Teyla opened her eyes but there was nothing, only darkness. She tried to stand but a sickening wave of pain throbbed through her. She took a moment to let the pain pass. There was a dread in her gut, a nagging, gnawing feeling that only served to tell her what she already knew: she was in trouble. She reached up to touch her head and felt the warm thickness of her own blood; a deep cut resided there. She wanted to call out, but fear stopped her. She had no idea where she was, or indeed, how she had gotten there. It would be reasonably safe to assume she'd been on a mission with Sheppard, Ronon, and McKay. So logically, they would be somewhere close too, maybe wounded or confused as she was. She checked for her weapon or anything else, but she found nothing on her person. There was no light at all, so she just sat listened for a moment and calmed her thoughts. She could hear breathing to her left and it was low and wheezing. She reached out feeling along the ground as she moved forward. It was hard and cold, like metal maybe and occasionally other protrusions that were not as cool. She found something soft and warm… she worked her way up what appeared to be a leg.

'Ronon?' She shook it a little and heard the breathing pattern change. 'Ronon? John?' she whispered. A hand gripped hers suddenly and she pulled away. She assumed a defensive stance as best she could.

'Teyla?'

'Rodney?' She relaxed her body.

'Yes. I can't see you…'

'I cannot see anything yet.' She frowned and felt along the ground to where Rodney was and sat next to him. 'Actually, I have no memory of arriving here at all.'

She felt McKay shift beside her and she sensed he was trying to look at her.

'I don't remember either,' he paused, 'what was the mission?' he said loudly.

'Shhhh, Rodney. We don't know who is here or whether we are in immediate danger. We should approach with caution, yes?'

'Yes. Have you heard or seen anything to suggest we are not alone? Where are Sheppard and Ronon?'

'No, but I have not been awake that long. I would assume John and Ronon were with us, perhaps we should look for them?'

'But we can't see to find them.'

'We could crawl and feel out. Stay close and don't make a lot of noise.'

'How do we know if we are going in the right direction?'

'We do not know.'

'What if we are better off staying where we are, maybe Sheppard and Ronon will find us?'

'They might, but they also might need our help. What if they are injured?'

'Oh… I didn't think of that.'

'Are you ok, Rodney? Hurt at all?'

'I'm not sure… my head feels a little fuzzy, it's like I can't quite get my thoughts together.'

'Well, let's just try to find a way out of here and then reassess priorities then. One step at a time, Rodney.'

She heard him sigh and mutter something she couldn't quite catch but the unmistakable sounds of McKay moving were just to the right of her. She shifted on to all fours and crawled with him.

'Ow!'

'Rodney?'

'I'm okay, it's just the floor is full of sharp bits. I don't exactly have a working man's hands you know.'

'Try not to put your full weight on them until you are sure of the surface. And try to be quiet if you do find it to be uneven.'

'Yes, sorry.'

They moved forward again, and it was arduous going. Rodney was not quick and complained frequently, albeit quietly. Teyla remained calm outwardly, but on the inside, she was deeply troubled. She still did not recall getting here and it was clear whatever had happened was affecting them still. The lack of light was suffocating and frightening, but she persevered trying to find a way out. There had to be a door, walls, or something to indicate where they were. She could sense McKay's rising panic with each minute. She knew he would be imagining all the horrors that might be lurking in the dark and if she was truthful to herself, she'd imagined a few too. She would take John's advice; she'd heard him say it many times: take one life-threatening thing at a time… if you can. So first, find a way out or find light.

'Teyla?'

'Yes, Rodney?'

'I think I've found a wall.'

Teyla crawled forward and reached out… her fingertips brushed against hardness, cool to the touch and smooth. Slowly she found her way up and stood to find a low ceiling. She and Rodney would be able to pass through without hitting their heads, but she doubted Ronon would. She lowered her hand to Rodney.

'You can stand but the ceiling is low, be careful. What do you think the wall is made from?'

'Feels glass-like, maybe obsidian? It's smooth though, perhaps an old lava tube or maybe water polished it?'

'Let's follow it and see where it takes us.'

'On foot?' The fear in McKay's voice was tremulous.

'We will go slowly, but we must go on.' Teyla heard McKay give a squeak of agreement, so she moved along carefully testing each step before she committed to putting her full weight down. They moved along for about ten minutes before she the dread feeling resurfaced, this time it was stronger. She wanted to ignore it, but she daren't.

'Rodney?' she whispered, 'we need to be silent and on guard for a while.'

'Why? Have you seen something? Teyla?'

'Shhh… just trust me, Rodney.'

Teyla heard McKay's breathing increase and she heard him moving more, probably trying to see behind him in the dark. Their progress was difficult but eventually a small dim light started to appear in the distance. Rodney tapped her but she grasped his hand and shushed him. They didn't know what the light was or where it led. The only advantage was being able to see a little ahead. There were no obvious faults, cracks, or holes, but still she carefully made her way to the glow in front.

As they approached, it became apparent the light was emanating from a tiny crack. Teyla examined the area and found small holes, maybe hand holds to move the rock back. It seemed impossible for just one person to move it.

'I think there is an exit here… but I'm not sure we can move it.'

'Give it a try, obsidian is not as heavy as it looks.'

'Or maybe you could help?'

'What? Yes, of course.'

Rodney moved slightly in front and found some of the holes, Teyla did the same, and they heaved together. It shifted slightly and a beam of light shone in.

'Again,' said Teyla. They pulled again and this time it rolled horizontally. They readjusted their handholds and pulled again. The light was blinding at first and they paused a moment to allow their eyes to get used to it.

Outside they were at the foot of a massive outcropping of rock. It was jagged, black and glinted in the light. In front of them was sea of black glinting sand. The light was dimmed like the sun was far away and the light was blueish. On the horizon was a vista of buildings, tall and narrow but crumbling. Immediately there was nothing around them.

Teyla looked at Rodney.

'How the hell did we get here?' said Rodney.

Ronon awoke slowly. He became aware of how uncomfortable he was, and his arm had fallen asleep. He sat up and rubbed at it whilst he looked around. The room he was in was dark, but there was light coming from above. Half the room was filled with black sand that seemed to have come from above. There was a doorway behind him, and he heard the wind whistling through it. It also sounded like it went down instead of up. This was not the direction he wanted to go in. Ronon saw no other way out that hadn't already been covered by sand. Shrugging he started to climb the sand and quickly saw that more was shifting down into the hole now that he'd dislodged it. In time it would be easier to climb, but Ronon did not know how much time he could spare, so he ran at it, using his speed and strength to launch himself up the slope. He grabbed at the edges of the opening and pulled himself out into the open.

The building he climbed out into had no windows and was completely open to the elements. Sand had entered and engulfed that side of the building. Ronon walked outside and squinted in the sunlight. There were many buildings here and no sign of life.

'Ronon!' He looked around but couldn't see who was calling him, although it did sound like Sheppard. 'Up here, Ronon,' He looked up and saw Sheppard waving at him. 'I'll come to you, might take me a while…'

Ronon waited. After Fifteen minutes he went inside the building he'd seen Sheppard on top of and headed up the stairs that he could see. He tested their strength first, just to make sure. He found Sheppard two floors up sitting with his legs stretched out.

'You ok?' asked Ronon.

'I've had much better days.'

Ronon looked at the leg.

'Is it broken?'

'No… more of the slightly fractured variety. I can walk on it, but I'm pretty sure Carson would be telling me not too.'

'Good, because I'm not carrying you.'

'Good, because I don't want you to.'

'Do you remember how we got here?'

'Ah… I was hoping you would know. I did wake up in a dart, you?'

'I was unconscious then I woke in the basement of one of these buildings. I haven't been awake long.'

'You hurt?'

'No.'

'Well, that's good news at least.'

'The others?'

'Seen no sign of them, but maybe they aren't awake yet. My current theory is that we escaped the Wraith on a dart, and I rematerialized you before crashing face-first into the planet.'

'Sounds like a reasonable theory.'

'I thought so. Help me up?'

Ronon reached down and helped Sheppard up on to his feet. John winced and drew breath sharply. He looked down at the leg and watched as Sheppard gingerly put a little weight on it. It was quite swollen, and he thought John was being generous with his assessment. He raised an eyebrow.

'What?' asked Sheppard.

Ronon offered his arm and Sheppard took it without a word. They carefully made their way down the steps.

'I'm amazed this place is still standing, it looks like it has been here for a very long time, and I've seen some really decrepit buildings of recent months.' John observed.

'They don't want visitors here,' said Ronon.

'No, the zapping ships out of the sky schtick being the big clue there. Probably should be careful in these buildings, you never know what might give them reason to collapse. One loud word might be all it needs.' Sheppard poked the ground with his hand and seemed satisfied it was sturdy.

'Which way should we head?' ask Ronon, glancing around and being generally alert.

'Well… that was the direction I came in from and judging from the position of the dart, we should go in the opposite. Maybe we'll find the others, but I think heading in the direction of the other crashed ships is our only hope of finding anything at all to help us. I should mention, I saw smoke earlier, which might mean another crashed ship. I'm thinking Wraith.'

Ronon nodded and they slowly starting to move in the direction Sheppard indicated. Sheppard was struggling but wouldn't hear of splitting up now. Dex was frustrated.

'We should walk through the building here, it will be less ground to cover, and quicker for you,' said Ronon.

'No… I don't trust the buildings. Safer on the outside I would say,' Sheppard replied.

'I think time may not be on our side. We have no idea what night will bring. I am concerned there might be predators,' Ronon looked at Sheppard's leg, 'Fast ones.'

Sheppard blinked a few times and then looked around and saw that the sun was indeed falling.

'Days seem short here,' observed Sheppard.

'The nights may be much longer,' said Ronon.

'All right, all right… you made your point. We go the less dangerous, dangerous way, but you can note my strong objection,' Sheppard turned and started to limp in the direction that Ronon had indicated. He seemed less patient than usual and Ronon put that down to the pain.

They walked through the buildings and saw no remains of who lived here, just the empty sandy shells. Sheppard was flagging and Ronon took to helping him through the more difficult areas. The one they were currently traversing was up and over some sand. Once at the top Ronon reached for Sheppard and pulled him past the peak and helped him over. Sheppard yelped in surprise and Ronon saw him slipping down the slope toward a hole that had opened. Dex dove after him grabbing Sheppard's hands but had no way of stopping his momentum. He dug his feet in and slowed but the sand started to slew past him pushing them into the opening. Sheppard hung over the edge and Ronon gripped him as tightly as he could. The dune shifted behind and ploughed straight into him accelerating him toward Sheppard who yelled. Ronon had no choice and they went into the darkness together.

'Ronon? Ronon, can you hear me?' Ronon felt Sheppard patting him on the leg.

'Yes, I here you.' It was then that he noticed the dark. Not his favorite place to be.

'So, sit-rep would be slightly worse now we have fallen into an ancient basement. The sand fell in on us and filled the room. I managed to stop you from drowning in the sand, you're welcome.'

Ronon sat up and found Sheppard who was sitting next to him.

'Well, we should find an alternative route out.'

'You think?' Sheppard sounded tired.

'I do,' Ronon smirked in the dark.

'Ok, but you do realise that means you'll have to follow me,' said Sheppard.

'I know.'

Twenty minutes later and Ronon felt like shoving Sheppard into a wall.

'This would be much quicker if you did not stop every ten footsteps,' said Ronon.

'Oh, can you see now? Because I can't,' replied Sheppard, who was clearly irritated.

'Why don't you let me lead then?'

'Well, that'd be the blind leading the blind wouldn't it?'

'Yes.'

Sheppard stopped again and Ronon walked into him.

'You've stopped again.'

'Yes, I have. I can feel something under my foot.'

There was a pause and Ronon heard Sheppard brushing the ground with his foot and then the sound of fabric touching, which meant he was probably bending over. He waited patiently for Sheppard to tell him what he'd found.

'Don't you want to know what I've found?'

'Yes.'

Sheppard sighed.

'You are no fun sometimes, Ronon. I think I may have found an outcropping of rock.'

Ronon raised his eyebrows, not that Sheppard could see. He'd noticed that John was less patient than usual. It could be the situation they'd found themselves in. Ronon could not remember arriving, nor could he remember the journey or briefing beforehand. Sheppard had made it clear he also could not recall the events that had passed. It was likely Teyla and McKay were somewhere nearby too, confused and uncertain. Finding them both was urgent. Sheppard was determined to find them and Ronon felt the same.

'Okay, it's not important. We need to keep moving.'

They moved on silently for a while and Ronon heard Sheppard sigh a few times.

They'd had been walking for about an hour or so and they'd found not one light source. It was frustrating.

'So do you think there are some weird aliens watching us with heat cameras, laughing at all the things we are stumbling over?' asked Sheppard.

'No.'

'Really, just no?'

'Doesn't seem a good use of time or equipment.'

'What do you think they are doing?'

'I don't think anyone is watching us.'

'Why not?'

'If they meant us harm, we'd be dead or captured. They are either indifferent to us or perhaps no one brought us here.'

'If it wasn't purposeful, what the hell was it?'

'If McKay were here I'm sure he'd have an idea.'

'Well, he isn't so why don't you tell me what you think.'

'It feels like happenstance.'

'Happenstance? Where did you hear that word?'

'From McKay. Why?'

'Just sounds weird when you say it.'

'I liked it.'

'Okay, so why do you think it was "happenstance"?'

'Because no one seems to be watching. It feels like we were going somewhere but something stopped that from happening.'

'So you're going on instinct here.'

'Yup.'

'Y'know even with absolutely zero evidence, I'm inclined to go with your gut on this one.'

Sheppard stopped sharply and Ronon crashed straight into him.

'There is light ahead…' said Sheppard.

The dimmest of glows appeared up ahead and Ronon had to squint to see it. They increased their pace and headed straight for it. Sheppard didn't let his guard down for a second and checked every conceivable corner. As they drew closer, they slowed and quieted on approach. It was a cave mouth and it opened out to a beach.

They stepped out on to soft black sand and took a few moments to have a long look around them.

'Ronon?'

'Yeah?'

'You recognise this place?'

'Nope.'

'Me either… wait, is that a hive ship?' Sheppard pointed out to the ocean of sand and sure enough, there seemed to be a Wraith ship. There were holes in its hull and it, like the buildings in front of them seemed to be decayed. As Ronon scanned the horizon, he saw multiple ships in various states of decay.

'There are a lot of crashed vessels and not all are Wraith,' said Ronon. 'We are closer than before; we must have headed in the right direction.'

Ronon watched to see if there were any movement. Sheppard was frowning and appeared to be thinking about what they should do next. The blue light didn't help much it made everything seem harder to look at.

'There is not much here for anyone to survive on,' said Ronon.

Sheppard sighed again and pointed at the hive ship.

'I reckon the Wraith would have something to survive on. They've shown that they can survive long periods without… food. They hibernate if they have to so we should be prepared for that.'

'Blue dwarf.'

'What?' Sheppard squinted in confusion.

'I remember McKay talking about a blue dwarf.'

'A dwarf star?'

'Yes.'

'Well that would explain the light. Remember anything else?'

'Yes… no. I'm not sure.'

'Try and drag it up if you can?'

'I can see McKay talking, he was excited for some reason, but I can't remember what he was saying.'

'Well that could be any normal day for us,' said Sheppard, but he frowned and looked around in the failing light.

'I'm sure Teyla and McKay are fine,' said Ronon.

'Well, I hope so, but until I know I'm going to keep looking. Why do you mention it?'

'You seem worried.'

'I am worried.'

'More than usual.'

'I am more worried than usual.'

'I know, which is why I mentioned it.'

'Teyla can handle herself. I mean, if they survived getting here…'

'I'm sure Rodney will be fine too.'

'I didn't say I was worried about McKay.'

'You didn't have too.'

'What is that supposed to mean?'

Ronon gave Sheppard a look.

'What the hell is that look supposed to mean.'

Ronon shook his head and smiled.

'There is another ship over there, we should check it out,' said Ronon.

Sheppard limped up to Ronon and grabbed his arm, Ronon looked at John's hand and then into John's eyes. He saw fire there but Sheppard seemed to realise himself and let go.

'I'm starting to think you wish you'd gotten lost with someone else,' said Ronon.

Sheppard didn't say anything straight away and seemed to consider his response.

'Well, I know I'm grateful for the quiet moments.'

They walked in further silence. The eeriness of the abandoned place was not lost on Ronon and he viewed such places with suspicion. They usually held secrets and it seemed that this world certainly held a few. He looked out over the sand as they walked to the next carcass and wondered how many had died trying to get here. Each ship held death and the unburied dead. He tried not to think about how long ships had been snared to their demise here.

'That ship looks Ancient,' said Sheppard.

'They do look like they've been here a long time,' replied Ronon.

'No, I mean "Ancient" ancient.'

'It seems a better choice that the Wraith ship,' said Ronon.

'I agree.'

They headed toward it silently, Sheppard's outburst hanging around like a cousin no-one wanted to talk to. As they approached Ronon saw damage on the outside, someone had already cut through the hull. Whoever that someone was, they did it a long time ago, as the sand had also made its way into the ship. It was clear that the sand had eroded parts over time.

Before entering Ronon took a moment to look behind and double check the way they had come. The desert seemed to head to a mountainous region, where John had come from, which also seemed to have no plant life of any kind. He squinted ahead and saw what he thought looked like two figures. Ronon looked away, allowed his eyes to adjust, and glanced back. Yup, two people making their way across the inhospitable sand.

'Sheppard… there are two people walking across the sand.'

John turned quickly and placed his hand over his eyes to shade them.

'I see them. Could be Teyla and Rodney…'

'Could be Wraith or someone else too.'

'Yeah.' Sheppard watched them for a minute. 'I'm like ninety percent sure that is them, but let's duck down behind this ship and make sure before we go announcing ourselves, yeah?' They settled down behind and peeked carefully over the top as the inbound made their way across.

***

It was dry and arid. The black sand reminded Rodney of the black basalt beaches on Earth. Not that he'd been to one. Of course, if he were going to choose one it would be Hawaii and not Iceland or Greenland or wherever the cold ones were. This place seemed no less hospitable. It wasn't warm and the wind across the sand was biting.

McKay glanced at Teyla. The blood that had run down her face was drying and had particles of black sand sticking to it. He admired that she wasn't scratching the hell out of her face, as he would have been. Sand was the worst for getting in places where you did not want it. His legs ached from the uneven steps in the sand and his belly was reminding him that food was required. This place held nothing so far that could be eaten or drunk. Frankly, he'd stopped worrying about whether they were going to be jumped by aliens, animals, or anything else.

McKay stopped for a moment and tried to squint at the sun from behind his hand. It seemed dimmer than usual. He didn't have his equipment to log anything, but there was something odd about this sun. Not just the light but something niggled in the back of his mind and he couldn't quite reach the memory. When he looked back down over the sand shadowed dots played in front of his vision like echoes on his retina. They were getting closer to what they could see now, were buildings of some sort. Of course, it was post-apocalyptic, like a lot of the worlds they visited. They were no longer buildings, but the carcasses left behind. Rodney hoped whatever had consumed this place was long gone. He feared the Wraith, but with nothing left here it seemed an unlikely place for them to be. Well… he could hope anyway.

'Do you think we should look inside those derelicts?' asked Rodney.

'It might be worthwhile; we need to find some sort of communication device.'

They started to approach the buildings and pass by some rocks, but Rodney paid them little attention. He saw the sandy wasteland and he saw the ships and something, somewhere stirred inside him. Yes, there was fear; he knew Wraith ships on sight but something else… something familiar. The world around him faded for a moment and he saw a plethora of ships raining down in his mind's eye.

'Perhaps we should look inside some of those ships, not all of them seem devastatingly old. We might get lucky, plus I don't love that these skyscrapers look like one good sneeze could down them, y'know,' said McKay looking around suspiciously.

'Very well, we will head in that direction.'

Teyla's voice sounded tense and tired and for once Rodney recognised, she might not be feeling great.

'Are you feeling okay, Teyla?' asked Rodney.

Looking surprised Teyla replied, 'I am fine.'

'You sure? We can rest a bit if you want?' Rodney didn't mean to stare at her cut, but he did.

'Well, maybe for a few minutes, but do not let me fall asleep,' said Teyla.

'Yes, to be honest I don't mind sitting for a minute at all,' said Rodney, who was itching to get to the ships to see if they had food, water, communication devices etc.

McKay gazed into the distance, looking at all the different types of ship. He was sure that Ronon and Sheppard would also head this way, it seemed the obvious choice to him. He was sure he'd be able to rig something up to help from one of these ships. The problems would occur from whether there were still some inhabitants and what was downing the ships. He frowned when he tried to remember how he got here. The memories just weren't there. He remembered movie night. He remembered he wanted to kill Zelenka and then testing the jumper. They'd taken it on a short hop to a friendly planet but from there it all became a bit fuzzy.

'I am sure John is fine. He and Ronon are probably making their way over too,' said Teyla.

'Assuming they are ok of course. I know they are big boys; I'd just prefer to know they are okay. Better still, I'd prefer to remember exactly how we got here,' said McKay.

'Come, we shall get to the ships and try to find something with which we can gain their attention,' said Teyla, as she stood, she wobbled slightly. McKay quickly put his arm out to steady her but she just smiled, 'I am fine, I should have moved a little slower.'

'Are you sure you don't want to rest some more,' asked McKay.

'I think I will once we get into one of those ships, I will feel better about resting.'

McKay failed to notice when Sheppard stood next to him or when he heard Teyla laugh with relief. And just for a moment, when he looked over to the buildings, they weren't ruined, they were vibrant, bright, and clean. Then the moment was gone.

'Watcha looking at McKay?' asked Sheppard.

McKay looked at him, his eyes widened and he stepped back.

'Where the hell did you come from?'

Sheppard pointed to the part of the ship that he and Teyla had walked past.

'We were hiding there, you know the blind spot you didn't check when you were walking past.'

'Why did you say anything?'

'We weren't sure it was you and then we decided to stay put to make sure you weren't being followed or anything. You weren't, just so you know.'

'I knew,' said Teyla.

'It wasn't your abilities I was doubting,' said Sheppard. 'Besides if you two are anything like we are, you don't remember getting here or what we were doing before.'

McKay raised his eyebrows again.

'So, whatever happened has affected us all. Something localised?' said McKay.

'We thought a weapon,' said Ronon.

'If were all in the jumper together that might make sense, but where is the Jumper?' asked McKay.

'Another excellent question, but I was in a crashed dart, Ronon was in the basement of a building. Where did you two wake up?' replied Sheppard.

'We were in a cave, but perhaps not a natural one, it was dark and we found our way out into the desert,' Teyla pointed where they came from.

McKay watched Sheppard and thought he looked tired. This was not an easy fix and the mystery was clearly irritating Sheppard. All Rodney knew was that he felt just as awkward and fumbling as he always had, plus he did not know what was happening either. He wasn't sure if he'd hallucinated earlier or whether he'd just been daydreaming, and his stomach growled to let him know that it was a priority too.

'So anyone got any ideas at all?' asked Sheppard as he looked around. 'Other than the dart transporting us all theory?'

Rodney looked out at the hive ship and his gut churned in fear. It was clear whatever civilisation had been here was gone so that left the ships. They could get out to one of the ships and maybe try to find some working tech. But just how they'd do that he wasn't sure. Then there was the natural wildlife, god knows what was living in there and how hungry it was. He looked up at the buildings and could see some of them were quite high. They might be able to get a better idea of where they were geographically by climbing up and looking out. This too seemed dangerous given the decrepitness of the structures. Rodney turned and looked back at the way he and Teyla had come across the black sand dunes. Left of them was a flat looking plain that spanned out.

'McKay, you seem deep in thought over there. Care to share with the rest of the class?' asked Sheppard.

Rodney was unable to retort. The weapons fire took them by surprise, and he saw Ronon fall. Sheppard threw himself at McKay and they landed with a thud.

'Where is it coming from,' Sheppard shouted.

'Over the rise and behind that building to the right,' Teyla replied.

Sheppard kept low and grabbed Ronon and dragged him. Sheppard yelped in pain but managed to move the larger man. He pointed at McKay and then at the nearest building.

'Run, Rodney,' he shouted and started moving in the same direction.

McKay got up, ran, and when he reached the outer wall of the building he turned and saw Sheppard fall. He instinctively went to run to them but Teyla stopped him.

'Wait,' she hissed. She moved along the edge of the wall and waited a moment before slowly peeking her head around the corner. McKay knew from her expression it was Wraith. They were unarmed and unable to fight back. Although judging from Sheppard and Ronon the Wraith were trying to capture them. Rodney suspected the Wraith might need them for other things and the prospect of that turned his gut again. He was just about to ask Teyla what they should do when she fell too. The Wraith had moved around and had flanked them. McKay held his hands up, hoping that maybe they wouldn't shoot him on the spot, but they did.

***

Elizabeth leaned against the railings; the tops of her hands warmed by the sun. She looked out to the shining ocean whose waves glinted and listened in the morning light. She loved being awake before everyone else and taking the time to collect her thoughts before the day started. There was little wind, but the soft breezes were refreshing and energising. Moments of calm were something that she had grown to treasure especially in a place like Atlantis. She knew it wouldn't last but that didn't matter because she was, in the present moment, at ease.

It had only been four days since Rodney and John had come back with Lorne's team. She was pleased with the progress they had made although they have more questions than answers. She hoped to have a meeting with Carson today to discuss what further efforts would be required to understand specimens McKay had brought back. The initial reports look good but further investigation was required.

She hoped the day would be fruitful she still had a backlog of reports to read, package, and upload ready for command to receive. Unfortunately, just as she decided to go for an early breakfast, she heard the dulcet tones of the Stargate activating. She ran in up the stairs and looked to the nearest technician, Bailey.

'What's happening?'

'The gate just activated it's unscheduled. It appears to be from P5X-324.'

'That's the gate we've been trying to get through isn't it?'

'Yes, mam.'

'Is anyone trying to get through?'

'No, not currently, just the open aperture at this stage.'

'Right, we need both Sheppard and Lorne's teams up and mobile as soon as possible.'

'We are receiving a message.'

'On screen and play it.'

The screen flickered and displayed a vivid green. Weir looked around.

'Is that it?'

'Yes, it just loops.'

'Sheppard's team is still out. They've checked in and will be back in a matter of hours.'