"Well… this is a problem…"

Mitchell couldn't help but nod her agreement.

She and Sheppard and the security team had walked for maybe a mile in the tunnel, the ground steadily going downward, although not at such a drastic pace that they were concerned enough to go back for ropes. They had plenty of light, after all, and were walking carefully – especially around turns – and they weren't worried about a misstep.

It had been soon after the last turn in the tube – and they were almost certain they were heading back towards the main cavern – although they couldn't be positive – when they started to hear the unmistakable sound of water. Not a trickle of water, either. It sounded a lot more forceful than that, even to them – and none of them claimed to be experts or anything. Sure enough, less than a half hour later, they came to an intersection in the tunnel – and what could only be called a river. An underground river nearly twenty feet across, completely blocking their path.

It was going across their tunnel, coming along another tube entirely, and the floor of that one had been worn down – presumably by the water – because they could see their tunnel continuing beyond it over the water. But they didn't know how deep the water was, and it was going way too swiftly to risk trying to cross – at least without ropes.

"Well, shit…"

"What do you want to do, Colonel?"

"We could toss Peterson over and see if anything comes out of the water to grab him."

The Airman in question was relatively positive she was joking, but he gave her a sideling glance anyways. After all, Mitchell was an unknown factor at times – no one ever knew exactly what she was thinking, and it there were all sorts of stories going around the ranks telling of her ruthless dealings with the Goa'uld.

She winked at him, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief, because now he was positive she was kidding.

"How deep do you figure it is?" Sheppard asked, walking over and squatting down at the edge of the torrent. It was moving fast, but he wasn't even being sprayed by any stray water, which told Mitchell that the edge of the tunnel the water was in was smooth. Otherwise it would be tumbling and frothing. At least that was what Talon was telling her. And it made sense.

Melony shrugged, and kneeled down beside him, putting her hand in the water. It was pretty cold, which told her that it wasn't coming from anyplace near a thermal area. Way too cold to be goofing around in, that was for sure.

"Rainwater runoff?"

It was John's turn to shrug.

"Is it cold?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder if it's safe to drink?" Peterson said.

Sheppard looked up at him.

"I'd stick to the canteens for now…"

"Think it's here all the time, or just when it rains?"

Again there were shrugs.

"Why don't we head back and get ropes and a pole of some sort?" Mitchell said. "I'd like to see what's on the other side, but I'm not going to risk someone getting swept away." Although she'd love to know where it went, too.

"This place just gets more and more complicated as we keep looking through it, doesn't it?" Sheppard said as they all started back.

Melony nodded.

"Better to find these kind of things now, though, than when someone's chasing you."

Of course, since it's supposed to be a secret base, we'll assume there won't be anyone chasing you

She smiled.

Let's hope not.

"Better to not have anyone chasing you, period." John told her, not realizing that he was echoing Talon's comment.

"True."

Of course, there might always be a tactical advantage to having her own private river… who knew?

OOOOOOOOOO

By the time they made their way back to the main cavern, however, it was getting late. They'd been walking a fair amount, and walking in the dark, even with plenty of flashlights to light the way, can be nerve-wracking to some people, so during the last part of the walk back – as they were crossing the make-shift bridge – Mitchell and Sheppard decided they weren't going to rush back immediately with their security team. Better to give them a chance to grab a bite to eat and take a break – especially since the way back had been more uphill than the way there had been. The water wasn't going anywhere (so to speak) it'd still be there when they returned. And if it wasn't… well that was even better.

They turned off their flashlights as they entered the cavern, which by now was brightly lit, and Sheppard dismissed the team and walked with Mitchell over to where Beckett was standing on a small ladder, holding a wire while a technician drilled a hole for an eye hook to hold it up.

"Are you supposed to be on ladders?" Melony asked him, looking up.

"It's a solid one," he told her, smiling down at her. "And most of my weight is on the other leg."

She nodded, and reached up to touch his leg, running her hand along his calf in a warm gesture of hello, then turned to the technician.

"Where's McKay?"

"He went with a group out to the Jumper," the woman told her, not looking down from the hole she was drilling. "They just left, so you might be able to catch up with him."

Mitchell nodded, and thanked her, then looked at Sheppard.

"I'm going to go see if he knows anything about underground rivers in lava flows. Want to come?"

"Sounds exciting."

Ah, nothing wrong with a little sarcasm.

She gave Carson's leg a light squeeze, and then she and Sheppard headed for the main lava tube at a half-trot, taking advantage of being able to see where they were going with the lights strung up and illuminating their way.