version of Guide had been through a lot. But what had happened now, had surprised even him. A young head had poked out of his house. That young head had belonged to a young Wraith called Pedro. It was at this point that Sheppard had discovered that the Wraith of this universe reproduced the old-fashioned way. And not only that, Guide was married to a Human woman called Anita. A brunette with short hair and brown eyes, she was the mother of three children with Guide. Pedro, Zach and Jenna. Jenna was the only girl of the bunch and the youngest. She was also the only one to fit inside the air shaft.

"Are you okay in there ?" Banks asked.

"I'm fine, Miss B."

Nearby, Sheppard and the rest of the adults were getting ready to lift the gate. Pedro and Zach were ready to do some slithering and lever pulling. The colonel gave her a nod and Banks gave Jenna a signal. The young girl took the knife from Sheppard's house and cut the wire. As soon as it was done, she smiled at Banks.

"Power cut, Colonel."

Sheppard nodded and they lifted the Gate. Pedro and Zach quickly made their way to the other side. Sheppard gave Banks a thumbs-up, who then signaled Jenna. She 'fudged' the wire back together. Seconds later, the gate came up. Banks helped Jenna climb out of the shaft and they joined the others.

"Here we go," Sheppard began. "I'm the only one with a weapon, so I'll go first."

"Sounds like a plan."

They made their way down the stairs with Sheppard in the lead. Pedro and Zach joined them when they were halfway to the bottom. They reached the bottom to find another gate. There was a big red button in the wall to the right. The street beyond looked clear, so Banks pushed the button. There was a pause, but the gate did go up. Sheppard stepped through first.

"So far, so good."

The rest of them joined him. Alas, they did not make it very far. A pair of doors hidden in the walls swung open and they were quickly surrounded by Terran guards. They readied their weapons and prepared to fire.