Clava Thessara Infinitas: 02 Clava Atlantus 1/2
Segment Title: 02 Clava Atlantus (key to Altantis)
Series: Clava Thessara Infinitas (key to infinite treasure)
Previous Segment: 01 Gauisus Casualis (serendipity)
Upcoming Segments: 03 Perennial Adventus (the approaching disaster)
By: §fyre (mailto:pfyre at pfyre dot co dot uk)
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir, Carson Beckett, Marshall Sumner
Pairing: none so far...
Rating: M (language)
Spoilers: 1.01/1.02 (so far)
Category: Angst, hurt/comfort, whumpage
Warnings: none so far
Disclaimer: "Stargate: Atlantis" and its characters and situations are the creative and intellectual properties of Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Brad Wright, Paul Mullie, Sony Pictures Television, Acme Shark, SciFi Channel, MGM Television, Pegasus Productions. This fiction was written solely for the entertainment of Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard whumpers and Joe Flanigan fans. No monies made. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: What if Major Sheppard had not accompanied that first SGA mission to Athos?
Beta: Oz (the glorious and mysterious) - betareader extraordinaire - Many, many thanks to Oz. She is my PiaP. She's also been dragged into fandoms I'm certain she never would've touched if it weren't for me. Thankfully she usually forgives me and does a bang up job making my attempts at writing sound coherent, intelligent - even literate. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N: Well, despite a quick start on this segment , the muse decided to be finicky (it dropped a start of another fic into my lap and then left both unfinished! argh!). SIGH. Several months of poking at it, adding dribs and dabs, tweaking and reworking and some dialogue with a couple of fellow fans along with my PiaP (who is also my beta) and you have before the finished product. Thank the Ancients.
As for the next installment - I have some ideas floating around but at the moment the muse hasn't demanded my attention to them yet. We'll have to wait and see I guess. Anyway on with the story...
Feedback: Feedback is greatly encouraged. Flames will be ignored.
ooOoo
Clava Thessara Infinitas
02 Clava Atlantus
ooOoo
part 1 of 2
ooOoo
Major John Sheppard blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the much lower light levels on the Pegasus side of the wormhole. Other than a sharp slap of bitter cold, travel through the Gate had not been painful. He turned on the light attached to his P90 and slowly scanned the area. He noticed that a few lights popped on and brightened around them, seemingly a reaction to their presence.
The differences between this Gateroom and the one at SGC Headquarters could not be more dramatic. The Atlantis Gate itself appeared more modern (though he supposed that probably was not quite proper terminology for something that was at least several hundred millennia old), with symbols, Chevrons, illuminated from within and glowing green. The Gateroom itself even in the low light appeared more stylish, elegant perhaps in stark contrast to the bare functionality of the Earthside counterpart constructed of concrete and steel.
"Teams one and two, secure the immediate area." Sheppard watched as the marines moved swiftly to follow orders. "Everyone else find an open space and park it until instructed otherwise." Sumner's voice carried to those not yet up on the voice com network.
"Hey." He noticed McKay standing slightly behind his left shoulder. Something about the darkened gate area made even the Canadian scientist speak in hushed almost awed tones. John nodded then stepped to the main flight of stairs in front of them. There were already a few marines checking the second level, but he figured what the hell.
He set a boot on the first stair only to have it light up instantly. Pausing for a moment, he hesitantly put his foot on the next step and that lit up along with the ones above it. He glanced at McKay who appeared perplexed.
"Who's doing that?" Behind them, Dr. Weir looked around the upper level intrigued.
"Security teams: any alien contact?" Sumner queried his men.
"Negative, sir." "Team four. Negative, Colonel."
The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling as he and McKay reached the landing. He turned to a darkened room to his right and more lights flickered on. "The lights are coming on by themselves."
Careful to not touch anything, Sheppard edged his way across the room to a balcony. Behind him, Rodney muttered about it probably being a control room for the gate as he lifted a dust-sheet (the Ancients used dust-covers - who knew?) draping one of the consoles and studied the large translucent keys that were revealed. The last of the expedition members were straggling through the gate and finally the last of Sumner's men came through and gave his CO a nod.
"That's everyone." Sumner turned to Dr. Weir who was waiting at the debarkation area.
"General O'Neill." She spoke into her radio. "Atlantis base offers greetings from the Pegasus Galaxy. You may cut power to the Gate."
A bottle rolled out of the Gate and across the floor and moments later the Gate shut down. Weir picked up the magnum of 'Moët & Chandon' champagne and read the handwritten tag attached to its neck. 'Bon Voyage! General Jack O'Neill'. Dr. Weir smiled up at Sheppard and McKay on the balcony, showing them the bottle. Sheppard nodded to her.
John knew that Elizabeth Weir had every right to be ecstatic over having managed to get the expedition through the trans-galaxy wormhole and safely in the city of the Ancients. It had truly been a massive, magnificent effort on her part, on the part of so many. He just could not help but feel like there was something they were missing; something they just were not seeing.
He rubbed the back of his neck. That feeling of being watched was back... No, that was not quite accurate. It was more like being nudged by someone or something trying to get his attention. It almost reminded him of what happened when he had been ten and his dog greeted him at the door and his hands were too full to pet the pooch. It was like that cool wet nose prodding at his knee and hip trying to get his acknowledgment. He frowned as he felt the first pricklings of a headache taking hold. He did NOT have time for this. Dammit.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to check out the walkway that led out of the control room. At the far end an empty area(an office probably as there was a bare desk on one side with a long padded bench along one wall and not much else) lit up as he stepped in. While part of him wanted to believe that something akin to a motion or proximity sensor was causing all these lights to come on, the other logical part pointed out that if that was the case then why did the stairs not light up until he stepped on them? The room remained illuminated as he sidestepped to allow Dr. Weir to enter as he exited.
"Doctor Weir. You have to see this." Sheppard did not recognize the voice on the com, but the excitement behind it was obvious.
"I have a lot of things to see. Just be careful."
John moved over to a blank screen on the back wall and could hear Rodney muttering to himself as he took a cover off yet another console. The screen activated suddenly and blue lights started to scroll across it with what he assumed was Ancient symbols... er words. "I didn't touch anything." He raised his hands to demonstrate and the console in front of him lit up.
"Relax, Major. It's like the entire complex is sensing our presence and coming to life." Weir smiled at his reaction, wondering also if indeed it was Sheppard's presence that was turning on so many pieces of Ancient equipment and deciding it probably was. She felt more than a passing wave of jealousy for the pilot and his ATA gene.
"This has got to be the Control Room." Rodney quickly studied the console he had just uncovered. "This is obviously their version of a DHD."
"Oh, obviously..." Sheppard moved to look at the device. It made no sense to him even as the rest of the console lit up. It certainly looked nothing like the standard DHD devices he had seen in SG mission reports. On a quick glance, the symbols on the keys did seem a match to those on this gate.
"This area could be, uh, power control systems..." McKay indicated another console. "...possibly a computer interface..."
"Hey, hey." Elizabeth grinned at Rodney. "Why don't you find out?"
"Right." John watched as McKay paused and then pulled out a laptop from his pack and cables and set to work. He would have smiled at the scientist's almost childlike glee over the prospect of discovering so many new things if the pain in his head, that had been steadily increasing, was not necessitating too much of his concentration to just appear normal, nonchalant.
"Doctor Weir. Colonel Sumner." John heard the call over his earpiece. "Can you come down and meet me, please? We're three levels down from you."
"Right away."
Sheppard followed Dr. Weir. Although there were already some lights on as they made their way down the three flights of stairs, more came on as they descended. Weir glanced at the major attempting to judge his reaction to what was happening.
"We've only been able to secure a fraction of the place." Sumner met them at the bottom of the stairway and led the way. "It's huge."
"So it might really be the lost city of Atlantis?" Weir craned her neck to catch glimpses of various alcoves and hallways along their route.
"I'd say that's a good bet."
John unclipped his backpack and set it by an illuminated column as he followed the colonel and the expedition leader over to a far wall of windows.
"Oh my God." John's thoughts echoed Weir's words as they got their first look out. "We're under water." Looking up, they saw sunlight glinting on the surface, but it was a long way up. More of the city was visible - unlit but beautiful with its elegantly designed towers of varying heights.
"I'd say we're under several hundred feet of ocean." Sumner seemed a bit awed by the spectacle before them as well. "If we can't dial out, this could be a problem." Sheppard had to credit the purely practical side of the man.
"Colonel. Doctor Weir..." McKay's voice reached them.
"We're under water!" Sheppard glanced back to see the scientist hurrying over.
"Yes, I was just, uh, coming to tell you. Fortunately there is some sort of a force field holding back the w...water." John nearly smirked at the look of amazement on the normally cynical scientist's face. "Oh, that is impressive, isn't it?" Sheppard looked out over the submerged city and tried to get a mental picture of how the city was laid out from their vantage point. It appeared that they were in the central location and probably the highest of the towers.
"Um, Doctor Beckett has found something you should, uh, see." McKay tilted his head to indicate they should follow him.
ooOoo
"... in the hope of spreading new life in a galaxy where there appeared to be none..."
They could hear a woman's voice before they entered the room. John brought up the rear and suddenly found himself squinting at the glowing holographic image of an Ancient woman in white robes. He could not quite stop a grimace as his building headache blossomed into a full-blown migraine.
"...Soon the new life grew, prospered. Here ..."
"It's a hologram." Beckett was standing on a podium directly in front of the woman's image. "The recording loops. This is my second time through."
"What have we missed?" Sumner looked intrigued.
"Not much." Their attention was drawn to the glowing figure.
"... exchange knowledge and friendship." Above her head a three dimensional holographic map of the galaxy appeared. John was reminded of the star maps he had called up out of the Weapons Chair at the Outpost. "In time, a thousand worlds bore the fruit of life in this form. Then one day our people stepped foot upon a dark world where a terrible enemy slept. Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivaled our own. In our overconfidence, we were unprepared and outnumbered. The enemy fed upon defenseless human worlds like a great scourge until finally only Atlantis remained." They watched as the starmap indicated the growing tide of the enemy's insurgence. "This city's great shield was powerful enough to withstand their terrible weapons but here we were besieged for many years. In an effort to save the last of our kind, we submerged our great city into the ocean. The Atlantis Stargate was the one and only link back to Earth from this galaxy, and those who remained used it to return to that world that was once home. There, the last survivors of Atlantis lived out the remainder of their lives." Sheppard barely managed to clamp down on a groan as the pain in his head ratcheted up yet again. "This city was left to slumber, in the hope that our kind would one day return." He wondered if he was imagining things when the woman's gaze appeared to lock on him for a very long moment before she disappeared as Beckett stepped off the podium.
"Oh. So the story of Atlantis is true. A great city that sank in the ocean." McKay shook his head in amazement.
"It just didn't happen on Earth," Dr. Beckett added.
"Well, the ancient Greeks must've heard it from one of the surviving Ancients." John kept to the back of the group and surreptitiously rolled his head, attempting to release some of the tension and maybe a bit of the headache. Peter Grodin hurried past him to McKay.
"I don't like the fact they got their asses kicked." Sumner did not sound happy.
"Let's hear it again from the beginning," Beckett instructed the holographic image as he stepped up on the podium once again.
"Stop!" McKay was vehement. "Turn it off." Carson hurriedly stepped off the podium and the holographic woman disappeared.
"Power levels throughout the city are dropping like a stone." McKay started for the doorway.
"What does that mean?" Sumner demanded.
"That if we don't stop everything we're doing right now, we are dead." Grodin followed McKay out of the room. John saw the worried looks exchanged by Weir, Sumner and Beckett as they hurried to catch up.
ooOoo
"Please tell me this is not my fault." Beckett looked really worried as McKay typed furiously on a laptop that had been connected to one of the consoles.
"No."
"Thank you!" The doctor sighed with relief.
"From what we've been able to ascertain, the city is powered by three Zero Point Modules." McKay explained. "Two are entirely depleted and the third is reaching maximum entropy. When it does, it'll die too and nothing can reverse that."
"Just tell me the bottom line." Sumner prompted.
"The force field holding back the ocean has collapsed to its minimum sustainable levels. Look, you can see..." He pointed to a screen displaying the snowflake shape of Atlantis and indicated a couple of areas highlighted on it. "Here and here, where the shield's already failed and the city's flooded. It could have happened years ago. This section is likely more protected because of the Stargate."
"What if it fails completely?" John had found a short stack of crates and had settled on them. His headache remained unchanged. He compartmentalized the pain as a distraction and firmly locked it away for the moment.
"It's a matter of when, not if."
"Colonel Sumner, you need to order your security teams to stop searching the city immediately." John understood almost at the same moment that Dr. Weir truly grasped the reality of the situation. Every bit of exploration done brought more and more systems online and used even more precious power.
"All security teams fall back to the Gateroom." Sumner tapped his earpiece.
"It's not going to be good enough." Rodney continued to examine the readouts on the laptop.
"All right, well, how much time do we have?" Weir asked.
"It's hard to say. Hours, maybe days if we minimize power expenditure." McKay bit his lip.
"What about our own power generators?" Becket suggested.
"We're working on that, but even with our most advanced naqahdah power generators, the equations are coming up far short." Rodney shook his head.
"So we need to find more ZPMs." Sumner sounded as if he expected them to be found stashed in a cupboard somewhere. John looked over at Dr. Weir. He had read the same reports she had; they all had. ZPMs were just not the sort of things left around to be discovered by accident.
"Now how do we do that if we can't search the city?" Sumner gestured impatiently.
"If there were more here, we'd be able to detect them." McKay was not about to let the military leader cow him.
"Can we use the Stargate?" The colonel gestured towards the dark, silent gate on the lower level.
"There's nowhere near enough power to open a wormhole back to Earth."
"Maybe somewhere in this galaxy." John recalled clearly from the reports he had been scanning for the last week that the power requirements for a regular gate connection were quite small in comparison to the trans-galaxy wormhole.
"That's relatively easy." John almost smirked at McKay's almost reluctant acceptance that someone had offered a possible solution and it was not the great McKay himself. He and Dr. Weir flanked the scientist as he moved to the console that had been designated as the DHD. "Fortunately, some Ancient technology still uses good old-fashioned push buttons, so we've been able to access the Stargate control system and a library of known Gate addresses in the database."
"That's not all. Look at this." Grodin touched a button and a shimmering force shield covered the Stargate.
"Just like the iris on the Earth Gate," Sumner commented.
"Using power..." Rodney's tone was low but urgent. "...using power... using power." Grodin frowned as he quickly shut down the shield.
"At least we don't have to deal with any uninvited guests." Weir turned towards Sumner. "Colonel, assemble a team. We need safe harbor, or better still, another power source."
Sumner nodded and tapped his earpiece. "Lieutenant Ford, gather security teams one and two. Everyone gear up." He quickly headed out of the control room and down the stairs.
"Major, I want you to go along." She looked pointedly at John.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"All right." Weir, knowing the need for urgency, turned to McKay. "Pick an address, start dialing."
John turned to leave and abruptly the room tilted. John grabbed at a still darkened console to steady himself, but it flashed to life at his touch and his headache spiked up several notches. Shit.
"Major Sheppard?!" He heard the concern in Dr. Weir's voice and he knew he needed to just suck it up and get on with his duty.
"I'm good..." John stepped away from the console, putting his best poker face on, and stepped toward the doorway. He felt an oddly warm tickle on his upper lip and went to wipe it away with his fingertips and realized he could taste blood at the back of his throat.
"Chevron one encoded." McKay's voice seemed to be coming from a great distance as John's world filled with an excruciating, blinding white light and then fell to darkness.
ooOoo
He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the much lower light levels on the Pegasus side of the wormhole. Other than a brief slap of bitter cold, travel through the Gate had not been painful. His headache, however, had flared back to life, not horrible, but an annoyance nonetheless. He frowned; why was he nearly overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu? He turned on the light attached to his P90 and slowly scanned the area. He noticed that a few lights popped on and brightened around them, seemingly a reaction to their presence. Each addition to the ambient lighting seemed to increase the ache behind his eyes. He clenched his teeth and ignored it.
"Teams one and two, secure the immediate area." Sheppard watched as the marines moved swiftly to follow orders. "Everyone else find an open space and park it until instructed otherwise."
"Hey." He noticed McKay standing slightly behind his left shoulder. Something about the darkened gate area made even the Canadian scientist speak in hushed almost awed tones. John nodded then stepped to the main flight of stairs in front of them. There were already a few marines checking the second level, but he figured what the hell.
He set a foot on the first stair only to have it light up instantly. Pausing for a moment as once again the discomfort moved up another notch, he hesitantly put his foot on the next step and that lit up along with the ones above it. Again an increase in his headache. He glanced at McKay who appeared perplexed. What the hell?
"Who's doing that?" Dr. Weir looked around the upper level intrigued.
The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling as he and McKay reached the landing.
...acceptum...
What? Who? No one else seemed to hear anything unusual. He turned to a darkened room to his right and more lights blinked on. "The lights are coming on by themselves."
...ta... gerin... recurse...
The ache in his head expanded.
...ta... ani...ubi clava... ubi clava...
Where was that voice coming from? It was difficult to concentrate, but he knew this was vitally important. The pain wanted to block everything out. Yet, abruptly almost as if someone had flicked on a switch, the pain abated and the mysterious words made sense. 'welcome... you have returned... you are the key...' Well sort of...
...tuti... outomatiese uitkom... 'safe... automatic emerge...' A what? Emerge?
ooOoo
"...Major Sheppard?..." Something was pressed to his head... his face-no, his nose. He tried to turn his head, fend off whatever it was. "No, Lad, don't move yer head just yet." Hands held him down. "Just try ta relax, Major."
He pried open his eyes and immediately slammed them shut as he moaned. Everything was too bright and moving and blurred and there was a horrid coppery taint in his mouth. He tried to swallow and gagged and abruptly his stomach spasmed violently. The next few moments were a chaotic mix as the pain in his head blotted out almost everything as he was rolled to the side and supported as his stomach attempted to purge everything he had eaten for the last week.
Then he was gently lowered on his back and although still nauseous and feeling like a wrung out dishrag, the throbbing ache retreated enough for him to think, to remember... What... "Wait!" He needed to tell them something only it came out as a ragged half-whisper from his too dry mouth and raw throat. John opened his eyes to find the area now only dimly lit and Carson Beckett kneeling next to him looking very concerned. There was a swift pinch to his arm and he felt the sting of a needle.
"There. Hopefully that'll help settle yer stomach." Even as John thought to protest, Beckett handed off the empty syringe. He did not want to be drugged. He needed to tell them... "Let's try a wee bit o'water, shall we?" The doctor and someone he did not recognize leaned in and lifted his head and shoulders minutely as a bottle of water was held to his lips. "Slowly now, just a sip or two." The water was lukewarm but it was wet and it helped clear some of the wretched taste on his tongue. The moisture soothed parched tissues and calmed the ragged raw feeling in his throat. He sighed in relief as he was lowered once again. "Better, Son?"
"Yeah." John blinked several times finally taking in his surroundings. He was lying on a cool, hard floor and there were tables...no, half-lit consoles looming above him. The Gate Control room... "Wait! Dr. Weir! Colonel Sumner!" He tried to push himself up only to fall back with a faint moan.
"Major, ye should not be movin' just yet." Beckett grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse. "Relax for the moment." The doctor frowned and then pulled out his ever-present penlight.
"Aww, Doc." He was really starting to hate that penlight.
"It'll just take nought but a few seconds, Lad." His eyes burned and watered after the doctor was done, but at least the headache did not increase. "Bit better that."
"I need to tell Dr. W-Weir that-" Fatigued flowed over him like a wave, trying to pull him under. Vaguely he recalled that anti-emetic drugs tended to cause drowsiness. He blinked hard to clear his head as well as his vision. "-need to tell her... and the colonel that-" His eyelids drooped despite his best efforts. He needed...
ooOoo
He woke slowly first hearing voices and footsteps. Someone held his wrist for a short while then something hard and cool against his chest. His brow furrowed as he tried to recall what had happened and why his head felt so weird. The voices and footsteps had moved away before he managed to open his eyes. Blinking several times, he realized wherever he was the lighting was very dim and for that he was grateful. There was a slight musty, stale smell to the air and he tried to place it; his thoughts felt like they were moving through molasses...
Atlantis! He looked around and realized he was reclining on the bench he had seen in the empty office just off the gate control room. The Gate... Atlantis and the power situation... Oh... He had no idea of how much time had past, but he knew he needed to take care of something as soon as possible. Slowly, he pushed himself to a sitting position and was relieved when the ache behind his eyes did not increase and the room remained stationary. There was no time to explain and he knew Carson or Elizabeth would only try to stop him, possibly delaying him until it was too late.
Carefully, he pushed the metallic emergency blankets that had been draped over him to the side. Using the wall for support, he managed to get upright and was happy to find that although his tach vest had been removed, he was still in his uniform (jacket and shirt both unzipped) and boots. He brushed absently at a rusty-brown stain on his jacket as he waited for his legs to stop feeling quite so wobbly. Glancing around, he saw Weir and McKay studying readouts in the control room and beyond them he could see Beckett talking with some of the medics.No one looked in his direction as he silently made his way out the far side of the office.
Instinct or perhaps subliminal urging directed him into what at first appeared to be a small storage area. But when the door closed behind him, the area lit up and the screen on the far side displayed a map of Atlantis similar to the one that Rodney had used earlier. He touched it and knew that he was in another location even if there had been no sense of movement.
The doors slid opened to a dimly lit corridor and he turned right as he exited the agituri...transporter. A bare minimum of lights came on as he past through the corridors; only enough so he could move safely. Just as well since he had not located his P90 with its flashlight before his hasty exit. His sidearm was still in its holster but his telecom earpiece was missing as well.
By the time he reached his destination, his headache had begun once again to intensify. Whatever pain reliever the good doctor had given him was apparently wearing off. The cool damp air raised goose bumps on his arms and shoulders. He touched his forehead and found it to be warm and sweaty. What the hell? Was he running a fever?
ooOoo
"...Kien 'n Machiko, please make cert'n ye check that ev'ryone's had somethin' ta eat 'n drink 'n a place ta rest for a few hours. No need for people ta be gettin' sick while we wait for more news." He glanced over his team and was proud of them. They had remained calm in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of the real probability that they were going to have to evacuate the city of Atlantis in a matter of hours. "Ev'ryone set then?" Nods from all around. "Al'right then, on wit' ye."
"Well, Dana, luv..." He turned to the sturdy young medic standing at his side. "Time we check on the good major." Carson was at a loss to diagnose what was happening with John Sheppard. All medical records on the pilot indicated that aside from injuries incurred during missions, the major was generally hale as the proverbial horse. Apart from the two infirmary stays as a result of prolonged interaction with the Ancient tech at the Outpost and at the SGC, the last time the pilot had been the pilot had been hospitalized was for injuries incurred during the incident that left a black-mark on his service record, well over eighteen months ago. Sheppard had been healthy just the previous evening when Carson had finally signed off on his release from the infirmary.
He nodded to Elizabeth, who had looked up from her intense discussion with Rodney, as he and Dana threaded their way through to the empty office they had settle Major Sheppard. The lights came up as he crossed the threshold. "So-" He blinked in surprise. "What the-?"
"Where'd he go?" The med tech sounded as surprised as he felt.
When they had left Sheppard for the short meeting with his people, the major had been in a deep sleep; a side effect of his body's exhaustion and the Compazine that had been administered to combat the nausea. His pupils were unevenly dilated and sluggish to respond to stimuli, his blood pressure was low and he had a low grade fever. Virtually it was a repeat of the symptoms he had displayed at the SGC and the Outpost. The only problem was Carson knew for a fact that the major had not been been interfacing deliberately with any Ancient tech. There just had not been any time for it. And then there was the nose bleed. There did not seem to be any immediate cause for the bleeding and it had stopped fairly quickly. Unfortunately, there was no way to do a scan on the major until they were able to unpack the equipment they had brought with them and that could not be done while Atlantis was rapidly running out of power. There was no way the major should be up and about.
"Major?!" He turned to Dana. "Go down to the Gate area. See if he somehow managed ta wander down there." Carson glanced around the office and headed for the back doorway. "Major Sheppard?!" The hallway was dark but the lights came on, somewhat slowly, as he checked it out - no sign of the major. "John?!"
"Carson?" Elizabeth met him on the connecting walkway on his return to the Control Room. "What's wrong? Is Major Sheppard all right?"
"I dunno, Elizabeth." He shook his head at the worried look he received. "He's gone missin'."
"What?" She looked behind him to the obviously empty office. "But I thought-"
"Aye, 'Liz'beth, I thought he was asleep too." He hurried to the main stairway and saw Dana looking up and shaking her head.
onto part 2 of 2
Series: Clava Thessara Infinitas (key to infinite treasure)
Previous Segment: 01 Gauisus Casualis (serendipity)
Upcoming Segments: 03 Perennial Adventus (the approaching disaster)
By: §fyre (mailto:pfyre at pfyre dot co dot uk)
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir, Carson Beckett, Marshall Sumner
Pairing: none so far...
Rating: M (language)
Spoilers: 1.01/1.02 (so far)
Category: Angst, hurt/comfort, whumpage
Warnings: none so far
Disclaimer: "Stargate: Atlantis" and its characters and situations are the creative and intellectual properties of Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Brad Wright, Paul Mullie, Sony Pictures Television, Acme Shark, SciFi Channel, MGM Television, Pegasus Productions. This fiction was written solely for the entertainment of Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard whumpers and Joe Flanigan fans. No monies made. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: What if Major Sheppard had not accompanied that first SGA mission to Athos?
Beta: Oz (the glorious and mysterious) - betareader extraordinaire - Many, many thanks to Oz. She is my PiaP. She's also been dragged into fandoms I'm certain she never would've touched if it weren't for me. Thankfully she usually forgives me and does a bang up job making my attempts at writing sound coherent, intelligent - even literate. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N: Well, despite a quick start on this segment , the muse decided to be finicky (it dropped a start of another fic into my lap and then left both unfinished! argh!). SIGH. Several months of poking at it, adding dribs and dabs, tweaking and reworking and some dialogue with a couple of fellow fans along with my PiaP (who is also my beta) and you have before the finished product. Thank the Ancients.
As for the next installment - I have some ideas floating around but at the moment the muse hasn't demanded my attention to them yet. We'll have to wait and see I guess. Anyway on with the story...
Feedback: Feedback is greatly encouraged. Flames will be ignored.
ooOoo
Clava Thessara Infinitas
02 Clava Atlantus
ooOoo
part 1 of 2
ooOoo
Major John Sheppard blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the much lower light levels on the Pegasus side of the wormhole. Other than a sharp slap of bitter cold, travel through the Gate had not been painful. He turned on the light attached to his P90 and slowly scanned the area. He noticed that a few lights popped on and brightened around them, seemingly a reaction to their presence.
The differences between this Gateroom and the one at SGC Headquarters could not be more dramatic. The Atlantis Gate itself appeared more modern (though he supposed that probably was not quite proper terminology for something that was at least several hundred millennia old), with symbols, Chevrons, illuminated from within and glowing green. The Gateroom itself even in the low light appeared more stylish, elegant perhaps in stark contrast to the bare functionality of the Earthside counterpart constructed of concrete and steel.
"Teams one and two, secure the immediate area." Sheppard watched as the marines moved swiftly to follow orders. "Everyone else find an open space and park it until instructed otherwise." Sumner's voice carried to those not yet up on the voice com network.
"Hey." He noticed McKay standing slightly behind his left shoulder. Something about the darkened gate area made even the Canadian scientist speak in hushed almost awed tones. John nodded then stepped to the main flight of stairs in front of them. There were already a few marines checking the second level, but he figured what the hell.
He set a boot on the first stair only to have it light up instantly. Pausing for a moment, he hesitantly put his foot on the next step and that lit up along with the ones above it. He glanced at McKay who appeared perplexed.
"Who's doing that?" Behind them, Dr. Weir looked around the upper level intrigued.
"Security teams: any alien contact?" Sumner queried his men.
"Negative, sir." "Team four. Negative, Colonel."
The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling as he and McKay reached the landing. He turned to a darkened room to his right and more lights flickered on. "The lights are coming on by themselves."
Careful to not touch anything, Sheppard edged his way across the room to a balcony. Behind him, Rodney muttered about it probably being a control room for the gate as he lifted a dust-sheet (the Ancients used dust-covers - who knew?) draping one of the consoles and studied the large translucent keys that were revealed. The last of the expedition members were straggling through the gate and finally the last of Sumner's men came through and gave his CO a nod.
"That's everyone." Sumner turned to Dr. Weir who was waiting at the debarkation area.
"General O'Neill." She spoke into her radio. "Atlantis base offers greetings from the Pegasus Galaxy. You may cut power to the Gate."
A bottle rolled out of the Gate and across the floor and moments later the Gate shut down. Weir picked up the magnum of 'Moët & Chandon' champagne and read the handwritten tag attached to its neck. 'Bon Voyage! General Jack O'Neill'. Dr. Weir smiled up at Sheppard and McKay on the balcony, showing them the bottle. Sheppard nodded to her.
John knew that Elizabeth Weir had every right to be ecstatic over having managed to get the expedition through the trans-galaxy wormhole and safely in the city of the Ancients. It had truly been a massive, magnificent effort on her part, on the part of so many. He just could not help but feel like there was something they were missing; something they just were not seeing.
He rubbed the back of his neck. That feeling of being watched was back... No, that was not quite accurate. It was more like being nudged by someone or something trying to get his attention. It almost reminded him of what happened when he had been ten and his dog greeted him at the door and his hands were too full to pet the pooch. It was like that cool wet nose prodding at his knee and hip trying to get his acknowledgment. He frowned as he felt the first pricklings of a headache taking hold. He did NOT have time for this. Dammit.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to check out the walkway that led out of the control room. At the far end an empty area(an office probably as there was a bare desk on one side with a long padded bench along one wall and not much else) lit up as he stepped in. While part of him wanted to believe that something akin to a motion or proximity sensor was causing all these lights to come on, the other logical part pointed out that if that was the case then why did the stairs not light up until he stepped on them? The room remained illuminated as he sidestepped to allow Dr. Weir to enter as he exited.
"Doctor Weir. You have to see this." Sheppard did not recognize the voice on the com, but the excitement behind it was obvious.
"I have a lot of things to see. Just be careful."
John moved over to a blank screen on the back wall and could hear Rodney muttering to himself as he took a cover off yet another console. The screen activated suddenly and blue lights started to scroll across it with what he assumed was Ancient symbols... er words. "I didn't touch anything." He raised his hands to demonstrate and the console in front of him lit up.
"Relax, Major. It's like the entire complex is sensing our presence and coming to life." Weir smiled at his reaction, wondering also if indeed it was Sheppard's presence that was turning on so many pieces of Ancient equipment and deciding it probably was. She felt more than a passing wave of jealousy for the pilot and his ATA gene.
"This has got to be the Control Room." Rodney quickly studied the console he had just uncovered. "This is obviously their version of a DHD."
"Oh, obviously..." Sheppard moved to look at the device. It made no sense to him even as the rest of the console lit up. It certainly looked nothing like the standard DHD devices he had seen in SG mission reports. On a quick glance, the symbols on the keys did seem a match to those on this gate.
"This area could be, uh, power control systems..." McKay indicated another console. "...possibly a computer interface..."
"Hey, hey." Elizabeth grinned at Rodney. "Why don't you find out?"
"Right." John watched as McKay paused and then pulled out a laptop from his pack and cables and set to work. He would have smiled at the scientist's almost childlike glee over the prospect of discovering so many new things if the pain in his head, that had been steadily increasing, was not necessitating too much of his concentration to just appear normal, nonchalant.
"Doctor Weir. Colonel Sumner." John heard the call over his earpiece. "Can you come down and meet me, please? We're three levels down from you."
"Right away."
Sheppard followed Dr. Weir. Although there were already some lights on as they made their way down the three flights of stairs, more came on as they descended. Weir glanced at the major attempting to judge his reaction to what was happening.
"We've only been able to secure a fraction of the place." Sumner met them at the bottom of the stairway and led the way. "It's huge."
"So it might really be the lost city of Atlantis?" Weir craned her neck to catch glimpses of various alcoves and hallways along their route.
"I'd say that's a good bet."
John unclipped his backpack and set it by an illuminated column as he followed the colonel and the expedition leader over to a far wall of windows.
"Oh my God." John's thoughts echoed Weir's words as they got their first look out. "We're under water." Looking up, they saw sunlight glinting on the surface, but it was a long way up. More of the city was visible - unlit but beautiful with its elegantly designed towers of varying heights.
"I'd say we're under several hundred feet of ocean." Sumner seemed a bit awed by the spectacle before them as well. "If we can't dial out, this could be a problem." Sheppard had to credit the purely practical side of the man.
"Colonel. Doctor Weir..." McKay's voice reached them.
"We're under water!" Sheppard glanced back to see the scientist hurrying over.
"Yes, I was just, uh, coming to tell you. Fortunately there is some sort of a force field holding back the w...water." John nearly smirked at the look of amazement on the normally cynical scientist's face. "Oh, that is impressive, isn't it?" Sheppard looked out over the submerged city and tried to get a mental picture of how the city was laid out from their vantage point. It appeared that they were in the central location and probably the highest of the towers.
"Um, Doctor Beckett has found something you should, uh, see." McKay tilted his head to indicate they should follow him.
ooOoo
"... in the hope of spreading new life in a galaxy where there appeared to be none..."
They could hear a woman's voice before they entered the room. John brought up the rear and suddenly found himself squinting at the glowing holographic image of an Ancient woman in white robes. He could not quite stop a grimace as his building headache blossomed into a full-blown migraine.
"...Soon the new life grew, prospered. Here ..."
"It's a hologram." Beckett was standing on a podium directly in front of the woman's image. "The recording loops. This is my second time through."
"What have we missed?" Sumner looked intrigued.
"Not much." Their attention was drawn to the glowing figure.
"... exchange knowledge and friendship." Above her head a three dimensional holographic map of the galaxy appeared. John was reminded of the star maps he had called up out of the Weapons Chair at the Outpost. "In time, a thousand worlds bore the fruit of life in this form. Then one day our people stepped foot upon a dark world where a terrible enemy slept. Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivaled our own. In our overconfidence, we were unprepared and outnumbered. The enemy fed upon defenseless human worlds like a great scourge until finally only Atlantis remained." They watched as the starmap indicated the growing tide of the enemy's insurgence. "This city's great shield was powerful enough to withstand their terrible weapons but here we were besieged for many years. In an effort to save the last of our kind, we submerged our great city into the ocean. The Atlantis Stargate was the one and only link back to Earth from this galaxy, and those who remained used it to return to that world that was once home. There, the last survivors of Atlantis lived out the remainder of their lives." Sheppard barely managed to clamp down on a groan as the pain in his head ratcheted up yet again. "This city was left to slumber, in the hope that our kind would one day return." He wondered if he was imagining things when the woman's gaze appeared to lock on him for a very long moment before she disappeared as Beckett stepped off the podium.
"Oh. So the story of Atlantis is true. A great city that sank in the ocean." McKay shook his head in amazement.
"It just didn't happen on Earth," Dr. Beckett added.
"Well, the ancient Greeks must've heard it from one of the surviving Ancients." John kept to the back of the group and surreptitiously rolled his head, attempting to release some of the tension and maybe a bit of the headache. Peter Grodin hurried past him to McKay.
"I don't like the fact they got their asses kicked." Sumner did not sound happy.
"Let's hear it again from the beginning," Beckett instructed the holographic image as he stepped up on the podium once again.
"Stop!" McKay was vehement. "Turn it off." Carson hurriedly stepped off the podium and the holographic woman disappeared.
"Power levels throughout the city are dropping like a stone." McKay started for the doorway.
"What does that mean?" Sumner demanded.
"That if we don't stop everything we're doing right now, we are dead." Grodin followed McKay out of the room. John saw the worried looks exchanged by Weir, Sumner and Beckett as they hurried to catch up.
ooOoo
"Please tell me this is not my fault." Beckett looked really worried as McKay typed furiously on a laptop that had been connected to one of the consoles.
"No."
"Thank you!" The doctor sighed with relief.
"From what we've been able to ascertain, the city is powered by three Zero Point Modules." McKay explained. "Two are entirely depleted and the third is reaching maximum entropy. When it does, it'll die too and nothing can reverse that."
"Just tell me the bottom line." Sumner prompted.
"The force field holding back the ocean has collapsed to its minimum sustainable levels. Look, you can see..." He pointed to a screen displaying the snowflake shape of Atlantis and indicated a couple of areas highlighted on it. "Here and here, where the shield's already failed and the city's flooded. It could have happened years ago. This section is likely more protected because of the Stargate."
"What if it fails completely?" John had found a short stack of crates and had settled on them. His headache remained unchanged. He compartmentalized the pain as a distraction and firmly locked it away for the moment.
"It's a matter of when, not if."
"Colonel Sumner, you need to order your security teams to stop searching the city immediately." John understood almost at the same moment that Dr. Weir truly grasped the reality of the situation. Every bit of exploration done brought more and more systems online and used even more precious power.
"All security teams fall back to the Gateroom." Sumner tapped his earpiece.
"It's not going to be good enough." Rodney continued to examine the readouts on the laptop.
"All right, well, how much time do we have?" Weir asked.
"It's hard to say. Hours, maybe days if we minimize power expenditure." McKay bit his lip.
"What about our own power generators?" Becket suggested.
"We're working on that, but even with our most advanced naqahdah power generators, the equations are coming up far short." Rodney shook his head.
"So we need to find more ZPMs." Sumner sounded as if he expected them to be found stashed in a cupboard somewhere. John looked over at Dr. Weir. He had read the same reports she had; they all had. ZPMs were just not the sort of things left around to be discovered by accident.
"Now how do we do that if we can't search the city?" Sumner gestured impatiently.
"If there were more here, we'd be able to detect them." McKay was not about to let the military leader cow him.
"Can we use the Stargate?" The colonel gestured towards the dark, silent gate on the lower level.
"There's nowhere near enough power to open a wormhole back to Earth."
"Maybe somewhere in this galaxy." John recalled clearly from the reports he had been scanning for the last week that the power requirements for a regular gate connection were quite small in comparison to the trans-galaxy wormhole.
"That's relatively easy." John almost smirked at McKay's almost reluctant acceptance that someone had offered a possible solution and it was not the great McKay himself. He and Dr. Weir flanked the scientist as he moved to the console that had been designated as the DHD. "Fortunately, some Ancient technology still uses good old-fashioned push buttons, so we've been able to access the Stargate control system and a library of known Gate addresses in the database."
"That's not all. Look at this." Grodin touched a button and a shimmering force shield covered the Stargate.
"Just like the iris on the Earth Gate," Sumner commented.
"Using power..." Rodney's tone was low but urgent. "...using power... using power." Grodin frowned as he quickly shut down the shield.
"At least we don't have to deal with any uninvited guests." Weir turned towards Sumner. "Colonel, assemble a team. We need safe harbor, or better still, another power source."
Sumner nodded and tapped his earpiece. "Lieutenant Ford, gather security teams one and two. Everyone gear up." He quickly headed out of the control room and down the stairs.
"Major, I want you to go along." She looked pointedly at John.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"All right." Weir, knowing the need for urgency, turned to McKay. "Pick an address, start dialing."
John turned to leave and abruptly the room tilted. John grabbed at a still darkened console to steady himself, but it flashed to life at his touch and his headache spiked up several notches. Shit.
"Major Sheppard?!" He heard the concern in Dr. Weir's voice and he knew he needed to just suck it up and get on with his duty.
"I'm good..." John stepped away from the console, putting his best poker face on, and stepped toward the doorway. He felt an oddly warm tickle on his upper lip and went to wipe it away with his fingertips and realized he could taste blood at the back of his throat.
"Chevron one encoded." McKay's voice seemed to be coming from a great distance as John's world filled with an excruciating, blinding white light and then fell to darkness.
ooOoo
He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the much lower light levels on the Pegasus side of the wormhole. Other than a brief slap of bitter cold, travel through the Gate had not been painful. His headache, however, had flared back to life, not horrible, but an annoyance nonetheless. He frowned; why was he nearly overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu? He turned on the light attached to his P90 and slowly scanned the area. He noticed that a few lights popped on and brightened around them, seemingly a reaction to their presence. Each addition to the ambient lighting seemed to increase the ache behind his eyes. He clenched his teeth and ignored it.
"Teams one and two, secure the immediate area." Sheppard watched as the marines moved swiftly to follow orders. "Everyone else find an open space and park it until instructed otherwise."
"Hey." He noticed McKay standing slightly behind his left shoulder. Something about the darkened gate area made even the Canadian scientist speak in hushed almost awed tones. John nodded then stepped to the main flight of stairs in front of them. There were already a few marines checking the second level, but he figured what the hell.
He set a foot on the first stair only to have it light up instantly. Pausing for a moment as once again the discomfort moved up another notch, he hesitantly put his foot on the next step and that lit up along with the ones above it. Again an increase in his headache. He glanced at McKay who appeared perplexed. What the hell?
"Who's doing that?" Dr. Weir looked around the upper level intrigued.
The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling as he and McKay reached the landing.
...acceptum...
What? Who? No one else seemed to hear anything unusual. He turned to a darkened room to his right and more lights blinked on. "The lights are coming on by themselves."
...ta... gerin... recurse...
The ache in his head expanded.
...ta... ani...ubi clava... ubi clava...
Where was that voice coming from? It was difficult to concentrate, but he knew this was vitally important. The pain wanted to block everything out. Yet, abruptly almost as if someone had flicked on a switch, the pain abated and the mysterious words made sense. 'welcome... you have returned... you are the key...' Well sort of...
...tuti... outomatiese uitkom... 'safe... automatic emerge...' A what? Emerge?
ooOoo
"...Major Sheppard?..." Something was pressed to his head... his face-no, his nose. He tried to turn his head, fend off whatever it was. "No, Lad, don't move yer head just yet." Hands held him down. "Just try ta relax, Major."
He pried open his eyes and immediately slammed them shut as he moaned. Everything was too bright and moving and blurred and there was a horrid coppery taint in his mouth. He tried to swallow and gagged and abruptly his stomach spasmed violently. The next few moments were a chaotic mix as the pain in his head blotted out almost everything as he was rolled to the side and supported as his stomach attempted to purge everything he had eaten for the last week.
Then he was gently lowered on his back and although still nauseous and feeling like a wrung out dishrag, the throbbing ache retreated enough for him to think, to remember... What... "Wait!" He needed to tell them something only it came out as a ragged half-whisper from his too dry mouth and raw throat. John opened his eyes to find the area now only dimly lit and Carson Beckett kneeling next to him looking very concerned. There was a swift pinch to his arm and he felt the sting of a needle.
"There. Hopefully that'll help settle yer stomach." Even as John thought to protest, Beckett handed off the empty syringe. He did not want to be drugged. He needed to tell them... "Let's try a wee bit o'water, shall we?" The doctor and someone he did not recognize leaned in and lifted his head and shoulders minutely as a bottle of water was held to his lips. "Slowly now, just a sip or two." The water was lukewarm but it was wet and it helped clear some of the wretched taste on his tongue. The moisture soothed parched tissues and calmed the ragged raw feeling in his throat. He sighed in relief as he was lowered once again. "Better, Son?"
"Yeah." John blinked several times finally taking in his surroundings. He was lying on a cool, hard floor and there were tables...no, half-lit consoles looming above him. The Gate Control room... "Wait! Dr. Weir! Colonel Sumner!" He tried to push himself up only to fall back with a faint moan.
"Major, ye should not be movin' just yet." Beckett grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse. "Relax for the moment." The doctor frowned and then pulled out his ever-present penlight.
"Aww, Doc." He was really starting to hate that penlight.
"It'll just take nought but a few seconds, Lad." His eyes burned and watered after the doctor was done, but at least the headache did not increase. "Bit better that."
"I need to tell Dr. W-Weir that-" Fatigued flowed over him like a wave, trying to pull him under. Vaguely he recalled that anti-emetic drugs tended to cause drowsiness. He blinked hard to clear his head as well as his vision. "-need to tell her... and the colonel that-" His eyelids drooped despite his best efforts. He needed...
ooOoo
He woke slowly first hearing voices and footsteps. Someone held his wrist for a short while then something hard and cool against his chest. His brow furrowed as he tried to recall what had happened and why his head felt so weird. The voices and footsteps had moved away before he managed to open his eyes. Blinking several times, he realized wherever he was the lighting was very dim and for that he was grateful. There was a slight musty, stale smell to the air and he tried to place it; his thoughts felt like they were moving through molasses...
Atlantis! He looked around and realized he was reclining on the bench he had seen in the empty office just off the gate control room. The Gate... Atlantis and the power situation... Oh... He had no idea of how much time had past, but he knew he needed to take care of something as soon as possible. Slowly, he pushed himself to a sitting position and was relieved when the ache behind his eyes did not increase and the room remained stationary. There was no time to explain and he knew Carson or Elizabeth would only try to stop him, possibly delaying him until it was too late.
Carefully, he pushed the metallic emergency blankets that had been draped over him to the side. Using the wall for support, he managed to get upright and was happy to find that although his tach vest had been removed, he was still in his uniform (jacket and shirt both unzipped) and boots. He brushed absently at a rusty-brown stain on his jacket as he waited for his legs to stop feeling quite so wobbly. Glancing around, he saw Weir and McKay studying readouts in the control room and beyond them he could see Beckett talking with some of the medics.No one looked in his direction as he silently made his way out the far side of the office.
Instinct or perhaps subliminal urging directed him into what at first appeared to be a small storage area. But when the door closed behind him, the area lit up and the screen on the far side displayed a map of Atlantis similar to the one that Rodney had used earlier. He touched it and knew that he was in another location even if there had been no sense of movement.
The doors slid opened to a dimly lit corridor and he turned right as he exited the agituri...transporter. A bare minimum of lights came on as he past through the corridors; only enough so he could move safely. Just as well since he had not located his P90 with its flashlight before his hasty exit. His sidearm was still in its holster but his telecom earpiece was missing as well.
By the time he reached his destination, his headache had begun once again to intensify. Whatever pain reliever the good doctor had given him was apparently wearing off. The cool damp air raised goose bumps on his arms and shoulders. He touched his forehead and found it to be warm and sweaty. What the hell? Was he running a fever?
ooOoo
"...Kien 'n Machiko, please make cert'n ye check that ev'ryone's had somethin' ta eat 'n drink 'n a place ta rest for a few hours. No need for people ta be gettin' sick while we wait for more news." He glanced over his team and was proud of them. They had remained calm in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of the real probability that they were going to have to evacuate the city of Atlantis in a matter of hours. "Ev'ryone set then?" Nods from all around. "Al'right then, on wit' ye."
"Well, Dana, luv..." He turned to the sturdy young medic standing at his side. "Time we check on the good major." Carson was at a loss to diagnose what was happening with John Sheppard. All medical records on the pilot indicated that aside from injuries incurred during missions, the major was generally hale as the proverbial horse. Apart from the two infirmary stays as a result of prolonged interaction with the Ancient tech at the Outpost and at the SGC, the last time the pilot had been the pilot had been hospitalized was for injuries incurred during the incident that left a black-mark on his service record, well over eighteen months ago. Sheppard had been healthy just the previous evening when Carson had finally signed off on his release from the infirmary.
He nodded to Elizabeth, who had looked up from her intense discussion with Rodney, as he and Dana threaded their way through to the empty office they had settle Major Sheppard. The lights came up as he crossed the threshold. "So-" He blinked in surprise. "What the-?"
"Where'd he go?" The med tech sounded as surprised as he felt.
When they had left Sheppard for the short meeting with his people, the major had been in a deep sleep; a side effect of his body's exhaustion and the Compazine that had been administered to combat the nausea. His pupils were unevenly dilated and sluggish to respond to stimuli, his blood pressure was low and he had a low grade fever. Virtually it was a repeat of the symptoms he had displayed at the SGC and the Outpost. The only problem was Carson knew for a fact that the major had not been been interfacing deliberately with any Ancient tech. There just had not been any time for it. And then there was the nose bleed. There did not seem to be any immediate cause for the bleeding and it had stopped fairly quickly. Unfortunately, there was no way to do a scan on the major until they were able to unpack the equipment they had brought with them and that could not be done while Atlantis was rapidly running out of power. There was no way the major should be up and about.
"Major?!" He turned to Dana. "Go down to the Gate area. See if he somehow managed ta wander down there." Carson glanced around the office and headed for the back doorway. "Major Sheppard?!" The hallway was dark but the lights came on, somewhat slowly, as he checked it out - no sign of the major. "John?!"
"Carson?" Elizabeth met him on the connecting walkway on his return to the Control Room. "What's wrong? Is Major Sheppard all right?"
"I dunno, Elizabeth." He shook his head at the worried look he received. "He's gone missin'."
"What?" She looked behind him to the obviously empty office. "But I thought-"
"Aye, 'Liz'beth, I thought he was asleep too." He hurried to the main stairway and saw Dana looking up and shaking her head.
onto part 2 of 2