A/N; This story takes place about six weeks after "Strange Inheritance." Dr. Kyte Randall and Major Andrews are slowly being accpeted by the crew of Atlantis. Dr. Randall knows she plays some role as a link between the Ancients, Atlantis, and its current population, but what?

Usual disclaimers: Most of these characters do not belong to me, I'll put them back when I'm done.

Chapter 1

I'm sorry, Dr. McKay, I really am, I didn't know..." I apologized for what seemed liked the millionth time, to the enraged Canadian astrophysicist. I was sincerely trying to be contrite and apologetic, but the situation was almost too funny. "At least you didn't eat any and have an allergic reaction."

The Daedalus had arrive yesterday, full of supplies from home for everyone, myself included. Feeling generous, I took a box of my favorite dark chocolates to the physics lab to share. They just happened to be spiked with orange liqueur.

The look on Dr. McKay's face seemed to alternate bwtween an intense desire to feed me to the nearest Wraith and the indecision as to whether an allergic reaction would be worth it. Most of the people in the lab had to keep running into the hall every few minutes to contain their laughter. My immediate supervisor Dr. Zalenka seemed to be having an especially hard time, muttering something about an experiment for Dr. Heightmeyer. I knew this would be all over the city in less than an hour, and probably more than one person would be making notes on how to safeguard their chocolate stash.

"Dr. Randall, you may wanto to consider spending the rest of the day in one of the biology labs," put in Dr. Zalenka as diplomatically as possible. Since he knew my former physics advisor and boss, I spent my time between the physics land molecular biology labs. I have to admit that as frustrating as it was, physics with Dr. McKay could be a lot more entertainig than working in one of the botany labs. I had always been interested in the molecular mechanisms and energy dynamics of photosynthesis, the plants were just handy research organisms, something not all the members of the botany lab seemed to understand.

"Good idea," I answered, starting to gather a few things together. Hopefully this would all blow over by the end of the day, or when all the chocolates had been consumed. I also hoped Dr. McKay wasn't the type to hold a grudge, or I'd be camping out on Major Andrews' floor for a few days.

I was just exiting the lab when my radio chirped. Some days that thing was more annoying than any cell phone. "Randall here," I answered.

"Dr. Randall? This is Dr. Weir. Can you make a meeting in the conference room in 15 minutes. SGA-3 has discovered some interesting Ancient ruins and Col. Sheppard is putting a survey team together. I'd like your opinion. "

"Up for a field trip?" broke in Col. Sheppard.

"Yes sir, yes ma'am," I responded as evenly as I could. I was a little thrilled and nervous to be venturing out of Atlantis for the first time, if you don't count a couple trips to the mainland. Granted, I'd spent several months on the run theough the Pegasus galaxy, but that was before. I wasn't an expert on Ancient, but I had the gene and an additional associated genetic sequence which made me a little different than the others. So far, all that had amounted to was a detailed knowledge of the city's floorplans, very handy when you had to get from point A to point B, and a couple of occassions when I had re-arranged some of the crystals in various sensors for greater efficiency. Whenever this happened, it felt like trying to piece togther the odd fragments of a dream,.

Dr. Weir, Col. Sheppard and several marines were already deep in discussion, when I entered the conference room. Nearby a couple linguists and anthropologists were discussing some initial findings from the site. I grabbed a cup of coffee and was about to grab a chair near Teyla and Ronon who were discussing some fighting technique, when Major Andrews walked in, and gave me a hug, "Hello doll."

Good morning to you too, Oof, ribs intact, breathing good," I mumbled from the depths of his bear hug. We'd been through a lot together, and I knew he'd always have my back. Dr. Weir looked up, looked at his jacket and frowned. I looked too, out of curiosity. Tthe major had his flag patch on, it just happened to be the Texas state flag. I giggled. I knew Dr. Weir and Col. Sheppard both had senses of humor, but I knew it'd be gone by the end of the day. McKay walked in, grabbed a cup of coffee, scowled when he saw me and took a chair as far away as possible. "I assume this is good," whispered the major, noticing McKay's death glare.

"I'll tell you later," I whispered back. At least McKay didn't start the meeting accusing me of trying to kill him, death by chocolate, although I'd be willing to bet it would have taken Dr. Weir at least 10 minutes to restore order.

"Ok," Dr. Weir started, "SGA-3 found some Ancient ruins on P3X-064. It appears to be a temple of some sort, there's Ancient writing on the walls, but the place is completely empty, except for a podium of some sort in the main room." Pictures flashed up. We're guessing since there appears to be a small power source, or at least that's what our scans indicate, the podium may be some sort of Ancient device. We'd like a more detailed survey, and if possible, someone to try and activate the device. Be careful, though. This building appeared to be well hidden."

"We'll meet in the jumper bay in 15 minutes," added Col. Sheppard. Gear up people. It will be a little tight, but we're only taking one jumper, and I hope I don't have to draw lines to divide up the space.

I knew Dr. McKay would have preferred two jumpers, and would be trying to find the furthest point possible away from me. I made a mental note to bring an apology powerbar, just in case his stomach overrode his ego., which was more than likely