Chapter 3: At the Outpost
Sheppard rested his hands on his P-90, surreptitiously leaning against a pine tree. His laidback demeanour was only betrayed by his eyes, which constantly darted to and fro, scanning the undergrowth. Some people might have called it paranoia, but the pilot preferred to think of it as being extra-cautious.
And he had a damn good reason to be.
According to both the Ancient database and the gospel that was McKay's 'humble' opinion, this place was supposedly uninhabited, but he wasn't taking any chances. The last world they'd visited on an apparently routine mission hadn't been as abandoned as they had originally thought – and its native populace weren't exactly the friendly type, especially around 'heathen off-worlders'.
Convinced that the team were the Pegasus Galaxy's equivalent of the Devil incarnate, the locals had tried to sacrifice them to appease their Gods. A hasty retreat and one brief but incredibly violent encounter later, and they had barely made it to the Gate in one piece. Sheppard and Teyla were covered in bruises and small cuts from the various sharp and pointy projectiles that had been thrown, but McKay had broken his ankle. That was thanks to a particularly vicious bolo (one that had been aimed with almost deadly accuracy) which had brought Rodney crashing painfully to the ground. Not even Ronon had come away entirely unscathed – he had copped an arrow through the shoulder as he had taken a running dive at the wormhole.
So Sheppard maintained his vigil. The last thing he wanted was a repeat performance – they were at least three miles from the Gate at their current position and the outpost didn't provide an easily defendable position.
McKay's insistence on coming to this planet and his initial excitement had been infectious during their briefing earlier, but now it was starting to seem like a really bad idea. The possibility of finding a much needed ZPM had made the Canadian's eyes light up with that slightly manic glint – the same look he got whenever they found something new and shiny… which the American had learned to translate as 'dangerous and possibly lethal'. Normally, John just laughed and proceeded to bait the scientist, but this time… He couldn't find words to describe it. Something felt off somehow.
Maybe even 'hinky'.
SGA-1 had arrived to find – 'surprise, surprise' thought John, bitterly – yet another wood. It was pretty much the same as at least a dozen of the other worlds his team had visited. 'One of these days', Sheppard thought to himself, 'we'll come across a world that's not A, covered in trees, B, the spitting image of Vancouver or C, damp from constant rain'.
The Air Force man smiled to himself as he remembered McKay's reaction to the bad weather. The Canadian had moaned and whined, declaring loudly for all of his team to hear that he caught colds easily. When Ronon had started to tease him, Rodney had muttered something about pneumonia and how the wet conditions would make him even more susceptible to the stomach flu that was currently doing the rounds back in the city. John would never admit it out loud, but he wasn't that big a fan of the climate either and judging from the way Teyla pulled her jacket closer, the Athosian shared his sentiment.
Still, when they had found the outpost, McKay had gotten worked up to a near frenzy and the discomfort from the moist air was temporarily forgotten. The scientist was like an over grown kid at times. The way he had gotten excited as they'd uncovered the more or less intact building had made John smile. It was like it was Christmas Day and Rodney had snagged all the best presents.
The outpost seemed totally out of place in the woodland. It was as if someone had literally just dumped it smack in the middle of a small grove. Over the years that it had laid dormant, vines and moss had snaked their way up the sides of the structure, almost hiding it entirely. It reminded John of the den he'd had when he was a kid.
Still, Sheppard and the others were getting used to finding Ancient outposts in the most unlikely of places, so hadn't been all that surprised at first. They had pulled away the vegetation from the main entrance, letting Ronon hack some of the more persistent vines, until the doors were clear from any and all obstructions.
As they had walked around the perimeter, it soon became clear that the building was partly underground. The topside section wasn't even half a storey high and according to the database, it was meant to be a factory. So, unless the Ancients had their own version of a TARDIS, which could have been possible but highly unlikely (after all, they had made a jumper that was capable of time travel), the rest of the facility had to be underneath them.
And from the look of it, John guessed that it was probably quite a long way down.
Surprisingly, there were no symbols near the doors – it appeared that whatever was inside was too valuable to draw attention to. At least, that was what McKay was hoping. The others thought that it was because there simply wasn't anything worthwhile but kept their mouths shut for fear of provoking the physicist into a rant. Rodney was practically dancing with glee as he babbled happily though, and that usually meant that he'd turn out to be right with his assumptions.
It was only when they tried to enter it that the problems had started.
To begin with, none of them, not even John, could get the doors to open. Worried that there wasn't enough power, McKay had pulled out his scanner only to reveal that the doors should have opened. He thought for a moment then changed the settings on his little Ancient doohickey. When he frowned sharply at the series of unhappy bleeps that the machine made, Sheppard knew that there was a problem.
It appeared that not just anyone could get inside.
Rodney had quickly located a control panel and started trying to bypass the security system that was in place, but had received a pretty hefty jolt from the circuitry in return. He had nearly thrown his screwdriver at Ronon when the ex-runner had made a quip about McKay's singed fingers proving the 'no power' theory wrong and for a brief moment, the Colonel thought that things would get ugly. Luckily, Teyla had stepped in and soothed the ruffled feathers, pulling the Satedan away so that McKay could work in peace. Eventually, after he'd gotten a couple more zaps for his trouble, he'd managed to partially over-ride both the mechanical and DNA locks that were in place and the doors had creaked and opened fractionally.
"We know that some of the Ancients were pretty paranoid about others stealing their research and went to pretty extreme lengths to keep prying eyes out," the Canadian had said by way of explanation. "This Gemæd guy must have been onto something good."
After another twenty minutes, Rodney had been able to get the doors to open fully for both him and Sheppard. As the team had stepped forward, they had slammed shut. Surprised, they backed away and found that the entrance had swished open again.
After a couple of experiments, they had discovered that the outpost wasn't going to let Teyla or Ronon in regardless of how they tried. McKay had muttered something about the ATA gene, but had scowled at his own suggestion and started digging around with the control panel.
That had been almost an hour ago, and John was starting to get bored of waiting. "How much longer, McKay?" he snapped.
"Look, I know I'm the smartest guy in two galaxies, but there are some things that even my unrivalled genius can't manage within a John 'I-have-the-patience-of-a-two-year-old' Sheppard designated time span," Rodney spat back. "This is a little more complicated than 'plug in and go'! Just… just-just shut up and give me five more minutes, okay? It's not going to kill you. I think I've almost got it, but I want to be sure." He returned his attention to his small data pad and started to type rapidly.
The others exchanges worried glances. They were used to the physicist being hot-tempered, arrogant, egotistical – well, typically 'McKay' – but this rant had held an odd undertone. His normal self-confidence seemed to have been replaced by hesitance and uncertainty, and that didn't sit well with Sheppard at all.
Ever since the whole, sorry mess of the Doranda incident (as it had become known), Rodney had often doubted himself and his abilities, often seeming reticent about providing an opinion and John felt partially responsible. The 'trust' comment he'd made hadn't really helped matters, but despite that fact, that they were more or less back to normal as far as their friendship went.
The Air Force man was proud of how hard his friend had worked at mending the damage from the wake of Arcturus. He'd even managed to regain Sheppard's trust, proving that it wasn't misplaced time and time again.
However, even after almost a year, he could see that the after-effects of destroying three-quarters of a solar system and nearly killing himself and his best friend were nevertheless taking a toll on McKay. It was as if Rodney had lost part of the spark that made him fundamentally McKay, and that bothered John more than he could say. He honestly believed that the physicist had recovered and hearing the doubt in his voice had forced the Air Force man to re-evaluate that notion.
Of course it didn't help that Rodney felt guilty about draining their ZPM to send 'Rod' back home. Sheppard had heard about the lecture Weir had given the scientist and he'd had more than a few choice words to say to the leader of the expedition over that. After repeating those words (wisely choosing to omit the bad language), he had persuaded her that McKay had done the right thing. The Canadian, however, wasn't convinced.
Once they were done with this mission, he was going to have a serious talk with his scientist.
Teyla drew closer to the physicist and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Rodney?" she asked. "Is there anything we can do to assist you?"
McKay scrunched up his face in frustration. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I'm afraid not," he replied. He sat back on his haunches and motioned to the others. "You know I thought the problem might be ATA related?" he asked.
"Yeah," Ronon grunted. "You said it was because Teyla and me don't have your super-gene."
"It looks like that's only part of it."
John chuckled. "You're admitting you've been beaten?" he asked, quirking up an eyebrow mischievously. "Hell, Rodney, that's gotta be a first!"
"Just shut up and listen for a minute!" the Canadian snapped. "The DNA locks that I thought I'd cracked are actually extremely complicated… and over-sensitive. It appears that Gemæd was really security conscious." He gave Sheppard a stern look, holding up a finger. "And I never said I was beaten. I just wasn't fully informed."
"So we're stuck?" growled Ronon.
"Not exactly."
"McKay!" Sheppard barked, not in the mood for Rodney's usual games.
"Look, the security measures can't be disabled from out here. That's what I've spent the last hour trying to do." He smiled ruefully before continuing, "It just means that we can't all get in at the moment." His gaze switched to the doors and the smile was replaced by a withering glare. "The outpost won't let Conan and Xena in because it doesn't recognise you," he pointed to the Satedan, "and because it's picked up on your Wraith DNA." He looked at the Athosian with an almost apologetic expression. "It thinks you're a threat."
"What are you saying, Rodney? It thinks that Teyla's a full-on Wraith?" asked John.
"Something like that. I've been trying to convince it otherwise, but the damn thing won't have any of it."
"Okay, then. It seems simple enough," Sheppard said. "Me and Rodney will have a look inside. We're still okay to get in, right?" he added, with a quick glance at the physicist.
McKay nodded. "Since we've got the ATA gene, we've got no problems." He gave a humourless smile. "Even if mine is artificial…"
"You wish us to remain here?" asked Teyla.
John sighed. "For now. Like Rodney said, there's no way the outpost's gonna let either of you in until he works his mojo. Let's just hope that he can fix the damn thing from inside."
"Hey, I know I'm good, but since when am I MacGyver?! And he is standing right here, you know."
"We'll take a look around out here," Ronon said. "Might be that there's another way in that we don't know about. Maybe an unlocked door or hole we missed earlier."
"Okay!" John grinned happily. "Stay on the radio just in case."
"Why do you have to say things like that?" Rodney moaned. "That's almost as bad as Elizabeth saying 'good luck' before a mission!"
The Colonel rolled his eyes in an almost perfect imitation of the scientist. "Jesus, McKay! You're worse than my grandma!"
"Hey, little man," Ronon said, clapping his team-mate on the back, "think of it like this. Things can't possibly get any worse can they?"
Rodney paled slightly then glowered at the ex runner. "Oh, that's great. We're now officially doomed. Thanks!" He started to pack up his gear. "And don't call me that! I am not that little!"
"Shouldn't call me Conan then."
"Let's just go, shall we?" suggested John, in an attempt to break up the forthcoming argument before things got bloody. "If all goes well, we'll meet you inside."
The team split up and once Teyla and Ronon were a good distance from the doors, they sprang open. Exchanging a glance, Sheppard and McKay clicked on their flashlights and headed in.