Sheppard automatically went on alert, along with the guards in the gateroom. He tensed, and wished for a weapon, even though he had no reason to believe danger was waltzing back with McKay and the others. He supposed it was a case where too many returns were often heralded by imminent doom and disaster.
His musings were interrupted by the schlerping sound of the event horizon as first Ford walked through, followed by Teyla and Markham. Sheppard waited anxiously for that fourth member, and was surprised to see Doctor McKay exit the wormhole smiling, and walking beside an older gentleman, whom he'd never seen before.
As the rest of the room became aware of the stranger, weapons were raised, and muscles tightened. Memories weren't short on Atlantis, and the Genii had left a psychological stamp that wouldn't be undone for a long while to come. Any stranger, coming unapproved into the city, was automatically assigned the category of high-risk.
McKay stepped forward, the satisfied smirk offering the first evidence that this man was, at the very least, not an immediate threat. "He's friendly," said Rodney. "Obviously, or I wouldn't have brought him."
Sheppard stepped forward, feeling an odd prickle behind his eyes that caused an itch he couldn't scratch. "That doesn't mean much," said John, a reference to a not so long ago incident with an Ancient that had caused McKay to truly get angry. Not his usual bluster and snappiness, but downright pissed-off, and with Sheppard no less.
"He's an Ancient," McKay announced.
The older man, for his part, appeared quite at ease…at home even, considering the information Rodney had provided moments ago. John sized him up. He could see it. The man had white hair, but with an agelessness about him, and a definite air of superiority and belonging in Atlantis, and that irked him. He'd come to think of Atlantis as theirs, by right of inheritance, if you will.
"Really," drawled Sheppard.
The man extended a hand towards John. "My name is Avitus. Your friend found me on Cicera, quite a surprise to me, to find out that Atlantis had risen to the surface and been taken over by the lot of you."
Sheppard eyed the hand uneasily, but extended his own, surprised at the firm grip. He felt a dull ache increase where the itch had been. "Major John Sheppard, military leader of the 'lot of us'," he smiled grimly as he completed the introduction.
Doctor Weir had arrived, and strode efficiently to Sheppard's side. "I'm Doctor Weir, leader of this expedition. You'll have to forgive us, we thought your kind was all but gone in this area, and now we've run into two of you."
Avitus frowned for a brief moment, before schooling his features into an enigmatic smile. "That must be Chaya."
"She had ulterior motives for coming here," Sheppard stated. "Do you?"
The smug expression that McKay had worn since they'd arrived, fell from his face, to be replaced with annoyance. "He offered to help, Major, not be subjected to twenty questions."
Sheppard didn't blink. "I think it's fair to expect an explanation for why he wants to help," he said evenly. "Don't you?"
"I think we'll be better off retiring to the briefing room," Weir interrupted further debate. Taking a minute, she addressed Ford and Teyla. "Lieutenant, you and Teyla go get your exam, and then Markham could use some help checking out sector five." She turned back to the others, and gestured for them to go up the stairs, towards the conference room. "Shall we?"
McKay couldn't help the irritated look he tossed Sheppard's way. It was like Rodney had invented the light bulb, and John had broken the glass bulb, and said it was too fragile. He stalked to the briefing room, followed by Avitus, and Sheppard.
After everyone was settled, Weir got straight to the point. "Avitus, you must understand, Chaya came here under false pretenses, and I have to say, I'm confused as to how you came to be here as well. I was under the impression that the Ancients left this galaxy ten-thousand years ago."
Avitus set his hands on the tabletop, steepling his fingers together. "Not all of our people left, Doctor. Before the Wraith forced my people from our home, some of us flocked to our home worlds, like Chaya, but unlike Chaya I do not interfere in their lives. She plays God, Madam, while I do not."
Sheppard snorted. "Please, I'm getting the impression that is all you people do."
Avitus swiveled his chair towards the Major. "That's a cynical way to view a race that provided you with this very city."
"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the city, the technology…but you've got to admit, hell of a track record you guys seem to be chalking up." Sheppard sat stiffly, the ache rising in crescendo with each second that ticked by.
Rodney had been unusually quiet, but spoke in defense of the Ancient. "Major, I had to practically beg him to come back with me. He only offered to help because I figured out who he was when the LSD turned on when I walked by him, and he reacted to it," explained McKay. "The help he can give us in understanding the systems…it's huge."
"But I thought the Ancients weren't allowed to interfere?" asked Weir.
At that, Avitus smiled for the first time, with a cold smile that sent a chill through Sheppard's body. "But you see, you are under the misguided belief that I care what the others of my kind think. I assure you, I long ago began to act according to my desires, and not those of my race."
Sheppard wanted to swear. That's all they needed, another rogue Ancient. "And this makes you more trustworthy how?" he said instead.
Avitus paused, and regarded them intensely. "Who said I was trustworthy?" He flattened his hands, appearing to inspect his cuticles, then tucked them back in a clasped grip. It was a purposefully blasé act to portray his belief that their feelings were irrelevant in the matter at hand. "Major, I am here, by invitation," he stressed. "To answer questions regarding Atlantis…my city." His eyes glittered with a hardness that sent a shiver through Elizabeth's blood. "My trustworthiness is not in question here, if anything, yours is. You are in my home…it's up to me what help I wish to provide, and what I decide to do."
Elizabeth was stunned by Avitus's casual proclamation, but McKay remained enthusiastic, appearing unphased by the announcement. "I see," she said gravely. "Are we in danger from you?"
McKay roused. "What? Elizabeth…danger? Please!"
Sheppard raised a stalling hand. "It's a fair question, McKay. Are we in danger?"
Avitus barked a calculating laugh. "From me? I daresay not…from the Wraith…and others…certainly."
"Which is why we shouldn't be wasting time sitting here, when we need to get him out there showing us what this city can do," snapped Rodney, his impatience rearing its ugly head.
Elizabeth considered the options. "Okay, but, you will have a military escort at all times - "
"Elizabeth - "
"No, Rodney, I mean it. That's the only way I'll allow this." What was left unsaid was how exactly she'd prevent the Ancient from doing it anyway. He had powers they could only imagine, and she could only hope he wouldn't act against any of her people.
Sheppard was about to offer to be part of that guard, when a wave of nausea roiled through his belly, causing him to pale, and swallow reflexively, fighting against the urge to get sick. His headache had been growing steadily since they'd gotten in the briefing room, and it had become a pain that wouldn't be shoved aside any longer.
"Major Sheppard, are you alright?" asked Avitus, alarmed.
Sheppard needed to get out, he fought to stand on wobbly feet, a sharp spike of pain hitting at the motion, and things began to gray on the edges. He felt a cold sweat break out across his body.
Elizabeth was on her feet in a heartbeat. "John!" she shouted. "Medical team to the briefing room!" She jumped forward, barely catching the major as he went down. McKay had acted at the same time, and between the two of them, Sheppard was spared injury when he lost consciousness.
oOoSheppard woke to the now familiar ache behind his eyes. There was a heaviness that covered his body like a weighted blanket, and he fought against it. He winced from the bright light, raising a hand to shield his eyes, feeling the familiar tug of an IV line. He idly wondered why it was that Doc was so eager to poke those in him whenever he was unfortunate enough to land in Beckett's care.
The good news, the bright light meant he hadn't been out long. The bad news, winding up here so soon after the last time meant it didn't look good for his return to duty in the near future. He looked around, surprised to find no one, not even McKay.
"Doc?" croaked John.
Sheppard heard Carson's chair squeak as he pushed the chair back from his desk. He heard the rustle of Beckett's white lab coat, and sure enough, the man himself hurried out of his office, to Sheppard's side.
"Ye're awake then, good to see," observed Carson.
Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Apparently so. What happened?" He was almost afraid to ask.
Beckett frowned. "I was hoping you could tell me."
Now it was John's turn to frown, right back at Beckett. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Major…" Beckett sat heavily down on the nearest chair, and John was surprised to notice the dark circles prominent under Carson's eyes, and the deep lines of worry etched around his mouth, and forehead. "I can't help you, if you don't tell me what's going on. This is more than being worn out. Something physiological is going on, and I can't pin it down, because you aren't being honest when I ask how you feel."
"I'm being honest!" defended Sheppard automatically. He cringed after it came out, because he was remembering all those times he'd said he was fine, and he wasn't. The exasperated look that crossed Beckett's face caused a flash of remorse. "Okay, okay…I've been having…" Sheppard struggled to find the right words. "They're headaches, but…it's like there's a pebble inside, you know?" He looked to Beckett for encouragement; a sign that he did know. Seeing nothing resembling that, he fumbled on. "It's like a grain of sand, inside an oyster, and the irritation is growing, and rubbing and it's getting bigger and bigger…"
Beckett was growing more concerned with his attempt at explaining his symptoms. "How long?"
"I don't know…" at Beckett's sharp look, he racked his mind, searching for the first seeds of pain. "Before the siege…Chaya…I think it was around then when it started."
Beckett's face darkened. John realized the implications of what he had only just now realized. "You think she had something to do with it?" he asked Carson, oddly reluctant to believe the beautiful Ancient was to blame for his deteriorating condition.
Carson took a deep breath. "It's possible. I think we need to run some more tests…"
Sheppard had sat up as an alarming thought raced through. "Where's Avitus?" He couldn't help but worry that the other man might be a risk for McKay. Rodney was acting as star struck as he had with Chaya, and for the first time he could understand McKay's anger at him when he was entertaining Chaya in the city.
Beckett pushed him back, shocked when the Major didn't yield to his force. "With Rodney, he's fine…"
But, before Carson could say anything else, Sheppard had yanked the IV line out, and stood up, shoving Beckett's grasping hands to the side. "We thought I was fine, also." And with that, John strode out of the infirmary, clad in scrubs and bare footed, with one purpose in mind; find McKay and keep him from Avitus's interference.
"Major! You shouldn't…" Beckett trailed off, as the major disappeared from sight. He stood, holding the tubing in one hand, and sighed. This sucked. This wasn't in his job description. Bloody hell…
oOo
"That's incredible!" whistled McKay appreciatively. "Really, that's genius…damn, I wish I would've thought about that…why didn't I think of that?"
Avitus was entranced with the eager pupil, and explained some of the basic systems in the city. "The quarantine protocol saved our city once from a plague that had the potential to wipe out our entire race." He explained to McKay. "I designed it myself."
Rodney shuddered with a recent memory. "Right, well…forgive me for not fully appreciating that, but we had a run-in with a nanovirus that almost killed a third of our people," the light went on, and McKay's face changed like mercury. "Who did it?" he asked, stopping in place. "The nanovirus…it attacked the visual cortex, and caused an aneurysm…who created it?"
For the first time, McKay saw a true reluctance in Avitus. "I am sorry, Doctor McKay, but this I cannot tell you."
Rodney wanted to argue why, but he felt his irritation wash away. The Ancient could help with many bigger things; it didn't matter that he wouldn't discuss the creators of that virus. It was insignificant. Rodney realized they'd wound their way to the mysterious console. "Ah, here it is!" He stood next to it, and grabbed the edge, staring at the dark display. "I've tried to activate this, at least a dozen times or more, even had Sheppard try, but it won't do anything. I can't tell if it's broke, or…"
"Get away from McKay," Sheppard's low warning interrupted Rodney.
Rodney turned around, and saw John standing there, with a gun pointed at Avitus, wearing nothing but the pink scrubs. "Major!"
Avitus backed away, spreading his hands in a peaceful motion. "Major Sheppard, I am no threat to Doctor McKay…or anyone in this city. I promise you."
Sheppard narrowed his eyes, staring hard at the man, searching for any sign of deception, but he found none. He let the gun fall; it was getting heavy anyway. "Then why are you here?"
"I only wish to help," Avitus stepped closer. "You are my descendants, after all…and I do have an interest in the welfare of Atlantis."
"Major, you shouldn't be here," snapped McKay. Rodney had never seen the Major so unbalanced before.
"No, it's okay, Doctor. The Major is actually just in time. You were telling me about this console, were you not?" Avitus was now even with McKay, and looking down at the console. It was in a room that stood alone, in the center of the city. It was more a pedestal than a console, but on it were controls…for what, McKay hadn't been able to figure out.
McKay paused, and his attention was drawn to the inactive panel. "Uh…yeah, I was hoping you could tell me what it was…or how to work it?" He cast a sidelong look at Sheppard; uneasy because he knew the Major should be in the infirmary. And there was a growing doubt in the back of his mind that not everything was as it seemed.
Avitus stepped to the side, and reached for Sheppard, a soft touch against the major's arm, "Why don't you try again, Major?"
Sheppard pulled back, as if the touch was hot fire on bare skin. He felt his headache flare again, the pebble becoming a stone. "No…I…" he struggled to pull his eyes off the object. "I tried before, it didn't work."
John had tried before, and he'd felt something, though the console hadn't outwardly responded. He'd had a nudge inside; a hum that he didn't recognize the source, and that growing itch had flashed strong, and hungry. He'd pulled back from it then, and brushed off his reaction as nerves. Now, he was oddly reluctant, especially in the presence of Avitus, and it unnerved him. What was going on?
McKay fidgeted, torn by his desire for more information and his concern for Sheppard. "Try again…" he winced. McKay had meant to say he should go…why was he so tongue-tied?
Sheppard stared at McKay, his fear stark in his features, a betrayal to his normal state of casual assurance. But, his feet inched forward, and his hands reached out towards the console. The heat swept through his body, swelling in crescendo as his palms neared the smooth edge. He yanked back, slapped by his own reflexes responding to some invisible force that only he appeared to feel.
He stumbled, a hand rising to his eye, where the heat flashed bright, and hard, like the striking of a match on a flint. He wavered on his feet, and felt the queasiness return. "McKay…" he stuttered, before going down on his knees.
Rodney's firm grip found his arms, and helped ease him down. "I need a medical team…now!" Sheppard heard McKay's panicked voice call. The last thing he saw was Avitus staring at him. A mixture of concern and satisfaction, which confused John, and then all was lost in a swirl of pain and blackness.