John looked around at the rest of the team as the silence grew. Rodney looked disgusted, but John didn't think he looked particularly surprised as he typed something into the computer. Ford warily scanned the room and peered down the nearest hallway. John wondered if he was searching for Wraith or Ancient scientists. Teyla's expression was a mixture of disbelief and disappointment, and John was reminded that, to her people, the Ancients were seen as almost gods. The news these same Ancients were committing atrocities, even if it was in the name of survival, wouldn't be easy to swallow.
"Are we safe?" Ford asked a moment later. "There aren't Wraith still here just waiting for a handy meal, are there?"
Rodney shot John a startled look and pulled the Ancient scanner out of his vest pocket. "There's nothing on the scanner except us," he said, and held up the device for John to see the screen. He set the device on the edge of the console and pressed several of the tiles on the console.
John watched as the data on the computer screen changed every time McKay pressed another series of tiles. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to find the internal sensors for the outpost," Rodney said as he pressed another combination of tiles. "Got it," he muttered and switched to the computer. He typed a string of commands into the computer and sat back. "The station's sensors aren't finding any life signs other than us. I think we're safe."
John shook his head. "Wraith don't show up on the sensors if they're hibernating, remember?" He turned to Teyla only to see her standing with her head back and her eyes closed.
She held the pose for a few more seconds, then opened her eyes. "I do not sense any Wraith, either," she said.
"So what do we do?" Rodney asked. "We can't go home empty-handed. We need the naquadah."
"If the Wraith ever knew about this place, chances are they would have destroyed it," John replied. "If both the sensors and Teyla say there are no Wraith here, I think it's safe."
Rodney gave him a skeptical look. "Want to try that again and sound like you mean it? What about any captured Wraith still here and holding a grudge about being someone's science project?"
John glared back. "You said it yourself, we need the naquadah. Any information the Ancients had on Wraith ship movements or tactics would be good, too. Can you access the surveillance information from here?"
Rodney turned back to the console and worked for several minutes, muttering to himself as he first pressed tiles on the console then typed on the computer.
"According to what I've found so far," he said as he read the computer screen, "the outpost was initially set-up to mine for naquadah and other minerals. They didn't realise until after the facility was up and running that they'd stumbled upon a major route the Wraith took to get to certain feeding grounds." He looked up at John. "They disguised the surveillance with the mining operation and kept tabs on the Wraith for years."
"What about the experimentation?" John asked. "When did that start?"
Rodney tapped a few keys on the computer. "There's nothing here on how long they'd been capturing Wraith," he replied and paged through more data. "There are memos and notes here telling someone named Crius to stop the experiments. Not for any ethical reasons," he added with a scowl, "but because the Ancients in Atlantis felt he was risking the exposure of the outpost if he continued his 'research'." He mimed the quote marks.
He typed another query into the computer and frowned. He tapped a few of the tiles on the console, and the frown deepened. He sat back in his chair, and John knew before he even said anything the news wasn't good.
"The rest of the information isn't accessible from this system," McKay said and gave the console a disgusted look. "From what I can find, it looks like this," he waved at the console, "was tied to general functions for the outpost like the 'gate and the mining operation. Everything else must be on a separate system."
John scrubbed a hand through his hair. It made sense, he chastised himself. A secret operation doesn't stay secret if anyone can access the information. "Any ideas on where this other system might be located?"
Rodney typed a new request into the computer and sat back as a map of the outpost came up on the computer screen. "There's something over in this area," he pointed at the screen, "the system doesn't have any information on what work was done there, but I can't access any of those systems from here."
John frowned as he studied the map. "Where is the refinery in relation to that area?"
Rodney tapped a few keys on the computer and changed the map to a broad view of the outpost with two blinking dots. "The refinery is here." He pointed to a dot on the left side of the screen, not far from where they were. "The surveillance center, or whatever it was, is over there and down four levels." He pointed to the dot in the corner of the map.
"Of course they aren't anywhere near each other," John muttered half to himself as he studied the screen over McKay's shoulder. "All right, since it's closer, we'll find the refinery first, get the naqua -"
"Staying together will take too long," Rodney interrupted with a glance at his watch. "According to Elizabeth's time limit, we have a little over eleven hours left before we need to get back. If you want the intel, we need to split up. I can program the scanner to find the naquadah we need. While you do that, I'll find a terminal where I can access any files the Ancients may have had on the Wraith."
John frowned but knew Rodney was right. If they wanted to get the mineral and the intel, they needed to split up. "All right," he said a moment later. "But you aren't going alone. Ford and Teyla -"
"That won't work," Rodney said. "This facility is Ancient. Who knows what kind of security they have on the refinery or the surveillance areas. Someone with the gene needs to be in each group."
John weighed his options. Rodney was the only one who could get the information on the Wraith from the Ancient system. That left John to find the naquadah, and he'd need Ford to help carry the sample case. Even a small amount would be heavy. That left Rodney with Teyla as the other team.
He sighed and tried to keep the worry out of his expression as he looked from McKay to Teyla, images of Rasha and their recent encounter with Kolya dancing in his head. He didn't like the idea of sending his two civilians off alone, but it looked like he didn't have much choice.
The scanners said they were alone, he reminded himself. And Teyla didn't sense any Wraith. The risk would be minimal. He glanced from Rodney to Teyla and made his decision. "Fine. Teyla, go with him. Ford and I will get the naquadah and come find you in the research section."
Rodney nodded once, picked up the scanner, and plugged it into the computer. He typed a command string into the laptop then unplugged the scanner and handed it to John.
"Here. It's programmed to find the specific purity of naquadah we need for the generator. There's also a map of the facility," he said and shut down the computer before unplugging it from the console.
"I thought we just needed refined ore," Ford said as John took the scanner.
"If you want the generator to produce enough energy to power the shield, we need more than just any rock you happen to pick up," Rodney told him. "Even if we had the time, we can't refine the naquadah once we're back in Atlantis. Let's get this right the first time, shall we?"
"How much do you need?" John asked before Ford could say anything.
"As much as you can carry," Rodney said shortly. "Along with the generator, there may be some way to use the naquadah to modify the drones in the jumpers, so they have a wider area of impact." He gave John a fleeting look as he stuffed the computer and cables back in his pack.
He knows the shield won't be enough, John realised as Rodney busied himself with zipping up his pack.
"I'm not sure if it will work yet," McKay continued once he had the pack clipped to his vest. "I'm still working things out." He pointed at his head and glanced over at John. "Of course, assuming we actually survive all of this, we're going to need to build more generators to keep the city going, so get as much as you can."
"Stay in radio contact," John said a few moments later when Rodney dropped his gaze. "Check-ins every thirty minutes." He waited for Rodney's nod and Teyla's "Yes, Major" before he turned to Ford and led the way down the right-hand corridor.
It didn't take them long to find the refinery, though it was nothing like what John expected. What he thought he'd see was a vast area full of dirty conveyor belts, chemical holding tanks, and smelting equipment. He should have known better, he chastised himself. These were Ancients after all.
The refinery was still enormous, easily as big as the jumper bay in Atlantis, but that's where expectation and reality ended. The outpost refinery was elegant in its design. Long tubes ran along the walls of the room, feeding into various kilns and cisterns that were themselves decorated with carved geometric patterns. John turned in a slow circle as they entered and saw two more large doors leading into other areas of the facility. All told, John estimated the refinery was almost as big as one of the smaller piers in Atlantis.
He was still staring around the room when he heard Teyla's voice over the radio.
"Major Sheppard? This is Teyla."
John tapped his earpiece. "Go ahead."
"Checking in as ordered, Major. We are still looking for a route to the lab area where Rodney thinks he can access the information regarding the Wraith."
"Ask him if they've found the refinery, yet," John heard Rodney yell over the comm and tried not to smile.
"I was about to ask that, Rodney," Teyla replied, and John heard the slight edge in her tone.
"They were closer to the refinery than we were to the surveillance section. They should be there by now," John heard shouted over Teyla's radio.
Before either of them could say anything else, John jumped in, "Teyla, tell him we're here, and we're about to start the scan for the naquadah."
Teyla relayed the message.
"Any problems on your end?" John asked.
"No, Major," Teyla replied. "I believe the facility is deserted. We have yet to find the surveillance area, however. The lower levels more closely resemble a labyrinth rather than the carefully laid out corridors in Atlantis."
John glanced at his watch. They had less than ten hours to get back to Atlantis. "Copy that. We'll be as fast as we can and then come find you." John tapped the radio off and turned to Ford. "Let's go."
John set the scanner to the program Rodney created to find the naquadah and waited for it to lead them in a direction.
A few minutes later, he was still waiting.
"Maybe we're in the wrong part of the refinery," Ford suggested as he followed John toward a door in the far wall. "Doctor McKay said the MALP readings showed the naquadah was here."
"Let's hope so, Lieutenant, otherwise we have a big problem."
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Rodney glanced at his watch and grimaced as he stood from the console. "We need to find the fastest route to the surveillance area," he said once John and Ford were gone. He glanced down at the edge of the console and then over at the right-hand hallway. "And I just gave the scanner to Sheppard," he grumbled as he pulled out his computer again.
He pulled up the file on the outpost and traced hallways with a finger as Teyla moved to stand behind him. "All right," he said a moment later, "I think if we follow that hallway, " he pointed to the door to his left, "that will lead to a transporter. Once we're in the lower levels, I just need to find a console, and I should be able to access the surveillance files on the Wraith."
Rodney took one last look at the map, then closed the computer. He clipped his pack to his vest, tucked the laptop under his arm, and was halfway down the stairs when he realised Teyla wasn't behind him.
"We don't have all day," he said impatiently. He looked up at her still standing near the console and paused. "What?"
Teyla shook her head and hurried down the stairs. "I am sure it is nothing. I simply had a brief feeling of unease."
Rodney glanced around warily. "You're sensing Wraith?"
"No, I am certain we are alone here. It was a momentary feeling of … foreboding about this place."
"Great," Rodney groused and led the way out of the gate area. "Now you tell me."
Teyla pursed her lips. "The information you discovered regarding the Ancestors experiments with the Wraith was … unsettling. It may be nothing more than a desire on my part to not believe such research occurred," she told him.
Rodney shrugged. "If it's any consolation, I think it was just one person, this Crius. Most of the people here may not have even known what was going on."
"Perhaps," she replied sadly, and he let the matter drop.
Rodney found the familiar-looking door for the transporter and was about to touch the sensor when Teyla stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"You are certain there is enough power for the transporter to work?" she asked.
"Of course it will work," he told her and tapped the sensor.
There was a brief hesitation before the door opened and he glanced over at her. "It should work," he amended and stepped into the transporter. He waited for Teyla to join him, then tapped the screen where he thought the surveillance area was located.
There was another pause before the door closed. Rodney swallowed and did his best to hide how nervous he was. He didn't relish the idea of being trapped in the small room if the transporter decided to prove him wrong. "It'll work," he muttered to himself just before he heard the drone as the transporter engaged.
The doors slid open on a dimly lit atrium and Rodney tried to hide his sigh of relief as he stepped out and looked around at the hallways leading away in three different directions.
"This doesn't look right," Rodney mumbled and balanced the computer in one hand as he pulled up the map file again.
"It is time to check in with Major Sheppard," Teyla said and took a few steps away from the transporter.
"Major Sheppard? This is Teyla."
Rodney didn't bother to tap his own radio into the conversation, he needed to find the surveillance area, and hopefully, a console that could access the information they wanted. He looked around the atrium and saw a stone sculpture with a flat top, balanced the computer on the statue, and started tracing routes on the map.
"Checking in as ordered, Major," he heard Teyla say a few seconds later. "We are still looking for a route to the observation area where Rodney thinks he can access the information regarding the Wraith."
"Who designs a facility like this?" Rodney mumbled to himself as another route dead-ended for no good reason. He glanced at his watch again. A little less than ten hours left, he noted and frowned. If John was having as much trouble finding the refinery, they had a problem. "Ask him if they've found the refinery, yet," he called over his shoulder to Teyla.
"I was about to ask that, Rodney," Teyla replied.
Rodney glanced over at her and saw the exasperated expression on her face. "They were closer to the refinery than we were to the surveillance section. They should be there by now," he pointed out and turned back to the computer.
He scanned through another section of the map and found what looked like an area with several hallways with smaller rooms leading out from a central atrium. "That's more like it," he said to himself. If he was right, the atrium should have a central console where he could access all of the information for the section, including the surveillance data they wanted.
"John says they are at the refinery and have started looking for the mineral," Teyla said, and Rodney nodded absently as he traced another series of hallways looking for a route to the atrium. At least something was going right, he thought to himself.
"Yes!" he said a moment later and closed the computer. "I think I found the right hallway," he said to Teyla as she signed off the radio. "We need to go this way," he pointed to the middle hallway.
They spent another twenty minutes wending through various hallways, Rodney's impatience growing as he glanced at his watch more and more often before they finally found the atrium.
"Finally," Rodney groused as they entered the room and looked around.
A horseshoe-shaped console sat in the middle of the room raised off the floor by four wide steps encircling the console area. Six more hallways led away from the room in different directions, and he could see several doors down each corridor.
Rodney climbed up the stairs and studied the console for a moment as Teyla looked around the rest of the room. He touched the top edge of the console, not bothering to hide his pleased smile as the Ancient system responded to the ATA gene. He unclipped his pack from his vest and pulled out the combo-computer and interface cables then looked around and found a stool at the other end of the horseshoe, dragged it over, and settled in front of the rounded section of the console with a few familiar-looking tiles.
Once the computer was plugged into the access port, he started a basic search of the system. He glanced up as Teyla stood next to him. "I think we're in the right place," he told her as the computer beeped and he quickly read the information on the screen and nodded.
"There is a lot of data here," he said a moment later. "It's going to take me a few minutes to dig through all of this and find what we need." He typed a new query into the computer then pulled a power bar out of his vest pocket as he scanned the information the console sent to the computer.
Teyla nodded. "I will check the other hallways."
Rodney glanced up from the computer as he took a bite from the energy bar. "I thought you said the outpost was deserted."
"I believe it is," she replied. "However, there may be other information, or possibly devices, we could take back to Atlantis."
"Hmm, good point." He pressed a series of tiles on the console and read the data on the computer screen. "If you find something, come get me," he called as Teyla wandered down one of the hallways. "And don't touch anything!"
"I will let you know if there is anything of interest," Teyla promised and disappeared down the corridor.
"All right, let's see what you can tell me," Rodney muttered to the console as he finished the power bar and stuffed the wrapper in his pocket then tapped in another series of commands into the computer.
He didn't notice the small tile on the far section of the console behind him start blinking each time he pressed the console tiles.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Teyla walked down the hallway, the P-90 held low but ready. She wasn't expecting any sort of trouble but had learnt from years of hunting for food and hiding from the Wraith not to take anything for granted. The first few rooms off the corridor were all unremarkable. A few held a work table, not unlike the table in Rodney's lab, but no artefacts were lying about waiting for someone to inspect them nor were there any journals full of exciting information waiting to be deciphered.
She tapped her earpiece and said, "Teyla to Major Sheppard."
"Go ahead, Teyla."
"We have found the observation area and a console. Rodney is trying to access the surveillance information now."
"Good work," John replied, and Teyla thought she heard a touch of relief in his voice.
"There are several corridors off the atrium where Rodney is working, I am searching them now. The rooms appear to be abandoned work areas. Have you found the naquadah? "
"We're still searching the refinery," John replied. "This place is huge. Don't get too far away from McKay," he added. "We don't have time for anyone to get lost."
"I understand, Major. Teyla out." She tapped her earpiece and continued to the end of the hallway where she found a large room.
Unlike the smaller work areas, equipment she did not recognise lined the shelves at the back of the room while a table that looked eerily similar to one of Doctor Beckett's exam beds sat in the center of the room. She frowned at the sight of the metal restraints attached to the bed. A small console was built into the wall to her left.
There were several smaller rooms along the wall to her right, each one with a door made out of the same sort of louvered bars as the holding cell in Atlantis where the Wraith John had insisted on calling Steve had been held captive. All of the doors were open. She stopped at the first door, glanced inside the small room, and took a startled step back when she spotted the bones on the floor.
Once she was past the initial shock, she knelt down and studied the bones further, a terrible suspicion growing in her mind. Her fears were confirmed when she touched the skull and hissed out a breath as a bony plate fell away from where it covered the front of the skull. She studied the rest of the bones and found a thick metal ring surrounded the bones of each leg.
She wiped her hand on her trousers and stepped out of the room with one last glance at the remains of the Wraith drone. It appeared Rodney's information was correct after all, she thought to herself sadly as she moved to the next room.
Teyla glanced in the next room and found more bones scattered across the floor of the small room. Another metal ring encircled the leg bones, and Teyla imagined the Wraith pulling against the restraint, trying to free itself.
"These were cells," she murmured to herself as she stepped out of the room and studied the rest of the doors lining the wall. These Wraith were used as test subjects, she reminded herself and frowned in distaste at the metal shackles on the floor.
While she held no sympathy for the Wraith; knowing the Ancestors could be so cruel was yet another of her childhood illusions destroyed. It was also something she would not be mentioning to Halling or the rest of her people.
Exploring the galaxy with John and the others over the past several months had taught her many hard truths about a people she had been raised to revere. Each time, she struggled with the decision of whether or not to tell her people what she had learnt. More often than not, she'd chosen not to say anything. What was the phrase she had heard the Earth people use? Ignorance was bliss?
Teyla let out a breath and adjusted her grip on the P-90 in her hands before she walked to the next cell.
The next cell was thankfully empty, and she stepped into it to get a better look at the tiny space. The leg shackles were both open, and she carefully stepped around them as she looked around the room. Other than the restraints, the room was bare.
She took a step back from the far wall and yelped in surprise when one of the shackles suddenly wrapped around her leg and closed with a snap.
She tried to pull the restraint off her leg and was shocked, literally, when a low-level current ran up her arm. She let go of the shackle, flapped her hand in an attempt to shake off the pins and needles feeling, and tapped her earpiece.
"Rodney? I am trapped in a large lab area at the end of the hallway to your right and need assistance." She frowned when she didn't get a response and tried again. "Rodney? Please come in."
His lack of response sent a wave of fear through her. It wasn't like him to ignore a call for help no matter how involved he might be with a project. "Rodney? Are you there? Please respond."
She started for the door of the cell, but the chain attached to the shackle pulled her up short a foot or so away from the exit. She growled low in her throat and pulled against the restraint, hoping the metal was weak and she could break free. Instead of the metal snapping, however, the shackle tightened around her leg, and she felt the same low-level electric charge shoot up her leg, numbing it to the point she lost her balance and fell to the floor.
"Major Sheppard, please come in," Teyla said into the radio, trying to hide the pain and fear she felt.
"Sheppard here. Teyla? What's wrong?"
Teyla ducked her head and closed her eyes, silently grateful he answered. "Major, we need assistance. I am trapped in one of the labs and Rodney did not answer when I called for help. I fear something may have happened to him as well."
"We aren't that far away from you," John said, and Teyla could hear the sound of running over the radio. "We'll be there as fast as we can."
"Understood," she replied and tapped off the radio. She could not think of any good reasons why Rodney would ignore her call for assistance. Which left only bad reasons. She hoped John was close, she wasn't sure how long Rodney could really wait. She pulled at the restraint and felt another jolt of electricity as the metal band tightened further. She wasn't certain how much longer she could wait, either.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
John tapped off his radio after signing off with Teyla, smiled slightly at Rodney still yelling over someone else's radio instead of using his own, and glanced down at the scanner again. He and Ford were almost to the door on the other side of the refinery when a small dot started to blink on the scanner.
"Finally," John muttered and went through the door into the next section of the refinery. If the last room was for the initial processing work, breaking the ore mined from the moon down into key components, this room must have been for specific extraction. Several different systems of tubes crisscrossed the huge space leading to smaller and smaller kilns or chemical tanks.
"Over here," John said and led the way to a corner of the room. He double-checked the readings on the scanner as he studied the black chunks of rock piled on a counter near a small kiln.
"Not what I was expecting," Ford said as he set the sample case on the counter.
"Let me guess," John replied with a smile, "you thought it would be stacked in bars like the gold in Fort Knox?"
Ford looked up with a grin. "Something like that, sir." Ford picked up one of the chunks of refined ore with both hands. "Any way to tell what's the best stuff to take?"
John ran the scanner back and forth over the pile. "It's all reading about the same," he replied. "I guess we grab what we can and hope it will do what McKay needs to get the generator to work."
"Yes, sir," Ford said and opened the sample case.
The case was lined with a foam insert, John thought it looked remarkably similar to the soft inserts for a gun case. There were a dozen holes cut in the foam and Ford dropped his piece of ore in one of the cut-out sections.
John picked up another smallish rock with both hands and put it in the next opening. He dug back through the pile looking for the biggest pieces of the refined ore he could find.
"I think that's about as much as the case will hold," Ford said a few minutes later as he closed the lid of the case and staggered back a step as he picked it up.
John nodded. "Let's go find Rodney and Teyla." He glanced at his watch. "If we're lucky, we'll be back in Atlantis long before Elizabeth's deadline."
"How do we find them, sir? Teyla made it sound like they were in the middle of a maze."
John pulled out the scanner and switched the screen from Rodney's naquadah program to life signs. He turned the screen for Ford to see. "Lucky for us, we can just follow the map," he replied and pointed to the two dots on the other side of the outpost.
Since they knew where they were going this time, it didn't take them long to get back to the 'gate area.
"Leave that here," John said and pointed to the case. "No reason to drag it all the way down to the observation area just to bring it back."
"Yes, sir," Ford replied, and John tried not to smile at the relief he heard in Ford's tone.
Ford set the case on the floor near the 'gate and flexed his hand a few times, and looked down the opposite hallway.
"Looks like Rodney and Teyla are a few floors below us," John said and led the way down the left-hand hallway to a transporter.
"Do you think McKay can really build a new generator, sir?" Ford asked as they left the transporter and started down another corridor.
"You know Rodney. If he says he can build something, he probably can." John looked up from the scanner and saw Ford shrug. "What?" he asked.
Ford glanced at the wall to the right of John's head. "Do you think it will be enough, sir?"
John pursed his lips. That was the ten thousand dollar question, wasn't it, he thought to himself. "Enough to get our people to safety?" He paused. "Maybe. Enough to save the city?" He met Ford's gaze with his own. "Probably not."
Ford stared at him for a moment longer, then pulled himself to attention. "Yes, sir. Understood."
John watched him a moment longer, then nodded. They both knew what that meant. "Come on," he said. "We need to find the others."
They walked in silence for several minutes. John looked up from the scanner with a frown as he felt the tell-tale itch start at the back of his skull.
"Something's happened," he said, his tone flat as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Sir?"
"Something's wrong with McKay," John said. The itch was there, but there was also something else, a tightness, as if his skull was trapped in a vice. He groaned slightly and reached for his earpiece, but before he could send a message to Rodney, he heard Teyla over the open channel.
"Major Sheppard, please come in." John frowned at the pain he heard in Teyla's voice and started walking faster.
"Sheppard here," he replied, wincing against the headache and forcing his legs to move. "Teyla? What's wrong?"
"Major, we need assistance. I am trapped in one of the labs and Rodney did not answer when I called for help. I fear something may have happened to him as well."
John nodded. 'Something' was right, he thought as the tightness in his skull suddenly stopped. Was that a good or bad sign, he wondered and started walking faster.
John checked the scanner. The two dots on the scanner were close, down the next hallway and around a corner. Two dots, there are two dots. He's still alive, John reminded himself.
"We aren't that far away from you," he told her. "We'll be there as fast as we can."
"Understood," she replied, and John tapped off the radio and started to run, Ford close on his heels.
John skidded to a stop as he entered an open room a few seconds later. A horseshoe-shaped console sat on a raised platform in the middle of a wide atrium with hallways radiating out in six different directions. What made the blood drain from John's face was seeing the entire platform separated from the rest of the room by a transparent barrier and Rodney slumped over the console, unconscious.