The Value Of A Memory Is

Chapter Three - The Spirits of '76

If it were not for the atmosphere, Sheppard might have mistaken the main corridor running through the outpost as a stroll through Atlantis. The musty smell of long abandonment lay heavily in the air, mingled with dust and shadows. They passed darkened transporter alcoves which ignored his hardest thoughts, locked rooms which would not open, and others that lay barren and bare, devoid of life. Familiar withered husks perched in each corner, skeletons of past plants. Even the bubbling tanks of green liquid, identical to the ones on Atlantis for which no purpose had yet been found, lay stagnant and still.

Teyla padded silently at his side, her weapon drawn and carried lightly across her chest. The only sound was Sheppard's own footsteps against the floor, and a distant hum of energy the origin of which he couldn't place.

"It is too quiet."

He glanced across at Teyla. "Take out all the people and Atlantis is the same."

She shook her head. "There it is possible to hear the ocean, the wind outside the city walls. Here the only life is artificial." She stopped, frowning. "Do you feel that?"

He blinked. "Feel what?"

"Here." She reached out and took his hand, gently tugging him down to a kneeling position. Bemused, he followed her lead as she pressed his hand to the floor. "What –"

"Shh," she reprimanded. "What do you feel?"

He sighed, but obeyed. The floor was made of a rock similar to marble and felt cool to the touch. At first he sensed nothing but its smoothness against his fingertips, and he felt increasingly uncomfortable and foolish, with Teyla knelt beside him looking up expectantly. Then, after several more seconds, he felt something.

"What's that?"

An intense, muffled vibration passed through his fingers to his wrist, sending a fine tremor through his joints.

"There is immense power running beneath us." Teyla rose, and he followed, wiping dusty hands on his pant legs. "But Doctor McKay said that the power supply is sporadic and this place has been abandoned for thousands of years."

He followed her line of thought, a knot building in his stomach. "So what is it powering?"

"I do not know."

Sheppard tensed, and hit the talk button on his radio. "McKay, come in. How are things going?"

The response echoed in the empty corridor. "Oh, peachy, Major. Getting information from this machine is rather like getting blood from a stone but otherwise, fine."

"I always thought you had a God complex," Sheppard jibed.

"Hah hah." There was a slight pause, and the muffled sound of metal against metal. "Even computers aren't immortal and the constant power fluctuations have done this one some damage."

"Yeah," he drawled, "about that. Just how much power are we talking about, McKay? A fully charged ZPM? And what is it powering?"

"All good questions, Major, and if I had the answers I would tell you. But again I'd like to remind you – not God." There was a thoughtful pause. "A lesser deity, perhaps. Something with a devout following."

"And my grandma taught me not to worship false idols," put in Ford, his mutter carrying clearly over the radio.

Sheppard grinned.

"I'd have more answers if I could see the power core."

He hesitated, glancing at Teyla. "Is the structure stable?"

"Perfectly."

"And life signs –"

"None have spontaneously burst into existence since the last time I checked, no. Lieutenant Ford will be with me if I run into any ghosts."

"Alright," he allowed. "Lieutenant?"

"Yes Major?"

"Stay close to McKay. Don't allow him to wander off, and watch what he touches, okay?"

"Sit Scooby. Good dog."

"Hey!" Ford protested.

"Play nicely," Sheppard scolded, mildly. "Daphne and I will continue exploring the west side." He flicked the radio off and turned to meet Teyla's bemused expression.

"This is another Earth expression?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kind of."

She gave him a despairing look, then turned away and continued down the corridor. Sheppard gave his 9mm a reassuring pat and followed. They passed a series of rooms, each hidden in the dark and refusing to light, only giving up their secrets when Sheppard cast his torch towards them. Each one had the same lonely feel. An empty laboratory. An office, desk and chair coated in dust.

"I do not like this place," Teyla admitted, looking about at the shadows. "It feels… abandoned."

Sheppard moved away from the room and back out into the corridor, continuing their exploration. "So was Atlantis," he reminded her.

"I know." He saw her shoulders tense beneath the straps of her pack. "But the Ancients left Atlantis voluntarily. Here it feels as though…" She paused. "I have visited communities decimated by the Wraith. Entire villages taken by Hive ships, their houses empty, ablaze. This feels similar."

"Ghost towns," he supplied.

She glanced at him. "Both you and Doctor McKay have used that word."

He frowned, confused. "What word?"

"Ghost."

He gave an irrational shiver, and pressed onwards.

The lights were brighter up ahead. Sheppard guessed they were reaching the furthest end of the western section. "Well," he continued, trying to remain breezy, "we know the Ancients left Atlantis because of the Wraith. And they were bound to have outposts across the Pegasus Galaxy. Maybe they just left this one in a rush."

"Perhaps." Teyla didn't seem convinced.

Ahead the corridor drew to an end. Several large, double doors formed the opposite wall, reaching up to the ceiling, two panes of mottled glass set into their surface. There were lights in the room beyond, a glow that spilled through the glass and splashed color onto the floor.

Sheppard had the sudden, horrible sensation that the outpost had deliberately led them there. He approached the doors and was not surprised when they opened instantly.

Cautiously he stepped inside.

After a long moment, Sheppard's hand slipped down to his radio. "McKay, Ford? You're needed at our position. There's something you have to see."