Disclaimer: The characters of, "Stargate: SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis", are owned by Robert C. Cooper, Brad Wright, Sci-Fi Channel and whoever else was involved with the creation and production of these two shows. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fanfiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

Chapter 16: Discovery

Dr. Zelenka nodded to Dr. Taylor as he entered the lab. He was getting anxious trying to study and figure out all of the information that the rogue Ancient scientist had collected. The information had been sorted into different sections but everything was in code and each part had a different cipher. It was taking hours just to read one file.

The base was set on the highest alert due to the threat that Ereshkigal had said to Sheppard and his team.

He had briefly met Sky and hadn't formed an opinion of her. It was true that she had killed a few Wraiths with some fearsome skill, but the Wraiths had been determined to kill people. He wasn't prone to violence, but having been in the Pegasus Galaxy for a while, he had learned that it was necessary for survival.

He had a feeling that something within all of this data would be useful; he just had to find it. He watched the Ancient writing on the monitor trying to find the essential piece of information. Using science to improve lives and understanding the universe was important to him. Especially the information contained within this computer may contain something to stop a future attack from Ereshkigal or possibly the Wraith.

Frustrated with the computer and allowing the program to try a new decipher he turned to the extracted chip from Sky. He had been studying the device carefully, knowing that he still had a lot more to learn about it. He could have asked McKay to help him study the device, but he was more concerned about an impending attack from Ereshkigal.

"Got anything yet, Dr. Zelenka?" Dr. Taylor asked as she wrote something down in a notebook before she turned toward him.

"No, not yet," he sighed with frustration.

"This situation with Sky makes me wonder why this Ancient had anything to do with her. I mean, if she and her people were bent on destroying the Ancients, why would an Ancient even bring her to Atlantis?"

"The chip was used to control her. Maybe the Ancient wanted to control her so he could control her people?"

"No, I think there was far more to it than that. Something is off here."

"What is off, Dr. Taylor?"

She smiled at him. "You can call me Lucy."

Radek looked into her brilliant jade eyes "Yes, yes, of course. You may call me Radek."

"It just doesn't make any sense, Radek."

Radek liked the sound of his name coming from her red lips and the look in her green eyes. Radek tried to clear his mind of certain thoughts, but that more difficult than clearing one's throat. "Hopefully, we shall find the answers and have it all make sense."

They both went back to work and about an hour later, Radek saw that his computer had finished deciphering a file. His eyes widened and he felt his mouth open. "What? That cannot be right!"

Lucy turned to him. "What is it?"

He pointed at the screen, not having come to understanding what this discovery could possibly mean. "I have found the plans for the device that was in Sky."

Lucy got out of her chair and stood next to him. "What about it?"

"It does not make sense. I need to speak to Dr. Weir."

Radek left the room, knowing that Lucy bewilderment of his outburst was evident by the look on her face. He didn't have time to explain it to her and he knew that Dr. Weir would want the information as soon as possible.

Sheppard set his tray onto the table and sat down. His gaze swept over the mess hall. He could feel their eyes on him wondering about Sky and him. He was the Military Commander of the Atlantis Expedition but he felt like he was a rare, strange-looking fish in an aquarium.

The threat to Atlantis had many on edge. Others were in denial that Atlantis was in danger from a race that didn't have any significant technology. Well, Sheppard's team never saw Ereshkigal's people use any technology besides the crystal. It was possible that the planet contained advanced technology even though they believed that Ereshkigal was a goddess having returned to them.

Sheppard sighed as he used his fork to move his food in a clockwise direction. He had been avoiding his teammates for the last couple of days. He needed time to think. He needed to examine the time he had spent with Sky.

His thoughts turned to his plate of food. The Athosians had introduced many vegetables and fruits to the members of the Atlantis Expedition. The vegetable was green and had seeds like a cucumber but it tasted like a potato. He had seen Teyla eat the vegetable several times and she had mentioned that tasted differently when you ate it with a fish-type creature that the Athosians would eat. He hadn't tried the fish considering it looked like a prehistoric fish that had once been abundant on Earth and didn't look very appetizing.

He just couldn't keep his mind from what had happened. When he and his teammates were in that room with the crystal, he had seen Sky and truly believed that everything had been set right. The look that had been in her eyes.

She had saved his life and the lives of others before she had become Ereshkigal. He knew that the spirit of Sky was still in Ereshkigal. McKay would say that he was on a foolish quest and that he wanted to be the hero to save the damsel in distress.

He just had to go to that planet and discover whether Sky was still in Ereshkigal. He looked at his plate, which was now a mass of combined vegetables and started to formulate a plan.

Radek had reached Dr. Weir's office in record speed. He had met many people along the way but he hadn't really seen or heard anything but the thoughts taking over his mind. He entered the room as soon as Dr. Weir told him he could enter after he had knocked.

"Dr. Weir, I need to speak with you," he said quickly trying to catch his breath.

Dr. Weir looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Yes, Dr. Zelenka?"

Radek took a couple of deep breaths and was finally successful at regulating his breathing. "I found the plans for the control device that was in Sky."

Dr. Weir nodded her head, signaling that he should continue. "The chip was set on a timer. It wouldn't have been too much longer that she wouldn't be under the control of any one with the Ancient gene."

He could see her eyes widen but she maintained her composure. "That means?"

"It wasn't permanent. Even if Dr. Beckett hadn't removed the device, it would have turned off on its own."

She was silent for a moment and he knew that she was thinking about what the information could mean. "Are you certain about this information, Radek?"

"Yes, but I will need to confirm by studying the device. I believed it was important to tell you."

"Go back to the lab and document everything. I will send McKay to assist you. We need answers," Dr. Weir said as she operated her com link to contact McKay.

Radek left quickly to return to the lab and he hoped he would find answers that would make it better, and not make it worse.