John kept one eye on the HUD with the life signs reading as he piloted the jumper farther into the nearby mountains. He had to adjust their flight path more than once as the increasing wind buffeted the shuttle and threw them off course.

Another strong gust hit them and the jumper veered toward the side of the mountain again, just missing several trees as John pulled them back on course. He noticed Rodney sitting tight-lipped in the co-pilot's seat and said, "Relax, it's just a little turbulence."

Rodney glared over at him and muttered, "Remind me to start work on that shield when we get back."

John checked the HUD and angled them into a low valley where he could just make out a large stone cabin and several smaller structures that almost looked like teepees. He circled the buildings a few times before he found a flat, open space where he could land. He noticed several fur-clad people come out of the stone building, probably curious about the sound of the jumper flying over, and watched as he brought the ship in to land.

"Let's go meet the welcoming committee," John said as he stood and made his way to the rear of the jumper. He pulled on his gloves, settled a pair of snow goggles on his face, and pulled up the hood of his coat. He checked to make sure Rodney was equally ready then opened the rear hatch.

The blast of cold air hit them as soon as the hatch opened and John could hear Rodney grumbling under his breath as he followed John through the knee-high snow back to where several people waited near the buildings. One of the larger fur-clad bodies waved toward them and pointed to the large stone building in the center of the small clearing.

John waved his acknowledgement, turned to check Rodney was still behind him, and led the way to the building. The large fur-clad body stood at the door waiting for them and held the door open once they'd stomped off the snow clinging to their legs and feet. The door was shut and secured behind them and John was pleasantly surprised how warm the interior of the building felt. He pulled off his hood and let his goggles dangle as he looked at the men and women around him as they shed their fur-lined coats.

The inside of the building was one large room. A wood stove stood in the middle of the room providing both heat and a cooking surface if the bubbling pot on top of the stove was any indication. A long table behind the stove held various dried foods as well as several bottles, glasses, and other dishes.

It wasn't hard to tell the ten people in the building were all related. They ranged in age from late teens to middle age and all had the same reddish-blond hair and blue eyes.

"Hello," John said amiably. "My name is Sheppard. This is McKay." He pointed to Rodney busily pulling off his gloves and stuffing them in a pocket of his coat.

"Prin," replied the person who'd led them to the building. He pulled down his own hood, and John saw a man of about fifty with the same red-blond hair, flecked with grey at the sides, and a thick beard to match. "You must be lost, Sheppard," he continued and sat on one of the benches beside a table. "Did your ship get blown off-course? The village is in that direction." He pointed west.

"Nope, not lost," John replied with an easy smile as Prin gestured to the bench on the other side of the table. John unzipped his coat and sat down with a nod.

"But we are looking for something," Rodney added as he perched on the edge of the bench next to John.

"Oh?" Prin asked, and John could hear suspicion in his tone.

"McKay," John chastised.

"What?" Rodney retorted. "Teyla said the people here were trustworthy. We need to find that Zed-PM and with the weather out there," he pointed back toward the door, "we need all the help we can get."

"Teyla?" Prin asked, his expression changing from wary to hopeful. "Teyla Emmagan? You know her?"

"Yes," John replied, clearly confused. "We helped most of her people escape the Wraith when they attacked Athos." He conveniently left out the part where he'd woken the Wraith in the first place.

Prin's face broke out into a wide smile. "That is some of the best news we've heard," he said and waved his hand at one of the younger men standing near the long table near the back of the room. "I have known Teyla and Halling for many seasons. When we heard what happened on Athos, we feared they had all been culled. They were all saved?"

John nodded. "Halling and most of the Athosians live in a village not far from the city. Teyla lives in the city and is part of my expedition team. She's down at your village with another member of our group talking to Yev."

The young man brought three shot glasses and a bottle over to Prin and set them on the table beside him.

"This is my middle son, Mica," Prin said as he opened the bottle and poured a pale yellow liquid into the glasses. He handed one of the glasses to John, then Rodney, and kept the third for himself. "It's mead," Prin explained as Rodney gave his glass a suspicious look. "It will warm you up," he added with a smile. "To new friends," Prin said as a toast and drained his glass in one swallow. He refilled it from the bottle then leant back on the bench.

John sniffed the contents of his glass then took a small sip. While not as sweet as the mead he'd tried once in college, the drink did as advertised and he felt a warmth radiate out from his stomach to his fingertips as he took another sip.

"The alcohol content must be off the chart," Rodney murmured as he set his mostly full glass aside.

"What is it you are looking for again? Zed -" Prin asked as he swallowed half of his glass of mead.

"Zed-PM," Rodney supplied. "It looks like a large red and yellow crystal," he held his hands a little less than two feet apart, "about this long."

Prin and Mica exchanged a look. "I've never seen such a crystal," Prin said.

"It may have been hidden on the planet a long time ago," John said.

"Thousands of years ago, actually," Rodney corrected.

Prin frowned. "What makes this object so important?"

John studied Prin's face for a moment and held up a hand when Rodney looked like he was about to jump in again. "You've heard of Atlantis?" John asked after a few moments. When Prin nodded, he continued, "That's the city I mentioned before. We have reason to believe the people who originally built Atlantis, the Ancients, hid a power source for the city, a Z … Zed-PM, here on Lurra."

Prin looked around the tent. "Never heard anything about the Ancestors coming here," Prin said. He glanced at a few of the older men and women in the tent. They shook their heads as well.

"What about Yana?" a woman roughly the same age as Prin asked.

"Yana?" John looked from the woman to Prin.

"It's a bedtime story for children, little more," Prin replied.

Rodney shook his head. "Not necessarily," he stood and spoke to the room at large. "As I said, this object may have been hidden here thousands of years ago. It would make sense the only records to survive are folk tales."

The woman stood from her table and came over to stand next to Prin. "Yana is said to have lived in the high valley," she pointed toward the mountains, "and was a wise-woman. According to the story, she was a healer, able to heal all sorts of wounds, even the wheezing sickness."

"But they are just stories," Prin said as he poured more mead. "There is no way to know where Yana lived, assuming she was a real person."

"There are the cave drawings," Mica said softly from where he stood behind his father.

Prin started to say something, but Rodney jumped in first. "What sort of drawings?" he asked.

"All sorts of things. Buildings, people, some weird things, too. Animals maybe," Mica replied.

"You've seen them?" Rodney asked and leant forward eagerly, his hands braced on the table.

Mica nodded. "Shyan …" Mica paused for a moment, and John thought he saw a blush creep up the young man's cheeks. "She likes to look at the drawings, study them, figure out what they mean. She always wants sketches to take back with us so she would make me draw some of them for her."

John watched as Rodney patted at the pockets of his tac-vest until he found a pencil and a pad of paper. "Can you draw one of them for me?" he asked and handed over the pad and pencil. "It could be exactly what we're looking for," he added with a look at Prin then John.

Mica hesitated a moment before he took the pad and pencil, found a nearby bench, and sat down to draw.

"What makes you think this power source you're looking for is here?" Prin asked with a glance at Mica as he poured himself more mead. John marvelled at how little the drink seemed to affect him.

Prin stared at John's glass with a slight frown and John took another small sip. "Let's just say we have really good intel," he replied, trying not to gasp as the alcohol hit the back of his throat.

Prin shrugged and drank more mead.

Rodney sat back down beside John and fidgeted with the pockets of his tac-vest as he threw occasional glances at Mica, still slowly drawing.

"Here," Mica said a few minutes later as he handed Rodney the pad. "It's not very good," he admitted. "Doesn't do the real drawing much justice. Shyan is a much better artist."

John could tell Rodney wasn't listening. He stared open-mouthed at the pad for a moment before he swallowed and looked over at John.

"Major," he whispered, his eyes wide, and handed the pad to John.

John glanced at the drawing and then up at Mica. He could understand why McKay was shocked. "You said this was drawn on a cave wall?"

Mica nodded. John could see he and Rodney were making him nervous as he twisted his fingers together and glanced at his father.

"Sheppard?" Prin asked and pushed Mica slightly behind him. "What's wrong?"

John shook his head as he turned the piece of paper so Prin could see it. "This is a drawing of Atlantis," he said, showing him the crude sketch of several buildings with a large tower in the middle.

"How often do people go to this cave?" Rodney asked. "How much of it has been explored?"

Mica gave his father a startled look. "Not many go there," he finally answered. "It's kind of hard to get to, even in the summer. It's almost impossible in the winter. After a few big snowstorms, the pass is completely blocked.

"As for exploring, Shyan and I have only been in the first room, that's where most of the big drawings are." He pointed at the paper in John's hand. "That picture is near the back wall of the cave. It is very detailed. There are tunnels leading out of the room, with more drawings on some of the walls, but we've never ventured very far down them. The tunnels bend away from the entrance and there isn't very much light."

"We have a ship," Rodney said and pointed toward the door. "Could we fly there?"

"McKay," John drew out the name.

"What? This is important, Major. It could solve a lot of those problems I told you about yesterday."

"I get that, but -"

"We need that Zed-PM," Rodney whispered, his tone serious. "If we don't go now, that cave," John saw him swallow nervously before he took a deep breath and continued, "that cave will be off limits until Spring, whenever that might be. Certainly too late for us."

"You did hear the part about the cave, didn't you?" John asked, a touch of concern in his voice. "Are you sure you want to be the one to go?"

Rodney swallowed and looked away. "We need that Zed-PM," he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the ground. "Someone has to go and we're already here."

Prin studied both of them for a few seconds, then said, "If this power source is that important, you should go now. There has already been heavy snow in the mountains, the cave opening may already be buried. Your ship could make the journey and still leave enough time to get back out of the mountains before the worst of the storm hits."

John glanced at the window as a gust of wind rattled the frame. Rodney was right, they did need the ZPM. But was it really there? He couldn't believe the Ancients would just leave a ZPM lying around in a cave, it couldn't be that easy. He suspected the cave drawings were some sort of map or at least a set of clues for finding the device.

Which meant they needed to see the cave for themselves.

He glanced at Rodney, weighing their options and the odds of getting to the cave and back before the worst of the storm hit. It wouldn't be just his neck he'd be risking flying through a potential blizzard, he reminded himself. He toyed with the idea of telling Rodney to stay in the camp with Prin while he checked out the cave alone but knew the idea would never work. If the artwork was some sort of a map, he'd need McKay to help figure it out. He was also sure Rodney would never agree to John going alone.

John stared at Rodney a moment longer then scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed as he made his decision. It was probably foolish, and Elizabeth would read him the riot act when she found out, he told himself. But if they came back with a fully charged ZPM …

"How do we find this cave?" he asked Mica.

"If you follow the river north from here, that will lead you up into the mountains and to the next valley," Mica said as he pointed to the pad still in Rodney's hand. McKay handed over the paper and Mica spoke as he drew. "The cave is on the west side of the valley," he explained, the pencil quickly sketching a map as he spoke. "In the summer, it takes half a day to hike from here to the cave." He held out the pad showing a crude map drawn on the paper.

"If the storm arrives early, you may not be able to return to the village," Prin warned as John studied the map. "We will be here and this cabin has withstood many storms. We can secure your ship and you can wait out the snow with us."

"All right," John said and stood. "We'll radio Teyla and Ford and let them know about the cave." He waited as Rodney jumped to his feet and started to zip up his coat. "A quick check is all we're after here," he continued with a hard look at Rodney. "We check the cave, make sure of the drawings, and mark its location. We'll come back once the storm is past, with the right equipment, and explore the cave further." He looked at Prin near the door as he adjusted his goggles and pulled up his hood.

Prin unbolted the door. "Safe journey, Sheppard," he said as he held out his hands.

John wasn't quite sure what to do as Prin grasped his two hands. "We will wait for you to return." Prin pulled up his fur hood and opened the door.

John felt the cold almost immediately as he stepped outside. What light they'd had before had turned flat and grey with the gathering clouds and the wind swirled the snow around them. "You're sure the weather is going to hold?" he asked as Prin followed them outside.

Prin studied the sky for several moments. "The storm is moving fast," he replied. "It will snow soon. However, you should have an hour, maybe two, before it becomes severe."

John held up his hand in farewell then led the way back to the jumper. Once back inside with the hatch closed, he threw back his hood, sat in the pilot's chair, and keyed the jumper's radio as Rodney settled in the chair next to him. "Sheppard to Ford."

"Ford here, sir."

"We found the hunter's camp and might have a lead on the ZPM," he said as he started checking the panel in front of him. "We're going to do a little recon and then meet you in the village."

"Major, we have been warned there is a storm coming," Teyla said over the open channel.

"Yep, we heard the same thing. Prin thinks we have a couple of hours so we should be able to do a quick check and get back to you before it gets too bad."

"We'll be here, sir."

"Be careful," Teyla added.

"See you guys soon, Sheppard out."

John turned to Rodney as he fidgeted in the co-pilot's chair. "What's the problem?" he asked as he ran through the last of the preflight checks.

"Just how hard is it to fly through a snowstorm?" Rodney asked as he gazed out the windscreen at the snow blowing around them. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"After everything you said in the cabin, now you're having second thoughts?" John said with a glance at McKay. "We should be fine," he assured as he powered up the engines. "Even if we get caught as the storm comes in, we can always head for space to avoid the worst of it."

"Good point," Rodney replied with a last look at the cabin and settled back in his chair as they lifted off.

It didn't take long to find the river and only twenty minutes to find the valley. John constantly checked the sky as he maneuvered the jumper into the small valley at the end of the narrow mountain pass. Even with the inertial dampeners, he could feel the wind buffeting the ship as he fought to keep it on course.

"That must be the cave," Rodney said and pointed at a deep split in the side of the mountain.

John glanced at the dark clouds building ahead of them and frowned. "I'll land as close to the cave as I can. We need to make this quick, I think that storm is almost here."

Rodney glanced from John to the looming clouds outside and nodded.

Snow billowed up around the jumper as John found a flat area to land and it took a few moments for them to realise the snow falling gently down wasn't just from their landing.

"Five minutes," John said as he pulled on his gloves. "We check the cave, record any drawings, and leave. I'll mark it on the HUD and we can come back once the weather clears. That ZPM has been here for thousands of years, a few more days won't matter."

Rodney found the video camera in his pack and John grabbed one of the large flashlights from the storage bin over the rear benches then led the way outside. He wasn't prepared for how hard the wind was blowing and reached back to grab Rodney's sleeve when McKay staggered down the ramp behind him.

They hadn't gone more than a few dozen feet before another fierce gust knocked them both to the ground and John decided they needed to get out of there. The snow had increased in just the few minutes since they'd landed from gently falling flakes to near white-out conditions and the wind, caught in the bowl created by the surrounding mountains, blew in unpredictable gusts and eddies. This was far worse than he'd imagined as he struggled back to his feet and looked around. He couldn't see the cave or the jumper any more and his only thought was to get them both back to the ship as quickly as possible.

He pulled Rodney to his feet and kept a hold on his arm as he retraced their steps back to the jumper. The last thing they needed was to get separated. Rodney stumbled into him as another wind gust pushed him from behind and John had started to wonder if he was heading the right direction when the dark outline of the jumper finally came into view.

He fumbled the remote out of a pocket, pushing the button to trigger the hatch as he hurried the last few steps back to the ship. The rear hatch had barely touched the ground before he was pushing Rodney inside ahead of him and toggling the door to close again behind them.

"So much for a couple of hours," John said as he shed his tac-vest, coat, and gloves, and headed for the cockpit. "We need to get out of here, now."

"No argument from me," Rodney replied, pulling off his own vest, coat, and gloves as John hurried through the preflights. "This might have been a very bad idea," he admitted softly.

John glanced over at Rodney and saw he was more than a little nervous as he watched the snow come down even harder. He couldn't deny they were in a bad spot, but he'd agreed to the idea of checking the cave. He knew all they had to do was get above the storm and they'd be fine.

"Relax," he said. "Like I said, we'll head for space, radio Teyla and Ford to be ready for us to pick them up, then head for the 'gate."

A rogue gust of wind pushed the jumper off course just as John lifted off and he forced the shuttle back in the right direction, narrowly missing a tree in his efforts to get the jumper above the storm and away from the valley's unpredictable wind gusts.

John decided the best way to counter the unpredictable wind was to spiral his way up as the ship gained altitude instead of trying a brute force path straight up. They were near the mouth of the valley when another gust hit them and John wasn't able to correct their course in time to avoid the rocky outcrop in their path. He heard the screech of metal as the bottom and side of the jumper bounced off the rocks and back into open air.

"Damn," he muttered and ignored McKay's sudden deep breath and his fingers clenching on arms of his chair.

John wrestled the ship back on his previous course and tried to gain more altitude only to find the controls sluggish. "Something's wrong," he muttered. "We're losing power. I think that collision damaged the port drive pod."

Rodney gave him a startled look and checked his own panel. "It's not the drive pod," he replied. "There something wrong with the power converter." He stood from the co-pilot's chair and staggered back to the rear of the jumper, falling to his knees near the bulkhead door as another gust of wind buffeted the ship. "If it's just a matter of rerouting …" He let the sentence hang as he pulled himself to his feet and opened the control box.

"Still losing power," John reported with a hasty glance behind him to see what Rodney was doing. "The starboard pod is losing power now as well."

He heard Rodney growl something under his breath as he checked and realigned various crystals. "How's that?" he asked a few seconds later.

"Still not enough," John replied. "Port pod is dead, starboard is at thirty percent."

He heard Rodney mumbling under his breath as he turned back to the console in front of him trying to keep the jumper airborne. The ship was hit with another wind gust and the warning lights on the HUD went from amber to red as the starboard pod failed completely.

"Rodney! We're losing altitude," John yelled as he tried to keep the nose of the jumper level so they were in a somewhat controlled glide.

"I know, I know! The power converter is too damaged. All we have is battery power. Give me a second to find something I can reroute."

He didn't have any attention to spare to check what Rodney was doing with the control box. Even though the jumper had inertial dampeners, and the snow falling past the windscreen completely obscured his view, John knew the nose of the jumper had dipped and they were in freefall. If he couldn't find a way to level off their descent, this reconnaissance mission was going to end badly.

"McKay! I need power! Anything you can give me!"

"I'm working on it, Major," Rodney shouted back.

John could hear the fear in Rodney's voice, but to his credit, he didn't give up. He risked a look behind him to see Rodney, with a white-knuckle grip on the control box as he fought to keep his balance, frantically pulling crystals from the control box, giving each one a quick glance, then putting it back.

Nothing changed with their power situation as far as John could tell, both pods were still dead.

"Can't risk it," he heard McKay mumble and glanced over his shoulder again.

Rodney ran the light stylus over a section of the box, shook his head, and tried a different section. The next set of crystals must have told him something as McKay pulled his hand back, and John saw him close his eyes for just a second before he let go of the box, pulled out two crystals, realigned something in the box, then put the crystals back.

The jumper shuddered as both pods sputtered to life. John checked his board, saw that he had minimal power to both pods even as he pulled back on the controls in front of him in a desperate attempt to keep them from augering into the valley floor nose-first. He heard Rodney fall behind him, but didn't have time to check on him as he fought to keep the jumper from crashing.

He managed to get the jumper levelled off slightly but one glance at the flickering HUD and he knew it was too late.

"Hang on!" he yelled and pulled back on the controls again. The response from the ship was hesitant and sluggish as what little power Rodney had been able to reroute was used up. John had just enough time to wonder what systems McKay had cannibalised before the shuttle hit the ground, bounced, then slammed to the ground again. The last thing he saw was the side of a mountain looming up in front of the jumper. He desperately tried to get the ship to turn, then knew nothing as his head hit the bulkhead next to his seat.