A/N: As I have said in the past, my previous stories are mentioned. You might want to skim through to understand some of the references that aren't canon, particularly A Days in the Life. Spoilers up to and including Grace Under Pressure from SGA and references to Enigma from SG-1 . Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Oh if they were mine, I would buy a house outright and not have a mortgage. Alas, they aren't mine and the man owns them. Deep heavy sigh. Writes check for the mortgage.
Warnings: Violence and language.
Solar Tempest
Chapter 1
"Oh my God, we're in Lilliput," observed Rodney as they approached the welcoming committee, who exited an underground entranceway.
Sheppard returned the remark with a glance and a dry retort, "Well the day's looking up. Maybe you'll be the one tethered to the ground. I may have to recommend a gag as well."
McKay sneered back, "Ha, ha." Sheppard was sure he heard something about bondage and electric shocks mumbled under the scientist's breath.
Staying well out of it, Teyla and Ronon exchanged sighs and shakes of the head.
"I can hear those eyes roll back there," said Sheppard over his shoulder. The two groups stopped in front of each other. He nodded to Lt. Cadman, who escorted or was escorted by a very short inhabitant of this peculiar city.
She returned the nod and began introductions, "Mayor of the Thack'eeryn, I present to you Lt. Col. John Sheppard of the…" she paused and grimaced. "…of the United States Air Force," she finished confidently.
Sheppard held his snicker and just smiled as he, Ronon and Teyla stood shoulder to shoulder.
The mayor stepped up to Ronon and bowed. "Welcome, welcome! The Lt. Cadman said you were a leader. Leader of your people, yes?" He stood up and leaned way back waiting for a reply.
Sheppard watched with interest as to what Dex would say.
"You want him," Ronon said in a low-key voice while hitching his thumb in Sheppard's direction.
Hmm, pretty anticlimactic, he thought. He smiled at the mayor again. "I'm Lt. Col. Sheppard of the United States Air Force," he said congenially raising his eyebrows at Cadman. She had reported these people were overly fond of titles. When you reached a title that became your name. Rodney would fit right in. He had yet to call him John.
The very short man bowed and waited for the colonel to return it with one of his own. He did.
"She said you were the ones to see our Dormi? You and the Macaw Doctor?" The little man continued, as he looked Sheppard over.
After his initial comments, McKay had fallen silent. Now that Sheppard was ready to introduce him, he was nowhere to be found.
"Um, well," Sheppard started, "Dr. McKay is...well…" He did a full 360 searching for Rodney. Ronon and Teyla did the same. Amazing, he thought, the man can't keep his mouth shut when impending peril is nipping us in the heels and then he goes and disappears as stealthily as Ronon.
"I will backtrack and look for him Colonel," suggested Teyla as she started walking backwards the way they came.
Sheppard merely nodded and turned back to the mayor. "She'll go check," he offered. "What exactly are these Dormi?"
"Ah the Lt. Col. Sheppard, our Dormi sleep within the Great Ship. The Lt. Cadman said that the Macaw would be best to study." Mayor looked inquiringly at Sheppard and his group.
"Yesss…wait…ship? No one said anything about a ship." He looked at Mayor and then at Cadman who just shook her head in ignorance. "Do you know what kind of ship?"
"Ship is big. You are standing on it now," he said as he pointed to the ground around them. "The whole city is built on it and within it. It protects us from the Wraith."
Sheppard looked at the ground and then at the entrance.
Mayor continued, "We've tried to learn everything we can about the Great Ship, but we can do no more. Now we need your help." Mayor peered around Sheppard searching for the missing team members. "The Daganians and Parcinese have also relayed your helpfulness. Your experience in these matters is great, yes?"
"Well now, that's very nice of the both of them…" Sheppard started, but Teyla and Rodney walking quickly up to the group interrupted him.
"I found him digging in the dirt on the other side of that tower," said Teyla pointing to a very out of place piece of equipment. It must have caught Rodney's astute eyes as a 'golly gee that sure as shootin' doesn't belong here' item.
To say Rodney was excited would not be fair to the waves of energy rolling off of him. He faced the Mayor of the Thack'eeryn and actually bounced. McKay liked to poke fun at the Colonel for a spark in the eye about anything that related to a military find. What pilot would not be intrigued by an alien arsenal or warship? But, a spark was insignificant to the bon fire consuming McKay's entire being.
"This is an amazing find…we need to take readings…we need to do metallurgical studies…complete computer studies…" McKay paused and locked onto the little man, "Your entire city is on top of a space ship! It's not Wraith-- big relief there. It's not Ancient-- big disappointment there. It's something else entirely-- big whoo hoo there!"
"Why Dr. McKay," said Sheppard in his most hospitable voice, "are you saying that we might want to take a look-see? Because the mayor here is requesting a little assistance."
"Oooh yesss," McKay hissed out in a state of utter agitation. He looked ready to melt into a puddle of scientific, bubbling bliss. "Oh lets render assistance immediately. Like now, like right now."
Sheppard let out an amused puff of air, "Thanks Shaggy."
Ronon and Teyla once again rolled their eyes as they stood back. Sheppard saw it and kept his face neutral. He continued his conversation with the Thack'eeryn mayor.
"I think we'd be honored to render assistance," he stated simply. "Lt. Cadman would you please inform Dr. Weir that we'll be staying, and that yes, it's definitely worth checking out. Also, request another team for security purposes to set up a perimeter and make sure a pilot is with them. Have him take aerial pictures and scans from the Jumper."
"Yes sir," she paused and cocked her head, "Sir, as you go deeper in the structure, radio contact is nonexistent."
"Understood lieutenant. We'll contact you in…" He directed his next question to the mayor, "How long does it take to get to the Dormi?"
"About a tick of the sun in the sky," answered the mayor.
OK, that doesn't help, sighed Sheppard to himself. He looked from Rodney to Cadman who smiled.
"About thirty minutes sir," she answered.
"Give us two to three hours," he once again looked at Rodney who nodded with fervor in agreement. "You have your orders lieutenant."
"Yes sir," she said smiling. As she left the Thack'eeryn mayor's side, she brushed past Rodney. "If you had shown even a quarter of that enthusiasm towards Katie, things would've been different," she whispered and quickly walked off with a broad mischievous grin on her face.
McKay simmered, snorted and opened his mouth to answer but only gargled on incoherent words. His team looked anywhere but at him as Cadman's grin transferred to their faces. They started into the entrance with Rodney stomping and the rest pursing lips to regain composure.
Sheppard returned his attention back to Mayor of the Thack'eeryn, "So can you describe these Dormi? They're not grey and naked are they?"
With indignation still wrapped around him, McKay erupted, "Oh for Pete's sake, this is definitely not an Asgard ship! This is completely new! We've never seen anything like this before…Wait, Dormi? What about the Dormi?"
Sheppard smiled condescendingly at McKay, "He was about to explain when you so graciously rejoined us." He bowed his head towards the mayor, "Please continue."
"They're those that sleep. One room has four chambers but only two contain the Dormi. We know not what they look like, because the chambers are cloudy." The mayor continued the walk down the corridor as he spoke, "They've always been here. We just know nothing about them."
"Hopefully we can help," offered Sheppard.
As they followed the seemingly unending corridors, Rodney kept a close eye on the display on his hand held device. "This ship's nominal energy readings are very unusual and very interesting."
"Liiike…" Sheppard prompted.
"It pulses like a heartbeat. Like there's a whole pulmonary and cardiovascular system." He started searching the walls and found an obvious area to interface with the ship. He held the scanner in front of it and grinned. "This may be a huge assumption on my part…but…I think this ship is alive on a certain level."
Sheppard stopped immediately making Teyla side step to keep from plowing into him. He gaped at McKay. "Alive? You mean this structure that these people live in and we're walking through is alive?"
"Yep." It was short sweet and to the point. It also held that self-righteous smugness for which he was famous.
"Now I know what Jonah felt like in the fish." Sheppard turned slowly to face the mayor. He and Ronon had stopped farther ahead.
"What's wrong?" Ronon called back to them.
"Oh nothing, apparently we're in the belly, lymph nodes or arterial passageways of the ship," Sheppard retorted. "McKay thinks the ship's alive."
Not many things garnered a big reaction from Ronon Dex. He tended to keep everything close and this was no exception.
"Oh."
"Oh! Oh?" McKay bellowed. "We're talking about an amazing possibility! A being whose sole purpose is to ferry other beings around. Look at these conduits! They're organic, not plastic. Even the walls aren't made of metal or other inorganic materials. They're made of…well I don't know, but it sure as hell ain't mineral dug out of the ground and forged. And by the way, we're in the spaces between the lymph nodes. It's a ship, therefore, there's space for a crew." McKay finished and started walking towards the mayor and Ronon.
"Oh," said Ronon again, but this time with a sly, sparkle in the eye.
McKay let out a long-suffering sigh and mumbled under his breath about the love he was feeling from the group today.
They returned to their game of follow the leader down the increasingly disturbing hallways. The walls were a pearly off-white and seemed to give off a false sense of movement. Sheppard noticed that there were no discernable lights. The very walls with their nauseating swirl seemed to be the source of illumination. He wanted to run his hands over the surface to make sure it was physically there. For some reason, he thought it could be an illusion. Even though Rodney kept insisting this was something completely new to them, he was not so sure. He could not put his finger on it but this was strangely familiar. The tip-of-the-tongue feeling was completely annoying.
The fact the ship itself was alive made it even creepier. Was it watching them? Was it waiting for them to wake up these Dormi so it would have a crew again? Did it know it was home to a couple of thousand people? Would it be mad? He really hoped not.
From the outside, it looked like a hillside. When they walked through the outside passageway, it looked like an entrance to an underground bunker or complex. To find out it was nothing of the sort was disconcerting and exciting. Maybe it held secrets and information that could help them here and on Earth. One could only hope, because the last time they mistakenly stepped into a mountain that wasn't...
He let that thought drop. No use dwelling on it now. Maybe the here and now would help with the other faux mountain. He looked at Teyla and Ronon who were much more cautious than before. He agreed wholeheartedly with that heightened sense of vigilance. Of course Rodney, on the other hand, was totally immersed in whatever his little device was telling him. There was lots of mumbling today. Although, this mumbling was more a question and answer session with himself. Utter and complete bliss.
They finally reached a solid wall at the end of an impressively long corridor. "Um, Mayor, where's the door?" He looked at Teyla and Ronon to make sure he was not missing something. Ronon and Teyla shrugged.
"I have not seen any doors Colonel," added Teyla.
Damn, she was right. Neither had he. He looked at Rodney whose nose was practically touching the scanner. Then he quickly looked up at the wall. An entranceway formed as if a curtain was being pulled back. McKay stepped forward in awe and touched the edge of the doorway.
"Solid. It's solid. This is incredible. As I said, nothing we've seen before." He said it with an unearthly quality in his voice.
"It has always been so," Mayor explained. "The Great Ship always allows us entrance where we wish it except for two or three rooms. We assume they are very important and not for our eyes."
"The ship's very wise then," said McKay absently studying the wall.
Ronon grabbed McKay's shoulder and pushed him back. Ronon should have burst into flames from the glare he received. Ignoring McKay, he walked into the chamber first to survey and nodded for the rest to enter. Rodney went, then Teyla and finally Sheppard. Mayor remained in the corridor as an assistant called to him from down the hall. He excused himself and walked to meet him.
"Let's not touch anything yet until we see what's what," ordered Rodney. He gave a pointed look at Sheppard, "Especially you."
"What? You said this wasn't Ancient, so what am I or you, for that matter, going to set off?" Sheppard rejoined. "I'll just stand over here with Teyla and Ronon until you beckon." And he did. They stood near the door along an empty wall.
The room was square with four bed-like rectangular devices, two on each side of the room. Two had an oblong dome-like covering. The other two looked like suspended cots. It was as the Thack'eeryn mayor had said; the domes were opaque and obscured the residents within.
Rodney broke the silence, "Only one has a live…person?…being?…let's go with being…in it. The other being is dead." He contorted his face into a deep grimace of concentration. "These aren't stasis pods. They're just glorified beds. Oxygen rich beds with a little something mixed in to help with sleep."
Sheppard walked over to Rodney past a console in the middle of the room. He stepped up next to him and looked at the monitor over the viable bed occupant. "How long did the mayor say this being has been asleep?"
"As long as they've been here which is over a hundred generations. And look, the dome is made of energy, like a shield. It's kind of similar to the way a Wraith dart's enclosed." Rodney knelt down by the bed and squinted. He went to touch it.
"I swear McKay!" Sheppard hollered as he grabbed the man's wrist. "Do you ever listen to your own advice?"
"You're right. It's just so shiny," he snarled. "I wasn't going to touch the shield just the edge of the bed so I can see underneath."
The beds jutted out of the wall with no visible legs or anchors of any kind. They must have been attached inside or perhaps were just an extension of it. Satisfied McKay was not going to get zapped or zap any of them, he let go of his wrist.
"Who do you think you'll need to study this?" Sheppard asked as he walked to the other bed. This room was eerie with the sleeping beauty in one and the other acting as a modified casket.
"Biro, Zelenka, one of the zoologists…Peters, a biologist…Tompkins? Thompson? A metallurgical specialist…damn, can't remember his name at all. Any support staff they need. Good thing you already had the Jumper starting an aerial study…I know I'm forgetting something but this is just so extraordinary!" Rodney took in a big breath, "I think we have months, years of study here!" He stood up and beamed at the rest of his team manically.
Their attention was diverted as Mayor entered the room. "The Lt. Col. Sheppard! The Lt. Cadman sends word that the others have arrived."
Sheppard left the other bed and almost ran into the console in the middle of the room. His hand hit the side to guide himself around it and to keep his balance. Immediately, the doorway disappeared like sand filling in a hole. The shield surrounding the bed with the live being cleared.
"What did you touch?" yelled Rodney.
"Nothing! Just the side I swear. I didn't touch anything on top!" Sheppard shouted back. "I thought you said this isn't Ancient!"
"It's not! It's not!" Rodney answered vehemently.
With guns raised at the being reawakening in the bed, bodies stayed still except Rodney who slowly walked backwards to rejoin his team.
The dome melted away and the previously slumbering eyes slowly opened. He sat up and peered at each person for a few seconds at a time. Disappointment colored his expression after his superficial study of the other occupants of the room.
Mayor of the Thack'eeryn stepped tentatively forward. "Greetings…"
The contemptuous look shot at him halted his welcome. Black eyes devoid of any other color settled on Sheppard, McKay and Teyla before he finally spoke. The question was not an expected one.
"They sent mongrels?"
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A/N: As always, please feel free to leave feedback.