Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis is in no way, shape, or form mine, nor do I make any profit from the following story. It is a work of fan fiction necessitated by the three-plus month hiatus between the first 10 episodes and the remainder of the first season!

Ghosts of Prague

By Kerr Avon

4. "Houston, We Have A Problem"

Zelenka winced as he shifted position. "Do you think that they are looking for us, Major?"

Sheppard wrinkled his nose and nodded with a certainty he didn't have. "I'm sure of it." He bent to check the injured man's splint in the currently-normal lighting.

"Ah, but will they find us?" Zelenka's eyes held a knowing gleam.

John grimaced. "I don't know. This is a section of the base that no one knows exists." Satisfied that the scientist's leg was still set straight, he leaned back against the table.

"Then we need to find a way out of here ourselves." The certainty in the nearsighted eyes was heartening.

Sheppard gestured to the splint. "But what about your leg? You're not climbing out of here."

"The Ancients did not enter and exit via the garbage shaft. There must be a more logical path; we must find it." Zelenka stayed matter-of-fact.

"McKay is probably already figuring out what you were using your laptop for." Any trip out was going to be hard on the physicist, and Sheppard wanted to be sure they had covered all their options.

"Or no one has even noticed that we're missing. Or where we went. Our supplies will not last forever, so we must not depend on outside rescue."

Sheppard was unconvinced. "It may be quite a trek."

"I will manage."

The Major shook his head in amazement. "I'll give you one thing; you're sure not McKay. He'd be complaining to high heaven by now."

Zelenka smiled sadly. "Growing up in my country, I learned that it was best if one did not complain. My Uncle Yuri protested everything, and loudly; the schools were bad, there was not enough coffee, the lines for coal were too long...he did not care who heard him."

"What happened?"

The engineer stared thoughtfully at the Major. "One day I came home from school to find that he had 'disappeared'. Father told me that I had no 'Uncle Yuri' and I should never speak of him again." He adjusted his position as he prepared to stand. "I learned young that complaining was bad for one's health."

"Sounds brutal." John slipped a hand beneath his arm to help him up.

"Not really." The scientist shrugged. "Brutal would have been making us watch." Between the two of them they managed to get him upright, leaning up against the sorting table.

"Stay there; I'll find something to use as a crutch." Sheppard scrabbled among the piles of debris until he gave a shout of triumph and emerged brandishing a metal pole that might just fill the bill. A short time later they had gathered their belongings and headed off down the corridor. As they left the room, the Major reached over and snagged the red marker from Zelenka's pocket. Squatting on the floor, he drew a fat red arrow in the direction they were headed. He looked up at the crippled physicist and shrugged. "If they do follow us down, at least they'll know where we went."

"You know, I could wait here while you go for help." Zelenka offered reluctantly.

A shadow crossed Sheppard's eyes. "No, I did that once. We go together, or not at all."

It was Zelenka's turn to shrug. "That is my preference as well. I felt obliged to offer."

Sheppard gestured towards the door. "So noted. Shall we?"

The engineer quirked a fleeting smile. "But of course."

------------------

"Here, on this door - it's Zelenka's mark." McKay gestured with his bandaged hand to the red scrawl placed there hours before. He palmed open the port to be met by a sleeping chamber. A brief search showed no sign of their friends, and they moved on.

"At least we know they got started on the mapping." Ford commented. The possibility of kidnapping had occurred to him, but he wisely kept such thoughts to himself. Teyla might think they were accusing the Athosians again, and McKay would be distracted by worry.

When they finally reached the trash sorting room, McKay whistled silently in appreciation. "I'm surprised Sheppard could drag Zelenka out of here," he commented as he took in the absence of their comrades.

"I do not believe that he did." Teyla pointed at the far wall, where Zelenka's laptop lay with wires still connected to the wall panel. Nearby, the scientist's backpack lay where it had fallen, contents spilling out onto the floor.

Rodney rushed over to the computer, and scrolled through its history. "It looks like he was trying to open a door of some sort. But I'm not sure where it is."

"See if you can figure it out, but don't trigger anything until I get back." Ford was at his most authoritative.

McKay glanced up from where he now sat cross-legged on the floor. "Where are you going?"

"It's time to let Weir know what's going on. Teyla, you stay here and watch things, just in case."

Teyla nodded, while Rodney looked confused. Shrugging it off as inconsequential, he went back to examining the laptop.

------------------

"Ma'am, I think we have a problem." Ford was always nervous when he addressed the base commander, although he tried not to show it.

"Yes, Lieutenant Ford?" Weir's head rose from where she was regarding the requisitions in front of her.

"Both Major Sheppard and Doctor Zelenka are missing."

Weir blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Dr. Zelenka and Major Sheppard were last seen just after lunch, heading out to map sectors R-54 to S-3. They haven't been heard from since." He shifted uncomfortably. "Teyla, McKay and I went to check out the area; we found this." He held up the satchel that Zelenka had dropped when the trapdoor had opened. "Doctor Zelenka's laptop is still in the room; it appears hooked up to something in the wall. Doctor McKay is working on it now."

Weir assimilated the information quickly, then stepped out into the control room. "Someone get Sergeant Bates up here, please." She kept her tone calm as the scenarios ran through her mind. A hostile infiltrating the base and kidnapping the first two people he came across was high on her list of possibilities, followed closely by some malfunction in the wall panel that caused the pair to either wander off amnesic, or, more likely, be transported elsewhere. As Ford and McKay were already working on the latter choices, she would get Bates on the first.

She stood and addressed the young man. "Lieutenant, I want you to get back to Dr. McKay and provide whatever help he needs. Be careful though; we might be dealing with a hostage scenario here, and I don't want you both taken as well. I'll have Bates work on that angle."

Ford nodded his understanding. "Yes, I thought of that. I made sure Teyla stayed with him, just in case."

"Alright then. Dismissed."

He turned and hurried out just as Bates came in.

"Sgt. Bates, we have a problem."

-------------------

The lights dimmed again, and Sheppard looked around suspiciously. Nothing presented itself as a threat, and they had seen no sign of any creatures of darkness. Still, it would be a good excuse to take a break. As they had slowly hobbled off down the only horizontally-oriented exit from the trash dump, Zelenka had become gradually more fatigued. At first talking and joking, he rapidly became quiet, saving his energy for walking. Now, however, he was clearly struggling for each step forward, advancing by pure will alone.

"Let's rest here a moment." Sheppard kept his voice deliberately light as he maneuvered the unprotesting scientist to where he could lean against the wall and slide down to a sitting position. The man let out a grateful sigh as he settled his leg out in front of him. The major examined his companion in concern. Zelenka's face had gone pale and pasty, with a fine sheen of sweat covering it. His breathing was shallow and fast, almost panting, and his eyes closed of their own volition in complete exhaustion. His lips appeared dried and cracked; Sheppard snagged his canteen and uncorked it, nudging the scientist to make him open his eyes.

Zelenka stared at him for a moment, then focussed on the water. Taking it with slightly-shaking hands, he managed a fleeting smile. "Thank you, Major. You are very kind." He took a long draught from the canteen, then handed it back.

"You sure you don't want more?" Sheppard was concerned; the scientist didn't look well.

Zelenka shook his head slightly, allowing his eyes to slide shut again. "No, but thank you," was the soft reply.

The lights flickered briefly, but settled again on 'dim'. Sheppard was immediately alert, but, as in all the previous instances, nothing threatening appeared. As he settled back down, he heard the slight Czech chuckle.

Figuring he could use a laugh too, Sheppard inquired curiously, "What's so funny?"

Zelenka reverted to his sad half-smile. "Do you believe in ghosts, Major?"

Sheppard recalled the episode shortly after their arrival; Teyla's people had ascribed the power fluctuations at that time to the presence of 'the Spirits of the Ancestors'. Clearly Rodney had given some credence to their opinion, because he flat-out fainted after a particularly well-time outage. Of course, that shadow was rather like a ghost, and what did you classify the Wraith if not 'vampires'?

"I suppose that depends on your definition..." was his careful reply.

Zelenka's eyebrows twitched in amusement. "I understand completely Major. However, I myself do believe in them." He paused for a moment to allow Sheppard to interrupt and, when he didn't, continued. "My native Prague has spires such as those in Atlantis. Great, gothic, towering points stretching up to catch the passing clouds. The angles in the architecture hold shadows that, when looked at out of the corner of your eye, move with a life that cannot be seen when stared at directly. It is a city of ghosts, particularly in the night." Eyes still closed, the young scientist seemed to be in another place and time.

Sheppard tried to remain pragmatic. "Alright, I'll grant that it sounds spooky enough, but come on....ghosts?"

His companion chuckled again. "Prague is full of spirits. The first ghost I ever saw was that of a young nun killed by her father. I was only eight. She floated on the Charles Bridge, searching for her lover." He partially opened his eyes as he reminisced.

Sheppard looked at him skeptically, tactfully avoiding questions about a 'nun' with a 'lover'. "You must be joking..." he began.

Zelenka turned a bespeckled gaze on him. "I am quite serious. Spirits exist all around us; you just have to be willing to see them." He paused, eyelids drooping. "When I was twelve I saw the 'Mangled Medium' prowling the street as I walked home from the house of a friend in the Mala Strana. In life he was a magician who sought to bargain with the devil for the love of a girl. When he tried to back out, Satan ripped his flesh, then condemned his immortal soul to wander in that form." He closed his eyes again and shuddered. "Others are not seen, but heard - rattling chains, horsehooves when there is no carriage...it was more common in the old days, before the wall fell in Berlin." He snickered and allowed his smile to widen. "Now, you would have to wade through a ton of American tourists to catch a glimpse of a phantom." He paused contemplatively. "They do not come out as they used to. Prague is not as melancholy as it once was."

Sheppard was floored, whether by the admission or by the fact that this was more than he'd heard from the quiet engineer in four months. Slowly he hazarded, "Wow. I guess that would color your...perception...of the occult all right." He carefully considered before continuing. "Have you seen any here on Atlantis?"

"No, but it would not surprise me. Atlantis is ancient, and echoes of ages past. At sunset, when the spires of the city are in half-light and the world is most surreal, I can sometimes make out the Charles Bridge on its western edge." He faded back into that sad half-smile again.

The Major shook himself and forcibly returned to the here and now. "Well, I suspect our power problems have a little more scientific explanation than 'the spirits of the ancestors'.'

"No doubt...you are...right." Zelenka mumbled as his head fell forward onto his chest, and he slept.

The pilot sat quietly for a few minutes until he was certain that the injured man was soundly asleep, then he silently stood. He would explore a little farther down the corridor before giving up for the night; if he could save them some time in the morning, it'd be worth it. He bent down to draw another red arrow on the floor.

TBC....

AN: To those of you waiting for the Sheppard-whumping; don't worry, it's coming in a few chapters. Right now we have to care for poor, persevering Zelenka!