"Where do you want me to land?" Sheppard asked, looking over at Mitchell who was sitting in the co-pilot seat of the Jumper.

They were flying over the lava flow now, and Melony was pleased by how easy it had been to find – and by the fact that once they found it, Sheppard and the others didn't seem to believe that there was anything under the lava that could be even suggested as a hidden base. That was all well and good to Mitchell and Talon, because if those who knew it was there didn't believe it could be there, then it would really throw off those who didn't have a clue.

"Do a quick scan of the flow and see if the sensors can find the cavern." She told him, looking over her shoulder at the others in the Jumper. Ford, McKay, Carson and Teyla were all dressed in raingear – and it was still raining, so they needed it. Kale had opted not to come once the MALP showed them that it was raining. Since he couldn't fly in the rain easily, he wouldn't be of much use as a scout, and with that many people along Melony didn't need him in wolf form to protect her. He'd stay and if they needed him, they could call.

A heads-up display showed the lava flow ahead of them, but nothing on the sensors showed the cavern. They did, however, show the ravine that the lava tube opened out to. Mitchell pointed to it on the heads-up display and then towards where it was on the ground below them.

"Land in the ravine, Major," she ordered. "We'll walk the lava tube and get to the cavern, then figure out a way to mark the cavern from the inside."

It's just as well that it doesn't come up on the sensors, Talon told her. We won't have to worry about anyone looking for it

True.

That could only work to their advantage.

Sheppard set the Jumper down in the ravine, and Melony looked back at the others once more.

"None of you are claustrophobic?"

They all shook their heads.

She nodded, and popped the back hatch from the control panel by the co-pilot seat.

"Let's go, then."

The rain that was falling was still the fairly gentle spring-like showers that were seen so often on Earth. There wasn't anything torrential about them, even though if it rained steadily enough for long enough it could do just as much damage as a serious storm could. As it was, it was just a cold nuisance, and one that they wouldn't have to worry about once they got in the tube. She found the opening easily – which was something that would have to be fixed – and led the others inside. Since there was only one way to go – up – there was no chance of them getting lost, but Sheppard lagged at the very end, anyways, just to keep them from getting separated.

All of them had flashlights, and they were all turned on as soon as they turned the first slight turn and lost all light coming from the outside.

"Will a Jumper fit in here?" Ford asked, shining his light up at the ceiling of the lava tube.

Sheppard shook his head, even though no one could see it.

"If the drives were retracted it would, but you wouldn't have any propulsion, so you'd just end up blocking the way."

"A Wraith dart will, though," Melony said. "They're smaller, and should be easily maneuvered in here."

"Will it fit in your cavern?" Beckett asked, frowning at the reminder that she wasn't anywhere near done with her mad scheme to find and destroy the Wraith. If she was going to get herself a dart, she was going to have to face the Wraith to get it, and a mission like that had deadly or suicide written all over it. He was just starting to get her to trust him again. He didn't want to lose her.

"A Jumper would fit in the cavern," she told him. "Easily. You'll see."

"I wonder what these walls are made of?" McKay mused, running his hand along the rough texture of the lava tube as he walked.

"Lava." Ford answered.

McKay rolled his eyes, but no one could see that, either. There was no mistaking the sarcasm in his voice, however.

"I know that, Lieutenant. But lava is just molten rock combined with whatever else it happens to melt and pick up on its way. Which means that different planets will undoubtedly create different kinds of lava, since not all planets have the same substances in their cores as Earth. For all we know, this lava could be the cooled remains of a half million butterfly wings."

Melony smiled at the statement, even though she had to admit she hadn't thought to pose such a question. What was it made of?

We'll look into it later, Talon promised her. Once we decide if this is the place we are going to use

She nodded, and kept walking as the others speculated around her about what could be contained in the rock.

OOOOOOOOO

Eventually, they came to the cavern – although this time the gray clouds outside kept much light from the crack above from filtering in.

"Wow…"

Melony smiled as the others all gathered around the opening, shining their lights around them, obviously impressed by the size of the place.

"Where does the heat come from?" Teyla asked, curiously. It was much warmer here than it was outside, even though the cavern was fairly large and you wouldn't think it would be able to retain much heat.

"We figure there's some kind of thermal activity somewhere," Melony said. "It'd be enough to heat the place, and-"

"If you found the source, you could harness that and use it for your power needs," McKay said.

Mitchell nodded.

"What? How could you do that?" Ford asked.

"All heat is in energy," McKay explained. "Enough heat, harnessed the proper way, and you could power Atlantis."

"Although not the shields," Sheppard said, making it more of a statement than a question. Rodney nodded, though.

"Yes, not the shields."

"Where do the other tubes go?" Carson asked, shining his light towards one of the other ones – one that was almost as large as the one they'd just exited.

Melony shrugged.

"We haven't explored it all that much yet. That was the whole point of coming back – that and to make sure it wasn't being flooded out."

While it was clear there was water dripping somewhere close by, it was also obvious that there weren't any standing pools of water in the cavern. That was also a good sign.

"Well, let's split up and take a look around, shall we?" Sheppard suggested. "I'd like to see the rest of the place."

"Sounds good."