“Pavor Nocturnus” Part One
Title: “Pavor Nocturnus” (1/1) Posted in Three Parts
Author: Kristen999
Character(s): Sheppard, Zelenka, McKay, Miko Friendship --Gen
Genre(s): Stargate Atlantis: Action/Adv
Rating: T-- For light swearing and violence
Words: 15,000 (oops)
Spoilers: Set in Season 3
Summary: At an Ancient outpost Sheppard, Zelenka and Rodney discover an experiment gone wrong and must survive the fallout. For the Sheppard HC Secret Santa.
This was written for Titan5, her prompt at the end.
ditraveler did four illustrations to go along with this story. I want to thank her for making my words come to life. After many Im conversations about insomnia she asked if she could draw scenes for my next fic and they are amazing.
Big thanks to everybetty for her wonderful beta and rednz for her wonderful encouragement.
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“Why couldn't the Ancients leave instructions for once? Would that be too much to ask?” McKay complains.
“You mean like one of those tutorials in computer games?” Sheppard asks.
“I'd even take a manual, an insert peg A into slot B.”
The beam from Sheppard's P-90 bounces around the walls. “Hell a post-it-note telling us where the light switch would be damn cool.”
“Ohhhh, wait a minute. Hey, Zelenka!” McKay snaps his fingers. “Scan the panel to your left.”
Zelenka ignores the way his fellow scientist tries to gain his attention like one would a pet dog and shifts his mag-light towards the console. “Hold on.” He punches the keys of his laptop, his eyebrows shooting upwards. “Yes, yes... I think this is it. Colonel, if you would.”
Sheppard sighs, walking towards the control grid. “You know that Rodney has the gene, too.”
“I know, Colonel, but you were the only one able to power up the south wing of this complex earlier.” Zelenka moves away as Sheppard's magic touch makes things hum and sparkle.
McKay looks up from his PDA. “Good, now maybe we can get some work done. You powering up the generators?”
Sheppard shakes his head at the impatient tone. “One thing at a time. It's a no go on any extra juice.”
Zelenka contents himself on monitoring the power levels of the laboratory. “The primary systems of the facility are now operational, Colonel. We have emergency lights and minimum power.”
Sheppard pats his shoulder. “Good work, Radek.”
“Oh, come on, he didn't do anything. Now let's go back to the south wing. I may need your super gene somewhere else,” McKay says, tugging on the colonel's elbow.
Zelenka sighs loudly. On Atlantis, he and Rodney have their own lab with different assignments. If they work on a puzzle together, he can still walk away when McKay reaches his intolerable stage. The past ten hours have been miserable, being stuck listening to the head of science bicker with head of the military.
He would slip on a pair of earplugs if there was a way to get away with them here. They've been a godsend in the past.
If only those two understood how lucky they were to be able to activate ancient technology. The gene therapy had never worked on him and he wishes Rodney would appreciate it more. He'd do anything to feel the energy of a such an amazing biological-interface and often times is still in awe at the colonel's abilities.
“Is everything alright in here, Dr. Zelenka?”
He looks up to see Sergeant Peppers, a middle aged man with shorn dark hair and silver highlights.
“Yes, everything is fine.”
The Marine nods. “Looks like some of the emergency lights are working now. Do you need anything from the jumper, sir?”
“No, we are good, I think.”
Sergeant Peppers looks around, his steel blue eyes taking in the small room. The solider had spoken to him on their trip in the jumper, asking questions about the mission to gain intel. Most of the time the soldiers never paid the science any attention and it was a nice gesture. McKay, on the other hand, had joked with the man about a Beatles' album, but Zelenka didn't get the humor and the Marine did not seem enthused.
Sergeant Brier saunters in, chewing gum loudly. “Hey, Peppers, come on. We still have to finish the perimeter before checkin' in with the colonel.”
Peppers examines one of the panels with his light. “Just seeing what the Doc is up to.”
“I'm sure he'd rather do his thing alone. Dr. McKay certainly hates if we go anywhere near his stuff,” Brier replies.
Zelenka doesn't mind the soldiers; some of the destruction of the south wing was disturbing and he takes comfort in their presence. “A lot of us appreciate your help, even if Dr. McKay doesn't show it.”
Sergeant Brier is a dark skinned man in his early twenties who jokes often but is very gung-ho in everything he does, often talking non-stop about the wonders of the Corp. He reminds Zelenka a little bit of Lt. Ford and his smile falters at the thought.
“Come on, man. Let's go before the colonel gives us kitchen duty for screwin' around.” Brier pats his buddy on the back.
“He just might if you keep jawin' about brainless fly boys since the two highest ranking officers of this expedition are airmen,” Peppers reprimands.
“Whatever you say, Pops. You keep thinkin' the colonel is a normal CO?” Brier laughs.
The Marines leave and Zelenka wonders if they eat genetically altered spinach. Working around the military always makes him feel even smaller around such giants. He grabs his lap top and goes down empty hallways. The low lighting causes shadows to leap and dance eerily along the walls and he finds himself looking behind his shoulder often. He really needs to stop watching all those Alien movies in the rec room.
His footsteps echo loudly and he braces himself at every corner, waiting for something to jump out and scare him to death. He mutters in Czech about paranoia and walks quickly towards the auxiliary room, visibly relaxing from the chatter of his fellow team mates.
Miko waves her hand to get his attention. “Dr. Zelenka!”
He wanders towards her and nods. “Have you made any progress on this door yet?”
“No, not yet, but with the power on now, I'm able to interface with the locking mechanism,” she replies, pushing her coke-bottle glasses up.
Dr. Ralph Herrington rips apart a nearby panel. “I think I've found the circuit board controlling it.”
“This is the only locked room we've found so far.” Miko looks up from her screen. “I've been reading a low level energy source inside even before we got power to the rest of the complex.”
“I just don't understand why we can't have more people. This place is so large,” Herrington says awestruck, running a hand through his blonde curly hair.
“There are seven of us here; that's quite large considering all the other research going on at various outposts,” Zelenka tells the younger man.
Herrington is an eager beaver, a genius with infectious enthusiasm that many tease him about. The kid couldn't be older than twenty-two, a baby faced genius with freckles and a habit of stuttering when he gets nervous. Zelenka feels old when he has to drink a second cup of coffee around the mathematician who bounces around without the need of an extra caffeine boost.
“I'm glad you're here,” Herrington says, looking up from his work. “I'm tired of listening to Miko drool over that Sergeant.”
Zelenka laughs. “Which one?”
Miko blushes. “You weren't supposed to say anything.” She glares at her teammate before looking over at her boss. “Sergeant Peppers reminds me of George Clooney, very classy and handsome.”
“Maybe we could get Colonel Sheppard to help. I've heard through the grapevine you've had a crush on him forever,” the young man teases.
“The colonel is busy investigating the south wing and you could barely talk to him earlier,” Zelenka reminds him.
Miko smiles at the obvious embarrassment all over the young man's face. Herrington had worked himself into a hiccup frenzy by the time he gained enough courage to give his report to Sheppard during their trip here. Apparently the colonel's status as a legendary hero of epic proportions still enthralls the green members of both the military and scientific ranks.
Or maybe he's the galaxy's most intimidating boss besides McKay.
Zelenka looks on anxiously, curious at what might lie beyond the heavy steel door.
“Does Dr. McKay have any theories about what happened in the south wing?” Miko asks, still trying to crack the lock.
“We can't be sure what took place. It does not look Wraith in nature. There was a lot of damage...maybe someone raided the place after it was abandoned,” Zelenka suggests.
“I bet the Ancients took whatever cool stuff they created with them,” Herrington theorizes as blue sparks erupt from the panel.
“Hey, careful,” Zelenka warns.
“No, wait. I have something!” Miko squees. “Yes, this is working.”
Their ears fill with a blaring alarm and red lights flash in a nauseating strobe.
“What is it?” Miko yells.
Zelenka gestures at her computer and she hands it over wordlessly so he can seek out a way to shut off the annoying noise.
Herrington grabs his shoulder, pointing animatedly at the entrance. “The door!” he shouts, the automatic lock clicks open.
The flashing lights are giving Zelenka a headache and it takes every bit of concentration to find the right pathway and override the pounding alarm. He silences the noise and his teammates sigh in relief.
Miko grabs his arm. “Do we go in?”
“I do not know; we should inform the others first,” Zelenka warns, tapping his com piece. “Colonel Sheppard, we've discovered a room with a low level power source coming from inside.”
He waits for a response, red flickering off of the reflection in Miko's thick glasses.
“Sheppard here. Is this the one with the mysterious locked door?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“And have you gone inside?”
“No, not yet. There are unidentified energy readings and, oh... wait a minute.” Zelenka stares at the changing data on his lap top.
“What's going on? I want you to wait on us before going in.”
“We're here, why don't we just take a look,” Herrington asks, bouncing from his heels to his toes.
“Radek, come in!” Sheppard yells.
“Dr. Herrington, wait!” Miko says startled.
The overexcited scientist pulls open the heavy door, shining his flashlight into the darkness. “Whoa....Dr. Zelenka, you should see this.”
“Hovno,” Zelenka curses. “Hold on, Colonel Sheppard.”
He huddles in the doorway with the younger man; Miko latches onto his shoulder and peers around with him. The room is vast, cast in a low blue glow of illumination from the ceiling and more red lights angrily flashing overhead at the entrance of the door.
“What is this?” Miko whispers.
Zelenka swallows. “I don't know but we should to run a diagnostic on our sensors. We should have picked this up.”
--------------------------------------------
There had been no sounds of screaming, weapon's fire or explosions, so maybe they were not headed into another disaster. This was after all a very deserted Ancient outpost; of course, how many times did this same scenario bite them in the ass?
“Could you please slow down? Last I heard they found a door, Colonel. A locked door. Whoopee,” Rodney huffs back. “Plus, this place is vacant. We only have so much time here to determine if it warrants a long-term study.”
“A study of what? Every fancy-looking piece of equipment has been smashed. I'm walking on shards of glass from those windows,” Sheppard says, pointing at a wall where every pane has been busted.
“I'm sure there's a rational explanation for their bad housekeeping.” Rodney picks up the remains of a destroyed computer. “Or maybe they should have invested in Powerbooks.”
The entire south wing looks like a bomb had gone off without any signs of an actual detonation. Sheppard studies the damage to the walls; parts of the sheet rock turn to powder when he touches it. He swears the holes were made by fists. “There's a lot of dried gray stuff smeared everywhere.”
“Don't touch things! Are you trying to contract another alien virus?” the irate scientist hisses.
“There are stains all over the floor, too,” Sheppard replies, wiping the stuff over his BDUs. “Alright, we'll come back and investigate later. Let's get goin'.”
He looks at the life sign's detector and heads down a hallway that they didn't inspect the first time.
“Hey! We didn't come down here.”
“Short cut,” Sheppard replies, keeping his gun at ready.
“Oh, of course, because you're so good at those.”
They hustle down the dimly lit hall; the sparse white emergency lighting does little to pave their way. The P-90 helps somewhat and Sheppard scans the floor where it looks like part of the roof has caved in. He points the weapon upwards, cautious of the dark chasm in the ceiling.
“Are you looking for rats now?”
“Just things that go bump in the night,” Sheppard dead pans. He taps his radio. “Zelenka, you guys still remaining outside that room?”
“Yes, we have not entered.”
“Good, stay put 'til we get there.”
McKay's so close behind him he can feel the man's breath at the nape of his neck. “Personal space,” he growls.
“You're sneaking around and that's making me nervous!”
There's another entrance ahead but it appears the door is no longer attached to the frame. Sheppard squats to examine the latest oddity. “Looks like it was snapped off its hinges.”
“That door is made of steel.”
“My point exactly.”
“Huh,” the scientists kneels on the floor to join him. “More gray stains; looks like a chemical spill maybe.”
“I wanna know what the hell happened here.”
“Oh, let me go back to the Mystery Machine, see if Fred and Daphene might want to lend a hand.”
“McKay.”
“Whatever battle, disaster or accident occurred here, let me remind you it took place a long time ago. We have two small teams and a couple useless Marines wandering around and not much time for me to find something useful enough to get Elizabeth to authorize the extra man-power to study this place.”
“Those useless Marines are carrying all your heavy equipment. We have new protocols in place when it comes to exploring every outpost we come across,” Sheppard explains annoyed. “Sorry if you don't like the new SOP, but we have to be choosy nowadays.”
They enter the next room with only the glow from two measly emergency lights near the exit and entrance to help guide them.
Sheppard criss-crosses the vast space with his light. “Looks like a mess hall.”
Both teammates pick their way through the hazards of overturned tables and chairs. The floors are covered with more strange gray splatter patterns, some of the stains running a darker brown color.
“Rust maybe?” Sheppard asks.
Rodney pulls out his Ancient scanner from his vest pocket. “Give me your knife.”
Sheppard pulls out his Gerber and hands it over. He watches Rodney slip on a set of latex gloves, scrape at the crusted substance and place a sample in his gizmo.
“We need to check in with the kids, McKay.”
“Just doing a quick basic scan, it'll only take......Oh.....I mean.....Oh, no.”
“What?”
Rodney's fingers dance over the scanner. “Checked it twice.”
“And? Come on, I'm not in the mood for---”
“It's blood. All the stains we've seen have been blood splatter,” the scientist says horrified, his eyes widening in panic.
“Blood's red last I checked.”
“Not when it’s had years to decompose.”
McKay's very freaked out about this and hell, so is Sheppard, but they need to stay calm about things. Whatever type of massacre, it had happened a long time ago. “Let's just get over to Zelenka's team. I'm not taking any chances.”
He tries not to step in the decayed blood puddles, yanking on Rodney's tac vest to hurry him along.
“We've been stepping in blood all day....we.... we could be contaminated with who knows what.”
Rodney looks pale; the bad lighting doesn't help matters but there's no time to let panic set in. “Whatever took place, you're right about one thing. It was years ago. No one's here,” Sheppard tries to reassure him.
“You say that now.”
They pick up the pace, noticing the flashing red ahead. “Why does this remind me of one of those bad carnival fun houses?” Sheppard sighs, after locating the others. “Okay, Radek. Want to tell me about your mystery room?”
McKay storms over towards the huddled trio. “Yeah, and what did you break?”
Miko tries to defend her boss. “Um... Dr. McKay, Dr. Zelenka did get the alarm turned off.”
“Alarm?” Sheppard asks exasperated.
“W-wwe think it’s to p-pprotect them,” the young, jumpy kid stutters.
Sheppard stares at him, not recalling his name. “Them?”
“Yes, yes. There appears to be a whole set of stasis pods in the other room. We haven't gone in any further, but I did poke my head inside,” Zelenka explains.
Sheppard looks at Rodney. “More pod people. Great.”
“Like on the Aurora?” McKay asks, already pulling the door open wider.
Sheppard grabs at empty air. Rodney rushes inside and he's forced to follow, the Scooby Doo Gang right behind them.
“The power readings have been at a constant level of----” Miko cuts her report short as the room comes to life.
Sheppard and Rodney have only taken three steps inside when row after row of pods power up, the hum of machines and beeping computers following suit.
“McKay? Are we doing this?” Sheppard asks, turning the safety off his P-90 and turning around to keep an idea at how big this stasis chamber could be.
“Um...if you mean our gene.....maybe.”
“All of us have ventured a step or two inside, nothing reacted to us,” Zelenka says, busy scanning dome-covered beds. “Fascinating… they are still alive.”
“Alright, let's get out of here. I don't want to be waking up a bunch of people just yet.” Sheppard taps his radio. “Sergeants Brier and Peppers, report to my location pronto.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rodney goes from one bed to the next, his eyes glued to his lap top. “I think it's too late. However we triggered things, there's no stopping it. I have no clue how to patch into this system; they're like the pods on the Aurora but they're set up completely different.”
“Well, find a way to shut it down!” Sheppard orders, walking over towards the energized scientist.
“Colonel Sheppard, sir. This pod is displaying a more rapid re-activation process, Colonel, sir.”
The nervous kid is fixated over a specific pod; his fingers move so fast they are nothing but a blur of motion. Sheppard still doesn't remember the guy's name. “Why?” he asks.
The blonde kid gets a deer in headlights look, licking his lips nervously. “I-I don't know...s-sir.”
“Deep breaths… um....”
“Dr. Herrington, Colonel... sir.”
“Now give yourself a second and look at your data.”
The young scientist gulps, nodding. “This one was set up to activate at a faster pace than the others. In fact, in a few minutes I'd say---”
The cover to the pod begins to slide open, revealing a person who's been asleep for thousands of years. Sheppard peers over the body, surprised that the guy isn't skin and bones.
He looks up at Herrington whose eyes burn bright with excitement. “He doesn't look like he's aged. How's that possible?”
“I-I don't know. Maybe they're not Ancients.”
That doesn't make him feel any better. “McKay! Get over here!”
“I'm a little busy! We have almost a hundred people beginning to come out of a long sleep and I'm trying to figure out how to stop it without killing them!”
The slumbering man wears a militaristic uniform and a vest. His dark hair is past his shoulders and his face is covered by an equally shaggy beard. Whatever had kept the guy from aging wasn't able to stop hair growth. Sheppard nibbles on his lower lip, wondering what his next move should be, when the mystery man opens his eyes.
Rapid moving pupils focus on Sheppard's intense stare and the man tries to move, groaning from the effort.
Herrington is sweating bullets, looking to him for guidance, and Sheppard gives the kid a reassuring smile before placing a hand on the stranger's shoulder. “Hey, take it easy. I think you've been asleep for a long time.”
The guy tries to speak, but his mouth is unable to form words after so much time. Sheppard debates a moment; his two Marines have arrived in the doorway. He holds his hand up to tell them to stay still before leaning over to listen to Rip Van Winkle.
“If.....you're...not here....with.....a....cure.....then...run.......run...as....fast as you...can,” the strangers whispers.
Herrington must have good hearing because he makes a very mouse-like squeak, but Sheppard ignores him. “What are you talking about?”
Rip Van Wrinkle is stronger than he should be for someone who's been taking the universe's longest cat nap. He sits up, a hand rubbing at his hairy face. “Felt so good to sleep,” he mutters.
“I'm downloading data from a control interface to see if I can figure out what happened!” Rodney shouts.
“Good.” Sheppard turns his attention to the only person who might have real answers
Sergeant Peppers stands next to Sheppard, eyes darting between his CO and a possible threat. Van Winkle yanks out his tubes, mumbling unintelligible things under his breath. There are brown and black stains all over his uniform top and BDU style pants. Sheppard notices an empty gun holster, definitely putting their new guest under the soldier category.
Sheppard studies the agitated man. “You mind telling us your name... Rank maybe?”
The stranger gets to his feet, lurching badly to one side. “If you didn't bring a cure...then...I have no choice.”
Peppers protectively walks in front of Sheppard, releasing the safety of his weapon. Sergeant Brier covers the stranger from behind; both Marines watch their new pal wearily.
Van Winkle shakes his head back and forth and begins arguing with himself, causing the older sergeant to tense at his suspicious behavior.
Sheppard gestures for the antsy Marine to stand down. “Brier, see if Dr. Herrington can help out McKay. Peppers, just take it easy... let's not spook our friend here.” He takes a deep breath. “What do you need a cure for? Are we in danger of a virus?”
“No, no, no....you weren't part of the test... not a test subject, not a test subject,” the man babbles. “Got to finish things.....felt so good to sleep, so good.”
“Colonel Sheppard,” Zelenka whispers.
“Kinda in the middle of something.”
“Dr. McKay wants you to know, all these people are going to be awake very soon. Pod doors are opening but their reactivation sequences seem to be on a slightly longer delay.”
“How long?” Sheppard asks tersely.
“Five or ten minutes, give or take.”
“See if you can stall that... I have no idea what we're dealing with,” Sheppard orders, turning his attention back to his increasingly jumpy guest. “There were tests conducted here? What kind?”
Van Winkle tugs on his beard and runs his hands through his long, unkempt hair. “I --I can't fight it much longer... just leave... can't fight it.”
“Just calm down.” Sheppard holds out his hands to the dismay of Sergeant Peppers, letting the P-90 hang by his vest.
The stranger's eyes are bouncing side to side inside their sockets, making him look more deranged. “The bodies... cleaned up the bodies... dragged them all away.”
Sheppard swallows. “What bodies?”
“Colonel!...... Dr. McKay!!”
“Now what?” Sheppard points to Sergeant Peppers. “Keep an eye on him.”
Miko sounds terrified and he runs towards her with Rodney hot on his heels, complaining all the way. The two of them halt; the petrified woman steps away from one of the pods, pointing at the side. “I… I just noticed it.”
“What?” Rodney demands.
“That.”
Sheppard kneels down, blinking in shock before turning towards Rodney. “Is that a bomb?”
“Oh, I hope not,” the scientist groans, pushing Sheppard out of the way. “Oh no… no, no, no. It IS a bomb. A very scary looking bomb.”
“Is it active?” Sheppard demands, grabbing Miko by her shoulders and moving her away.
“Yes, very active. Don't know how, considering how old it is. And before you ask… no, I don't know how to deactivate it... it's not simple C-4.”
“Peppers! Brier!”
The Marines hustle over and Sheppard meets them halfway. “New priority. I want you to check all of these pods for explosive devices and report to me if you find any.”
“Little blinking lights should indicate that they are functional,” Rodney adds.
“How come we didn't detect these until now?” Sheppard snaps.
“They didn't power on till now. You think I would have noticed something like immediate death? I just noticed a power spike after Miko---”
“Now, as in just now?”
“Yes, just now!”
Sheppard growls, feeling a sneaky suspicion at waking up Van Winkle.
Zelenka hurries over with Dr. Herrington in tow. “We cannot shut down the pods. In a few minutes we're going to have more people on our hands.”
“McKay!” Sheppard hollers.
“What? Don't you see we have a supreme case of we're all screwed and--”
“I'm well aware of that! In the meantime, we're going to have a big case of grave detail any minute or a rescue... so help out with that!”
“Colonel!” Peppers runs over out of breath. “We've found explosives on ten pods, but not all of them are working.”
There's too many things going on at once, too many hands to hold. “We know how long before they go?”
“No clue, sir. We have no idea if they'll take out part of this room or half this wing,” Peppers reports.
“Okay. Time to leave,” Sheppard orders. Not everyone is hopping to his command and his temper flares. “Now! Everyone, exit this chamber!”
Miko gathers up her laptop; her hands shake so badly she's about to drop it. Rodney's ushering her out and trying to wrangle up their other anxious researcher who's now having a hiccup attack.
“Sir!” Peppers points at Van Winkle.
“Great,” Sheppard grunts.
Their mystery man is screaming and beginning to tear apart his pod. Sergeant Brier is escorting everyone towards the door, his weapon trained on the hostile target.
“We need to pack stunners,” Sheppard sighs, approaching the increasingly deranged man. “Hey! All aboard the Pegasus Express to getting out of here.”
“Can't stop it... can't stop it!”
Peppers covers Sheppard as he steps closer to the candidate for Prozac. “Just follow me. You'll be safe.”
Van Winkle begins to growl like a dog.
“Just get out of there, Colonel!” Rodney shouts.
Sheppard knows if he could get close enough, he can take the guy. “Easy there.”
Their crazy guest yanks on his hair, squeezing his eyes closed. “Can't stop it! Got to... finish this. Got to end the project!”
Sheppard is close enough to make a grab when Van Winkle tears open his vest to reveal a small explosive device strapped to his chest. He smiles at him, laughing under his breath. “Time to run,” the guy sing-songs.
“Crap....Peppers, get everyone out of here now! Take everyone as far away as possible. Move it!”
“Sir!” Peppers says, backing away. “I have a shot.”
“Negative! Can't risk a stray bullet hitting any of the explosives. Now fall back! That's an order.”
Sheppard is walking away slowly, his hands out in surrender.... Van Winkle and his pinball bouncing eyes stalks after him. He risks a look behind him; the door is wide open.
“Run........run, run run,” Van Winkle says, laughing hysterically.
The exit is only a few inches away and Sheppard makes a break for it, Van Winkle lunging after him. He stumbles backwards, grabs the door and begins slamming it close.
The metal clicks in place as Van Winkle flings his body at it screaming. Sheppard fumbles for the lock, keeping it shut with his shoulder.
He hears the sound like an M80 going off before the world around him explodes.
To Part Two
Author: Kristen999
Character(s): Sheppard, Zelenka, McKay, Miko Friendship --Gen
Genre(s): Stargate Atlantis: Action/Adv
Rating: T-- For light swearing and violence
Words: 15,000 (oops)
Spoilers: Set in Season 3
Summary: At an Ancient outpost Sheppard, Zelenka and Rodney discover an experiment gone wrong and must survive the fallout. For the Sheppard HC Secret Santa.
This was written for Titan5, her prompt at the end.
ditraveler did four illustrations to go along with this story. I want to thank her for making my words come to life. After many Im conversations about insomnia she asked if she could draw scenes for my next fic and they are amazing.
Big thanks to everybetty for her wonderful beta and rednz for her wonderful encouragement.
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“Why couldn't the Ancients leave instructions for once? Would that be too much to ask?” McKay complains.
“You mean like one of those tutorials in computer games?” Sheppard asks.
“I'd even take a manual, an insert peg A into slot B.”
The beam from Sheppard's P-90 bounces around the walls. “Hell a post-it-note telling us where the light switch would be damn cool.”
“Ohhhh, wait a minute. Hey, Zelenka!” McKay snaps his fingers. “Scan the panel to your left.”
Zelenka ignores the way his fellow scientist tries to gain his attention like one would a pet dog and shifts his mag-light towards the console. “Hold on.” He punches the keys of his laptop, his eyebrows shooting upwards. “Yes, yes... I think this is it. Colonel, if you would.”
Sheppard sighs, walking towards the control grid. “You know that Rodney has the gene, too.”
“I know, Colonel, but you were the only one able to power up the south wing of this complex earlier.” Zelenka moves away as Sheppard's magic touch makes things hum and sparkle.
McKay looks up from his PDA. “Good, now maybe we can get some work done. You powering up the generators?”
Sheppard shakes his head at the impatient tone. “One thing at a time. It's a no go on any extra juice.”
Zelenka contents himself on monitoring the power levels of the laboratory. “The primary systems of the facility are now operational, Colonel. We have emergency lights and minimum power.”
Sheppard pats his shoulder. “Good work, Radek.”
“Oh, come on, he didn't do anything. Now let's go back to the south wing. I may need your super gene somewhere else,” McKay says, tugging on the colonel's elbow.
Zelenka sighs loudly. On Atlantis, he and Rodney have their own lab with different assignments. If they work on a puzzle together, he can still walk away when McKay reaches his intolerable stage. The past ten hours have been miserable, being stuck listening to the head of science bicker with head of the military.
He would slip on a pair of earplugs if there was a way to get away with them here. They've been a godsend in the past.
If only those two understood how lucky they were to be able to activate ancient technology. The gene therapy had never worked on him and he wishes Rodney would appreciate it more. He'd do anything to feel the energy of a such an amazing biological-interface and often times is still in awe at the colonel's abilities.
“Is everything alright in here, Dr. Zelenka?”
He looks up to see Sergeant Peppers, a middle aged man with shorn dark hair and silver highlights.
“Yes, everything is fine.”
The Marine nods. “Looks like some of the emergency lights are working now. Do you need anything from the jumper, sir?”
“No, we are good, I think.”
Sergeant Peppers looks around, his steel blue eyes taking in the small room. The solider had spoken to him on their trip in the jumper, asking questions about the mission to gain intel. Most of the time the soldiers never paid the science any attention and it was a nice gesture. McKay, on the other hand, had joked with the man about a Beatles' album, but Zelenka didn't get the humor and the Marine did not seem enthused.
Sergeant Brier saunters in, chewing gum loudly. “Hey, Peppers, come on. We still have to finish the perimeter before checkin' in with the colonel.”
Peppers examines one of the panels with his light. “Just seeing what the Doc is up to.”
“I'm sure he'd rather do his thing alone. Dr. McKay certainly hates if we go anywhere near his stuff,” Brier replies.
Zelenka doesn't mind the soldiers; some of the destruction of the south wing was disturbing and he takes comfort in their presence. “A lot of us appreciate your help, even if Dr. McKay doesn't show it.”
Sergeant Brier is a dark skinned man in his early twenties who jokes often but is very gung-ho in everything he does, often talking non-stop about the wonders of the Corp. He reminds Zelenka a little bit of Lt. Ford and his smile falters at the thought.
“Come on, man. Let's go before the colonel gives us kitchen duty for screwin' around.” Brier pats his buddy on the back.
“He just might if you keep jawin' about brainless fly boys since the two highest ranking officers of this expedition are airmen,” Peppers reprimands.
“Whatever you say, Pops. You keep thinkin' the colonel is a normal CO?” Brier laughs.
The Marines leave and Zelenka wonders if they eat genetically altered spinach. Working around the military always makes him feel even smaller around such giants. He grabs his lap top and goes down empty hallways. The low lighting causes shadows to leap and dance eerily along the walls and he finds himself looking behind his shoulder often. He really needs to stop watching all those Alien movies in the rec room.
His footsteps echo loudly and he braces himself at every corner, waiting for something to jump out and scare him to death. He mutters in Czech about paranoia and walks quickly towards the auxiliary room, visibly relaxing from the chatter of his fellow team mates.
Miko waves her hand to get his attention. “Dr. Zelenka!”
He wanders towards her and nods. “Have you made any progress on this door yet?”
“No, not yet, but with the power on now, I'm able to interface with the locking mechanism,” she replies, pushing her coke-bottle glasses up.
Dr. Ralph Herrington rips apart a nearby panel. “I think I've found the circuit board controlling it.”
“This is the only locked room we've found so far.” Miko looks up from her screen. “I've been reading a low level energy source inside even before we got power to the rest of the complex.”
“I just don't understand why we can't have more people. This place is so large,” Herrington says awestruck, running a hand through his blonde curly hair.
“There are seven of us here; that's quite large considering all the other research going on at various outposts,” Zelenka tells the younger man.
Herrington is an eager beaver, a genius with infectious enthusiasm that many tease him about. The kid couldn't be older than twenty-two, a baby faced genius with freckles and a habit of stuttering when he gets nervous. Zelenka feels old when he has to drink a second cup of coffee around the mathematician who bounces around without the need of an extra caffeine boost.
“I'm glad you're here,” Herrington says, looking up from his work. “I'm tired of listening to Miko drool over that Sergeant.”
Zelenka laughs. “Which one?”
Miko blushes. “You weren't supposed to say anything.” She glares at her teammate before looking over at her boss. “Sergeant Peppers reminds me of George Clooney, very classy and handsome.”
“Maybe we could get Colonel Sheppard to help. I've heard through the grapevine you've had a crush on him forever,” the young man teases.
“The colonel is busy investigating the south wing and you could barely talk to him earlier,” Zelenka reminds him.
Miko smiles at the obvious embarrassment all over the young man's face. Herrington had worked himself into a hiccup frenzy by the time he gained enough courage to give his report to Sheppard during their trip here. Apparently the colonel's status as a legendary hero of epic proportions still enthralls the green members of both the military and scientific ranks.
Or maybe he's the galaxy's most intimidating boss besides McKay.
Zelenka looks on anxiously, curious at what might lie beyond the heavy steel door.
“Does Dr. McKay have any theories about what happened in the south wing?” Miko asks, still trying to crack the lock.
“We can't be sure what took place. It does not look Wraith in nature. There was a lot of damage...maybe someone raided the place after it was abandoned,” Zelenka suggests.
“I bet the Ancients took whatever cool stuff they created with them,” Herrington theorizes as blue sparks erupt from the panel.
“Hey, careful,” Zelenka warns.
“No, wait. I have something!” Miko squees. “Yes, this is working.”
Their ears fill with a blaring alarm and red lights flash in a nauseating strobe.
“What is it?” Miko yells.
Zelenka gestures at her computer and she hands it over wordlessly so he can seek out a way to shut off the annoying noise.
Herrington grabs his shoulder, pointing animatedly at the entrance. “The door!” he shouts, the automatic lock clicks open.
The flashing lights are giving Zelenka a headache and it takes every bit of concentration to find the right pathway and override the pounding alarm. He silences the noise and his teammates sigh in relief.
Miko grabs his arm. “Do we go in?”
“I do not know; we should inform the others first,” Zelenka warns, tapping his com piece. “Colonel Sheppard, we've discovered a room with a low level power source coming from inside.”
He waits for a response, red flickering off of the reflection in Miko's thick glasses.
“Sheppard here. Is this the one with the mysterious locked door?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“And have you gone inside?”
“No, not yet. There are unidentified energy readings and, oh... wait a minute.” Zelenka stares at the changing data on his lap top.
“What's going on? I want you to wait on us before going in.”
“We're here, why don't we just take a look,” Herrington asks, bouncing from his heels to his toes.
“Radek, come in!” Sheppard yells.
“Dr. Herrington, wait!” Miko says startled.
The overexcited scientist pulls open the heavy door, shining his flashlight into the darkness. “Whoa....Dr. Zelenka, you should see this.”
“Hovno,” Zelenka curses. “Hold on, Colonel Sheppard.”
He huddles in the doorway with the younger man; Miko latches onto his shoulder and peers around with him. The room is vast, cast in a low blue glow of illumination from the ceiling and more red lights angrily flashing overhead at the entrance of the door.
“What is this?” Miko whispers.
Zelenka swallows. “I don't know but we should to run a diagnostic on our sensors. We should have picked this up.”
--------------------------------------------
There had been no sounds of screaming, weapon's fire or explosions, so maybe they were not headed into another disaster. This was after all a very deserted Ancient outpost; of course, how many times did this same scenario bite them in the ass?
“Could you please slow down? Last I heard they found a door, Colonel. A locked door. Whoopee,” Rodney huffs back. “Plus, this place is vacant. We only have so much time here to determine if it warrants a long-term study.”
“A study of what? Every fancy-looking piece of equipment has been smashed. I'm walking on shards of glass from those windows,” Sheppard says, pointing at a wall where every pane has been busted.
“I'm sure there's a rational explanation for their bad housekeeping.” Rodney picks up the remains of a destroyed computer. “Or maybe they should have invested in Powerbooks.”
The entire south wing looks like a bomb had gone off without any signs of an actual detonation. Sheppard studies the damage to the walls; parts of the sheet rock turn to powder when he touches it. He swears the holes were made by fists. “There's a lot of dried gray stuff smeared everywhere.”
“Don't touch things! Are you trying to contract another alien virus?” the irate scientist hisses.
“There are stains all over the floor, too,” Sheppard replies, wiping the stuff over his BDUs. “Alright, we'll come back and investigate later. Let's get goin'.”
He looks at the life sign's detector and heads down a hallway that they didn't inspect the first time.
“Hey! We didn't come down here.”
“Short cut,” Sheppard replies, keeping his gun at ready.
“Oh, of course, because you're so good at those.”
They hustle down the dimly lit hall; the sparse white emergency lighting does little to pave their way. The P-90 helps somewhat and Sheppard scans the floor where it looks like part of the roof has caved in. He points the weapon upwards, cautious of the dark chasm in the ceiling.
“Are you looking for rats now?”
“Just things that go bump in the night,” Sheppard dead pans. He taps his radio. “Zelenka, you guys still remaining outside that room?”
“Yes, we have not entered.”
“Good, stay put 'til we get there.”
McKay's so close behind him he can feel the man's breath at the nape of his neck. “Personal space,” he growls.
“You're sneaking around and that's making me nervous!”
There's another entrance ahead but it appears the door is no longer attached to the frame. Sheppard squats to examine the latest oddity. “Looks like it was snapped off its hinges.”
“That door is made of steel.”
“My point exactly.”
“Huh,” the scientists kneels on the floor to join him. “More gray stains; looks like a chemical spill maybe.”
“I wanna know what the hell happened here.”
“Oh, let me go back to the Mystery Machine, see if Fred and Daphene might want to lend a hand.”
“McKay.”
“Whatever battle, disaster or accident occurred here, let me remind you it took place a long time ago. We have two small teams and a couple useless Marines wandering around and not much time for me to find something useful enough to get Elizabeth to authorize the extra man-power to study this place.”
“Those useless Marines are carrying all your heavy equipment. We have new protocols in place when it comes to exploring every outpost we come across,” Sheppard explains annoyed. “Sorry if you don't like the new SOP, but we have to be choosy nowadays.”
They enter the next room with only the glow from two measly emergency lights near the exit and entrance to help guide them.
Sheppard criss-crosses the vast space with his light. “Looks like a mess hall.”
Both teammates pick their way through the hazards of overturned tables and chairs. The floors are covered with more strange gray splatter patterns, some of the stains running a darker brown color.
“Rust maybe?” Sheppard asks.
Rodney pulls out his Ancient scanner from his vest pocket. “Give me your knife.”
Sheppard pulls out his Gerber and hands it over. He watches Rodney slip on a set of latex gloves, scrape at the crusted substance and place a sample in his gizmo.
“We need to check in with the kids, McKay.”
“Just doing a quick basic scan, it'll only take......Oh.....I mean.....Oh, no.”
“What?”
Rodney's fingers dance over the scanner. “Checked it twice.”
“And? Come on, I'm not in the mood for---”
“It's blood. All the stains we've seen have been blood splatter,” the scientist says horrified, his eyes widening in panic.
“Blood's red last I checked.”
“Not when it’s had years to decompose.”
McKay's very freaked out about this and hell, so is Sheppard, but they need to stay calm about things. Whatever type of massacre, it had happened a long time ago. “Let's just get over to Zelenka's team. I'm not taking any chances.”
He tries not to step in the decayed blood puddles, yanking on Rodney's tac vest to hurry him along.
“We've been stepping in blood all day....we.... we could be contaminated with who knows what.”
Rodney looks pale; the bad lighting doesn't help matters but there's no time to let panic set in. “Whatever took place, you're right about one thing. It was years ago. No one's here,” Sheppard tries to reassure him.
“You say that now.”
They pick up the pace, noticing the flashing red ahead. “Why does this remind me of one of those bad carnival fun houses?” Sheppard sighs, after locating the others. “Okay, Radek. Want to tell me about your mystery room?”
McKay storms over towards the huddled trio. “Yeah, and what did you break?”
Miko tries to defend her boss. “Um... Dr. McKay, Dr. Zelenka did get the alarm turned off.”
“Alarm?” Sheppard asks exasperated.
“W-wwe think it’s to p-pprotect them,” the young, jumpy kid stutters.
Sheppard stares at him, not recalling his name. “Them?”
“Yes, yes. There appears to be a whole set of stasis pods in the other room. We haven't gone in any further, but I did poke my head inside,” Zelenka explains.
Sheppard looks at Rodney. “More pod people. Great.”
“Like on the Aurora?” McKay asks, already pulling the door open wider.
Sheppard grabs at empty air. Rodney rushes inside and he's forced to follow, the Scooby Doo Gang right behind them.
“The power readings have been at a constant level of----” Miko cuts her report short as the room comes to life.
Sheppard and Rodney have only taken three steps inside when row after row of pods power up, the hum of machines and beeping computers following suit.
“McKay? Are we doing this?” Sheppard asks, turning the safety off his P-90 and turning around to keep an idea at how big this stasis chamber could be.
“Um...if you mean our gene.....maybe.”
“All of us have ventured a step or two inside, nothing reacted to us,” Zelenka says, busy scanning dome-covered beds. “Fascinating… they are still alive.”
“Alright, let's get out of here. I don't want to be waking up a bunch of people just yet.” Sheppard taps his radio. “Sergeants Brier and Peppers, report to my location pronto.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rodney goes from one bed to the next, his eyes glued to his lap top. “I think it's too late. However we triggered things, there's no stopping it. I have no clue how to patch into this system; they're like the pods on the Aurora but they're set up completely different.”
“Well, find a way to shut it down!” Sheppard orders, walking over towards the energized scientist.
“Colonel Sheppard, sir. This pod is displaying a more rapid re-activation process, Colonel, sir.”
The nervous kid is fixated over a specific pod; his fingers move so fast they are nothing but a blur of motion. Sheppard still doesn't remember the guy's name. “Why?” he asks.
The blonde kid gets a deer in headlights look, licking his lips nervously. “I-I don't know...s-sir.”
“Deep breaths… um....”
“Dr. Herrington, Colonel... sir.”
“Now give yourself a second and look at your data.”
The young scientist gulps, nodding. “This one was set up to activate at a faster pace than the others. In fact, in a few minutes I'd say---”
The cover to the pod begins to slide open, revealing a person who's been asleep for thousands of years. Sheppard peers over the body, surprised that the guy isn't skin and bones.
He looks up at Herrington whose eyes burn bright with excitement. “He doesn't look like he's aged. How's that possible?”
“I-I don't know. Maybe they're not Ancients.”
That doesn't make him feel any better. “McKay! Get over here!”
“I'm a little busy! We have almost a hundred people beginning to come out of a long sleep and I'm trying to figure out how to stop it without killing them!”
The slumbering man wears a militaristic uniform and a vest. His dark hair is past his shoulders and his face is covered by an equally shaggy beard. Whatever had kept the guy from aging wasn't able to stop hair growth. Sheppard nibbles on his lower lip, wondering what his next move should be, when the mystery man opens his eyes.
Rapid moving pupils focus on Sheppard's intense stare and the man tries to move, groaning from the effort.
Herrington is sweating bullets, looking to him for guidance, and Sheppard gives the kid a reassuring smile before placing a hand on the stranger's shoulder. “Hey, take it easy. I think you've been asleep for a long time.”
The guy tries to speak, but his mouth is unable to form words after so much time. Sheppard debates a moment; his two Marines have arrived in the doorway. He holds his hand up to tell them to stay still before leaning over to listen to Rip Van Winkle.
“If.....you're...not here....with.....a....cure.....then...run.......run...as....fast as you...can,” the strangers whispers.
Herrington must have good hearing because he makes a very mouse-like squeak, but Sheppard ignores him. “What are you talking about?”
Rip Van Wrinkle is stronger than he should be for someone who's been taking the universe's longest cat nap. He sits up, a hand rubbing at his hairy face. “Felt so good to sleep,” he mutters.
“I'm downloading data from a control interface to see if I can figure out what happened!” Rodney shouts.
“Good.” Sheppard turns his attention to the only person who might have real answers
Sergeant Peppers stands next to Sheppard, eyes darting between his CO and a possible threat. Van Winkle yanks out his tubes, mumbling unintelligible things under his breath. There are brown and black stains all over his uniform top and BDU style pants. Sheppard notices an empty gun holster, definitely putting their new guest under the soldier category.
Sheppard studies the agitated man. “You mind telling us your name... Rank maybe?”
The stranger gets to his feet, lurching badly to one side. “If you didn't bring a cure...then...I have no choice.”
Peppers protectively walks in front of Sheppard, releasing the safety of his weapon. Sergeant Brier covers the stranger from behind; both Marines watch their new pal wearily.
Van Winkle shakes his head back and forth and begins arguing with himself, causing the older sergeant to tense at his suspicious behavior.
Sheppard gestures for the antsy Marine to stand down. “Brier, see if Dr. Herrington can help out McKay. Peppers, just take it easy... let's not spook our friend here.” He takes a deep breath. “What do you need a cure for? Are we in danger of a virus?”
“No, no, no....you weren't part of the test... not a test subject, not a test subject,” the man babbles. “Got to finish things.....felt so good to sleep, so good.”
“Colonel Sheppard,” Zelenka whispers.
“Kinda in the middle of something.”
“Dr. McKay wants you to know, all these people are going to be awake very soon. Pod doors are opening but their reactivation sequences seem to be on a slightly longer delay.”
“How long?” Sheppard asks tersely.
“Five or ten minutes, give or take.”
“See if you can stall that... I have no idea what we're dealing with,” Sheppard orders, turning his attention back to his increasingly jumpy guest. “There were tests conducted here? What kind?”
Van Winkle tugs on his beard and runs his hands through his long, unkempt hair. “I --I can't fight it much longer... just leave... can't fight it.”
“Just calm down.” Sheppard holds out his hands to the dismay of Sergeant Peppers, letting the P-90 hang by his vest.
The stranger's eyes are bouncing side to side inside their sockets, making him look more deranged. “The bodies... cleaned up the bodies... dragged them all away.”
Sheppard swallows. “What bodies?”
“Colonel!...... Dr. McKay!!”
“Now what?” Sheppard points to Sergeant Peppers. “Keep an eye on him.”
Miko sounds terrified and he runs towards her with Rodney hot on his heels, complaining all the way. The two of them halt; the petrified woman steps away from one of the pods, pointing at the side. “I… I just noticed it.”
“What?” Rodney demands.
“That.”
Sheppard kneels down, blinking in shock before turning towards Rodney. “Is that a bomb?”
“Oh, I hope not,” the scientist groans, pushing Sheppard out of the way. “Oh no… no, no, no. It IS a bomb. A very scary looking bomb.”
“Is it active?” Sheppard demands, grabbing Miko by her shoulders and moving her away.
“Yes, very active. Don't know how, considering how old it is. And before you ask… no, I don't know how to deactivate it... it's not simple C-4.”
“Peppers! Brier!”
The Marines hustle over and Sheppard meets them halfway. “New priority. I want you to check all of these pods for explosive devices and report to me if you find any.”
“Little blinking lights should indicate that they are functional,” Rodney adds.
“How come we didn't detect these until now?” Sheppard snaps.
“They didn't power on till now. You think I would have noticed something like immediate death? I just noticed a power spike after Miko---”
“Now, as in just now?”
“Yes, just now!”
Sheppard growls, feeling a sneaky suspicion at waking up Van Winkle.
Zelenka hurries over with Dr. Herrington in tow. “We cannot shut down the pods. In a few minutes we're going to have more people on our hands.”
“McKay!” Sheppard hollers.
“What? Don't you see we have a supreme case of we're all screwed and--”
“I'm well aware of that! In the meantime, we're going to have a big case of grave detail any minute or a rescue... so help out with that!”
“Colonel!” Peppers runs over out of breath. “We've found explosives on ten pods, but not all of them are working.”
There's too many things going on at once, too many hands to hold. “We know how long before they go?”
“No clue, sir. We have no idea if they'll take out part of this room or half this wing,” Peppers reports.
“Okay. Time to leave,” Sheppard orders. Not everyone is hopping to his command and his temper flares. “Now! Everyone, exit this chamber!”
Miko gathers up her laptop; her hands shake so badly she's about to drop it. Rodney's ushering her out and trying to wrangle up their other anxious researcher who's now having a hiccup attack.
“Sir!” Peppers points at Van Winkle.
“Great,” Sheppard grunts.
Their mystery man is screaming and beginning to tear apart his pod. Sergeant Brier is escorting everyone towards the door, his weapon trained on the hostile target.
“We need to pack stunners,” Sheppard sighs, approaching the increasingly deranged man. “Hey! All aboard the Pegasus Express to getting out of here.”
“Can't stop it... can't stop it!”
Peppers covers Sheppard as he steps closer to the candidate for Prozac. “Just follow me. You'll be safe.”
Van Winkle begins to growl like a dog.
“Just get out of there, Colonel!” Rodney shouts.
Sheppard knows if he could get close enough, he can take the guy. “Easy there.”
Their crazy guest yanks on his hair, squeezing his eyes closed. “Can't stop it! Got to... finish this. Got to end the project!”
Sheppard is close enough to make a grab when Van Winkle tears open his vest to reveal a small explosive device strapped to his chest. He smiles at him, laughing under his breath. “Time to run,” the guy sing-songs.
“Crap....Peppers, get everyone out of here now! Take everyone as far away as possible. Move it!”
“Sir!” Peppers says, backing away. “I have a shot.”
“Negative! Can't risk a stray bullet hitting any of the explosives. Now fall back! That's an order.”
Sheppard is walking away slowly, his hands out in surrender.... Van Winkle and his pinball bouncing eyes stalks after him. He risks a look behind him; the door is wide open.
“Run........run, run run,” Van Winkle says, laughing hysterically.
The exit is only a few inches away and Sheppard makes a break for it, Van Winkle lunging after him. He stumbles backwards, grabs the door and begins slamming it close.
The metal clicks in place as Van Winkle flings his body at it screaming. Sheppard fumbles for the lock, keeping it shut with his shoulder.
He hears the sound like an M80 going off before the world around him explodes.
To Part Two