Unascended

Chapter Eleven

General Jack O’Neill was waiting for Richard Woolsey when he stepped out of the Stargate into the gate room beneath Cheyenne Mountain. He gave him a quick nod through the glass from the control room above as Woolsey made the usual pleasantries to the guards on duty. Even though he’d certainly identified himself before stepping through, there were always precautions.

One young Marine came almost to attention. “Mr. Woolsey, General O’Neill wants to see you immediately, sir.”

“Lead the way,” Woolsey said. Whatever his neck was on the line about this time, O’Neill would give him the straight scoop. At least he’d know what he needed to prepare a defense for. There did seem to be an unusual number of Marines in the gate room today.

O’Neill was waiting in the conference room above with no sign of General Landry. He was also wearing camouflage instead of his usual pressed blues, a sure sign something was seriously amiss. Woolsey waited until the door shut behind him, then put his laptop case on the table. “We’ve been attacked?”

“Not here,” O’Neill said. “The Lucian Alliance hit one of our outposts a few days ago. But that’s not what you’re here for.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” Woolsey said. There were a lot of things he might be blamed for, starting with McKay’s Wraithification and subsequent de-Wraithification, but a Lucian Alliance attack in the Milky Way was stretching it.

“Roy Martin had a heart attack.”

It took Woolsey a moment to change gears. “The US representative to the IOA?” He’d only met Martin a few times, but he’d liked him. “He’s dead?”

“Fortunately not,” O’Neill said. “But he’s had bypass surgery and he’s got a long road ahead of him. He’s nearly eighty. Anyway, he’s tendered his resignation to the President. Says it’s time to retire for good.”

“That’s too bad,” Woolsey said. Actually it was worse than bad. Martin had been an unexpected defender of the Atlantis Expedition and of him. If he was out of the picture, things with the IOA were about to get a lot worse. They’d needed him.

O’Neill’s brows twitched. “And here I thought you were just one more cutthroat politico.”

“He’s a good man,” Woolsey said. He squared his shoulders. “I take it I’m supposed to explain something or other to the IOA on behalf of Atlantis, and that they’ve taken advantage of Martin’s absence to find fault with something. I don’t suppose this can be handled quickly so I can get back to Atlantis.”

O’Neill shook his head. “You aren’t going back to Atlantis. The President has appointed you to Martin’s seat. You’re the US representative to the IOA now.”

“Damn,” said Woolsey, and he meant it.

Rodney piloted the puddle-jumper out of the orbital Stargate, frowning as the sensors began to build a picture of the world that turned beneath. Teyla was in the shotgun seat, with Daniel and Ember behind, Ronon lurking just behind the Wraith. Rodney could feel Ember’s wry amusement at that not an official guard, but more than enough reminder that he was the alien here, the enemy tolerated as temporary ally.

*You know,* Teyla said mentally so that both he and Ember could hear it, *There are more people who understand mind speech on this mission than those who do not.*

There was a momentary pause, and Rodney felt the Wraith’s amusement just as he himself laughed. Right now he was the normal one. And that was different.

“What’s funny?” Daniel asked, squinting at the sensor picture.

“Nothing,” Rodney said. He turned the jumper slowly onto a search grid.

“So what happens now?” Daniel asked.

“We scan the planet for anything interesting,” Rodney said. “Mostly,” he glanced at the screen, “It says it’s 99 % water with a few volcanic islands that rise above sea level. No ice caps. Reasonable atmosphere, but hot.”

“How hot?” Teyla asked.

“28 degrees C in the temperate zone below us,” he said. Rodney shrugged. “Hot but not horrible.”

“So we’re scanning for naquadah?” Daniel asked, leaning over the seat.

“Or any other exotic materials. Or buildings. Or humans. No humans so far.”

“Those are awfully small landmasses and awfully isolated for humans,” Daniel said, his eyes on the map the sensors were building.

Ember also leaned forward. “That is so. But the Ancients liked islands for their experiments.”

*I know,* Teyla said mentally, and then glanced over at him as though she had not meant to speak, a swift, disturbing flash of an island surrounded by icy seas, of a Stargate flaring blue through falling snow Osprey’s memories, her long ago memories of the first Wraith queen who shared her blood. The memory was tinged with fear.

*It’s OK,* Rodney thought. *This isn’t that.*

*Well I know that,* Teyla replied, the warmth of her mental touch like a hand on his arm, appreciation of his friendship and happiness that he had reached out in kindness.

“Ah,” Ember said behind, as though he had understood something. “Not so different.”

“What?” Daniel asked. “Am I missing something?”

“They’re doing that mind thing again,” Ronon said. “We’re both missing something.” He sounded annoyed. “It’s rude to have conversations half the team can’t hear.”

“You’re talking telepathically?” Daniel said.

“It’s residual Wraith telepathy, OK?” Rodney snapped. “I can hear Teyla and she can hear me. And apparently Ember can hear both of us. I can’t help hearing her, so there’s no need to be a pill about it.”

“I thought you were both just speaking normally,” Ember said. “I didn’t intend to listen to something private.” He sounded abashed as he turned to Teyla. “I apologize. I did not mean to eavesdrop on your conversation with your pallax. Please accept my regret.”

“Her what?” Daniel leaned in with an expression that looked like he was taking notes.

“Pallax,” Ember said. “One of a queen’s chosen companions.”

“He is not my pallax,” Teyla said. “Rodney is my friend.”

“Is that not what I said?” Ember sounded confused.

“We are not physically involved,” Teyla said patiently. “To humans there is a distinction in terminology.”

“Ah.”

Daniel was all over it, of course. “So you’re saying that the mental intimacy of the telepathic bond suggested to you that Teyla and Rodney were…”

Ember nodded seriously. “I made the erroneous assumption that he was her pallax from the warmth of their speech. He is, after all, an extremely high status cleverman of distinction, and I presumed that he was also high in her favor.”

“That’s certainly true,” Rodney began.

“It is possible to esteem a male greatly and consider them a close friend without implying physical intimacy,” Teyla said to Ember. There was a note of amusement in her voice as she glanced at Rodney. “While it is certainly true that Rodney is brilliant and distinguished, that does not imply that I intend for him to be the father of my future children.”

“What? No, I…”

Daniel’s glance was going back and forth like a man watching a tennis match. “So you’re saying that…”

“His genetic material would be highly desirable,” Ember opined.

“I am certain that it would be,” Teyla said.

“I wouldn’t… I mean,” Rodney flailed.

“In order to preserve genetic diversity, and to produce offspring with the most desirable traits, a queen selects carefully among her zenana each time she chooses to bear a child,” Ember said to Daniel, who was trying to ask a question. “I am simply stating that McKay’s offspring would doubtless possess his high intelligence and good looks.”

“Well, of course they would, but…” Rodney said. He was fortunately interrupted by the buzzing of the jumper’s scanner. “Ah ha! It looks like we found something.”

“What is it?” Ronon asked.

Rodney adjusted the controls. “It looks like a building with an artificial power source. That way. Toward that archipelago.” He turned the jumper’s course toward it. “Let’s go check it out.”

“An active power source might be…” Daniel began.

The jumper’s alarms shrilled, map replaced by telemetry that identified two streaks of light rising upward.

“…an Ancient installation launching drones,” Daniel finished.

“I’m on it!” Rodney said, wrenching the jumper around and heading for space.

“You are not going to outrun them that way,” Teyla said. “They are faster than a puddle-jumper.”

“I’m getting some room,” Rodney said. Behind him, Ember was radiating anxiety in a very distracting way. “Then I’ll see if they’ll respond to the jumper identifying itself as an Ancient vehicle.” He mentally urged the jumper to broadcast, all the while keeping an eye on the vector of the two incoming drones now clearing the upper atmosphere. They were gaining, but not quickly. It actually was possible to run their propulsion plants down, but that would take a long time. It might be a better move to dial the gate, bug out, and then come back in an hour…

“There!” Daniel said, pointing at the heads up display. The drones were indeed powering down and dropping away.

Teyla breathed a sigh of relief. “It seems the installation responded to your message.”

“Nice flying, McKay,” Ronon rumbled.

Rodney twisted around in his seat. “Thank you,” he said.

Ronon shrugged. It was nice to be getting back on good terms with Ronon. The whole Wraith thing had strained their friendship.

Ancient letters flashed across the display. “They’re giving you landing coordinates,” Daniel said. He looked pleased. “It looks like this installation is still operative.”

“Which means it’s dangerous,” Ronon said.

“Which means it has stuff we want,” Rodney said. He frowned at the coordinates and at the screen. “The only problem here is that the coordinates are under water.”

Teyla blinked. “The jumper is submersible.”

“Well, yes.” Rodney didn’t like submerged jumpers. No, no, no.

“How are we supposed to get out if it’s underwater?” Ember asked.

Rodney turned back toward the coordinates, scanning as they dipped back into the atmosphere. “It looks like the landing coordinates are on a plateau just below sea level on one of the volcanic islands, and that the actual buildings are inside the caldera of the extinct volcano, and are dry. I think we could probably land at the coordinates, extend the shield of the jumper to have a small dry patch around us, and then run for the entrance of the tunnel that leads into the caldera.”

“What?” Ronon said.

“And if the shield collapses before we come back out, we swim?” Daniel asked.

“I’m sure it won’t,” Rodney said. “I can jury rig the shield generator…”

“There may be some Ancient technology in the corridor,” Daniel said. “We may be able to hack into that to get more power.”

“And then we could use that to extend the shield as far as we needed to in order to keep the water back…”

“Why don’t we just land in the caldera?” Teyla asked wearily. “Would not that be much simpler?”

Daniel and Rodney looked at each other.

“Well, yes,” Rodney said. “But it wouldn’t be as much fun.”

Ronon made a noise that sounded like a strangled laugh.

“I don’t understand,” Ember said.

“We will land in the caldera,” Teyla said.

It was difficult finding a flat enough place not to damage the bottom of the jumper, as the floor of the caldera was a mass of jumbled stones that jutted up like spikes. On the third pass Rodney was about to suggest a water landing again when he finally spotted a place.

“That’s deliberate construction,” Daniel said, pointing toward a pile of rocks off to their right.

“I don’t see anything,” Rodney said.

“Who’s the archaeologist here? Me or you?” Daniel asked.

Teyla took a deep breath and got up from her seat as the jumper settled onto the ground. “We will go and take a look.”

Outside, the stone walls of the caldera made a perfect bowl of sky, their black and gray colors livened wherever there was a ledge by long, trailing growths of yellow and pale green plants. The floor of the caldera itself was broken and jumbled, but more of the same plants grew in profusion, some of them waist high, nicely disguising sudden drops and pits.

Rodney found one by falling into it. “Yaaa!” he yelled as his left foot stepped on something that it turned out wasn’t there. Ember caught him, feeding hand grabbing the front of Rodney’s jacket, and Rodney heard the sudden whine of Ronon’s pistol powering up as he scrabbled for a foothold.

Ember pulled him back as Teyla put her hand on Ronon’s arm. “It is nothing,” she said. “Rodney lost his footing.”

“Right.” Ronon’s voice was grim as Ember released the front of Rodney’s jacket. “Be careful.” Whether he spoke to Rodney or Ember wasn’t clear.

*Thanks,* Rodney said, hoping he didn’t sound shaky.

*Of course.* Ember looked a little spooked himself, as though he’d caught at Rodney on instinct, not considering how the move looked.

Daniel had already scrambled ahead and was examining the rocks. They might be a section of low walls. “Oh this is interesting!” he called.

The others came over. “What is interesting?” Teyla asked.

“It looks like the structure was made of native materials. That’s unusual for an Ancient installation,” Daniel replied, running his hands over the stones.

“Where did the drones come from?” Rodney asked.

“Over here.” Ronon stood on a little rise. “I’ve got a metal door here that’s been opened recently.” The others climbed up. A wide dark metal panel about ten feet by ten feet was set into the stone, scrape marks along it showing where it had slid back into the rock along tracks.

“That’s the door,” Daniel said. “That’s a very standard configuration for a door that covers a drone launcher.”

“It’s just like the ones in Atlantis,” Rodney said, kneeling down. “I can get this puppy open in five minutes.”

“And then we’ll see what’s down there,” Ronon said.

Rodney was as good as his word, Teyla thought. It was five minutes before there was a grating sound and Rodney stood up. “Ah ha!” he said as the metal panel began to slide open. Beneath it a dark shaft descended further than they could see.

Ronon looked down. “That’s great,” he said. “But how do we get down?”

“There is rappelling gear in the jumper’s supplies,” Teyla said. “We should have a hundred feet of line. Unless you think it is further than that?” She looked at Rodney.

“I wouldn’t think so.” He shrugged. “Atlantis’ drone launchers are only about thirty-five feet.”

“The ones in Antarctica on Earth are a lot deeper than that,” Daniel pointed out. “We had to cut a shaft more than a hundred feet deep to get to the Ancient installation.”

“Yes but that was because the ice had accumulated,” Rodney said. “It wasn’t that deep originally. It’s not supposed to be that deep.”

Teyla glanced down the shaft thoughtfully. “I do not see the bottom, but that is because the shaft lies in shadow with the sun beneath the rim of the caldera. It is getting quite late in the day.”

Daniel glanced up at the sky as if he had just noticed that the sun was sinking. “This planet has rather short days.”

“All the more reason to do this now,” Teyla said. “Ronon and Daniel, go and get the rappelling gear from the jumper. You can lower me down first and we will see how deep it is.”

Ember frowned. “Surely you will let one of us precede you. We do not know what is down there and if there are hazards…”

“I am the lightest,” Teyla said. “And the most accustomed to rappelling.” She gave him a smile, as of course he was not used to queens taking the forward position. “We share the hazards based on our skills. And which do you think is easier that Ronon belay me down or that I belay him down?”

The answer to that was obvious, and Ember inclined his head. For once Daniel hadn’t argued. He and Ronon were halfway back to the jumper.

Rodney looked up from where he bent over the door with a smile, though he spoke without words. *Teyla likes being in charge. That’s not new, right?*

*Certainly not,* Ember replied, humor in his mental voice though it did not touch his face.

Teyla felt a sense of satisfaction spread through her, familiar and strange at the same time, the dual mental touches of Rodney and Ember, her dear friend upon whom she relied, and Ember who she was coming to like. It was right to reach for them thus, to feel the sense of them.

*And how not?* Ember thought. *This is how it is.*

Rodney got to his feet, a thoughtful expression on his face, and she heard his thought before he concealed it, to know what others thought of him, to feel their acceptance and genuine admiration, to have no doubt of friendship or wonder if someone snickered behind his back…

*You are my dear friend,* Teyla thought to him. *And ever shall be, whether we can speak this way or not.*

The sun dipped behind an outcropping on the caldera rim, casting them into shadow. Rodney turned toward the figures now at the tailgate of the jumper. “Hey Ronon! Bring some lights too!”

Ronon nodded to show his understanding, going aboard to get them from the bench seat storage.

*Do you always carry everything with you?* Ember asked bemusedly.

*We try to,* Rodney said. *Never know what you’ll need, right?*

The day was ending as Ronon belayed Teyla down the shaft. She descended carefully despite the smooth walls, the flashlight clipped to her belt illuminating the walls beneath her. Ten feet, twenty… “I see the floor,” she called up. Another twenty or so feet beneath her was a pitted grid, a round aperture in the midst of it through which protruded the nose of an Ancient drone.

“Great,” Ronon called down.

“Now when you get to the grid,” Rodney called, “if it’s like the ones in Atlantis there will be a panel that swings downward for maintenance. It has a catch on the underside. You’ll need to find the catch, reach through and release it.”

“I will do that,” Teyla promised. Her booted feet were almost at the bottom, and she let herself down the last bit of the way, making certain the grid would take her weight before she stood upon it and unclipped the lines. It gave a little, and she moved her feet off the panel that should open outward. “I have found it,” she called out.

The ropes slithered, Ronon hauling them back up. Teyla reached through and unfastened the latch, then let the panel swing down with a rasping, rusty noise. She shone her flashlight through. It was only five feet or so to the floor, the length of the drone that stood on its carousel lifted into the firing position. Teyla sat down on the edge of the grid, then jumped down to the floor. She put her hand to her radio, as it was probably best to use it at this distance. “I am in the firing chamber,” she said. “All is well.”

A white light jiggled on the wall of the shaft above, and in a few moments she saw Dr. Jackson’s feet as he was belayed down.

Teyla touched her radio again. “Rodney? What is next?”

“If you follow the carousel to the empty side you’ll come out into a storage room,” Rodney replied. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

And leave Ember and Ronon alone above? That seemed unwise. “No, send Ember down next,” Teyla said.

Ronon said something which, via Rodney’s radio, sounded like, “It’s your funeral.”

Teyla shook her head, following the carousel around as Rodney had instructed. She ducked through the opening and was in the storage room. It was empty except for five more drones waiting on the carousel. A very familiar looking door was shut, and though there were intact fixtures there was no light. Well, Rodney would activate them with the ATA gene when he arrived. Teyla tried the door — yes, the manual release was just where it would be in Atlantis. It moved back jerkily on its track.

Dr. Jackson was just behind her. “The lettering on the door says, ‘Caution’”, he said. “This must be the service corridor for the launching system. There’s clearly power. If there’s a working ZPM…”

“That will be very useful indeed,” Teyla said.

There was a sound behind, and Ember ducked through the opening from the shaft. He did not have a flashlight, but then he did not need one. The dim light suited his vision very well. “Is there a ZPM?” he asked.

“We do not know,” Teyla said. “Dr. Jackson is hypothesizing that there may be since it seems that there is power to the systems.”

Ember nodded. “That seems likely. I would guess that the control suite is deeper in the installation, closer to what should be the main entrance. Generally the ZPM is not far from the control room.”

Teyla flashed her light up and down the corridor. There was some Ancient lettering at eye level to the left. “Dr. Jackson, what does that say?”

“It says Watch Your Step,” he replied, his eyes roving over the walls. “Nothing that would give me an idea whether left or right leads us to the control room.”

“And that?” Teyla asked, shining her light over lettering on the floor by the carousel.

“Disconnect Power Before Servicing,” he said. “The Ancients were pretty prosaic sometimes.” He glanced down the corridor. “Let’s try right.”

As Teyla could see no difference between them, there was no sense in arguing for the sake of arguing. She followed Jackson down the hall to the right, Ember behind her.

“I’m starting down,” Rodney said in her earpiece.

The corridor to the right turned and broadened, with several doors along the left hand side before it ended in a downward stair. Flaking paint clung to the ceiling in a shade that might have once been green. Perhaps that meant they were entering less utilitarian parts of the complex? Teyla was forming the question for Dr. Jackson when Ronon’s voice sounded loud in her ear.

“We’ve got a problem,” he said.

At that moment there was a rumble, the carousel coming to life and the drone firing systems coming on line.

“We’ve got a ship incoming,” Ronon said.

Rodney heard the faint clicks, the drone in the firing cradle beneath him coming to life, getting ready to launch. Straight up the tube he was dangling in, still ten feet from the bottom of the shaft. “Oh no no no! This is not happening!”

“Rodney! Get out of there!” Teyla yelled on the radio, for all the help that was. Didn’t she think he’d get out of there just as fast as he could — if he could?

Now the drone’s propulsion systems were coming on. He could feel the wave of heat rising. Wonderful. If the launching drone didn’t simply spear through him and carry what was left of him into orbit, it would probably incinerate him.

“I’ll pull you up!” Ronon yelled. Like he could do that in the approximately one second left.

This was going to be just like that rogue drone that nearly killed Sheppard and O’Neill in Antarctica…

And Rodney knew exactly what to do. STOP he thought with all his strength. STOP. Power down and stop.

The drone’s ignition died. The light that had been building abruptly ceased.

“What happened?” Jackson demanded from below.

“What did you do?” Teyla asked.

Rodney slid down the last ten feet of rope and rested his feet on the grid, hoping his voice was perfectly carefree. “I’ve got the ATA gene. It’s no problem.”

“What?” Ember said.

“He told it to turn off,” Teyla said. She sounded breathless, and as he looked down through the grid she ducked back into the firing chamber hurriedly. “Rodney, are you all right?”

“I’m great,” Rodney said. He unclipped the line and gingerly lowered himself through the hatch.

“We’re not,” Ronon said grimly. “That ship is still incoming.”

“That’s not a good sign,” Ember said.

From above there was the report of Ronon’s energy pistol, and Rodney dodged back away from the shaft, nearly running into Teyla. There was a flash of white light that seared his eyes, and then he knew no more.

There was a hand at his throat, long nails cool against his skin, opening the top of his jacket. Wraith! Some part of Rodney screamed, and he drew a deep, heaving breath, his eyes opening on darkness.

*It is I,* Ember said as Rodney shoved him away. *We have been stunned.*

*No shit,* Rodney said. It was absolutely black. He could see nothing. *Where are we? Why’re you talking mind to mind?*

*I thought until we knew where we were and what was happening it was best not to speak aloud,* Ember said. *As to the rest, I know no more than you. I woke only shortly before you did.* He moved. Rodney could hear the creak of his leather tunic in the darkness. *Jackson lies over there. He is unconscious.*

*Teyla? Ronon?*

*I have not found them yet.*

*Wraith,* Rodney thought.

Ember’s mind was cool, considering. *If so, it is another hive,* he said at last. *And I do not know the technology.*

*And I should believe you?* Rodney asked. *I’ve seen Wraith mind games, remember?*

He heard the creak of leather again, and Ember’s hand found his arm, sliding down to touch palm to palm. *Do I deceive you?*

Open, clear, there was no deceit there. Ember was telling the truth. Which of course didn’t mean that there wasn’t another hive in this. Ember wouldn’t necessarily know.

There was a familiar moan, and Rodney whipped around, eyes searching the darkness fruitlessly. “Teyla?” For once he wished he had his Wraith vision back.

The sound of Ember moving, and then Teyla’s voice, mumbling as though she came out from under anesthetic. “Rodney?”

*He is here,* Ember said mind to mind, *And so am I. We have been stunned and we do not know where we are.*

*Where are Ronon and Dr. Jackson?*

Rodney put out one hand in the dark. That was Teyla’s foot. OK, that was Ember’s thigh where he knelt beside her.

*Jackson is unconscious over there,* Ember said.

*Hang on,* Rodney said. He pressed the little button for the LEDs that lit the face of his watch. In the absolute darkness the tiny light seemed incredibly bright, but it was just bright enough to make out the general forms of his companions. He turned away, trying to direct the light around. There was another darker lump beyond Teyla. Rodney scrambled over. “Ronon?” He let go of the light, fumbling to find his friend’s carotid artery. There was the pulse, slow and steady. *He’s alive,* he said to Teyla and Ember. *But he’s out cold.*

*So is Dr. Jackson,* Ember replied.

Teyla sat up, Ember steadying her. Her voice sounded a little stronger. *We have greater resistance to whatever was used than they did.*

*I am fully Wraith,* Ember said. *And then Rodney. And then you.*

*Which does suggest this isn’t a Wraith thing,* Rodney said. *If it’s least effective on Wraith.*

*Or that it is,* Teyla said darkly. *Like the device we found on the planet that caused half our people to kill each other.*

*The one you were immune to,* Rodney said. *And Sheppard shot me.*

*That one,* Teyla said and felt in the pockets of her BDUs, producing a little LED flashlight on a clip. Teyla turned it on, the light seeming unbearably bright after complete darkness.

Ember got to his feet. *I am more interested in finding out where we are.*

*I do not know,* Teyla said. *But we were not carried here. See?* There were no marks in the dust of the floor around where she lay other than where Rodney and Ember had disturbed it.

*Beaming technology,* Rodney said. *So if not Wraith, Asgard.*

*Vanir,* Ember said, his mental tone agreement. *What you call Asgard.*

Rodney got to his feet, trying to illuminate the space around them with his watch, which wasn’t much use. It just wasn’t bright enough for human vision, but maybe it was enough for Wraith. *Ember, what do you see?*

The Wraith got to his feet. *We are in a small room,* he said. *There is an archway over there with another chamber beyond it. I see no furnishings or equipment of any kind, though there are marks on the walls where there might have been such in the past.*

*A typical abandoned Ancient installation,* Rodney said with more confidence than he felt.

*No locked doors?* Rodney could hear the rise in Teyla’s mental tone. *That suggests we are not prisoners.* She got to her feet slowly. *I do not see that Ronon and Dr. Jackson are in any imminent danger here. Let us see if we can find a way back to the jumper. Then we can return with the first aid kit and a stretcher if need be.*

With Ember in the lead, since his vision was best, they went through the arch into the room on the other side, Teyla walking right behind Ember with her hand on his back and Rodney behind her with his hand on hers like some kids’ game. It was a much larger room with multiple doors like the ones in Atlantis all sitting in the open position, though there was no furniture and equipment remaining. There were also no windows, as presumably they were still underground.

*Open. Close. Lights on,* Rodney thought. Nothing happened.

*There is a lighting fixture over here,* Ember said.

*Rodney,* Teyla began.

*I know. On. On. On.* Rodney thought at it. Again nothing. He went over and touched it, hands roving over the very familiar fixture.

*Will this help?* Teyla shone her flashlight so that he could see the fixture a little.

*There’s no power,* Rodney said. *That’s the problem.*

*There was power to launch drones before,* Ember said.

*Well, either that was the last power in the ZPM,* Rodney began.

*Or they have taken the ZPM,* Teyla concluded grimly.

*Yeah.* Rodney blew out a long breath.

*Here is a stairwell down,* Ember said. *Toward the main levels?*

*Worth a try,* Rodney said.

They trooped down the flight and through another hall. Nothing stirred. There was no sound. The air was fresh enough, but there was no soft breath of ventilation.

*The fans have stopped,* Ember said. *The air is good enough for now, but it won’t remain so.*

*Ah ha!* Rodney exclaimed. There was a familiar set of doors ahead, the usual markings for a technical center, and here there were signs of activity. The floor had been wiped clean except in the corners by the passage of large items, and the doors were not quite fully open. Inside, tables stood emptied of their terminals, scrapes and marks showing where they had been recently removed. Even worse, there was the podium to one side, the hexagonal carriage in the upright position and empty.

*They took the ZPM,* Teyla said. *And who knows what else?*

“Lorvine,” Elizabeth said. “What world is that?” Dekaas had found her a long sleeved white knit shirt that was warmer for shipboard than the clothes of the Mazatla, and that felt more right to her, more like something she used to wear. With the baggy gray pants she’d acquired, looking in a mirror she recognized herself. Her hair was growing longer than she’d worn it in a while, but she looked like herself. Pale, yes, one would expect that on shipboard. But she looked like herself.

“It’s a mining world,” Dekaas said. “Or rather, it’s a nearly deserted world that has some minor mining operations. The atmosphere itself is toxic, but at some point in the past someone moved their Ring underground. The population is never very large, a few hundred at most, living in the mines themselves in fairly deplorable conditions. But the ores are worth a great deal, and there are always people who find it worth it to work the seams. We trade there from time to time for raw metals.”

“What do they get?” Elizabeth asked. She was finding herself fascinated by the shadow economy of Pegasus, by the complex interactions that took place out of sight of all governments. Or perhaps in the absence of all governments was a better term.

“Food mostly,” Dekaas said. “We just picked up food on Mazatla, so I expect the captain thinks Lorvine is a logical next stop.”

“Aren’t they worried about the Wraith?”

Dekaas shrugged. “The mines are too far underground for a hive ship to be a problem, and the Ring is in too enclosed a space for Darts. Sometimes some parties on foot come through the Ring, but not often. It’s not a large population, and Wraith biotechnology doesn’t depend on metal ores. It’s not actually a big problem. The Wraith don’t want Lorvine.”

Elizabeth nodded. “That’s fascinating.”

He looked at her sharply. “You have a great deal of interest in how people live.”

“I do.” Elizabeth considered. “Atelia said that on Sateda she was training to be a scholar who studies other cultures. Perhaps I was a scholar too.”

“That could be,” Dekaas said. “And a Wraith connection does not preclude Sateda for your origin. Sateda fell ten years ago. You might have been captured then and only recently released.”

“That’s true,” she agreed. It was possible, though nothing about that felt familiar. “Well, if I can dial Sateda from Lorvine, I will go to Sateda.”

Elizabeth wondered how the Traveler ship intended to transfer people to the mining colony if it was underground, but she did not have to wonder long. It was no more than a few days before they arrived, the Durant settling onto a surface bare and devoid of any visible technology except a landing beacon. Through the windows she could see nothing but a sandy gray surface obscured by great clouds of dust kicked up by the ship’s landing. There was the same grinding sound forward she had heard before and the plastic tube snaked out, mating to an airlock door half-obscured on the surface.

“Very clever,” she said with a nod. “Also very defensible.”

Dekaas had joined her at the mess windows, a medical pack slung over his shoulder. “Very,” he said. “A hive ship could blow it up, but what would be the point?”

Elizabeth glanced at the bag. “You’re going down?”

“To see if they have any injured who need treating.” He shrugged. “It’s my trade and my skill. I barter for my work, like anyone.”

“I’ll help you carry your things,” she said.

This time crossing through the transparent tube wasn’t difficult at all, not with the planet outside and gravity pulling her firmly down. It wasn’t like free fall at all. On the other side of the planet’s airlock doors was a wide platform with a metal cage around it that slowly descended into the depths, a few lights here and there not really illuminating the shaft.

“This part always makes me a little uncomfortable,” Dekaas said with a smile as they stood among the other traders going down.

“I think I’ve seen something like this before,” Elizabeth said. This wasn’t at all alarming.

The caverns below were no more well lit, raw stone walls with openings from one chamber to another. A crowd had gathered around the bottom of the shaft, and Dekaas stiffened. More than one of them was bandaged, mostly with filthy pieces of cloth around their heads or limbs, some with arms in slings. “What happened here?” he asked loudly.

A big woman with cropped gray hair lifted her hand in greeting. “Dekaas! I’ve got work for you and more.”

He stepped out of the cage as soon as it rested, Elizabeth behind him. “Ho, Fenna! Did you have a cave in or an accident with explosives?” he asked concernedly.

“Neither.” Fenna spat on the dusty floor. “This was the work of the accursed Genii.”

“The Genii?” Elizabeth said.

Fenna nodded. “A day and a half ago they came through the Ring. They took all the prepared ore at gunpoint, told us we were part of their cooperative economic system. Anybody who resisted got it. Mostly people bashed with gunstocks, pistol whipped, things like that, but they did shoot two. One of them’s dead.” She spat again, apparently at the recitation of the Genii’s crimes. “It was the work of a full quarter, and now every bit of it’s gone. And a dozen wounded to boot. It was that she-wolf Sora.”

“I’ve heard of her,” Dekaas said. “She’s bad news. Where are your worst wounded?”

“Right this way,” Fenna said. “We’ve done the best we can for them. But Dekaas, in terms of payment…” She swallowed as if it pained her to say that they didn’t have anything left to pay him with.

“Consider it a debt,” Dekaas said. “Elizabeth, if you wouldn’t mind helping me? I could use another pair of hands.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth said. “I won’t leave when there’s work to be done.” She followed Fenna and Dekaas to the makeshift aid station.