Date : 24.01.2008
Title : The A.U. Series : Lost City Of The ZPM's
Author : ElaineDex
Chapter : 3 of ?
Rating : M
Pairings : None at this point in the story.
Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Adventure, Maybe Some Strong Language.
Spoilers : This story has character's in it from my Loves series and follows on from my last story - New Beginnings.
Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.
Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Harrison, Lt. Matthew Franks, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.
Summary : Can the teams survive an adventure fit for Indiana Jones as they search for a whole city supposedly full of ZPM's?
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As Sheppard guided the jumper through the gate and onto the planet where the lost city was, Rodney let out a groan of despair.
"Look! It's just a jungle down there….just trees and foliage and…..insects….", he trailed off as his skin began to crawl and Ronon smirked at him.
"What did you expect Rodney…to see the city right in front of us? It's lost…it's bound to be hidden", Ellie pointed out and Rodney sighed as he realised that they had some searching to do.
"Ellie get up here and tell me where you think I should land…did Michael give you any ideas whereabouts the place is?", Sheppard called over his shoulder and Ellie moved toward the cock-pit and stood in between Sheppard and Lorne.
She surveyed the mass of trees below her and tried to think through what Michael had shown her in her mind.
"Anytime you feel ready", Lorne said sarcastically as she took her time and she turned and glared at him before looking back at Sheppard.
She pointed off to the left.
"Head over that way, there should be some flat open land just before the jungle starts".
Sheppard turned the jumper and followed her directions and surely enough came across the land.
Ellie looked at Lorne and sent him a sweet smile which he ignored.
She moved to the back of the jumper again and reached for her back pack which looked to weigh more than she did.
"I hope you brought your sun cream Rodney…it looks hot down there", she said and Rodney groaned again.
As they got lower to the ground Lyssa moved to sit next to Ellie and she whispered,
"Are you sure about this Ellie? I'd hate for there to be nothing here".
Ellie looked at Lyssa to see if she was being genuine or not. She really hadn't had many dealings with the Calestrian even though they were now on the same team but all she could see in Lyssa's eyes was concern.
"I'm pretty sure yeah…I don't know why I trust Michael…it's just a gut thing y'know?", she replied and Lyssa smiled and Ellie realised how beautiful Lyssa really was.
"Well I'm rooting for you anyhow", Lyssa said and Ellie laughed.
"Thank you…that's good to know".
Sheppard landed the jumper and Ellie and Rodney checked their hand held devices and determined that there were no life signs in the immediate area so it was safe to move out.
As the jumpers back doors opened the sunlight and heat poured inside and everyone immediately turned to Rodney as if to say, 'Don't you dare say a thing' and he looked back at them all with an outraged expression on his face.
"What?!", he cried as everyone began to filter past him.
Once everyone was gathered outside Sheppard cloaked the jumper and they got ready to enter the jungle.
"Ronon, Teyla, you're up front with me, Major Lorne you bring up the rear with Franks and Lyssa. Ellie and Rodney stay in between us and give directions", he said and everyone got into position as they headed for the trees.
They walked for a while in silence, listening to the sounds of the jungle, Rodney twitching nervously.
Eventually the ground began to slope upwards and Sheppard turned to look at the others.
"Everyone ok back there?".
Various responses came back and Ellie called out,
"According to the map, once we get to the top of this incline we should be able to see the temple which is in the centre of the city so we'll get an indication of how much further it is".
"Okay", Sheppard replied, stepping up his pace, eager to get to the top.
Ellie huffed slightly as she shifted her heavy back pack slightly and Lorne watched from his position at the back.
He wondered what the hell she had in there…the kitchen sink probably, knowing Ellie.
He wondered if he should offer to carry it for her but hell, she had wanted to bring so much stuff so she could carry the damn thing. As they continued up the incline he pushed his nagging guilt to the back of his mind and looked away and into the trees either side of them.
They were all half-way up when Sheppard said,
"Do you hear that?".
"What?", asked Ronon and Sheppard placed a finger to his lips.
"Shush…listen".
They all strained their ears and then Lyssa said,
"Sounds like there's water up ahead".
"That's what I was hoping you 'wouldn't' say", Sheppard replied and Lyssa smiled at the crushed look upon his face.
"So what's so bad about water?", Ronon asked as they all continued to climb.
"Depends how much of it there is", replied Sheppard.
As they reached the top of the incline and realised that they on the edge of a ravine Sheppard said,
"See?", as they took in the rushing water below them as it swirled and crashed around rocks.
"Oh this is just great", Rodney said as he staggered to the edge and looked over gingerly at the water below then over at the other side of the ravine where they needed to get to. "That map of yours is wrong from the outset...this is not being able to see the temple is it?"
Ellie pulled a face at him and then noticed some inscriptions on some huge boulders to one side and she moved over to check them out, Lorne following her.
As she moved some foliage that was stuck to the first boulder, Ronon found some twines hanging from somewhere above and promptly began to swing from this side of the ravine to the other and back again.
"Whoa!", Sheppard cried out as he watched Ronon flying across the water without warning and the others watched on in shock.
"It's easy", he told them all as he landed but Ellie waved her hands as she read the inscriptions.
"What is it?", Lorne asked and she turned to face him and the others.
"We only get so many swings out of the ropes so we have to use them wisely seeing as we don't know if anyone else has been here before us", she said and Ronon looked at her guiltily.
"Sorry", he muttered.
"Is there no other way to get across here?", Teyla asked and Rodney laughed.
"Well it looks like there 'was' a bridge at one time", and he pointed further up the ravine and they all looked to see the decrepit looking rope bridge which was all but destroyed and there was no way they could safely use it.
Sheppard sighed.
"Okay so it looks like it's the ropes then", he said testing two or three twines' strength by tugging on them forcefully.
"Looks like they should hold two so pair up…if we only get limited swings we'd better not risk one at a time".
Ellie smiled as Teyla and Franks gravitated toward one another and she turned to head for Sheppard but saw that Lyssa was already stood by him.
Frowning she was about to head for Ronon but Rodney stepped in front of her.
"Ah…I'm with Captain Caveman here if you don't mind…I feel certain that Major Lorne would drop me in the water just to spite me", he said and Ellie looked at him.
"What makes you think that he wont drop me in there?", she asked and Rodney regarded her as he made sure his back pack was secure.
"Because you have a weak heart and if he dropped you it would probably kill you and……", he trailed off as he wrapped his arms tightly around Ronon's waist and received a killer glare from him in return.
Suddenly Ronon took off across the ravine and Rodney let out a high-pitched scream and everyone watched, their eyes wide as they hurtled out across the water.
"You look like Tarzan and Jane!", Sheppard called out as they landed on the other side, Rodney collapsing into a quivering heap as everyone laughed.
"You're crazy!", he snapped at Ronon who grinned at him.
Teyla and Franks went next, Teyla wrapping her delicate arms around Franks' neck as he hung on to their twine and he smiled at her making her feel warm inside as he said,
"Ready?", and she nodded.
They cleared the ravine safely and then Sheppard turned to Ellie and Lorne.
"Okay, you two go", and Lorne wrapped a twine around one hand and arm and looked at Ellie expectantly.
She stared at him dubiously for a second or two before moving closer and she held her breath as he wrapped his free arm around her waist.
"You'd better hold on to me too", he told her and Ellie almost shyly wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Here we go", Lorne said as he launched them off the edge and Ellie shut her eyes tightly and buried her face in Lorne's neck as she felt the cool breeze from the water whipping around them as they crossed.
They landed safely on the other side and Lorne let go of the twine but kept his arm around Ellie's waist as she was still clamped to him.
"You can let go now", he said warily and her head snapped up and she opened her eyes and blinked at him.
"Oh…yeah…sorry", she said, blushing as she pulled her arms from around his neck.
They moved away from one another and turned to watch Sheppard and Lyssa as they prepared to cross.
Lyssa put an arm around Sheppard's shoulders and he did the same as Lorne had with Ellie, one hand at her waist and one on the twine.
They pushed off and were almost across when their twine snapped and they had to push themselves forward in mid-air and Lyssa clung to Sheppard as he just about managed to grab the edge of the ravine.
Ellie, Rodney and Teyla cried out as everyone rushed to the edge just in time to see Lyssa begin to slide down Sheppard's body and she managed to keep a hold on his calves.
"Hang on", he said through clenched teeth as he strained to keep his grip on the edge.
Ronon and Lorne lay on their stomachs and grabbed Sheppard's arms.
"Lyssa, try to climb up the Colonel", Lorne said and Lyssa looked up at them and at Sheppard's butt dubiously.
She knew that she could do this…she had to and so she began to shuck her way up Sheppard's hard body, pushing her embarrassment to the back of her mind as she managed to finally flatten her chest against his back.
"Okay…pull", Lorne said Ronon as Franks moved in to help and they pulled Sheppard and Lyssa to safety.
"Thanks", Sheppard said rubbing his arms as he turned to look at Lyssa.
"Are you alright?", he asked and she nodded.
"Sorry about grabbing your ass back there", she said and Sheppard grinned at her.
"That's okay…I didn't mind", he said and she laughed.
She hadn't really taken that much notice of Sheppard, not because he wasn't noticeable, he was quite the opposite in fact, but she had been with Ronon and she had had other worries on her mind.
They had a five minute break to get over the shock of almost losing Sheppard and Lyssa and then Lorne turned to Ellie.
"So where to now?", he asked and she looked around.
"This way", she said going to head off toward a gap in the trees but he caught her arm.
"We get back into formation", he said and she sighed at the coldness in his voice and she watched as he moved over to Lyssa as Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla moved past her.
She ignored them and continued to watch as Lorne touched his hand to Lyssa's back.
"Are you alright?", she heard him say softly and she blinked as a feeling she didn't like twisted through her.
'Did Lorne like Lyssa?', she wondered, then thought, 'Well so what if he does?'.
Just then Rodney's voice kick-started Ellie's brain and she turned to see him, Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla stood beyond the gap in the trees.
"Oh you gotta be kidding me!", he wailed loudly and Ellie moved forward as did Lorne, Franks and Lyssa and they gasped as they saw what the others did.
Below them in the distance they could see the top of the temple but for what seemed like miles in front of them there was nothing but a maze of solid walls seperated in the middle by some more trees and then more walls up to the temple.
"Crap!", Ellie muttered.
"Crap is right", Lyssa breathed at her side.
End of Chapter 3