The Value Of A Memory Is

Chapter Two - Exploration

Sheppard's first encounter with McKay had felt like an interrogation.

He had sat in the chair with his usual disregard for orders, it had lit up like a Christmas tree beneath him, and McKay had leapt upon him like he was the second coming.

How did it feel, what could he see, was it something he needed to focus on or could he operate it subconsciously?

Describing his connection to Atlantis to someone without the gene was like trying to explain color to a blind person. It just couldn't be done.

Stepping through the Stargate to an outpost of clearly Ancient origin – he felt it. A prickle at the very back of his mind, a heightened awareness of every sensation, every shiver of arm hair and chilled breath of air. The impression of standing at the edge of a great chasm, and knowing if he took a step forward, he would fly.

John Sheppard stood in the centre of the darkened room, listened to his breathing, and opened his eyes.

"Major?"

A torch swung around in Sheppard's direction, blazing white spots into his vision. Raising his hands defensively, he yelped. "McKay, watch where you're putting that thing! You nearly blinded me."

"Sorry." The light swung downwards and revealed a pair of feet a few meters from where Sheppard stood. They paced around the floor in a small circle, the dim glow of the life-signs detector bobbing above them. Turning, Sheppard followed a narrow beam of light bouncing about the walls to find Ford on the other end, Teyla beside him and caught in the shadows.

The MALP had revealed a floor, a flash of a DHD and an interesting, if darkened, control panel. It was enough to send both Zelenka and McKay into paroxysms of excitement, pointing to the technology's clearly Ancient origins and engaging in a quick fire discussion Sheppard didn't try to keep up with. It was to this that McKay now walked over to, his hands playing across its surface, small clouds rising from where his fingers disturbed the dust.

"Well? You think there's any life in that thing?"

"Just one minute." He had it up in half the time, smug expression bathed in blossoming lights and the soft hum from the control panel.

Switching his torch off, Sheppard craned his neck back to look around the room.

The team stood in a small room brightly lit from overhead lights set into the shallow ceiling. The walls and floors were made from a rough marble, a swirl of color providing grip to the ground. The Stargate stood on a raised dais, a series of shallow steps leading down to a semi-circular computer console that flickered under McKay's touch.

"What's wrong with it?" Ford asked, curiously.

"New battery perhaps?" McKay rolled his eyes. "I might be a genius but even I need more than thirty seconds, Lieutenant." His hands moved quickly over the console, and around them the lights rose, dimmed, then rose again.

Sheppard stared at them, willing them to stay on. After a brief flicker they obeyed, and he moved to stand behind McKay, looking over the scientist's shoulder.

"Do you know what this place is?"

"You mean, more than it being an Ancient outpost?" McKay waved his hand across the Ancient keyboard and a blue display flashed up on the wall opposite. A map, like those seen in Atlantis, showed in neat lines a cross-shaped building divided into rooms and corridors. The largest lay in the south, and something pulsed within its heart, a white undulating circle.

"What is that?" Teyla asked, looking up at the display.

"Power source." McKay's eyes widened eagerly. "Could be a ZPM."

"It doesn't look very well," Sheppard observed, looking at the map. One of the t-sections was dimmer than the rest, its shape traced thinly in grey against the dark blue backdrop.

"Hmm." The scientist moved his hands across the keys, causing the map to shift. It retained its original shape but the outline of the rooms was replaced by a thin cobweb of white lines leading out from the southern core. Towards the Stargate, lying at the centre of the cross, the web seemed brighter, its strands pulsating warmly. Towards the outer, dimmed t-section they faded into black. "Looks like there's been some structural damage. Power coverage is sporadic, and has failed completely in the eastern wing. The computer seems to have redirected it to the western and northern sections, but with our arrival it had to divert energy here."

"Hence the flickering," Sheppard guessed.

"Precisely. It seems to have stabilized for the moment."

"Anything else?"

"Sensors are picking up some strange readings from the planet's surface." The Canadian's forehead crinkled into a frown.

"Strange as in…" he prompted.

"Strange." McKay took several paces to his left to study another section of the console. "There's some sort of atmospheric disturbance. High levels of methane and hydrogen."

"So not a vacation spot?" Sheppard joked.

"Not unless you want to asphyxiate in a matter of seconds, no."

"Is it natural?" Ford asked, looking nervously at the display.

"About as natural as any gas planet, yes."

"And we're not…" Aiden hesitated. "I mean, the air in here seems…"

McKay sighed, his patented 'I'm surrounded by idiots' breath of air. "Lieutenant, if we were in any immediate danger of suffocating I would be the first one dialing up Atlantis. We're fine. There seems to be a perfectly functioning life support system that isn't in danger of failing for, oh, another couple of hundred years. Give or take."

"And yet," Teyla said softly, "the Ancients have not been here for several thousand."

"No." The air smelt musty, and despite the bright lights the room still seemed full of shadows. It reminded Sheppard of first arriving in Atlantis, of the same sense of untouched history – but unlike his new home, here the darkness was not dispelled by their arrival. "McKay, are we in any danger here?"

"No." The physicist glanced back down at the controls. "As long as power output stays as it is, there won't be any problems. The system has coped for this long, Major – it's not about to break down thanks to our arrival."

"Just thought I'd check." He leant closer to the scientist, knowing his proximity was royally irritating McKay. "So what is this place?"

McKay huffed loudly, and took a deliberate step to the left. "If you want an answer to that question I suggest you give me some space to work. Go see if you can light something up, alright?"

Sheppard grinned, but moved back. "Sure." He shifted the straps on his backpack. "Ford, stay here with McKay. Teyla, you're with me. We'll go check out the western side of the complex." He headed to the doorway on the opposite wall to the Stargate, Teyla beside him.

"Be careful."

He stopped and turned to look back at McKay. The scientist's head was lowered in deep concentration.

Gaul and Abrams had died only two weeks previously.

John said nothing, but the pack felt a little heavier as he moved out into the corridor.