CHAPTER 127

EPISODE…………………TRIO, or in this case, QUAD.

It had been a couple of weeks since Sheppard lost his father and he had already came back and been on two missions with his team since then. Today, other than being the third mission, he was in charge of watching the city because Rodney, Keller, and both Carter's were going to another planet together. The weather outside was very nice, a bit cloudy but not enough to stop the various people that liked to suntan. Since K-9 was more than capable of activating the T.A.R.D.I.S. shield and able to call either of them if the city came under attack, the two General's knew that the city was in good hands with Sheppard in charge and K-9 keeping watch. Seeing as the Carter family was gone for four days on a family trip in the T.A.R.D.I.S. two days ago, including SG-1 with them since they were considered family as well, Sam still felt the urge to get out of the city. Sally was doing school work as usual and the two promised to be back in time to read her, her bedtime story. Ford was going other than because he didn't want to be in charge, but because the planet was of interest to him. But before the decision to go back to the planet……

The command center was bustling with activity as people walked around doing their jobs. The group, along with Sheppard, came into the gate room from a door under the command center. Sam was currently in her gray and red SGA outfit, that Ford was really taking a liking to it more than the leather outfit because it was really tight around her waist. Sheppard, Rodney and Keller were still in their off world gear since they just got back from the planet and were now reporting on it, though Sheppard didn't have his backpack.

"Which planet is this one again?" Carter asked as they came through the door.

"M5V-801." Sheppard said as he pulled a sucker out of his mouth.

"It's the planet with the frequent tremors." Rodney said.

"And the one with the high amount of people with the respiratory problems." Keller said as they climbed the stairs to the command center.

"That's not surprising since it is a mining planet." Rodney said.

"Not everyone works in the mines Rodney." Keller said.

"Get to the point guys." Sheppard said from behind the three as he walked beside Ford.

"I think Rodney just finds arguing fun, even if it is with himself." Ford said with a chuckle.

"I do not!" Rodney exclaimed.

"Men." Carter said shaking her head.

"I know, all that testosterone." Keller said while laughing with Carter. "No wonder they are so competitive."

"Are you done?" Rodney asked as he ignored them and Ford who even cracked up. "Now, if I can continue….the area experiences up to four tremors a day, sometimes more, but not often. My seismic team concludes that the area they built their settlement in is dangerously unstable. It won't be long before they die because of a major earthquake."

"And my air quality and environmental study shows everything is way into the red." Keller said. "They are more likely to die of lung infections or worse, if not cancer that some already have, before the ground opens up beneath them."

"And yet, even with these sort of studies, both I mean, showing it unsafe to live in California, a lot of people still live there anyway. It only goes to show, ignorance isn't just on Earth." Ford said.

"The Ancients built that entire facility on that caldera that exploded." Rodney said.

"Same point, ignorance is in every form of life. Personally, I think the Ancients were idiots to begin with. Wait, they still are even with all that power from ascending." Ford said.

"Because they won't help us lower life forms, as I've heard them call us on several occasions." Rodney stated.

"Yes." Ford said.

"Okay, it's very obvious that these people are living in a very dangerous place and need to move to another continent or some other area of the continent they are currently on. Barring that, total planet relocation sound more feasible." Carter said as they entered her office.

"We tried to explain the situation to them, but they refused to listen." Sheppard said.

"Why?" Carter asked as she sat on her desk.

"Twenty years ago the Genii came along and took the planet and then employed them all as miners." Sheppard said.

"What the hell are they mining that is so important? And for the last twenty years?" Ford asked.

"We haven't a clue." Rodney said. "Whatever it was, they cleaned out the deposit and left already."

"So?" the two Carter's asked together, slightly creeping the other three out.

"Um, well, the people think we are like the Genii, wanting to come in and mine for whatever is there, and they want their cut since the land is theirs." Sheppard said.

"Ah." the two said.

"That is so creepy." Rodney said.

The two looked at each other and then looked back at them smiling.

"We do it for that reason." they said together quite smug about it.

"Colonel Mitchell warned me about this." Sheppard said while waving his sucker at them. "Still didn't prepare me."

"Why do you do that anyway?" Keller asked. "I could understand it if you were twins, but…."

"We believe we are soul mates." Carter said.

"That doesn't explain why you do it." Sheppard said.

"We started doing it…" Ford said.

"To annoy the hell out…" Carter said.

"Of Jack, to drive him crazy." they said together.

"You must have scripted things or something." Rodney said obviously unease.

"No, we just have moments where we know what the other is going to say and say it together." they said together after looking at each other again for a moment.

The others shook their heads as the two laughed.

"Well, I guess we should go and talk to them." Ford said. "Convince them that we aren't after any minerals or metals, but that their safety is what we want."

"Sounds good to me." Carter said.

"Well, they are willing to move, but they have a list of demands that I swear to you is a mile long as part of the condition." Keller said while holding out her arms.

"That figures." Ford muttered.

"We came back to let you know all this because, well, let's face it, my job description doesn't include negotiations. Nor is it why I signed up with the Air Force. Weir could pull this off easily, unfortunately…" Sheppard said trailing off. "We figured that you two had more experience in this area since you both have been in the program longer than we have and might be able to do something. And since you both have spent more time with Doctor Jackson and seen him do these sort of things, you are both better choices."

"Sure. I'll go talk to them." Carter said. "I could use a trip off world, that doesn't involve the T.A.R.D.I.S. It's been awhile since I've actually left the city for reasons other than family or because the T.A.R.D.I.S. went somewhere other than the intended destination. I've almost forgotten what going through the gate feels like."

"I'm going as well." Ford said.

"Sheppard, you'll be in charge then." Carter stated. "Just call our phone if you need anything. Otherwise K-9 can activate the shield."

"Okay." Sheppard said without arguing.

"Jennifer, Rodney, meet us by the gate in one hour please." Carter said.

"But…" Rodney began.

"One hour McKay." Carter stated.

"Oh, very well." Rodney said walking out.

"I don't mind going." Keller said with a shrug.

Sam, Keller and Rodney were wearing their black SGA outfits and each had a backpack on with essential things they felt they needed, besides the normal stuff when going off world. Ford was in his light silver suit and heavy coat, carrying his guns as Sam had hers on her hip like always, plus his cane. They had already left Atlantis and followed the tracks of a former road that once used carriages, but was now only a remnant of what once was, grass and weeds grew in its place. They exited the forest, still following the former road as they came across a very large open area of grassland.

"Oh man. I really have to start doing more cardio. All this back and forth is wearing me out." Keller said while panting.

"Don't you go to the gym?" Ford asked.

"No, not often. And obviously not often enough." Keller said tiredly.

"Hmm, I would have betted otherwise. I guess you are just one of the lucky women to have a fast metabolism and look in shape from a workout constantly." Ford said.

"Thanks, I think." Keller said unsure.

"It was a complement Jennifer." Carter said. "Trust me."

"If you say so Sam." Keller said shaking her head to fight off the fatigue.

"We spend a hour or two each day working out through various exercises. We alternate between days on sparring sessions since I'd rather not walk around with a lot of bruises." Carter said as Keller groaned.

"Why couldn't we have just taken a Jumper, or even the T.A.R.D.I.S.?" Keller asked with a small whine, ignoring Ford as he cracked up at her next statement. "I'm a doctor, not a physical therapist."

"Ah, suck it up. It's not that bad. I have to hike this much almost every day." Rodney said waving his hand as he ignored her glare.

"You do?" Carter asked dubiously.

"Yeah, I am a very active person." Rodney stated.

"You are?" Carter asked with the same tone.

"Yes." Rodney stated.

"Your last physical would contradict that evaluation." Keller said.

"That is private and confidential medical information doctor!" Rodney said offended.

"I think Rodney's extra bulk is because he can't eat fruits. But then, I'm no nutritionist. If it wasn't for the fact I asked Janet about the condition you have Rodney, I'd would have kept thinking you'd have scurry already or all the time and was covering it up somehow." Ford said.

"Extra bulk?" Rodney asked.

"Would you rather I said fat?" Ford asked.

"No." Rodney stated roughly.

"You may not walk a mile a day, but you are active enough that you can do the job and get wherever it is you, Teyla, Ronan and Sheppard need to go, even if it is a couple of miles." Ford said.

"At least someone is on my side." Rodney said feeling better.

"Then again, you might just always be experiencing a adrenalin high since most of your missions off world scare the hell out of you." Ford stated as Rodney glared at him fiercely. "I was kidding Rodney."

"Daniel wasn't all that active either, and got better later in the missions we had in the beginning since we were still fighting the Goa'uld and not even anywhere near getting ahead really." Carter said. "Now, Daniel's a bit better in fitness than Jack is. Well, now that Jack is doing a desk job, Daniel is much better than Jack is."

"Hmm. You're just saying that to get me to get in the gym more often." Rodney said sarcastically.

"I didn't say I was against you Rodney, I just said your physical wasn't that great." Keller said.

"Okay, it's very obvious that I am not like Ronan and will never make the cover of Shape Magazine…" Rodney said as the two girls laughed. "But I am in enough shape like Ford said, even though I can admit I could do better. I can handle myself in combat and stand my ground when I…"

There was a loud cracking noise and then Rodney disappeared into a hole in the ground. The other three stopped moving as they heard a creaking noise under them.

"Rodney!" Keller yelled as she started forward only to be stopped by Ford grabbing her arm and shaking his head.

"Get down on the ground slowly. We need to spread out our weight." Carter said waving her hands downwards.

Keller did so with her as they crawled over to the hole.

"I am not moving." Ford said when they looked back at him.

"Good, stay there." Carter said as she looked in the hole and saw Rodney on the floor of some room. "Rodney, are you alright?"

He only groaned as he moved his hand to cover his eyes from the dirt dropping down in his face.

"Ow." Rodney groaned out.

"Don't move, okay?" Keller shouted.

"Yeah, no problem." Rodney said waving his hand.

"What sort of hole did he fall in?" Ford asked.

"Looks like a room, probably one built by the Genii during the mining days." Carter said. "We're going to go back to the gate and get help Rodney, Ford will stay here.."

"No problem." Rodney grunted.

"Just try to stay as still as possible, in case you have any broken bones." Keller said.

"Sure." Rodney said nodding weakly.

The two started to back away and get up when the ground beneath them began to creak and groan. As it started to give way, Ford jumped forward grabbing for their backpacks. He missed as the ground gave out under him, grabbing something else as he heard two high pitched screams and then saw blackness seconds later as they all fell in as the ground gave way completely.

All three were groaning in pain, more the girls than Rodney. They landed just at his feet and all of them saw a very large hole above them, dropping small bits of dirt down.

"No one move, if they feel any shooting pains." Keller said slowly.

"I wouldn't move if that was the case." Rodney muttered.

"Yeah, I got one, but I can say for certain that it isn't a broken bone." Carter muttered in pain as she slowly sat up. "Damn that stings."

"Are you absolutely…" Keller said as she sat up slowly.

"Trust me, it's not a broken bone." Carter said wincing as she held her lower back. "It doesn't look like any of us are bleeding, and I don't feel like I am."

"If there is any bleeding, it would be internal." Rodney said while feeling himself slightly without getting up yet. "Damn, that really hurt. I don't see Ford."

"Good grief, this entire place is a tetanus shot waiting to happen." Keller said as she stood and rubbed her backside that she saw Sam doing. "Sam, you okay?"

"I will be in a minute or so." Carter said hobbling over to a crate nearby. "He couldn't just stand there and wait could he? Speaking of which, where is he?"

"I just asked that." Rodney stated. "Looks like the ground gave out under his weight too. Not much of a surprise with that coat."

"Considering he is heavier than the rest of us, I'm surprised he didn't end up being the one falling in first." Carter said.

"I don't see him." Keller said glancing around. "Wait, there is a large hole in the floor."

"Rodney, can you move or are you injured?" Carter asked.

"Sore, but nothing is broken, why?" Rodney asked as Keller helped him sit up.

"Take a flashlight and look down the hole please." Carter said.

"Why me?" Rodney whined.

"Because I ordered you to and it would be nice to talk to Keller with doctor confidential privacy." Carter stated.

"We're in a small room, and from the looks of it, it's a former Genii mining facility, long since abandoned." Rodney said waving his arm at some plague on the wall. "I'll hear anything you say anyway."

"Look down the hole and plug your ears then." Carter stated.

"What happen, you land on something that stuck you in the ass? I got shot in the ass with an arrow and while I was drugged up, someone took photo's that I still haven't gotten all of nor figured out who did it." Rodney said.

"Rodney…." Carter said with a warning tone.

"Oh fine…" Rodney said grabbing the flashlight off his bag on the floor. "What do I do if I see him?"

"Just plug you ears or hum some tune. This won't take but a minute, perhaps two." Keller said as they two got behind a large crate and spoke quietly. "I think he tried to grab our packs."

"Yeah, I got that. And he failed, miserably." Carter muttered. "He went straight from wedgy to ripping them right off and out."

"Ouch. Just bend over slightly then. Your pants are ripped, but not badly, and a belt loop is broken, and there is a burn mark on the small of your back going down.." Keller said.

"I figured that. No blood?" Carter asked standing.

"No." Keller said.

"What about you?" Carter asked while pulling her coat lower over her waist line.

"Not bleeding thankfully, but I think I would be better off if he had ripped my underwear out instead." Keller muttered.

"I'll keep him distracted for the…" Carter began.

"I am not dropping my pants in a place like this to rearrange my underwear. There is no telling what sorts of bacteria or germs or whatever is in here. And if the room shakes, I'd rather fall with my clothes on. I'll just live with the uncomfortable feeling." Keller said.

"Let's keep this between us." Carter said.

"Good idea." Keller said.

"Rodney, you find anything?" Carter asked while tossing a small broken plank over his head that he noticed enough to look up.

"He's about ten feet below us, face down. With that heavy coat, he went right through the ceiling and floor. Are you two done and okay?" Rodney asked getting up slowly.

"We'll be fine." they said as he eyed them.

It dawned on him pretty quickly what happened because they were still straitening out their pant legs while looking around at where they were.

"Ouch." Rodney said wincing. "I guess he tried to grab your packs and missed. I can tell you, from experience unfortunately, a wedgy is worse for a guy, but no less painful."

Both looked embarrassed and angry at the same time.

"This unfortunate experience never gets repeated to anyone, or god only knows what you two will do to me, got it." Rodney said nodding quickly at their glares.

"You're a lot smarter than you let on." Carter said as she saw a pile of thick rope. "Can you get me that Jennifer?"

"Sure." Keller said grabbing it. "What's the plan? There is nothing to try and….grab up there."

"We can tie one of those poles to it and toss it up there." Rodney said as he pointed at a small pile of six to seven foot poles near the wall. "Hopefully the roof will hold for one of you two to get up there and get help."

"Not a bad idea." Carter said as she walked to the hole. "But first, let's get him back up here since we can just call the T.A.R.D.I.S. to get us out quicker."

"That works to." Rodney said.

"Hey Ford! Wake up! We are in trouble!" Carter yelled.

Tossing one end of the rope down, she brought it back up and tried once more, dropping it on his head a few times.

"Maybe he is dead at the moment." Rodney suggested.

"No, his hearts are beating." Carter said showing her watch. "We can monitor each other with these to know our conditions. At least to the point of knowing if the other is alive."

Picking the rope up, she bounced it off his head a couple times more.

"I can't believe I have to resort to this." Carter muttered while shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Resort to what?" Keller asked as she was handed the rope. "You're not going down there…"

"Hell no." Carter said with frustration. "I have to resort to faking like I am in serious trouble."

"We are in serious trouble!" Rodney said. "We're stuck in a hole with no way out currently."

"Just plug your ears." Carter said as she groaned. "Even though I am a woman, I find this embarrassing to do."

They did so, looking at each other in confusion. Both jumped as she cried out for him, like a woman in trouble. The three instantly heard movement below them, though Sam heard the sound of his guns pulled since she was so use to it.

"Sam! Where are you?!" Ford asked with great concern. "Where the hell am I?"

"Up here." Carter said calmly.

Ford looked up seeing the only light source around in the inky darkness surrounding him.

"Did you just scream for help?" Ford asked rubbing dirt off his face.

"You wouldn't wake up and hitting you in the head with that rope didn't work. So I had to resort to the only other option." Carter said. "One I hated to do."

"Oh. No wonder I woke up, I rarely hear it, and can only count two times you ever did. Where the hell am I?" Ford asked while putting his guns away.

"Underneath some room that the Genii put underground." Rodney said. "I fell in, then you tried to stop them when they fell in. Being much heavier than us, you went through the floor."

"Figures. At least it wasn't water." Ford said pulling a light out from his pocket. "I'll be right back."

"Where the hell are you going?" Carter asked.

"I see something glinting in the dark off my flashlight." Ford said. "Hmm, just a bright metal shovel. Bit dinged but otherwise, in fairly good condition. I guess they were working under that room. This room is pretty big. Several metal support structure beams here and there, not to good looking though. Door that isn't ever opening again since it was crushed. I don't see any others, other than several more shovels here and there. And something else. What is that?"

Then they heard a cry of fear and him running.

"Is the rope tied to something?!" Ford yelled.

"No." the three said.

"Then do it quick!" Ford exclaimed.

They all looked around and then Rodney grabbed it from Keller as he rushed to a red metal door nearby that had a wheel on it for the doorknob, wrapping it around quickly as he tied it off.

"It's ready!" Carter said.

The rope went taunt fast and then moved back and forth as he was climbing it rapidly. All three grabbed his hands and helped him out of the hole as he reached the top within ten seconds.

"You must have fell over ten feet. How'd you get up so quick?" Rodney asked as Ford tossed his coat aside and looked himself over with his blue light. "Your face and clothes have blood on them."

"It's mine. The ground was sharp. I've healed since impact." Ford said while still shining the light on himself.

"What are you doing?" Keller asked.

"Searching for spiders. By gods miraculous grace I didn't step into the nest, but was close enough to touch them." Ford said while fidgeting very visibly with disgust. "Oh god, those were some ugly and freaky things. I hope I don't have nightmares."

"Yes, he is very afraid of spiders." Carter said as the two gave him strange looks. "They creep the hell out of him."

"Does that mean the story where he screamed like a little girl back at the SGC is true?" Rodney asked.

"Oh yes." Carter said nodding and then crossed her arms. "We have the video feed. Don't give me that look. With the ground so unstable, you shouldn't have moved at all up there. Do you have any idea what you did, not only to me?"

The glare he had at her changed quickly, especially as he got the same look from Keller and after remembering what he had in his hand when he woke up. He turned away and picked his coat up, shoved something deeper into his coat pocket, shook it a few times to make sure and then looked it over before putting it back on.

"Sorry ladies. Not intentional." Ford said adjusting his coat while looking very embarrassed. "Now, how are we getting out of here?"

"Duh, you." Carter stated. "Call the T.A.R.D.I.S."

He reached in pulling his dog tags out, only to find the object bent.

"You've got to be kidding." Carter muttered. "That thing gets broke to often."

"Yes, obviously, someone has it out for us." Ford said pulling his Sonic Screwdriver out. "Very out for us."

They saw the blue domed top was shattered and didn't activate despite his tries.

"Can't you just call for help then?" Rodney asked.

"I left my cell phone back on Atlantis." Carter said.

"Again?" Ford asked as he pulled his out, in parts. Looking up at the ceiling, he shouted. "Okay, now this is just going beyond.…."

Putting his dog tags back, he put the parts inside his coat pocket. Reaching in, he pulled the left side energy pistol and shot down into the hole. Pulling the other, he found the handle damaged and the energy cell cracked. Putting them both back, he rolled his eyes and then started pulling the rope up while shaking it at the same time.

"Okay, how about the metal pole and rope idea." Rodney said, breaking the silence.

"Fix the remote control." Carter said holding her Sonic Screwdriver out.

Tossing the rope aside, after seeing it had no spiders or any other bugs, he pulled a small zipped black container out of his inner pocket along with a lens for looking at gems as he also pulled the dog tags out. He sat down closer to the light and opened the small zipped bag on his leg, pulling a small tool out.

"In case this idea fails, since the miniature circuit board is broken, trying the rope idea might be something to do in the meantime. Keller, drop your coat and bag. The less weight you have on you, the better." Ford said while looking at the small remote with the lens as he ran the Sonic Screwdriver over it.

The silence was eerie as Keller looked at Rodney and then the two looked at Carter, who was undoing the rope from the door.

"Rodney get the longest pole and check to see if is damaged, and if so, look for the next best one. The longer it is, the better the leverage." Carter said as she pulled the rope off. "Jennifer, what are you doing? Take your pack and coat off."

"But…." Jennifer began.

"As you said before we fell into this hole, you don't work out a lot. I do and can already tell, you weigh a couple pounds lighter than I." Carter said ignoring Jennifer's pointing finger at Ford. "If he can't fix that, then you will have to be the one to get help."

"How are we going to get that pole up there?" Keller asked as she set her pack aside.

"I'll toss it." Ford said. "This is broken at the moment and the replacement parts are in the T.A.R.D.I.S."

"Why doesn't Sam have one?" Rodney asked as Ford put his various things away and handed back her tool.

"I haven't gotten the right whistle note down." Carter said. "I had one, and by shear luck got it to work, once. Never since then."

"I screw it up less." Ford said while standing.

"Other than the spiders…" Carter said as Ford shook with revulsion. "What else did you see?"

"Nothing of interest or anything that would help us. And I am not going back down there no matter what you say." Ford said.

"Well, blue doesn't mean bad like red does, so let's try that door." Carter suggested.

"Rodney, any small poles in there?" Ford asked.

"Here's one." Rodney said pulling up a pole just under six feet.

Ford slide it between the rungs on the wheel on the door.

"Come here McKay." Ford said putting him on one side. "Okay, I'll pull up, you push down."

Rodney gave him a strange look, and since their backs were to the ladies, Ford made a move with his eyes that Rodney understood quickly. As they were attempting to make the wheel turn, Carter leaned over and whispered in Jennifer's ear that she saw what Ford did as an attempt to impress the ladies. Jennifer barely held a giggle.

"You know, maybe it turns the other way." Rodney suggested.

"Switch." Ford said.

"Why?" Rodney asked.

"Because I am stronger, so the stronger person should pull. No offense Rodney, but if the pole was long enough, you'd be able to sit on it instead of pushing." Ford said.

"You're heavier than I am. Especially with that coat." Rodney said.

"Once again, who's stronger?" Ford asked.

"All right. I can't argue with that logic." Rodney said trading places.

"Ford…" Carter began.

"Yeah?" Ford asked while they were still pushing and pulling and slowly bending the pole.

"I don't think that door is going to open." Carter said.

"Why not?" the two asked and then looked at the wall she was pointing at.

Next to the blue door, there was a Genii key pad, with lots of buttons.

"This is a Genii keypad. Unfortunately, not going to work since there is no power going to it." Rodney said looking it over.

"And we didn't bring a power source. And yes, we never intended on bring one, I know Rodney." Ford said as Rodney opened his mouth.

"Let's try the other door." Carter said.

"Wait, what if there is something bad on the other side?" Jennifer asked.

"Like a big scary monster?" Rodney asked sarcastically.

"Never know with these two. What, we're heard of some of the things you two and SG-1 has encountered while in the T.A.R.D.I.S." Keller stated after getting a look.

"She has a point." Ford said as Carter agreed. "However, I don't think we have that to worry about. No T.A.R.D.I.S. means no monsters, except the Wraith, and I don't think they are here."

"Sam said red is bad, it could be dangerous toxins or fatal gas on the other side." Keller said.

"You three stay by the blue door, I'll open this one to see. If there is anything bad, gas or otherwise, I can close it without any ill effects. Sam, I need your Sonic Screwdriver again." Ford said.

They walked over and covered their mouths with their sleeves, just in case. Grabbing the wheel, it wasn't all that hard, though took some effort to get the wheel to turn. Hearing the latches on the inside pop free of the frame, he pushed it out slowly and took a reading before closing it back.

"Air quality isn't fatal, but isn't great either. Everything seems okay." Ford said sticking his head out and then pulling it back in. "Well, we've got good news, bad news and then terrible news."

"Start with the good and then go on." Carter said lowering her hand.

"Well, the air is safe and none of us are going to die from anything on the other side of the door. Bad news, there is no way to get back to the surface through this route. Worst news, there is no way to get anywhere from the other side of this door." Ford said swinging it open.

All three walked over and looked out, seeing a massive open expanse that was a good half a mile or more wide, a mile or more deep since it was total blackness below and over a mile or more long since it also was blackness on either side of the large crack.

"There must have been a room or walkway here once." Ford said while pointing at what was once a metal walkway at their feet outside the room.

"Hey, I see openings with light coming from them on the other side." Rodney said.

"That doesn't help us." Keller stated. "And we have no way of getting across much less even if we had that much rope, I ain't even going to dare to try it."

"No, but there could be openings below us." Rodney stated. "It would be weird and not to mention strange if there wasn't any on this side."

"Hold my feet." Ford said.

Tossing his coat aside and then laying down on what was left of the walkway, he looked down to see several light beams piercing the darkness below him, but none in very close reach.

"Well, there is several on this side. The closest one is a couple dozen feet or more away. Maybe more." Ford said getting back in the room.

Carter and Rodney closed the door as he brushed himself off and grabbed his coat back.

"We've been gone a couple of hours so far, and we had no intentions of staying the night." Carter said. "In several hours, once they haven't heard from us, they'll send a team. Our radios should work down here, right?"

"I don't see why not." Rodney said.

"I don't like the waiting for several hours, other than because there could be other areas nearby with unstable ground like this place, and also because of what is below us in the dark. But I guess we have little choice." Ford said.

"We still have the rope and pole idea." Rodney said.

The room began shaking, making them grab onto the nearest object. Keller grabbed Rodney's arm as he held onto a large box. Carter grabbed Fords as he stepped away from the hole in the floor, that was slowly taking in the dirt that was falling in from the hole above them. The tremor continued for a good ten seconds, making the room shift and the sounds of metal groaning and straining echoed throughout what was left of the complex.

"That was one of those tremors I was talking about." Rodney said.

"Yeah, we got that." the other three said.

"I don't think waiting is a good idea anymore." Carter said. "We need to get out of here. Assuming this room is built like what was left of the other rooms we saw across that expanse, those structures will hold up a lot better than this one will. And from what little I did see, their support struts were already giving out."

"What makes ours different?" Keller asked.

"With the four of us, that's…." Carter said thinking. "Somewhere over four hundred pounds just on the fact that each of us is already over a hundred pounds."

"I'm around 275, with the coat." Ford said. "Sam is about 150, Keller is 125.."

"Thanks, I wish though." Keller said.

"We'll say 200 and leave it at that." Rodney said at the pointing finger.

"Somewhere over 600 then. At the moment, the room has no tilt to it, but it could at any time." Carter said.

"Why don't we…somehow, make the room fall in. We can get into that hole and once it falls in, we'll see sunlight…" Keller began.

"No, no, no." Ford said quickly. "Very bad idea."

"A few spiders aren't…" Keller said as Ford shuddered visibly.

"Not bad and yet very bad." Rodney said. "We have no way of knowing if the room will go or if it will pull whatever it is attached to on the other side of the blue door with. Worse case, we could end up burying ourselves alive or get crushed."

"So, best case is the rope and pole idea like before." Ford said.

"Wait, what about these crates in here?" Keller asked while pushing on one of them.

"They are rickety and old. I must have crushed three on my way down in here." Rodney said. "It would be nice if they were stronger, but then, if they were, I think I would have broken bones, or worse, one or more pieces of wood sticking out of my body. Much less, I don't think we have enough."

"I think there is. Assuming we put them together right." Carter said while pointing at them and thinking in her head.

"Time is short, so, Rodney and I will work on the crates, you and Keller work on getting the rope and pole trick working." Ford said.

"We can handle heavy lifting." Keller said insulted. "This isn't a me Jane, you Tarzan thing here."

"Well, if you want to play with splinters and god only knows what sort of germs and or toxins are in the wood. Beyond just looking out for both of you ladies hands, I was looking at the time factor problem." Ford stated as he waved at one of the large crates.

"They'll have it done quickly without us interfering." Carter said.

"Me too now that I realize we'd have many splinters to deal with." Keller said. "Have fun boys."

"Great work Einstein, now we do the hard work." Rodney said.

"You are such a complainer." Ford grumbled.

Five minutes later, the two ladies had already tied one end of the rope to the middle of the pole and were watching them finish. Using two poles, they would put them under a crate and then lift it into the air onto the others. As they got crates out of the way, the ladies pushed the dirt into the hole to help lessen the weight in the room, along with most of the extra clutter around the room. The set of lockers against the wall came off easily and were even easier to toss into the hole with the rest of the junk. Using the poles, Ford was able to shift the boxes on the higher areas easier by pushing them gently enough the poles didn't go through the wood. Three large crates, all the same size, about five feet by five feet, stayed together in the middle under the hole as bracing boxes. A couple four feet by four feet went on those followed by a three foot and then another two foot, leaving a couple boxes extra.

"That should do it." Ford said waving the dust out of his face.

"Alright, go ahead Jennifer." Carter said.

"What, me? No way. I'm afraid of heights." Jennifer said backing away.

"That explains why you didn't look out the door as much as we did." Ford said. "Plus why you tend to avoid going near the balconies on the city."

"That leaves it to you." Rodney said waving at Sam to go.

"You aren't offering yourself to go?" Carter said.

"I don't like heights either. Besides, I weigh the most out of all of us." Rodney stated. "Ignoring the coat on Ford that is."

"Stay on this side." Ford said and then looking over his shoulder, he moved to the side with the blue door. "This side I mean."

"So if anything happens, you can catch me." Carter said as he knelt down and held his hands together.

"Exactly." Ford said.

With him helping with his hands for a footrest, she got up and then slowly went up. A small rumbled went through the room, shaking it and the boxes. No one moved as it slowly went away, leaving a slight sound of metal groaning and the creaking of the boxes from the pressure.

"Sam..." Ford said worried.

"I'm fine. I'm going to keep going." Carter said reaching for the next box.

"Toss me that gun first. It's a lot of extra weight." Ford said holding out his hand near her leg for her to drop it into.

He pocketed it and then watched as she continued up to the top, not yet standing on it.

"Okay, maybe you should come down." Keller said as the boxes creaked and started slowly snapping.

"Sam…" Ford said.

"I can…." Carter said looking down to see him leaning on the side with one foot on the side of a bottom crate. "It's not going to hold is it?"

"Not for much longer. This side snapped and I got my foot on it before it broke outward further." Ford said. "It's cracking against my leg as it is."

She slowly got down and off the backside away from the hole in the floor. Once he moved his foot, they heard heavy creaking followed by the crate snapping from the weight above as it caved in and dropped down into a pile of broken boards on that side near the blue door.

"Okay. Back to the rope and pole idea." Carter said while brushing off her clothes.

"Wait, while we were tossing out unnecessary junk, I saw something interesting in one of the lockers." Keller said grabbing some hooks that were bolted to a piece of metal that were tossed aside before the lockers were tossed.

"Those would work great at grappling hooks." Rodney said. "I'd just need to undo the screws…."

"And get nowhere. All that was above us was lots of grass land. Nothing to grab onto to hold." Ford said. "The pole idea is better. Covers more ground, so more stability."

"Good point." Rodney said as Keller set it aside.

"We have a problem with this rope, since it seems I'll be the one using it to get out for help." Carter said. "You, can climb this. I can't. It's to thin for me to get a good grip. Since it looks like we have more than enough rope here, we need to make knots in it."

"Well, if he can climb it so quick, why isn't he going instead?" Rodney asked.

"He weights more than I do." Carter said.

"Toss the coat aside." Rodney said.

"I weight near 165 with nothing. It's all muscle mass. Sam is near or at 150, with nothing. Mostly muscle mass, but 15 pound weight difference. I also wear steel toed boots and am not taking them off." Ford said. "Besides the fact I need them to grip the rope with my feet."

"Alright, I get the picture." Rodney said quickly. "Since it only takes two people to tie knots into ropes, how about they work on that while we work on the blue door. You have one functioning Sonic Screwdriver. Might do something."

"Jennifer and I will work on the knots, Sam and you will work on the door." Ford said grabbing the rope and pulling it off the pole.

Getting the first knot done on either end, Keller got bored quickly with the silence.

"We need something to pass the time. The silence is eerie, not to mention creepy. How about twenty questions?" Keller said.

"I, honestly don't remember that game." Ford said.

"This isn't working." Carter said stepping away. "There is no power to even try playing with. You can give it a try all you want though. This is the instructions."

"Different game then." Keller said as Sam took her place since she was better with ropes and knotting procedures. "If you had to choose between Brad Pitt or George Clooney, which one Sam?"

"Um…" Carter said thinking.

"And for you…." Keller said pointing at Ford.

"Meg Ryan." Ford stated.

"Meg Ryan?" Keller asked. "I have to ask why."

"After that Courage Under Fire movie, she looked a lot like Sam. Facially I mean." Ford said. "Actually, almost totally since she is thin too and has blonde hair."

"There is some resemblance." Carter said while tying off another knot. "Me, I think Clooney."

"He doesn't look anything like Ford though." Keller said as Carter said you asked. "I would pick Pitt. Your turn."

Ford shook his head, muttering she wouldn't even know any of the names he'd say.

"He'd probably bring up the names of a couple anime characters." Carter said as Keller nodded, knowing of the mans hobby. "We could try with Star Trek characters, any of the series. I do like Riker, and though he looks good with a beard, I don't like them which is why Ford doesn't have one."

"Oh, I like Deanna, but really thought Janeway was hot." Rodney said.

"I haven't watched a lot of it, but the young Kirk was hot." Keller said.

"He was." Carter said. "What about you Ford?"

"Seven of Nine." Ford said do everything not to smile. "If I had to choose."

"Intelligent though blonde and extremely beautiful. I can see why you picked her." Carter said smiling as Ford did.

"You did dress up as her once for a convention." Ford said.

"Yeah, that really wasn't a good idea. I did not like the attention." Carter said unease at the memory. "Which is why I went with the…um, whatever rank I was at the time we went."

"Which outfit did you wear, being that Seven lady?" Kelly asked.

"The blue and silver. I still have it." Carter said.

"You two don't cos-play?" Keller asked quietly as they shook their heads.

"Moving on." Carter said seeing Rodney turn just after Keller asked her last question. "Let me see. How about…."

"Who they hell are they?" Ford asked, not seeing the confused look on Keller's face after Carter was finished.

"Physicists. They are on TV. Oh, you've never actually watched them." Carter said. "If I am watching them, you're usually watching or doing something else."

"So, you two don't do everything together." Keller said. "I find that surprising."

"My favorite football team made it to the Superbowl one year. He got me tickets and watched the game with me, in seats near the team I really like. I had lots of fun and enjoyed every minute of it, especially when my team won. Even got an autographed football." Carter said proudly.

"I spent the game watching her." Ford said as Keller looked at him. "I'm not into sports, at all. If her team is playing on TV and she has the time to watch, I do something else."

"Wow. So much in common and yet, also have opposing thoughts and likes. Opposites do attract." Keller said. "Sorry Sam, I have no idea who they are."

"Not surprising. Even Doctor Lee had no idea who they were when I mentioned something I saw them talk about one night to him." Carter said.

"Why do you hate sports? Considering your, let's face it, super human abilities, you should be able to easily out do any competition." Keller said.

"They hold little interest to me." Ford said as he tied off another knot.

"That and he sucks. After five tries to try and get the basketball into the hoop, from five feet from the hoop, he got it on the fourth try, failed on the fifth. He's actually pretty good with football, but being a contact sport, bad idea. Jack tried to get him to do hockey and succeeded, to a point. Though he capable of skating, ice or otherwise, excessive speeds aren't his thing." Carter said as Ford shook his head again.

"This coming from a man who's had over a hundred speeding tickets in one year." Keller said.

"That's is totally different. Anyway, I've popped three soccer balls, just because I kicked them to hard. Had some trouble finding the baseballs, plus I broke two bats." Ford said.

"Almost broke Jack's hand. Throwing a ball near and/or over a hundred miles an hour is difficult for normal seasoned pitchers." Carter said. "Even Teal'c complained his hand felt numb."

"I like pool, darts on occasion, card games and lots of video games." Ford said. "I want to do street racing, but that's to illegal to get away with. Not to mention my car would stand out and I'd probably win all the time."

"Didn't you play a couple rounds of golf with Sheppard on the pier?" Rodney asked.

"John decided to call it quits when we couldn't see where my golf balls landed in the water. I agreed and wanted to quit because I couldn't even find where the balls went. Plus I ended up letting go of one of his clubs by accident." Ford said.

"Yeah, he told me about that and had you buy him a whole new set." Rodney said.

"So, back to our game, I was actually going to say a couple of men…" Keller began.

"I have not and do not ever plan on being gay, short of the term in the happy form, not the sexual form." Ford stated.

"Did you, get attacked or…" Keller began.

"No. I just think that homosexuality is sick." Ford stated.

"Hey, shut up for a moment, would ya?" Rodney asked while moving over to look up at the hole.

"Well, I'm sorry we didn't invite you further into our little…" Keller began.

"Wait, that sounds like children." Ford said tossing the rope aside.

"It does." Carter said as the group moved to the hole and began shouting.

"Hello?" a dirty blonde kid above them asked while looking in.

"Who are you?" a black kid next to him asked.

"We're the science team from Atlantis that came to talk to the people in the village near here." Carter said.

"You are standing on the roof of a long forgotten room under the ground. We had the misfortune of standing on a rusted spot and falling in." Ford said. "We need help to get out of here."

"Can you please go and tell your parents that we are down here, stuck and need their help to get out. And quickly." Carter said.

"I don't think we can do that." the black kid said.

"Why not?" Rodney asked.

"We're not really suppose to play out here." the blonde kid said.

"That figures." Ford muttered. "Your parents will be upset, but they'll be very happy once they find out you are heroes for helping save our lives. We are very important people and you'll be greatly rewarded for getting us help."

They saw the two boys look at each other and then talk quietly.

"Sorry, we need to go now."

"Wait!" they all shouted.

"Are you going to help us or not?!" Carter shouted.

"I'm sorry, we can't. Good luck!" one of them said as they ran off.

"Little brats!" Rodney exclaimed.

"If they took my cane with them, they are going to find it very difficult to explain that object to anyone else." Ford said while shaking his head. "Back to the ropes then."

"You know, we should have tossed the rope up to them and seen if they could tie it to something, or bring longer rope." Carter said, sighing with them after she said it.

Since the door was not opening, short of being blown, which Carter and Rodney both said was a bad idea, Rodney just sat down as the two continued to work with the rope. The game continued, with Rodney making choices every so often and Ford basically staying out of it unless Keller asked him female actors, which sometimes took naming a film they did to help him remember who they are.

"Sigourney Weaver does great movies, and I'm still waiting to hear about Aliens 5. But beyond that, she doesn't really show off much sex appeal." Ford said tying off another knot. "I'd have to pick the other girl even though I don't watch Battle Star Galactica."

"Okay, Steven Carell, or Steven Colbert?" Keller asked.

"Colbert, I think." Carter said.

"Carell, but I would pick John Stewart over both of them. If I had to choose." Rodney said as Ford shook his head yet again.

"I barely know who these people are anymore." Ford muttered. "Maybe I do keep my head in the anime world too much. I can't believe I said that….."

"Rodney, what's going on with you and Katie?" Keller asked.

"It's um, all sort of messed up now." Rodney said uneasily.

"What? Why?" Keller asked.

"I was, sort of going to propose." Rodney muttered.

"What?" both Carter's asked.

"You two got married. Doesn't mean everyone else can't." Rodney said offended.

"Then what went wrong?" Ford asked while finished his last knot.

"It's complicated. I basically told her I thought I was ready and then during the quarantine problem, I realized I wasn't ready for that step forward. She hasn't spoken to me much since and I heard she is requesting a transfer back to Earth." Rodney said.

"You broke up with her." Keller stated.

"No I didn't. I told her I needed time to think…" Rodney said.

"That's code for, I don't feel for you like I did once before." Keller said.

"What? Have you heard about this?" Rodney asked.

"Don't drag me into this. As nervous as I was, I asked anyway and planned on continuing to ask each day until Sam told me to back off. As for your problem, I don't think I could even begin to live long enough to understand the mind of a woman on that level. Too many codes, signals and other things that still baffle me, even after all this time with Sam. Supposedly, a man learns a lot about that when he has a daughter and watches her grow up and finally gets married, or so I have heard. But if you are looking for advice, I suggest that you talk to Katie when we get back to Atlantis. Apologize and tell her how you feel and find out how she is feeling and listen to everything she says, even if it hurts you. Actually, better to say sorry and mean it, and listen to her first before you say anything. And don't dare snap at her no matter what she says." Ford said.

"Wow, you're better at reading women than I thought." Keller said.

"I'll talk to her and do that. Help me to remember when we get back, okay?" Rodney said.

"Sure." Ford said as Sam was finishing the last couple of knots on her end. "You want me to…"

"Yeah, my hands are tired." Carter said shaking them.

"If Katie leaves after everything Rodney, remember to be nice no matter what she says or does." Ford said. "Always better to part on happy terms than regretful ones."

"I'm certainly going to try. She's deserves better than me anyway. I'm always caught up in my work or something dangerous…" Rodney said.

"Yes, but you are a nice guy Rodney. She would be lucky to have someone like you." Keller said.

"Thanks." Rodney said with a small smile.

"Okay, everyone stand back and I'll give this a good toss." Ford said looking at the hole while he aimed the pole.

"That's a good 15 feet to the hole. Can you hit that?" Rodney asked.

"Rodney, I hit what I aim for more often than not." Ford said.

"And yet, you couldn't shoot a hoop from five feet." Rodney said as the girls couldn't help but chuckle. "That isn't a gun either."

"Think of it like a large dart then." Ford said aiming again.

"Trust me Rodney, he can shoot pool exceptionally well, but not as great as me..." Carter said as Ford lowered the pole. "And he usually hits what he aims for on the dart board. Ford, we already know I am better at pool, so get over your bruised ego. Now toss the pole…"

"Hello?! Are you kids back again?" Ford yelled.

The other three came over and looked up seeing two more kids now looking down on them.

"See, I told you they were in there." the black kid said.

"I told you, you shouldn't have taken that bet. Now there goes are week's worth of taffle." one of the new boys said to the other.

"Hey, are there any parents up there?!" Carter yelled.

"No. We told our friends and they wouldn't believe us. We can't get our parents because we'd be in too much trouble." the black kid said.

"I guess being a hero isn't important to anyone anymore. How about this, you get help, and I promise to give you all a years worth of, whatever taffle is." Ford said.

"Give it to use now." one of the kids asked.

"Do I look like I have food with me? And if I had that much of whatever taffle is, I don't think I'd be down here since I could probably use it to make a ladder out." Ford stated.

The kids turned and started talking to each other and then got up and ran away as the ground began shaking with a large tremor. They all went to grab something as Ford put the metal bar behind the blue doors wheel and then reached out for each of them as the room began to tilt. They all heard the metal groan beneath them and saw the room tilt as they hear parts buckle from the strain as well as from underneath. After another good ten seconds, it died off and went quiet again, leaving the faint sounds of metal creaking.

"We need to get out of here, soon." Rodney said while holding the bar. "Another tremor like that and we'll be in the chasm too."

They got off to the side as Ford moved back under the large hole and took aim. Carter and Keller couldn't help but laugh when a chunk of dirt came down and landed in his face. He leaned over and shook his head while brushing off his face as they kept laughing.

"Great show of confidence ladies. I don't know if I can throw this as well as I could have…" Ford began sarcastically only to stop and sneeze very hard.

The bar hit the floor and hit a long metal pipe with a resounding clang as he let go in the middle of another couple of sneezes. The pipe was rusted in many areas and ran through the room with a large valve attached to it. As Ford picked the pole up, it dropped from his hand as the end caught the underside of the valve, smacking it hard into the side of the pipe. Shaking his head, he picked the pole up and noticed something strange about the air by the pipe.

"Sam, Sonic Screwdriver please." Ford said holding his hand out.

"What's wrong?" Keller asked as Sam walked over.

"You see that?" Ford asked.

"Yes, I do. Smells like gas." Carter said holding the Sonic Screwdriver. "This isn't going to stop the leak. More than likely set it off."

Looking to his left, he grabbed the valve and shut the flow off and then took the Sonic device from her anyway.

"What are you doing?" Rodney asked as both Carter's look at each other in extreme worry. "What's wrong?"

"We need to get out of here quicker than before." Carter said as she put her Sonic Screwdriver away. "The gas trail runs for over a mile. There could be pipes upon pipes and it will only take one spark to cause a massive explosion…"

"Which could result in causing a major earthquake…" Rodney began.

"A very serious quake, not an earthquake." Ford stated while grabbing the pole and quickly giving it a toss.

"What's the difference?" Rodney asked as the pole landed somewhere towards the direction that was towards the Stargate.

"Earthquake means Earth, otherwise, it's just a quake." Ford said.

Rodney began to talk about how wrong that was when Carter stopped him.

"Forget it. It's his philosophy." Carter said. "And technically, he's right."

"Well, let's see if this works." Ford said giving it a tug and bringing in a lot of dirt onto himself, making all three of them start to crack up. "Someone up there really has it in for me."

"Obviously." Carter said through a laugh.

"You can't be blaming God for this…" Keller began.

"I didn't say God." Ford said while shaking himself off. "I just said someone up there, pertaining to the Ancients specifically."

Yanking harder, he brought more dirt in until the pole was over their heads and across the hole. Shaking himself off again, he walked to the hole in the floor and shook his coat over it.

"This isn't going to work." Carter said after a couple minutes.

"Why not?" Ford asked while still getting dirt off himself.

"The pole bent by the time she was half way up." Keller said.

"Plus…" Rodney said giving it a yank.

The ceiling caved in more as the bar bent and came through, leaving a lot of dirt that was beginning to slide. Giving Rodney a glare, which he immediately apologized for, all four of them quickly got the dirt in to the hole before it made the room start to tilt even further.

"We need a new plan." Keller said as she tried brushing her dirty hands off on her pants.

"Hey, there is some wooden planks here on the floor. If we can get these up to those metal beam poles, we can almost get out of here. They clear a good ten feet to the hole to begin with." Rodney said.

"Won't work." Carter said. "I thought it before, but noticed the planks are too short to make it to the other beams."

"We could find a hammer and nails…" Rodney began.

"We never saw anything like that." Carter said.

"All we need to do is build a bridge then. There is three planks here and if we can find a way to get them to connect without breaking apart…" Rodney said as he gestured with is hands.

"There is enough crates left to build a support underneath, but…." Ford said while thinking. "We already know that they can't support our weight so the bridge wouldn't be stable."

"Wait a minute…" Keller said while looking at the boards. "This is just like that bar bet."

"Sorry?" Carter asked as Ford looked confused.

"You know, that trick you do to get free beer." Keller stated with a smile.

Carter and Rodney were totally clueless as Ford smiled and shook a finger at Keller.

"How in the hell do you have any idea of what she is saying? You don't even go to bars." Carter stated.

"I've taken Jack to a few bars, usually when he wanted to talk about something or was in the mood to get drunk and needed someone there to help him get home." Ford said nodding at Keller. "Jack showed me this trick you are taking about a few times, as did a friend I had back in that other universe. I couldn't figure it out either at first until he showed me. Very clever Jennifer, I didn't even see this idea."

"Wow, this must be how you three feel when you know something important that none of the rest of us understand. Give me a minute to remember this feeling, it is incredible. It may never come again." Keller said with a contented sigh and smile.

"What is this bar trick?" Carter asked with a certain glare.

"I would tell you, but it would spoil it for her and ruin the surprise. You can brag about it when we get back to base." Ford said.

"Moment was fun while it lasted. Now, there is certain things I need from your bags to show you how this works." Keller said.

Setting the three metal cups that held their canteens with tops down on the large crate, she held up three metal butter knives.

"The object here is to make a bridge between these three cups that is capable of supporting the weight of another cup." Keller said while picking up a role of gauze. "Since we have no third cup, we'll use this. Now, as you can see, there isn't enough space to hold this knife up between any of the three cups."

Letting go, the knife clattered to the top of the crate as she let go.

"Just like the beams above our heads, there isn't enough room to hold the knife. However, if you do this…." Keller said.

She placed the ends of the knifes on the cup holders and put the blades crisscrossing each other in the middle to form a very stable bridge as she put the gauze roll on top.

"I've seen this before. I can't believe I didn't think of this." Carter said smacking her forehead. "Wow. Nice thinking Jennifer."

"Thanks. I have my moments." Keller said.

"Ingenious. We could do this." Rodney said looking at the boards.

"In that case, you owe me a beer." Keller said.

"If this works, I'll buy you a keg." Rodney said while doing the math.

"Great job Jennifer." Ford said patting her on the shoulder. "Rodney, we'll have to use the rope to get them up there."

"Someone will have to be on the beams to get the boards up there and move them." Rodney said.

"Jennifer, pick a beam. Sam gets on the other one." Ford said.

"Wait, what?" Keller said.

It took a bit of coaxing, but she relented and got on the right beam as Sam took the left. Using the ropes, they got the boards up and made a crisscross in the middle as Ford finally put the last crate under the boards as Carter put a couple on top of the bridge to give her a better chance at getting out. Since they had so much rope, they tied the ends of the boards to the metal beams to help with stability.

"We have no idea how long this will hold, but it's better than climbing bad crates." Ford said from below since he was the only one left on the floor.

"Thanks, I'm on two creaking crates as it is." Carter said as they heard to boards and crates moaning. "Now whose confidence is being shot down."

"I didn't say that…" Ford said.

"I think you should give up and come down." Rodney said.

"Sam, make it quick and be easy. I'm right here if it falls…" Ford said.

"I'm going for it." Carter said getting on the top box. "You're cane is gone."

"Would you just…" Rodney began.

"She's trying to climb out McKay." Ford said seeing her start to get out as dirt came down as her feet tried to get a grip.

Fate decided to be a pain in the ass again as a large tremor hit the area shaking everything. The crates crumbled as the boards un-crisscrossed and fell down, almost hitting Ford who just barely ducked and avoided them. McKay and Keller held onto the support beams holding the beam they were both on as the room continued to shake. More sounds of metal bending and groaning filled the air as the room tilted just a bit more. Carter kept trying to grab onto the ground with extreme difficultly as more and more of her body began sinking back into the room. She wasn't surprised when, after calling for help as she lost grip, that she landed on something soft. No one moved as the tremor died off and the other two slowly got down using the ropes.

"Sam, don't move…" Keller said kneeling next to her.

"I'm fine. Little disorientated. My leg hurts, but nothing feels broken." Carter said as Keller was feeling the said leg, thinking it was lightly sprained because Carter said she felt it twist a bit when she landed.

"I think my back is." Ford said in a pained voice.

Seeing and feeling no other injuries, Keller helped Carter to her feet. All three helped slowly turn him over and saw a very pained expression on his face.

"I can't feel my legs. Hell, I can barely feel anything below my arms." Ford said with a groan. "Then again, better me than any of you."

"How long…" Keller started asking when Ford shifted.

There was a very pained expression on his face as they heard bones crack, that went away seconds later as he sighed and took a couple deep breaths that lasted over ten seconds.

"That was quick." Rodney said as Ford sat up.

"That hurt like hell. At least I can move again." Ford said as they helped him to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"I cut my leg, possibly sprained it a bit, but otherwise….." Carter said standing on her other leg more.

The room suddenly shifted heavily and tilted further as the metal support beams under it buckled. The red door swung open as a crate slammed into it and then dirt, broken boards and other things began to slide out as they were finding footing and the rope to grab onto.

"This room isn't going to last much longer." Carter said while holding onto the valve.

"Rodney, grab the rope and toss it into the hole." Ford said from where he was hanging onto the gas pipe with Keller.

"What for…" Rodney said from the other side of the pipe that he was laying against.

"This room has tilted enough that it is ready to slide off into the chasm." Ford said.

"Which means we can go below and get rid of the room with that idea from before." Carter said.

"Exactly. I can toss some C-4 into the dirt above us and then we set it off once we are down below. The explosion will fill the room with dirt and cause it to slide off into the chasm, giving us more options on how to get out of here." Ford said.

"That sounds to risky." Keller said as the room buckled more and tilted further.

"I weight over three hundred pounds, that includes three guns and my coat. I don't think we have much of a choice." Ford said. "We already know we can't get out from the large hole above us, right?"

"I can't think of any way." Carter said.

"Since the room is tilted, even if we could walk out, we'd still have to keep from sliding off the top." Rodney said.

"You two help him with the rope and get in that hole." Ford said.

"Ford, there is spiders down there, remember?" Carter said a bit reluctantly.

"Sam, you're not helping." Ford stated as he played with his boot heel. "I'm praying that since the nest was near the wall that has the buckling metal braces, that they were crushed or buried. If you do see anything moving, step on it or hit it or whatever to kill any you see."

It took them a good minute to get into the hole and land safely since it was so dark, before he finally dropped in and nearly broke his arm in the process. Because the room had tilted so far, it had came undone from whatever section of the building it was still slightly attached to letting in traces of light from above where the ground had broken free as it moved with the tilting room. Standing against the wall and looking up at the tilted floor above their heads, they got down, covering each other.

"I really hope this works. Fire in the hole." Ford said.

They heard a slightly muffled explosion and then the sound of dirt falling. More metal moaned and groaned above and around them as the metal support struts buckled for the last time, sending the room into the large chasm. Moving away from the walls, dirt and some metal debris fell down where they were. Looking around after it was over, they were extremely happy to be alive and not buried, giving each other hugs of relief as the sun shined down on them.

"Now comes the fun part." Ford said while looking around.

"Looking for creepy spiders to avoid?" Keller asked as she saw him glancing around and checking himself quickly.

"I think he meant trying to get out of here." Carter said while looking around. "We traded a bad room for a deep pit."

"At least we got more light to work with and less danger." Rodney said. "But I can't think of any way to get out of here. The room connected with the one we were in is well out of reach and with that much twisted metal, we're more likely to cut ourselves even if we got that high or liable to cut the rope and drop back into this place."

"We can get help much easier now." Ford said while sitting on the rope. "Unless this area gives out in the next tremor, all we have to do is wait for the deadline to pass and Atlantis to call us on our coms."

"What happens if the spiders show up?" Carter asked as she sat down next to him.

He pulled his functioning energy pistol and then, after looking over his shoulder at part of a pipe hanging out from the dirt wall, which was thankfully rather far away, shot the dirt by it. The other three ducked as a massive flame shot out and then continued to burn outwards as Ford put his gun away.

"Nice, that could have blown us all up!" Carter exclaimed.

"No, I was just lighting the fumes. With it like this, it's like lighting a flame thrower since there is no confinement of the gas anymore to cause a explosion. If we are lucky, the flame will go out soon." Ford said putting his gun away and then covering a yawn. "Now we wait and hope that help arrives from either the people here or from Atlantis. Trust me, a five or more foot long flame is rather noticeable."

"I'd say the more noticeable part." Rodney said while pointing at the tree line. "Someone must have noticed it alright."

"Okay, that was a good idea, but give a warning the next time you want to do something like that again." Carter said.

"And doing that also kept a explosion from happening since it is bleeding off the remaining gas." Rodney said.

One adult from the settlement came over and they all explained what happened after the person was able to tie the rope to a tree nearby so they could climb out. Instead of getting help like they should have, all four kids got into serious trouble, not only because they were in a place they shouldn't have been, but also for lying about the cane they said they found in the woods and for not getting help when the four adults asked. Once a good amount of the adults saw the large hole that had begun getting larger with each small quake, and the fire that was still burning from the pipe two hours later, they took their advice and began packing up to move their people to a safer location, on another planet. Since Atlantis promised to help them get settled in, they took the advice much better since Atlantis didn't ask for anything in return and offered to give supplies. It wasn't until three days later that they learned a major quake came to the area and almost totally demolished what was left of the settlement and the mining area the Genii left behind. Other than needed some cleaning and then a bandage over the cut on her leg, Carter was just fine, meaning she was going back to work the next day like the other three.

Rodney tried to get out of the bet to get Keller a beer, until she not only stated that she technically won since Sam would have gotten out if the tremor hadn't hit, plus the fact she wanted to go have a drink with him. Giving in, more to having a drink than conceding to the fact she did win, they went off and had that drink.