THE TRENCH

PART TWO: SKI RUNS IN THE DESERT

Teyla slowed as the trees started to fall away, and the world lightened considerably before her, indicating a clearing. She held up a fisted hand to stop the others.

A moment later, she indicated them forward. McKay studied his scanner a moment longer, letting Sheppard know with a shake of his head that it all still looked clear, then put it away. All three men lifted up their P90s, to cover the Athosian as Sheppard silently gave Teyla orders to move out.

Cautiously, she stepped out of the trees and into the open area. Her eyes scanned the strange landscape before her. She stood in a clear-cut swath that stretched to the horizon in both directions. It was about a hundred yards across to the tree line on the far side and was clearly not natural.

Ford, Sheppard and McKay stood just inside the tree-line, safety's off, just in case, as Teyla walked forward along the arrow straight path.

"It looks line a strip cut for power lines," Sheppard noted softly, adjusting his radio on his ear.

"Or a ski run," Ford commented casually, not blinking as he covered his teammate, "except we're not on a mountain."

"A ski run?" Teyla repeated over the radio.

"For skiing, a popular sport on our world, in colder regions," McKay put in. "When it snows, people slap smooth, oiled wooden boards to their feet, then slide down mountains."

Teyla arched an eyebrow at the strange description, "Really? For what purpose?"

"It's an effective means of travel," McKay replied, a small smile on his face. "That, and it's fun." Sheppard arched an eyebrow at the scientist's expression. Something else new he didn't know about McKay.

"Oh." Teyla didn't sound convinced. She continued on the path, until she reached a spot where two waist-high, box like pillars stood on either side of the path. She looked at them a moment, then at something a little past them. She didn't move from her position, just shy of the pillars.

"People clear wide paths between trees, just like this, to make 'runs' for people to ski down," McKay continued, peering with some curiosity at the pillars she avoided. He then glanced at Sheppard, "Oh, and to put up power lines."

"I see." Teyla tilted her head, clearly looking down at something. "And do they dig wide trenches down the middle of these ski runs?"

"No, of course not. That would defeat the purpose. They…." McKay stopped as it occurred to him what she had just said. "Oh." McKay stepped out, Sheppard and Ford flanking him. As a group, they reached Teyla's position and looked down at what she was looking at.

Almost exactly half way across the swath, a deep wide trench had been dug. The pillars sat right on the edge. It was about fifteen feet wide and at least ten feet deep. On this side, the mud wall was sheer and vertical. The opposite side was sloped. As if you could slide down one side, but couldn't then climb up this side. It stretched along the length of the swath, and was probably as long as it was.

The strangest part—it was muddy. Very muddy. There was even a tiny rivulet running down the center, trickling away softly.

Teyla knelt on one knee, but didn't get closer to the edge in case it wasn't stable, in order to study the deep trench more closely, "How is this not dry, like everything else here?"

"An irrigation trench?" Ford suggested, turning to look to the left and right. The trench, and the cleared path, continued on in both directions all the way to the horizons. "For farmers?"

"Kinda deep," Sheppard frowned, "and wide."

"I'm more interested in these," McKay said, kneeling next to one of the waist-high boxes. Both of them were rectangular in shape, with square flat tops, and made of a bluish metal. McKay touched a finger tentatively to the side, to brush away some of the red dust that had collected on the surface and revealing a grooved mark. "There's an ancient symbol on here."

That got everyone's attention, and Sheppard was soon peering over the scientist's shoulder as McKay moved to kneel next to the other box. By common consent, none of them had actually walked between the two boxes yet, though the fact that the path ran through them suggested you were supposed to, even though the path ended abruptly at the trench edge.

"What does it say?" Sheppard asked, as McKay straightened up.

The scientist smiled at him, then stepped between the two boxes before Sheppard could stop him, and rested his hand on the top of the one on the right.

Metal scraped metal, the ground shook, and, without warning, three steel-like girders burst out of the ground just below the edge of the trench. They practically exploded into the mud and earth on the other side, audibly "clicking" into place. Then a "clack-clack" like noise sounded, and more metal unfolded out of the trench's wall to rest on top of the girders, creating a walkway.

McKay smiled back at Sheppard, "It says, 'Bridge.'"

TBC