Title: Alien Devices
Author: SlayersGrl
Summary: The team finds an Ancient outpost on a deserted planet. Strange devices
and an unexpected encounter may provide them with exactly what they've been
looking for. But are they willing to pay the price?
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any of its
characters... I'm simply writing for entertainment and because the plot bunnies
won't leave me alone.
Author's note: Hmm… I guess that cliffie was rather evil of me, huh? I just couldn't help myself… Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. It was extremely hard to write. I had to do it in sections.
And obviously, this story has become a crossover with SG-1. I must admit, I haven't really seen that much of season 8, so please forgive any inaccuracies with the current timeline. As far as the SGA timeline, this takes place sometime after The Eye but definitely before Letters to Pegasus. I'll try not to mention anything in-between so as to not spoil them for those who haven't seen them yet.
Thanks goes to PurpleYin for the beta! Any mistakes are entirely my own.
Chapter 3: Explanations
Ford was understandably surprised by the sudden change in location. One moment they were in a deserted Ancient outpost fighting for their lives and the next they were standing on the ramp leading to the Stargate at the SGC. Upon seeing the armed marines rush into the room at their arrival, he quickly lowered his weapon and raised his hands, hoping they would recognize them before any shots were fired. He was distracted by Teyla and Rodney carefully lowering his C.O. to the ground.
Teyla looked up and stared directly at him, a hint of panic in her expression. "He's not breathing!"
He quickly glanced up to the control room, hoping they would understand the severity of their situation. He watched as General O'Neill reached for the intercom and paged a medical team to the gateroom. Then the general and the members of SG-1 were rushing to join the chaos that had enveloped the small ramp.
Ford, McKay, and Teyla immediately backed away from the major as the medical team arrived to begin CPR. No one said a word as they watched the medics work. It was a harrowing couple of minutes later that they finally convinced his heart to start beating again. Then they rushed their patient off towards the infirmary.
"Lieutenant," General O'Neill said as he turned his attention away from the rapidly disappearing gurney to the three members of the Atlantis expedition who were still standing before him, "what happened? And how the hell did you just show up in the gateroom?"
"Sir, I'm not sure," Ford began, "We were under attack by the Wraith when Major Sheppard somehow transported us here."
"Wraith?"
"Uh, long story sir. Let's just say I'd rather deal with a Goa'uld any day…"
Jack stared at the soldier in disbelief. "Well, that's saying something…"
"Excuse me, sir," Teyla interrupted. "Perhaps we could continue this conversation at a later time. We are anxious to see how Major Sheppard is doing."
He stared at the woman for a moment, trying to place her face. He was sure she hadn't been a member of the original expedition team. "I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten your name…"
"Teyla isn't from Earth. Her people were the first we met in the Pegasus galaxy," McKay replied.
She then nodded her head in greeting. "I am Teyla Emmagen, leader of the Athosians."
O'Neill followed her lead. "General Jack O'Neill, leader of Stargate Command." Then he considered her request. "Alright, all of you head to the infirmary. You need to get checked out anyway. We'll debrief in an hour."
As the group eagerly filed out of the gateroom, Jack pulled Ford back for a moment. "How much do you trust her?" he asked, referring to the most recent alien to enter the base.
"As much as you trust Teal'c, sir," Ford replied, his voice steady.
"That's all I needed to hear."
Aiden nodded his head in understanding and then hurried to follow the rest of his team to the infirmary. When he arrived, he was immediately pointed in the direction of a waiting bed and proceeded to sit impatiently while a quick check up was performed. Once he had been issued a clean bill of health, he was free to join McKay and Teyla where they had been joined by SG-1.
"Amazing," he heard Colonel Carter saying as he approached. "You mean the city was really submerged beneath the ocean?"
"Well, it makes sense that the stories would be true. The legend must have been passed on by the Ancients that returned to Earth," Daniel added.
"That's exactly what I thought," McKay said with a smirk.
Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of one of the doctors working on Major Sheppard. Teyla was the first to ask the usual question. "How is he?"
"Major Sheppard is currently in stable condition. We got his heart started again and all our tests have come back normal. But he still suffered a huge shock to his system. I wouldn't be surprised if he stays unconscious for a while." Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar looking device, which she handed to Carter. "We waited to remove it until we were sure it wouldn't cause any adverse effects. I knew you'd want to take a look at it."
Sam nodded her head as she examined the Ancient device. "So this is what Major Sheppard used to bring you here? Any ideas as to how it works?"
"Well, I have some theories, of course," McKay replied, "but nothing substantiated yet. I was hoping we'd be able to ask Major Sheppard."
"Can we see him?" Ford asked the doctor, needing to see for himself that the man was alive.
"Only for a few minutes and then you'll have to leave so he can get some rest," she replied. Then she led the way to where the major was currently laying on one of the hospital beds. Several wires connected him to a few of the machines arranged around the bed, including the one that was currently humming the reassuring sounds of his heart beating.
Teyla walked over to him and took his hand in hers. "You are safe, John," she whispered into his ear. Then she turned to look at the doctor. "I wish to stay with him until he awakens." Before she could protest, Teyla continued. "He will be disoriented when he awakens. The last thing he probably remembers is that we were facing certain death from the Wraith. He will want to see his team to make sure we are all right." She had no intentions of leaving him alone with that as his waking thought.
"Fine," the doctor finally assented. "But don't disturb him. Let him sleep as long as he needs to."
The Athosian nodded her head in agreement and then pulled up a chair to begin her vigil. McKay and Ford stayed for a while before having to leave to debrief the general. They were reluctant to leave since Sheppard hadn't regained consciousness yet, but Teyla assured them she would make sure they knew the minute he had.
The two men walked into the SGC briefing room to find General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'c already waiting for them. They took a seat at the table and the general began the meeting.
"Ok, to make this easy, why don't you just start at the beginning?"
"You mean when we arrived in Atlantis?" Rodney asked.
Jack nodded his head.
McKay and Ford then took turns telling the story of the long string of events that had been set into motion the minute the expedition team had arrived in the city of the Ancients. They tried to describe the experience of being the first explorers to set foot in the lost city for thousands of years, but words failed to describe the beauty and wonder of actually seeing it.
Words also seemed to fail when it came to describing the evil that was the Wraith. Even after facing an enemy such as the Goa'uld, it was hard for SG-1 to contemplate a threat as large as the one posed by the latest enemy to appear from the cold vacuum of space. They were now faced with the very real possibility of having to face an enemy that was extremely hard to kill and that considered the entire human race to be a tasty snack.
The death of Colonel Sumner, especially at the hands of a Wraith, came as a surprise to the Earth-based personnel. The SGC knew that there would most likely be losses in an expedition as uncertain as this one, but the group had hardly arrived when everything had gone to hell. Luckily, they had sent the best and the brightest along on this journey or they probably wouldn't even be having this conversation.
"Wait, you mean to tell me Atlantis, the city built by the Ancients 10,000 years ago, was almost destroyed?" Daniel interrupted once the two men had gotten to the part about the massive storm that had threatened the city.
"Without the shield, the city is basically defenseless," McKay replied. "Atlantis has always survived the storms before because it had been submerged beneath the water. Our only hope was to harness electricity from lightning to temporarily power the shields."
"Yeah, and it would have been a whole lot easier if the Genii hadn't shown up…" Ford added.
"Who are the Genii?" Sam asked.
McKay was the first to reply. "A militant group we met on one of our trading expeditions. We, uh, might have mentioned that we knew how to build atomic weapons and they've been trying to get supplies from us ever since. When we refused to give them what they wanted, they tried to take over the city."
Ford interrupted at this point. "Of course, they weren't successful. But they're definitely a force to be reckoned with."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at that statement. "You appear to have made many formidable enemies in the short time you have been there."
"We've made friends too," Aiden countered. "Like the Athosians."
"And we've already begun learning more about the Ancients than we've ever known. Their database is extensive. We've only translated small sections of it, but what we're finding is amazing."
Before Rodney could launch into one of his speeches about the fascinating research the Ancients were conducting, the meeting was interrupted by one of the base personnel. "General," the young man said as he took a step into the room, "I'm sorry to interrupt but you wanted to know as soon as Major Sheppard was awake."
All further thoughts of continuing the meeting were wiped away as the two attending members of the Atlantis team instantly stood up. Ford at least had the decency to wait until he was dismissed before beginning the mad dash for the infirmary.
