(At one point, I had this awkward paragraph where I tried to explain why the energy creature would avoid the water, complete with the whole freshwater versus saltwater thing, importance of ions, how pure water insulates as opposed to conducts as salt water does, how water might cause the creature's cohesion to diffuse, but then just figured...ah hell...just get on with the story! So...)
MORE THAN JUST PRETTY FACES
By TIPPER
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CHAPTER SEVEN: USEFUL
Sheppard and Ronon, with the same instinct as Teyla, were fully immersed, both staring up through the rippling water in wonder as the blue, bright lights of the Wraith stunners impacted the now fully awake energy creature. It erupted through the room over their heads, like a thundercloud churning across a clear sky, driven by hunger and the promise of food. The stunner blasts coursing across it like lightning were probably fantastic appetizers.
In seconds it was gone completely, and Sheppard burst up out of the water with a gasp, turning and staring at the outer door hanging half open, the top portion blown to bits, its melted edges brightly lit by the sunlight cutting through the waterfall beyond. Water continued to sluice through the opening, still filling the room.
Scrambling to their feet, he and Ronon slogged through the now thigh deep water to the gaping former door—they wanted to see! Wrestling the twisted metal down and away, they climbed through as soon as it was wide enough, scraping arms and legs on the sharp edges, and slipped into the deep water on the other side. The waterfall tried to push them under, but sheer stubbornness had them out from under it and several feet downriver in moments, away from its danger.
Three or four badly burnt Wraith soldiers, their bodies black and crispy, floated swiftly away from them, while several others appeared to be disappearing into the woods, running for their lives. Stunner weapons, their light completely dead, floated like driftwood along the current.
But it was nowhere near as satisfying as the sight of the energy monster wrapped around two Wraith darts in the sky overhead, sucking them dry, the two ships fighting uselessly to get away.
Nearly slipping into the river current, Sheppard felt Ronon's strong grip on the back of his shirt keeping him upright. Trusting in that, he held up a hand to see past the glare of the sun behind the energy creature, the return of the jungle heat and the electrically charged air curling his hair.
And suddenly, the first Wraith dart exploded. The Wraith must have hit the self-destruct rather than die in pain from being burned alive.
"WHOO!" Ronon yelled, shaking Sheppard in glee. It just made Sheppard lose his footing again, but Ronon soon had him hauled up again.
The energy monster was in hog heaven, as it slurped every morsel of power out of the exploded dart as it fell...
And then the second exploded.
"HA!" Sheppard yelled, unable to avoid his own joy at the sight, slapping a flat hand against the river and splashing Ronon next to him. "Take that, you bastards!" He grinned at the pieces of dart splashing into the river well downstream, one large chunk hitting one of the dead Wraith now far away from them, capsizing it. Laughing, he was too happy to notice he and Ronon had been driven several yards away from the protective waterfall themselves now, the current tripping and sliding them further and further into the open.
The energy monster swirled like a massive black cyclone in the sky, seeking its next meal. As they watched, it seemed to slow, as if sensing something, then it suddenly streaked away, headed up river, keeping well above the water.
"I just hope to God there's a Cruiser or a Hive up there somewhere," Sheppard said, twisting a little to watch it disappear.
"Yeah," Ronon agreed wholeheartedly, his own eyes bright.
"At the very least, it will probably find every last Wraith dart on this planet and take care of them for us. That certainly evens the odds...a lot."
"Yeah," Ronon said again, then frowned a little. "By the way...what was that thing?"
Sheppard glanced at him, then exploded in laughter. He couldn't help it. It was bearing on hysterical—he was so incredibly exhausted, exalted, hurting, and high on adrenalin, the laughter almost sounded like tears.
Ronon's frown faded, and he strengthened his grip on Sheppard's collar in concern. He then looked around, as if realizing just how exposed they were. His frown returned full force as he turned to look back at the waterfall. It was a good fifteen feet away from them, and getting farther away. Every bobbed step they took to stay standing was pushing them further downstream.
"Colonel!" Teyla's muffled voice echoed from somewhere inside still, her worried shout barely audible. "Ronon!"
At her yell, Sheppard turned, and came to the same realization as the Runner. Fear coursed through him and he twisted to face the waterfall, trying to fight the impossibly strong current and get back to her and McKay. Next to him, Ronon was doing the same, his greater height giving him some advantage, but not much.
Suddenly, Teyla emerged from the waterfall, and they could see she was holding the vine up over her head. She was nearly swallowed by the deep river because of her much shorter height, barely keeping her chin above the water. As they got closer, she threw what she could of the vine towards them, and they grabbed on.
Working together, they climbed up the vine, which Teyla had obviously secured to something inside the room, and, in moments, were climbing through the hole the Wraith dart had created, back into the now water-filled anteroom.
"Hurry!" Teyla called, arms working like a swimmer's to keep herself afloat, "The upper room! I've already moved Doctor McKay up there!"
The two men let go the vine and made their way to the steps on the other side, climbing up to the next room, where the energy monster had been. Teyla, behind them, disappeared for a moment under the water...then came back up, holding up the now untied other end of the ivy.
She must have tied it to the bench leg, Sheppard realized, smiling proudly at her. She nodded back and joined them.
As soon as they were all inside the upper room, Sheppard touched the door...and it shut.
Some water had gotten in here, but not much. He saw Ronon immediately kneel down, to check on McKay lying a few feet up from the door. Teyla must have dragged the unconscious scientist up in here as soon as she could.
"He okay?" Sheppard asked, leaning against the wall over them.
"Alive," was all Ronon said.
Sheppard blew the air out of his lips, rubbed a hand down his face...then stopped.
Hang on a minute. He could see Ronon. He could see everything.
Wonder lit his face as he realized that the lights had turned on around him. His mouth fell open in surprise.
Teyla grinned, unable to hide her relief as, like a chain reaction, the sconces on the walls burst into life one after another, revealing a long, upwards sloping, hall-like room. There were steps and ramps leading up from each level to the next, going on for an incredibly long distance. It reminded Sheppard of an extremely long corridor he had seen in the Vatican once, an optical illusion making that hall appear five times as long as it really was. Difference here was, this hall really did stretch on for what looked like almost a mile, straight uphill. It was amazing. Consoles lined and filled the walls, along with cabinets and other bits of equipment. And, with just a mental nudge, every single thing in here started humming with power.
Sheppard nearly sighed with relief. The Ancients must have turned all the lights and equipment off when they left, meaning the energy creature couldn't feed on whatever was powering this place. It must have just fed on whatever was still on, then taken a "nap" of sorts, untilTeyla and Rononreawakened it. And now, with the monster gone...the lights were able to turn on again in response to their presence...and reveal the longest hall he had ever seen.
"Wow," he whispered, impressed.
"Incredible," Teyla agreed.
"Useful," Ronon added.
Teyla and Sheppard turned to look at the former Runner, just as Ronon pulled McKay up into a sitting position, then on to his feet...and over his shoulder. With a grunt, Ronon straightened and met their surprised gazes.
"What?" he asked, frowning. He shifted McKay a little, then indicated the long room with his chin. "It goes up." He arched an eyebrow at them when they still didn't seem to get it. "McKay once said to me, most of his ideas come from starting with the obvious, something he says most people never do. Something about, not just seeing the forest for the trees, but remembering that the trees make up the forest?" He looked at them, as if hoping one of them would explain that to him, then the shoulder McKay wasn't hanging over shrugged. "The jumper is up. The gate is up. This room goes up. There will be a door at the other end, and they will come looking for us down here soon. So...we should go up."
For a moment, neither Sheppard nor Teyla moved, then, with a small smile, Sheppard started to laugh again. This time, though, it was a real laugh.
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TBC...
A moment of quiet again...at least, for a little while...Now to go watch Epiphany!