Chapter 18: The Ancient City

A room not unlike Atlantis' control room came into view as the transporter beam dissipated. Carson had kept an eye on Sheppard the whole time they were in transit, and he was worried about his friend.

As he became aware of his surroundings, he heard Rodney and Ronon's voices, but he still couldn't keep his eyes off General Sheppard.

Carson watched in fear when the bear was removed from John's legs. He then got his first look at the General's injuries. His left leg was a mess, and it was clear that the bear had tried to chew it off. There was blood everywhere, and all Carson could do was put pressure on the wounds to try and stop the bleeding.

Hands grabbed him and tried to pull him away from his friend, but he had to keep the pressure on so John didn't bleed out. The hands continued to pull at him, and he would have missed Rodney speaking to him if the scientist hadn't placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Carson, let these people look after him."

For the first time, he realised others were in the room trying to help John, and to his surprise, one of them looked a lot like him, with blonde hair. Another one looked like John except for the red hair.

His lookalike spoke to him softly, "Please let us help your friend."

He nodded and allowed his double and a medical team to lift John onto a gurney - it looked like a hovercar - and take him away.

Once John and the medical team had disappeared from the control room, he turned to the red-haired man for an explanation.

"Who are you?"

"Come into my office, and I'll explain everything to you, and then I want some answers from you three as well."

For the first time since they'd arrived, Carson took the opportunity to have a good look around, and to his surprise, a stargate stood in the centre of a large room nearby.

After looking around, he climbed a small flight of stairs and followed Ronon, Rodney and the man with red hair into a small office, where he immediately sat down. Rodney sat beside him, and Ronon stood against the wall. The stranger sat behind a desk.

The room was similar to Sheppard's office, only not as big.

"Okay, now tell me who you are and where is this place?" Ronon asked forcefully.

"My name is Isaac, and this is an outpost of Atlantis."

"Okay," Rodney began, "do you know what happened to the Ancients who crashed in that ship? And more to the point, why were there Wraith in this galaxy to shoot them down?"

Isaac smiled with a lopsided grin. And Carson was amazed that it was identical to Sheppard's grin.

"The answer to your first question is; we assume they all ascended, and I cannot answer your second question because we haven't figured it out ourselves yet.

"So, how did you come across this place? Ronon asked, and it was a good question.

"We came across it a few hundred years ago in our database. We have been sending teams here ever since."

Carson was becoming confused by this time, "Wait, so, what you're telling us, Isaac, is that you had no idea this place existed until a few hundred years ago, yet it was in your Data Base?"

Rodney looked as if he were going to burst a blood vessel, so Carson was happy to let the man speak next.

"Someone must have been here in the last ten thousand years because we suspect that ship crashed around ten thousand years ago."

A look of confusion crossed Isaac's face, "Okay, it's time I got some answers from you. You can start by telling me who you are and why the man in the infirmary looks like me."

Without giving Rodney or Ronon a chance to speak, he introduced himself.

"My name is Dr Carson Beckett, and this is Dr Rodney McKay. The big man by the door is Ronon Dex, and the injured man is General John Sheppard. Now I've told you who we are. I want to know how you knew we were on that ship?"

Isaac sighed before he began,*We always keep an eye on that ship, hoping the crew will one day return. We believe that they were also the original inhabitants of this city. Imagine our surprise when we scanned yesterday, and there were two people with DNA similar to ours. What's even weirder is that the man in the infirmary crash-landed in the ocean of Lantia two days ago. Two others were in that Jumper, and only a Dr Elizabeth Weir survived. Dr Weir claims they are from Atlantis is the future. I'm assuming you are also from a future time, and Atlantis didn't get destroyed when the shield collapsed. Dr Weir and her colleagues were thrown backwards in time when they took refuge in a time jumper so they wouldn't drown.

*Carson thought back to the old Elizabeth that they'd found in Stasis in the first year of the expedition, and it seemed strange that she was walking through the halls of Atlantis at this time. He had no idea whether Isaac knew of Janus' plans to put her into stasis, so he decided not to tell him about the woman they'd found in the future.*

He looked at Rodney and hoped he'd come to the same conclusion. When the scientist nodded at him, he knew they were on the same page. Ronon remained silent because he assumed the big man had no idea of the events of their first year on Atlantis.

"Yes, we are from Atlantis in the future," Carson began," and no, the shield holding back the ocean didn't collapse. And in case you're wondering, we have been transported ten thousand years into the past."

"How?" Isaac asked.

Rodney took over the story, and Carson hoped the man wouldn't take too long.

"We were being chased across the Pegasus galaxy by an unknown enemy, and it was ripping planets and wraith ships apart. Our home, New Lantea, was destroyed seven months ago, and Atlantis and its inhabitants have been on the run ever since. We came across a nebula about six weeks ago and entered it to make repairs. That is where we found a strange anomaly that sent us into the past and brought us to this galaxy.

Isaac's eyes were open wide as he spoke, "What happened to the unknown enemy?"

Carson took over from Rodney and continued the story, "They also came through the anomaly, but somehow they ended up in this galaxy ten thousand years before us. Their ship crash-landed on a planet full of people, some were ancients, and some were

not. Most of the ancients left, or some ascended around that time. Those that stayed were oppressed and used to power the city for thousands of years. The gene carriers were put in chambers, sometimes against their will, just to keep the city running. Many gene carriers were placed in a breeding program to ensure the ATA gene in future generations. More often than not, these people died a painful death. Unfortunately, when we arrived on the planet looking for information that might find us a way home, they discovered Sheppard's gene and put him in one of the chambers. And in case you're wondering why they chose him, it's because he has the strongest ATA gene ever detected in one of our kind."

"How did you get away?" Isaac asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Ronon took over and continued the story from here, "We had help from inside the city. A woman named Sophia and a man named Logo helped us escape, but not before a civil war broke out. Sheppard was disconnected from the chamber by Sophia and a man named Voth. The only problem was the head of the council was crazy, and he decided to hold a gun to Sheppard's head. What happened next is still a bit hazy, although I'm sure that when Toth pulled the trigger, Voth pushed him aside, so rather than killing Sheppard, the bullet only grazed his temple."

Voth seemed invested in the story, so Carson decided to continue, "We managed to get John out of there and perform surgery for the gunshot wound, and we were able to remove the connectors used to connect him to the chamber. John was resting when Toth abducted him from the infirmary and tried to put him back in the power chamber. Ronon shot Toth, and we managed to escape. Unfortunately, John had already suffered brain damage before we left the city.

The political climate had stabilised when we left Hillaring, and Voth became the council's leader. The power chambers were shut off, and all gene carriers disconnected.

"And how did you find this place?" Isaac asked, sitting further forward in his chair.

"The Hilarians gave us access to their database, and we were able to find the coordinates for this planet," Rodney informed him, "the only problem is we're not sure how that information was in the Hilarians' database."

Carson knew the minute the answer dawned on Rodney because his eyes lit up, and he started to snap his fingers.

"Unless part of the database came from Ilaria, and the ancients knew of this planet before they left the city."

A strange look crossed Isaac's face, and he furrowed his brow, "Ilaria?"

Rodney continued, "Ilaria is the Ancient city on planet Hilaring."

"We never found anything about Ilaria in the database of this city. All we know is the original inhabitants of this planet crashed in their spaceship." Isaac told them." I Do have one other question, though?"

Carson was sure they'd covered everything, but he thought he'd ask anyway, "And what would that be?"

"Why were these people chasing you across the Pegasus galaxy in the first place?"

Rodney quickly answered Isaac's question, "They were after ATA gene carriers to activate the technology on their Ancient starship?"

Carson could see that Issac was thinking about what Rodney had just said, and he got a glimpse of how intelligent the man was.

"Why did they destroy New lantia then?"

Carson looked directly at Rodney, and Ronon just shrugged his shoulders.

Rodney looked confused for a second before he answered, "I think they were trying to draw Atlantis out. So they took a chance that Atlantis would leave the planet before they blew it up."

Isaac continued with the line of questioning, "So why were they blowing up other planets?"

Carson answered this question, "They were targeting anyone who had anything to do with Atlantis."

Before the conversation could continue further, Carson's blonde-haired lookalike walked into the office.

Isaac looked at the newcomer, and Carson didn't miss the fondness in his eyes, "Ahh, Jacob, how's our patient?"

"We've managed to repair his leg, and there shouldn't be any problems."

Carson wondered what Jacob meant by the last comment, "How long will he be off his feet?"

Jacob smiled, and the man smiled just like he did, "Don't worry, he'll be up and around by tomorrow."

Carson was intrigued by this comment. Did these people have technology they didn't know about?

"His leg was a mess, and there was a lot of blood, and you tell me he should be on his feet tomorrow?"

Jacob smiled at him again, and it was incredibly disconcerting, "Yes, we have a device that can heal wounds. We also have a serum we use to repair tissue damage."

Carson was becoming excited by this time, but before he could speak, Rodney interrupted.

"Can you use it on Sheppard's brain?"

Jacob looked confused by the question, "Why would I want to use it on his brain?"

"It's a long story Jacob, and I'll tell you later," Isaac began."But he has brain damage."

Carson watched Jacob closely, and he appeared to be thinking the question over, "I know the serum has healed brain injuries on at least two occasions, so I believe it would be possible."

"Great, when can you start?" Ronon asked from the back of the room.

"Well, it's not that simple because we're heading back to Atlantis in two days, and the procedure may take time, and I know the healing process certainly will."

Carson was incredulous by what he'd just heard, "Well, why don't we start now? I'm a

Doctor and Rodney's a scientist, so I'm sure we can help."

"Don't forget Teyla and Robinson?" Ronon mumbled.

"And we still need a way home," Rodney added.

By this time, Jacob was sitting next to Isaac, "what's wrong with Teyla and Robinson?" He asked.

Before he could open his mouth, Ronon answered, "A thorn from the Jazella plant poisoned Teyla seven months ago, and at the moment, Teyla is on Atlantis, in stasis, waiting for our doctors to find a cure."

"And an insect we have never seen stung Dr Robinson," Carson added.

"What is this Jazella plant?" Jacob asked while scratching his head. "We have the cure for many plants in the Pegasus galaxy. They just need to be synthesised."

Carson was excited by the possibilities, "It's a large plant with red and blue flowers and tiny thorns."

Isaac pressed a few buttons on his computer and turned it around, "is this the plant?"

"Yep, that's it," Ronon mumbled, but Carson didn't miss the hint of excitement in the big man's voice.

A smile lit up Jacob's face, "we have the cure in the infirmary. You can take some back to Atlantis to administer to your friend."

"What about Sheppard? Are you going to help him? Because I know Teyla wouldn't want to see him in his current condition."

Jacob answered with one word, "Why?"

"Because Teyla's his wife," Ronon growled, "and they have two children back on Atlantis who need them."

"I will contact our Atlantis and see if we can stay longer," Isaac suggested, "so while I do that, why don't you go down to the infirmary and visit your friend."

"Thank you," Carson answered softly.

"Please follow me," Jacob suggested standing to his feet and walking through the door.

Carson immediately followed, and he had hope first time since this mission had begun.

He hoped that both his friends would be well again, but there was also Dr Robinson's condition to consider. Would Jacob have a cure for her? He would have to ask his lookalike when they arrived in the infirmary. He also knew they needed to find a way home, but if Jacob and Isaac hung around for a few days longer, perhaps they could get all the answers wanted.

oOo

A gentle voice pervaded his senses the next time John became aware. It was a voice he'd heard for the last ten years when he woke up in the infirmary - only different.

"Come on, General, time to open your eyes?"

The voice spoke again, and he was struggling to work out what was going on, so there was only one thing he could do - open his eyes.

Slowly he managed the feat and was surprised to see a blonde-haired Carson looking down at him.

"Carsssonnn," he whispered in a slurred voice.

"No, my name is Jacob, and you are in the infirmary on an ancient outpost."

He couldn't follow what was happening and wanted to speak to Carson.

"Wherresss, Carsssonnn?"

Carson's face immediately appeared in front of his, and he felt comforted by the piercing blue eyes,

"I'm here, General, and if you're ready, we'll tell you what's happening."

He was happy to see that Ronon and Rodney were there as well. And he was relieved that the Carson lookalike had disappeared.

"Whatsss hapeninnggg?"

Carson immediately went into a mother-hen mode, and even after ten years, it still annoyed John.

"Do you want some water first?"

"Surrre."

After taking a sip of water, he allowed Carson to raise his bed, and then he took the time to look around. The infirmary was smaller than the one on Atlantis but almost identical.

"Carsssonnn Whooo isss thattt mannn?"

"His name is Jacob, and he is part of an expedition team from Atlantis."

"Howww?"

As always, when it came to the topic of Ancient things, Rodney was excited when he spoke.

"Well, we assume they came through the Stargate. Apparently, this place was in Atlantis' database, and they came to explore."

That thought alone blew his mind, and he assumed it wouldn't be in their Atlantis database, or would it? Were these events always supposed to happen, so if they looked hard enough, would they find the city in their database? What about the Ilaria? Would they find information on it too? How he hated the intricacies of time travel.

All he could do was nod.

He was relieved when Ronon spoke because the last thing he needed was a Rodney rant.

"Anyway, Jacob says the Ancients have a serum that can repair your brain damage."

For the first time since John had awoken, he looked at his left leg and realised it wasn't damaged - other than a few scars. The last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was a giant bear chewing on his leg.

Rather than saying anything, he looked up at Carson expecting answers, and luckily the doctor could provide them.

"Jacob and his team healed your leg with the serum and a wound-healing device."

He thought back to what Ronon had said about the Ancients healing his brain, and his immediate thought was, could they heal Teyla and Robinson too?

"Teyylla?"

"Yes, they have a cure for Teyla," Carson replied with his blue eyes sparkling.

"Evvaaa?"

Carson's expression changed, and John could only assume it was bad news.

"We haven't asked them yet. Isaac says that they are going back to their Atlantis in two days. I assume that they will be going back to Earth from there. That would probably account for the lack of personnel in the city."

Before the conversation could continue, a man with red hair that looked almost identical to him walked in. If he was standing up, he was sure he would have fallen over.

"Whoo are yoooou?"

"My name is Isaac," the man replied.

"Whhyyy arree yooouuu hereee?"

"I need to speak with Carson right away."

How was he supposed to tell Isaac he was in charge and that whatever he needed to say to Carson could be said in front of him?

Oh well, here it goes, he thought before opening his mouth, "Youu cannn tell meee."

Isaac and Jacob both looked at him strangely. And he was convinced that they didn't understand him.

He was about to try and repeat himself when Ronon translated, "He said, whatever you need to say to Carson, you can say to him because he's in charge of the mission."

"Oh," Jacob replied.

"We have been recalled to Atlantis because we will be heading to Earth earlier than expected," Isaac told them.

John was sick of struggling to speak, so he hoped these guys could help fix his brain.

"Howww Lonngg Isaaccc?"

"We have to leave straight away."

There was so much that John wanted to say to Isaac, but he knew that it would take too long, so he hoped that his friends would speak on his behalf.

"How about we step outside," Carson suggested.

Isaac and Jacob nodded and quickly left the room, with Carson following.

Once he was sure they'd gone, John turned to Rodney and Ronon and had no idea what to say to them. For a brief moment, he had hoped he and Teyla would be well again.

Before he realised what was happening, John realised Rodney was speaking to him.

"Huh?"

"I said, at least we have a cure for Teyla now," Rodney answered softly.

John knew he should be happy for his wife, but how would she feel waking from stasis to find him permanently disabled? Teyla didn't deserve that. She deserved to be with the strong man she fell in love with.

Ronon put his hand on John's shoulder and spoke quietly, "We'll leave you alone for a while."

"Nooo, it'sss okayyy ssstaayyy."

Like they had countless times before, Ronon sat on a chair at the end of his bed, and Rodney pulled up a chair beside John's bed.

He felt comforted by their presence, so he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep again.

oOo

Carson was furious by the time he'd left the infirmary. How could these people be their ancestors since they showed no compassion at all? All they cared about was escaping the war with the Wraith, a situation that was their fault in the first place.

If the Ancients hadn't created the Wraith, they wouldn't be at war with them now. He wondered how different history would have been if the Wraith hadn't existed.

When he was sure they were far enough away from the infirmary, he turned and faced Isaac, "How can you leave John in his current condition!? He's your descendant!"

"Please calm down, Dr Beckett?" Jacob suggested. "We will give you all the information and equipment you need to help him before we leave."

He knew they would help Teyla, but what about his other patient, Dr Eva Robinson, "And what about Eva Robinson?"

Isaac smiled weakly, "We will give you access to the database of this facility, and hopefully, you will find your answers there. I hope the database will help you find a way home too."

"Is that the best you can do for us?" Carson whispered.

"You know we have to go, "Jacob began, "because if we don't return to Earth, you may not exist."

Carson knew he was right, but the concept of time travel and alternate realities gave him a headache. Perhaps Isaac needed to have a conversation with Rodney.

"I think I'll go and get Rodney, and then you can tell him how to access the database."

"Send him to the control room, and I will speak to him," Isaac instructed.

"I would like to go over the procedure to heal General Sheppard with you, Carson."

"Thank you, Jacob."

Once Isaac had left, Carson turned and walked towards the infirmary with Jacob.

He had no double that Jacob could give him the information he needed to help John. The only question he had was, could he perform the procedure?

oOo

Rodney was annoyed and frustrated by the time he reached the control room. These people had the answers he sought but didn't have the time to help him.

He sure had a few choice words he wanted to say to Isaac, but he knew that wouldn't help matters.

"What have you got for me?" He asked Isaac when he reached the control room.

Isaac handed him a crystal, "this is all the information we have recorded from this database. I have also included as many of our current files from Atlantis as I could."

He looked at the crystal, and it was one he'd never seen before, "How am I supposed to access this?"

"You'll find many places to put this crystal in your control room. You need to look for a slot like this." Isaac said, pointing at a small space in a control panel.

"Thanks, but will this have the information to help Sheppard?"

"No, Jacob is giving Carson the information. He will also give him the cure for your friend Teyla. Jacob will also give Carson a rundown of insects specific to this galaxy, and information about the antidotes, for their bites. I hope you can find answers for your friend Eva there. I have one last thing to tell you before I go."

"And what might that be?" Rodney asked with interest.

"In the shuttle bay, there is a Gate-ship with hyperdrive. It will get you to your Atlantis in a few minutes."

Rodney was stunned by this revelation. He had no idea the ancients possessed this kind of technology. Although he always suspected it.

"Thank you, Isaac."

Isaac nodded, "anyway, I need to get my things together. It was lovely meeting you, Dr McKay."

Rodney watched the red-haired man leave and thought, It's a good thing Sheppard didn't end up with red hair. I'm not sure I could take him seriously if he did.

oOo

Carson had spent two hours speaking with Jacob, so by the time he reached the infirmary, he was almost sure he could perform the procedure on Sheppard's brain.

When he arrived at Sheppard's bedside, he was surprised to see Ronon, Rodney, and John sitting around eating cookies and milk - well, it looked like some kind of milk anyway.

"What are you drinking, and is there some for me?"

Rodney spoke up with his mouth full," This is some kind of synthetic milk I stole from the mess, and the cookies were a gift from one of Isaac's friends."

"Looks delicious. Are there any for me?"

When Ronon handed him a plate of cookies, Carson sat beside John's bed and took a tentative bite.

"This is amazing!" He exclaimed, "Did you get the recipe?"

A worried voice spoke from the bed, "cannn youuu fixxx meee?"

"Aye, lad, I believe I can."

"Whennn?"

Well, "Rodney began, "Isaac has given us a shuttle with a hyperdrive, so we should be able to make it back to Atlantis in a few minutes."

"Donn'tt wanttt Teylaaa toooo seee meee likkke thissss."

Carson's heart broke for the man. The General was a man who refused to show weakness in any form. It must have killed him to be weak in front of his friends. So he couldn't imagine how John would cope if Teyla had to see him that way.

"Don't worry, John, we'll fix you up before we bring Teyla out of stasis."

"Thannkkk youuuu Carsssonnn."

"What do we do now?" Ronon asked from his place at the end of the bed.

Carson turned to John and grinned, "I suggest we watch Isaac and Jacob go through the gate. Our futures depend on it."

Carson watched as the three men beside him began to laugh, and it was good to hear John laugh. John was disabled and had been for the last five weeks. Hopefully, in the next few days, he could be well again.

oOo

John watched as Isaac, Jacob, and their friends walked through the Stargate, and he wondered if they would find the city they were currently in, in the future.

Isaac had given them a gate address for the city, an eight-symbol address. It may take ten thousand years, but he hoped one day they would walk these halls again, and then they could find out what the Ancients from Ilaria had been up to here.

For now, he was content with the hope that Carson would be able to make him and Teyla whole again. Then he knew that he could help Rodney with the task of finding them a way home

TBC…

*These events occurred in season one's episode 'Before I Sleep.'