John swung the jumper in a wide arc around the space between the gate and the planet below. He was waiting for Rodney to give him the okay to proceed through the shield. He wanted every assurance that the shield would accept the jumper.
Rodney was typing on his laptop furiously, then: "Go ahead Major, the shield will definitely acknowledge the jumper as Ancient."
John trusted Rodney, but as he approached the shield, he held his breath as they entered the invisible forcefield. Once through, he relaxed and located the facility via the energy signal and headed the jumper down through the atmosphere.
John landed near the center of the facility. On scale, it was about one quarter the size of Atlantis. A structure definitely of Ancient design sat at the center, surrounded by numerous smaller structures. Each of the Atlanteans outfitted themselves with a personal oxygen tank, making sure the tanks were full. Dr Beckett had preset the oxygen rate on all the tanks.
Once they were all set, John gave the go ahead and Ronon released the hatch. P90's raised as was standard procedure, they headed out. Radek in the center of the group.
John relaxed a bit when he noticed the undisturbed layers of silt and dust that covered every surface visible, reassuring his hope that they wouldnt encounter an hostiles-or anyone-for that matter.
Talking was difficult enough through the oxygen masks strapped against their faces, but it was deciphering the garbled communication that was harder. John resorted to hand signals which all but Radek knew. Rodney remedied that by pushing and pulling Radek along to where he wanted him. Radek complied but his annoyance was visible on his masked face. Teyla smiled as she took delight in the reluctant friendship that defined Rodney and Radek.
John was the first to find the doorway and with the swipe of his hand over the lock, the door slid open. Stepping inside, John waved for Rodney to join him. A lone console was sitting in the center. A wall of doors lined the far end of the structure. John approached the console and it came to life at his touch. Rodney went to work determining what its functions were. John wandered around and as he approached the bank of doors, the closest door opened. John recognised the transporter as it was exactly like those on Atlantis, though this one lacked the lighted map inside.
Rodney shouted over, "The transporter destinations are determined by the console. The map here indicates that the structure descends five levels down and spreads out into various corridors in five directions. Its like a mini Atlantis down there." "Huh!" he exclaimed.
John, satisfied there was no immediate threat, waved the rest of the team in. Radek joined Rodney at the console.
"McKay, does the console describe any of the locations, what they were used for?" He hoped it made sense that the Ancients would keep that info on the central console.
"Yes, the five wings are each five levels deep. Each wing acts as a separate entity. Three are for research, the other two-Rodney gulped-The other two are for manufacturing ZedPM's!"
"Major, once the door to this structure is shut, environmental controls adjust the oxygen saturation levels to comfortable levels that will allow us to breathe easily without tank." Radek stated as he pulled his mask off and breathed deep. Seeing that Radek didnt keel over, the rest of the team removed their masks also. The air must be filtered in as it was clean and fresh.
"Okay, keep the oxygen tanks strapped on and the mask handy-just in case. We'll split up... Radek, you're with Teyla and myself. We'll head to one of the production wings. Ronon, take Rodney and explore the research wing. McKay-Dont touch anything! You hear me?
"Ahh-Sheppard I want to check out the ZPM wing!" Rodney whined.
"McKay, you have the ATA gene. You need to go check out the research section." John knew Rodney was hot to get his hands on a ZPM, but first things first.
"Remember, dont touch anything you're not sure of. God knows what they were researching down there. We can always come back." John was sure that would be the case.
Radek determined that level five of the first production wing was the place to start. Levels one through four were designated as the production site for the actual ZPM containment vessel. The energy manufacturing started at level five.
The doors opened onto Level Five and the corridor wasnt as long as John thought it would be. No more than a football field length long with only four doors visible on one side. Entering the first door, John, Teyla and Radek stared in awe at the silent conductor that spanned the length of the entire wing.
John started to approached the console closest to him. "Major Sheppard! Please do not approach that console! Your presence may activate something that sets the whole conductor to activate. I do not think we want that to happen just yet..." Radek was more than cautious. He had seen the Major activate plenty of Ancient tech just by entering a room. Perhaps this wasnt such a good idea...
TBC Well, Rodney's research was right-a ZedPM manufacturing facility! Hope you like this, I know it lacks alot of action-its just the nature of the story-who knows-the tempo might change- even i'm not sure yet!