AN: Thanks for the reviews! Redick, I think I like being compared to a Christmas present! JasonElizabethJohnTeylaForever (could you have picked a longer nick!), yes the dreams are part of the story and actually tie it to Ice Planet but more of that to come. I try to not comment much on plot so as not to spoil anything. As always, I hope you enjoy and take the time to review letting me know what you think.

Chapter Two

Wraith Ghosts

Sheppard manned the controls, deftly bringing the Jumper into the Hive ship's landing bay, or as McKay put it, what passes for a landing bay. He wasn't sure of their exact location. Every time they had gotten into one of these monstrosities, they had to leave before gathering much in the way of schematics.

Sheppard peered out the view screen, straining to see any detail but only blackness reflected back. "It's a little dark."

McKay stood, sliding into his vest. "Probably the power's out."

Ford leaned towards the screen beside Sheppard, "Haven't they heard of emergency lighting?"

Sheppard stood, clapping a hand warmly on Ford's shoulder and grinning cockily, "You can offer them upgrades next time Scotty."

Ford's lip twisted in a partial smile and grimace at the same time. Sheppard figured it was the thought of actually meeting another live Wraith. Their recent encounters hadn't been stellar.

John looked at Teyla. She was tightening her weapon strap and seemed resolved. "Teyla?"

She met his eyes, "I am ready."

"I don't think I need to tell you that this is dangerous." He said, addressing all of them. "We stick together, and stay alert. Ford, you take the lead, I'll bring up our six. If anything happens to Ford or myself, you get back to the Jumper and get the hell out of dodge, is that clear?" Sheppard instructed gruffly.

Heads nodded but Sheppard read the expressions on Teyla and McKay's, even Ford's face. It read something along the lines of a cold day in hell. He sighed; he couldn't fault their loyalty. He didn't know if he'd be able to leave any of them behind to save the others. He hoped it wouldn't come to that. "I mean it." He said more forcefully.

"Major, while this is very touching, we should go. We don't know how much time we'll have. If we take to long, Atlantis will come looking for us." McKay interjected, impatient to get this over with. Traipsing around a Hive ship was not what he had bargained for when he signed up for this one-way trip to the Pegasus galaxy. For that matter, most of what they had been doing hadn't been what he had bargained for.

"Point taken McKay. Ford, after you." Sheppard said, a rueful smile. He hadn't been intentionally delaying but he wasn't rushing out of the door either. "You've got the life-signs detector, right?"

"Yes, yes." McKay answered, "Life-signs detector, who named that?"

Ford led the team warily out the rear hatch of the Jumper, smiling at the conversation. "The Major did. In fact, he told me not to name anything else."

Sheppard straightened his collar, "And rightly so, Gate Ship One?"

"There was nothing wrong with that, it's a ship that goes through the gate, perfectly logical." McKay defended, his voice echoing as they left the jumper and entered the Hive ship.

Sheppard swung his P-90 in a wide arc, the beam of light piercing the shadowy gloom that surrounded his team. The light revealed the diaphanous walls and an empty corridor behind. He fought back an internal shiver. This place was creepy. The walls reminded him of the insides of a cocoon. That's what a Hive ship was, one massive, self-propelled, cocoon.

He stumbled under a sharp wave of dizziness, reaching out to the wall for support. He couldn't hold back the involuntary gasp of shock as a cold so deep and bitter washed over him. What the hell? He turned quickly, realizing he no longer had his weapon. "Teyla?" He called for the nearest team member. She had been only an arms length ahead.

His head began to ache, from the cold he surmised. It felt as if he were immersed in a deep freeze. He felt a fear he had never known before. It seeped into his bones with the cold. He whirled, fists ready. "McKay!" He shouted.

A hideous face approached out of the wispy dark ahead. It was pulled taut into a scream. It was floating. Floating? Sheppard hoped this was the point where he'd wake, safe on the Jumper, and chalk this up to another very bad nightmare. The figure was approaching fast. Sheppard backed up, but didn't move quickly enough. He tried to strike first, knowing the futility of the act, but his mind registered the surprise of his fist flying through the figure, and then the feeling of hot ice flowing through his veins as the apparition soared through him. Sheppard felt the shock, the pain, and then nothingness as his eyes rolled upwards and he slumped to the ground unconscious.

Teyla had been walking ahead of Major Sheppard, senses tuned for any sign of the Wraith. She heard him stumble and turned to see if he was okay, only to see him collapse to the floor. "Major!" She shouted, rushing to his side. He was lying face down on the cool corridor, eyes closed.

McKay and Ford rushed towards her and the downed Major. "What happened?" McKay asked, stunned.

"I do not know. I heard him falter. When I turned, he was falling." Teyla answered. Ford helped her roll the Major on his back.

"McKay, get some of those smelling things." Ford ordered, taking the Major's pulse. It was strong and steady.

Rodney dug in his front vest and pulled out a thin cartridge, handing it across the Major's body. Ford broke it in half and waved it under Sheppard's nose. The total lack of initial reaction worried Ford but before he could become truly alarmed the Major twitched, and lifted a hand, pushing away the offending odor. Ford pulled it back, stuffing it in a pocket.

Sheppard's eyes opened slowly. "What happened?" He asked, his voice raspy.

"You fainted." McKay said with a retaliatory grin spread across his face.

Teyla and Ford took a side and propped him into a sitting position. Sheppard looked around, trying to get his bearings and remember what had caused him to be down. The memories flooded back and if they hadn't still had a hand on him, he probably would've jumped five feet. "A wraith!"

Teyla shared a confused look with the others. "Major, there have been no wraith."

"It was here! It went through me." He pressed his palm against his chest gingerly, feeling a sore spot where it had hit.

"Sir?" Ford questioned.

Sheppard pushed himself up, standing on shaky legs. "It was here Lieutenant."

"The wraith don't fly through people Major." McKay asserted.

"This one did."

"Where did it go? We didn't see a wraith and Teyla didn't sense anything." McKay argued. He wouldn't admit it, but Sheppard was starting to freak him out.

"I don't know McKay, you tell me, I was the one knocked out by it." Sheppard was feeling more than a little disturbed. He had seen it, he was certain.

McKay frowned, "Major, you're tired. Maybe you imagined…"

"I'm not crazy McKay."

"No one said you were Major Sheppard. Perhaps Dr. McKay is right. You've been tired. It's possible you…"

"I know what I saw." Sheppard stated flatly, "I didn't faint or see something that wasn't there."

"Fine. What do you want us to do?" McKay asked. "You want us to abandon the reconnaissance and go home?"

Sheppard's forehead wrinkled. What did he want? "No…I don't know. Something's not right."

Ford snorted, "No kidding. We are investigating a Hive ship full of dead wraiths." A thought occurred to Ford, "That's it!"

Teyla tilted her head, "What?"

"It's a wraith ghost!"

"Ghost's aren't real." McKay snapped. "Figments of the imagination, desperate people believing what they want to believe."

Sheppard vaguely wondered how on earth he was going to debrief this without looking like a paranoid nutcase. He was beginning to accept that they hadn't seen what he had experienced and that bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Maybe he was cracking up. "How far to the bridge of this thing?" He asked McKay, changing the subject.

McKay seemed startled by the sudden shift in topic, but caught himself. "Ten minutes." He estimated.

Sheppard straightened his shoulders. Whatever had happened, they were here for a reason, and if he were cracking up he had to trust that his team could handle things. He hoped he wouldn't lose it. "We've got a job to do."

Ford shared a worried look with the others, "Yes Sir."

Ford stepped back in the lead, with Teyla following him closely. McKay dropped back and hovered by the Major's side.

Sheppard's lips quirked, "I'm fine."

"Fine people don't see things and pass out." McKay replied.

"It's passed out now?"

"Shut up Major."