Chapter 1: Taco Shack

The jumper burst through the event horizon and onto the abandoned planet. It was called Gessa when it had been inhabited by the Genii. Before that, it had been called Aktos by the Ancients. The Genii had evacuated the location five years ago when their attempt to build a nuclear weapon went horribly wrong. The MALP had provided evidence that the radioactivity was still too high to allow humans to survive without protection.

"You sure we'll be okay in the jumper," John asked as the craft glided past the abandoned structures, over the empty streets. "Because, I have other things I could be doing."

Rodney's eyes were on the displays, checking both interior and exterior radiation levels. "We're good," he said. "We're doing great! The environmental controls show that there isn't any sign of radiation breaching the jumper." He nodded to confirm his findings. "Outside – not so good. But inside it's great," he said again.

Sheppard frowned as he followed the wide road between the empty buildings. Just beyond the buildings, a tall row of Ancient structures stood, looking like a speaker bank. "Those are the oxygen scrubbers?"

Rodney nodded without looking. "Yes, the reason we're here. We need to research their technology for making a livable atmosphere on an otherwise uninhabitable planet. They fixed it and then the Genii muffed it."

A radio tower marked the far end of the town, nearest the gate. Squat, one-story buildings lined the street. There were no animals, no insects, not even any weeds. Everything was baren and bleak. The old oxygen scrubbers gathered dust and debris.

When John first heard about the planet, he'd expected everything to be yellow-orange – as it always seemed to be in movies after a nuclear disaster. Instead, everything was just bare, gray and sad.

Ronon and Teyla said little as they stared out at the desolation. John kept his gaze on the road as he slowly followed signal to the latest abandoned Ancient outpost. Rodney poked at his station, looking interested and intrigued.

"The radiation levels are still astonishingly high," the scientist said. "You'd think that after five years, it would have abated a bit. There must be a reactor working still. Amazing that it's still functioning – well somewhat-functional because it probably had a meltdown long ago. I wouldn't want to be out there, that's for sure."

He went on, "The oxygen levels are low, but not horrible, so I guess the scrubbers are still working."

From the copilot seat, Ronon said, "Looks like it's up ahead."

"Should be," Rodney said. "The building is mostly underground. Might not be much showing. It's strange to see so many buildings, huh?" Rodney stated. "I thought the Genii liked to be underground. I mean, if they'd just built their regular bunkers here, they'd probably be all okay and wouldn't have had to evacuate.

John slowed the jumper as they approached the little white structure. "So," he drawled, "What do we do now?"

"It's Ancient technology," Rodney said, "We should be able to… hook up."

"Hmm." Sheppard frowned. "Is it worth it?" he asked. "Because this looks like we're taking a big risk just to look in that taco shack."

Rodney glared out of the window. "It doesn't look like a taco shack," he said. "Where's the walk-up window? No, this is the entrance to an important historic center." He held up one finger, "A visitor center."

Sheppard went on, "Probably nothing left inside. Looks pretty small. Not worth the trouble."

Rodney rolled his eyes, "Of course, it's worth it. They were able to convert the atmosphere of this planet from a toxic soup of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen and argon and leave only the oxygen, nitrogen and just a touch of argon. A perfect mix for life. It is vital information for terraforming."

"Seriously though," John stated as they hovered over the taco shack. "How do we get in without killing ourselves when we step out into Hades."

"That's not what Hades is like. Seriously, do you ever read? And we won't be stepping out into it," Rodney insisted. "We'll be able to lock into the building and no one needs to go outside."

Teyla and Ronon both sat back in their seats, waiting and letting the other two work it out.

"And who's to say that the inside of that thing isn't hot enough to cook a sausage?" Sheppard continued.

"Because it isn't," Rodney insisted, his voice growing strident. "There's no radiation inside. It should be sealed. It should be perfectly safe."

"Should be safe," Sheppard repeated.

"The Ancients built it," Rodney continued. "They wouldn't build something that wasn't…"

"Perfectly safe?" Sheppard completed. "How many times have we heard that?"

Teyla added, "They did not build this site when there was so much radiation on the planet."

"Yeah," Ronon stated, "They weren't expecting a bomb at their doorstep."

Rodney groaned. "Look at it! It was built to last. Inside is a controlled environment because they couldn't step outside when the atmosphere was all cattywampus. The structure is mostly underground, so a pesky atomic bomb isn't going to hurt it. It's bigger on the inside, like…" He sighed and said, "It's a sealed environment. It will be…"

"Perfectly safe," Sheppard said.

Rodney pointed a finger at him, and then said, "Yes."

Sheppard frowned. "I'll hold you to that. It will be on your head if anything goes wrong."

"Oh, come on!" Rodney whined. "We'll be fine. We'll hook up and before we open the hatch, I will do a complete scan and analyze the atmosphere for breathability and radiation. I'm not stepping out in there if that's not good."

"And we'll be home for dinner?"

"Of course. What? Is something good on the menu tonight?"

Sheppard shrugged. "I think it's beanie-weenie."

Rodney perked up, "Oh! I like that one. Cornbread and honey too."

"Why would you like that?" Sheppard asked with a grimace. "It's just baked beans and wieners."

"Little slices of hotdogs. I don't know. I used to make it a lot when I was a kid for me and my sister. Not the cornbread though. That's what makes it special when they serve it here."

Sheppard sighed, "I'm looking forward to after dinner. I have something lined up, so don't make us late."

"Something lined up?" Rodney asked, intrigued.

"Yes, so, I would appreciate it if you kept this little excursion moving. I have plans." Sheppard brought the jumper around, lining up the rear hatch with the front door of the place. Thankfully, the platform was clear. "It'll work with our hatch?" he asked. "Couldn't we just land outside and extend the shield?"

"Not sure that'll work," Rodney responded. "We might get some seepage unless I have the time to work some numbers, and you've already stated that you have something 'lined up' for tonight. This structure was made by the same people who built the jumper. It's like Lego. It's design to fit." When Sheppard looked at him askance, Rodney said, "Come on, I've researched it. It'll fit like a glove."

The docking was a little more harrowing than promised – the glove did not fit. There was some grinding and a little shrieking coming from someone in the jumper as they mated the rear of the jumper to the taco shack, but finally – with a loud clangor—the jumper came to rest on the platform outside the structure, firmly attached to the airlock.

"See," Rodney said, his voice a little high with anxiety. "It worked."

"Yeah, like a glove," Sheppard grumbled. "Seriously, if this causes any trouble."

"It won't!" Rodney shot back at him.

Teyla and Ronon exchanged glances, and Teyla shook her head, not liking it when the two were at odds. "Rodney," she said quietly, trying to break up their conversation. "Is the atmosphere inside safe?"

"Oh, I'll check," Rodney returned, his voice returning to normal levels. "Yes, the oxygen levels are good – radiation is within standard parameters."

"Standard parameters?" Ronon repeated.

"There's radiation everywhere," Rodney told him. "We're good." He smiled at the others. "We can go check it out."

"Okay," Sheppard said, "here we go."

They stepped through the airlock and into the Ancient structure. The air smelled good – obviously there was circulation inside. The temperature was cool.

Rodney's eyes stayed on his scanner. "The lights came on. Radiation is a-okay," he declared smugly, glancing at Sheppard. "We'll be perfectly fine here."

"Anyone inside?" Sheppard asked.

After studying the Life Sign Detector, Rodney declared, "Only us."

"Hmmm," Sheppard said, not committing.

The room was decorated in the same pleasing patterns found on most Ancient locations. It was all rather subdued here, a place not meant to be a show-off - a workplace.

"What's all that?" Sheppard asked, pointing to the crates stacked along the wall of the room.

"Food storage," Teyla told him.

"Food from 10,000 years ago?" Sheppard asked.

"No," Ronon responded. "You can get this stuff at the markets."

"The Genii produce long-storage food," Teyla told him. "They must have gained entrance and decided to make this a living space."

"But they're gone now?" Sheppard asked. "No hold-over Genii hiding out?"

"We're the only ones here," Rodney told him, his eyes on the Life Sign Detector.

"You sure? Maybe they brought something else down there with them. Maybe they brought pets – lizards… a cow maybe?"

"A cow?" Rodney sputtered. "Do you hear yourself? Why would they… Seriously, a cow? They don't like going down stairs. It's a fallacy that they won't – they just don't like it. You make no sense."

"Well, the Genii like living underground and they might like pets. They seem sensible people who would want an animal that could provide something." Sheppard said, looking to the stairway that led down from the small room. "Say, how did they get in? They'd need an Ancient Gene."

"Maybe it wasn't locked," Rodney stated.

"Is that likely?" Sheppard quizzed him.

Rodney admitted, "No, not really." He moved into the room. "Visitor Center," he stated. "This is just the entrance. The heart of this place is downstairs." He stood in front of a control panel and started poking at the buttons. He smiled as it lit up. "Now, let's see what we can find out. What are your secrets?" he asked the panel.

Ronon moved toward the staircase and stopped. "Blood," he said.

"What?" Sheppard responded.

"There's blood here. Dried. Old," Ronon went on.

"Rodney," Sheppard said sharply. "Don't activate anything that…"

Rodney looked up at him, annoyed, but before Sheppard could complete his statement, Ronon pointed and said, "Gun," and all hell broke loose. From the walls, weapons folded out and the gunfire started. The sound was deafening.

Ronon tried to react but was hit from behind and went down. Teyla was moving toward him, trying to help, but the shower of bullets caught her next as the weapons discharged. She writhed on the floor near Ronon.

"Shut it down!" Sheppard shouted. "Rodney! Shut it down, now!"

Eyes wide, Rodney's hands flew over the panel. "I don't know… I don't know how I activated it."

Sheppard ducked down, unable to get to Ronon or Teyla at the top of the stairs. They curled on the floor, thankfully now below the level where the bullets flew indiscriminately.

"Goddammit, McKay, get it turned off NOW!" Sheppard shouted, crawling on his belly toward the others.

Rodney lowered his head and kept working the controls, frantically trying to shut down the security system that continued to blast the room near the stairs. The choking smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Then, just as Sheppard reached the others, the gunfire stopped. The weapons were drawn back to the walls. The lights dimmed.

Thank God. It had lasted only seconds.

John reached Teyla first, she had been hit on her side, low on her waist, she was gasping disconcertingly, bleeding far too much.

Rodney scuttled toward them, "I shut off the power to the room." Then amended with "Most of it, I guess. We still have light. My ears are ringing. Am I talking loud?" He reached Ronon and muttered. "Oh, this isn't good."

Ronon had taken a hit on his left arm and his right leg. "Looks worse than it is," Ronon said through gritted teeth, and he tried to apply pressure to his leg. Blood was pooling under him.

"He's bleeding a lot," Rodney stated, taking off his pack and tearing into the supplies, looking for bandages. "This is so not good!"

Sheppard worked quickly with Teyla, doing what he could to stem blood flow. She wasn't saying much – just staring up at Sheppard with glassy eyes. Rodney tended to Ronon as Dex helped.

"We have to get them home, now!" Sheppard shouted. He worked to pick up Teyla and drag her away from the stairs. Once he was at a sufficient distance, he picked her up and carried her to the jumper.

"John?" she said softly, looking up at him.

"You're going to be okay," he assured. "We're going home." She didn't look good.

Once she was settled on the rear bench, he turned and hurried to the others. Rodney was trying to bandage Ronon's arm as Dex bandaged his own leg. They were getting in each other's way.

"Come on, big guy," John said. "We're going to need to drag you away from the stairs and the gun range. We'll get you out of here."

"I turned it off," Rodney declared. "It's not going to go off again."

"And yet you crawled over here instead of walking," Sheppard returned. "Ronon, you ready?"

Ronon nodded, and let McKay and Sheppard drag him toward the jumper. He helped using his working leg, but the other was too numb to function properly. Quickly, they maneuvered him through the airlock and onto the jumper floor. Rodney grabbed their dropped things and closed the inner airlock door behind them.

They had done what they could for Ronon and Teyla's immediate need. They required real medical help, and they couldn't wait.

"Let's get out of here!" Sheppard declared and attempted to close the hatch. There was a terrific grinding sound and nothing. He tried again, but the hatch wouldn't move.

"Rodney!" Sheppard shouted.

"I'm working on it," Rodney responded, his fingers moving over the control panel. The hatch made another sickening sound and failed to close.

"McKay! If you don't fix this NOW, we may lose them." He glanced back at the other. Teyla's eyes were closing and Ronon grimaced as he continued to put pressure on his bandage – blood was seeping through. "Get that hatch up, McKay!"

Rodney still worked the panel, his eyes intense as he tried one thing and then another.

"I swear to God…" Sheppard went on.

"I have an idea," Rodney said.

"Well do SOMETHING! You said it was perfectly safe. You said we'd fit like a glove! This is a shit show, Rodney."

"I know, I know," Rodney said, grabbing his pack. "I'll be able to disengage it from inside the building, but ..."

"Do it!" Sheppard demanded.

Rodney nodded and opened the inner airlock door. He stood there a moment, looking back at them, his clothing stained with Ronon's blood.

"Now, McKay!" Sheppard told him.

Rodney stepped through and shut the inner door.

"What's happening, McKay," Sheppard snapped into the radio after several moments passed.

"Working on it," was Rodney's curt reply.

"Stop messing around and fix it."

"Working…"

"Fast Rodney. If anything happens to them…"

"It'll take a minute. It's really jammed. It might need a good kick."

"I'll show you who needs a good kick if you don't get it loose, now!"

There was a series of bangs on the door and then, "Okay, I think that did it."

There was a sound of something releasing and Sheppard closed the hatch as the jumper seemed to sigh in relief.

"Got it," Sheppard said. "Let's get out of here. Get in."

"That's going to be a problem," Rodney responded, his voice soft. "The airlock isn't working right. The lock has to be released from inside the structure."

Frustrated, John slammed his fist against the console. "Son of a bitch!"

Rodney went on, "We might be able to work something out with the shield, but I don't know how long it will take to figure that out - with me inside this place and you… and Ronon and Teyla… they need to get back."

"Dammit, Rodney," Sheppard growled. "I'm taking them back to Atlantis. I'll be back once you figure out the shield thing. Stay put and don't activate anything! Don't make anything worse."

"Okay," Rodney responded quietly. "See you soon, Colonel."

"Fix the airlock and we'll think about coming back for you," Sheppard with a snap. It was supposed to sound like a joke, but he knew it really didn't come out that way.

Rodney said nothing in reply.

John eased the jumper forward, glad to find it completely loose. He was at the gate in a few moments, activating it and sending through his IDC – and they were home.

There was chaos in the jumper bay as Sheppard called for medical. He went immediately to Teyla's side as Ronon continued to try to bandage himself. "Hang in there, guys. Help is coming," he assured, doing what he could to help until Keller and her team appeared with the gurneys.

Carter arrived and stood to the side to stay out of the way as Teyla and Ronon were treated, lifted to the gurneys and quickly wheeled out of the jumper.

"Where's Rodney?" Sam asked sounding a little unnerved.

"He's back on the planet," Sheppard responded. "I need a team to go back and get him."

Sam looked puzzled. "Where'd you leave him?" she tried. "The radiation levels are…"

"He's locked up safe in that structure. As long as he doesn't touch anything else, he should be fine." Sheppard spoke quickly, as he hurried to get the jumper reset and ready to go back out. "Get me Zelenka and Lorne and some muscle. I don't know what we'll have to do when we get back there. Might need to break in. I need to get back fast. It will annoy him if I get back before he's had a chance to fix it."

"Wait, wait, explain it to me," Carter insisted. "Why did you leave him? What happened to Ronon and Teyla?"

Sheppard paused a moment to draw his thoughts together, when he spoke, his voice was quieter than before. "I broke the airlock and then we activated a security system. Had to leave Rodney behind to get us unlatched so that I could get Ronon and Teyla home. He needed to fix the air lock or figure out how we can get the shield to work for us. Zelenka should help with that." He glanced at Carter. "We have to go, now. I'm afraid he's going to get himself into trouble and…" He stopped himself from saying anything more. "Get me some people and I can go get him. We'll give you a full report when we get back. I'm sure Rodney will have plenty to say."

Carter was on the radio and within a few minutes they had a team aboard Jumper 5. It was still bloody in the back, but there wasn't time for cleaning.

Sheppard dropped the jumper into launch position. "Dial it!" he demanded and waited for the gate technician to enter the sequence and the event horizon to open. "Now!" Sheppard said.

The technician, a man named Claud, looked uneasy as he glanced up to the cockpit. "It's not engaging."

John's heart sank. "Make it engage," he said as if it was simple.

Carter stepped next to Claud, who drew back to give her room. She dialed and frowned. "Something's wrong. Try the jumper's DHD."

John dialed. Nothing. Dammit dammit dammit!

Zelenka moved into position from behind him and adjusted some controls before he tried it again. "It is not working correctly," he stated glumly. He glanced at John, worriedly. "Something has happened to the gate on Gessa."

"We can't go back for him?" Sheppard asked, staring at the DHD.

"We cannot connect. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary while you were there?" Zelenka asked. "Did it engage correctly for you when you went through at the start? Did it give you any difficulty when you dialed Atlantis?"

Sheppard said nothing. He just lowered his head to the dash and muttered, "Dammit!"

TBC

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