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11/08/2005: "Nano Day 7"

music: The tiny little fan in the living room... Roxy's sniffing
mood: A little buzzed, sort of tired, but content

I'm 300 short of my daily goal, which means I have to write an extra 300 tomorrrow at the labs. Hopefully I won't get distracted trying to changed SDB from phpbb to the new (hopefully simpler) forum that I found. Will probably require me temporarily deleting the gallery, but that's okay. Nothing of utmost importance there anyway, and will have to reintegrate the user files anyway (but that has nothing to do with Nano, so I digress).

I was thinking about going ahead and doing another 300, but it's already 12:30 and I need to be up by 9 to do my French HW. Ahh, the joys of procrastination. Chapter 3 has finished, but not where I expected. I must ask, why, dear god WHY is the thing that really starts the plot rolling not starting until chapter four? 8000+ words in? I was hoping to have the whole "Hey Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore" be the cliffie (I guess it still could be, I could zap them back to the past [oops, spoiler plot point. My bad] and have them not realize it for a while.) Anyhoo, maybe one of my betas will figure out a way for me to tighten it up. Probably will wind up having to get rid of all that character introspection that popped out of NOWHERE (but really helped the word count).

Daily Word Total: 2103
Total Count: 8325

Tomorrow's Count should be... 11,000 (translating into a hopeful 2700 words tomorrow... basically a full chapter. Vwee!)

(cont'd from yesterday's not-so-much cliffhanger)

“I know,” Sheppard snapped. “Fine, Ronon go with him. Make sure he doesn’t blow anything up.”

McKay huffed up and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Sheppard again.

“And keep your radios on. Let me know if you find anything.”

McKay closed his mouth, and instead fixed Sheppard with the most annoyed glare he could muster. It may have worked wonders, but John was already gathering his gear to start his trek to the gate. He tried to squash his annoyance at the colonel, and turned to Barclay who had been watching their exchange with interest. He held up the piece he had lifted from the wall. “Mind if I take this along? There’s a chance it could be a vital component to whatever’s out there.”

“Be my guest,” Barclay smiled. “I’m sure our ancestors… and the Atlanteans would prefer it in its original location. It was brought here by a friend of my grandfather’s who had explored the ruins one day.”

“Thank you,” McKay carefully packed the item next to his laptop, and then started to collect his gear, as Ronon regarded him impatiently. He paused long enough to glance up. “What?”

“If you did not move so slow, we would have our guide and be on our way by now.”

“Please,” McKay snorted and continued his packing at his own pace.

Barclay tried to hide a smile at their antics. “I will go to the village and see if there is anyone available to guide you. Will you need a guide as well Colonel?”

“I think we can make our way back to the Gate all right, but thanks,” Sheppard stood at the doorway to the kitchen. “Although I’d sure appreciate a way to get around all those stares and gawkers.”

“Simply take the path through the back of the room here into the forest, it is a hunter’s path, and will bypass all of the homes,” Barclay motioned to the door leading out of the kitchen area. “When you reach a fork, take a right and it should take you back to the main trail.”

“Perfect,” Sheppard grinned broadly and motioned towards the door with his head. “Teyla?”

“I am ready Colonel,” she started after him, but tossed a smile over her shoulder at McKay and Ronon. “I hope that your search is successful Doctor.”

“Thank you Teyla,” he tossed back, hoping to get a final rise out of Sheppard, but he was already out the door. With an annoyed huff he looked at Ronon and Barclay. “Well, where’s that guide?”

* * * * *

The trip back to the Stargate, while not the most direct route and took longer than their initial trip into the town, had the added benefit of no adoring fans. It also gave both him and Teyla more time to think and talk, especially since there was no chance of anyone eavesdropping and discovering where they were from. Now Sheppard didn’t really believe the inhabitants of P5X-729* would intentionally alert the Wraith, but the fact that the Wraith were culling the planet meant that one of them could, and very possibly would, reveal the fact that Atlantis was still standing. And there was that whole standing orders thing too.

“What do you think?” He asked Teyla finally, once he was sure they were alone.

“It depends on what you are asking Colonel,” she teased slightly. “I think of many things, as Dr. McKay would say.”

“Just what I need, another one,” he muttered.

“I understand that you are still angry with him for what happened with Project Arcturus, but he is trying to make it up to you. Even Ronon commented on it once,” she admonished.

She hated to see her teammates bickering, especially Sheppard and McKay. Things had not even been this tense between them after the whole Chaya incident. She still harbored some resentment at Ronon for using her friendship to murder his former commander, but unlike Sheppard she was careful not to let her feelings show to the others. After all, even now Ronon was still finding it a hard time reintegrating himself into a society. All those instincts and insecurities from being on the run for seven years would not go away in a matter of weeks or months.

“I’m not angry,” Sheppard ran a hand through his hair and sighed, “it’s just every now and then he still acts so arrogant, just like he did then…”

“He has been that way most of his life, do not expect such a drastic change to happen immediately,” she said, echoing her own thoughts that she had been mulling over about Ronon. “He is trying though. This has been a most unusual day…”

“Which brings me back to my original question, what do you think about that? McKay is the least of my problems at the moment.”

“It is a remarkable coincidence, everything that happened, and your resemblance to this ‘Shafer’,” she began slowly, “so much, that I do not believe it to be coincidence.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Well Colonel, it is common knowledge that you have a powerful ATA gene, and you obviously had an Ancient as an ancestor…”

“You think this Schafer of theirs is the guy who’s responsible for the magic gene?”

“It is possible. Barclay himself said that he was supposed to have returned to Atlantis after saving their people. Perhaps this was his home before the war with the Wraith, and he had to retreat to Atlantis to help his people there?”

“And then returned back to Earth after the Siege?” Sheppard asked, and shook his head. “Awful busy man.”

“He would not be the only in his line to try to save a whole galaxy,” she raised an eyebrow.

“I just do what I can,” Sheppard shrugged a shoulder. “But you’re probably right. If he was from Atlantis, and came back, he’s probably the guy I got the gene from.”

Up ahead the path veered off in two directions.

“Oh look, there’s our turn. Can’t wait to see what Weir thinks of this.”

* * * * *

“Just how much farther is this city?” McKay complained as he struggled to keep up with Ronon and Torn’s long strides. Barclay had been able to wrangle the hunter as their guide before he left with Naick and Alech to resume their hunt.

They’d been hiking for over half an hour now, and after the long walk to the village, McKay really was regretting bringing his laptop and usual array of equipment. Admittedly it was most likely required for any in-depth analysis of leftover Ancient technology, but he always wound up carrying all of it, because God forbid he share the load with his teammates and risk slowing them down.

By now both Ronon and Torn were several yards ahead of him, and showed no sign of letting up on their ruthless pace. He was sure the Satedan took some sort of sick pleasure in running circles around him and everyone else on Atlantis, and maybe Torn had some similar fetish. As silence met his request, he tried again, a little louder and even less patient than before.

“Hell-o?”

“He said another two miles. If you could keep up, maybe you’d hear better.” Ronon called back.

“‘If you could keep up, maybe you’d hear better’,” McKay mocked in a higher pitch voice, “maybe if I were freakishly tall I wouldn’t have this problem. Or hey, how about that whole ‘no man left behind’ thing?”

He continued to complain to himself as they started to hike uphill, making McKay’s calves burn with the effort. Inwardly he cursed himself for suggesting this field trip, and vowed revenge on the two gigantic freaks in front of him, who hadn’t even broken a sweat. It just wasn’t fair.

Before they’d picked up their pace, he had been studying the energy signatures from earlier, trying to piece together what it could possibly be. The possibility of leftover, perhaps pristine Ancient technology was too good to pass up. And the fact that it was still running with such an obvious energy signature even after ten thousand years meant that it was probably something important.

Finally they crested the hill that lead out of the valley. Through the tree line he could see almost as far as the horizon the crumbled ruins of a society that had once stood as tall as any of the metropolises back on Earth. It was humbling in a way. He had seen the destruction of the Wraith first hand, but he had never seen something so big, so modern yet so very old, crushed into rubble. It made him shudder to think of what would happen if they ever found their way back to the Milky Way.

“That’s a whole lot of city to search,” Ronon remarked to him as Rodney caught up to the two taller men.

“Well if you two wouldn’t mind stopping for a bit,” an out of breath McKay waved his hand at the ruins before letting his pack drop unceremoniously to the ground, “I can pinpoint the source of this energy reading.”

Ronon dropped to sit on his haunches, reminding McKay of a feline waiting for its prey to appear. “Do what you wish.”

“Thank you,” he spat back as he flopped to the ground and fished out his scanner with one hand, and grabbed his canteen with the other. “And if you’d be so kind, it would be appreciated if you slowed down for the packmules.”

Ronon shrugged and watched the dead city, trying to dispel the gnawing feeling of something bad about to happen.

* * * * *

“Wait John, there’s a what?” The disbelief in Elizabeth Weir’s voice was understandable.

“I know it is hard to believe,” Teyla chimed in, “I would not believe such a claim if I did not see it with my own eyes.”

“Fifty feet tall? Isn’t that a little excessive?”

“Funny how you believe it when Teyla says it and not me.”

“No offense Colonel, but claiming to have found an ancient monument erected to your memory is a little out there.”

“It’s not my memory,” he reminded her oh-so-patiently. “There’s a possibility it’s the Ancient Sheppard of days gone by. Mr. ATA Gene himself.”

“So what you’re saying is that even after ten thousand years, no one’s been able to tame that hair?”

“This isn’t funny!” He protested, glaring at Teyla who had cracked a smile at Elizabeth’s joke.

“Of course John, it’s not,” she agreed a little more serious this time. “How are the locals taking it?”

“Oh, just about how you’d think. If McKay were here he’d be claiming they’re ready to erect a second monument.”

“Dr. McKay may be a little envious of the attention Colonel Sheppard is receiving,” Teyla translated.

“He can have it, it’s downright creepy.” Sheppard rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “Honestly I have no idea how to go from here. They want our help Elizabeth, or at the very least mine, for whatever that’s worth. But I’m not some Ancient Messiah. I don’t see this ending good.”

“I understand John,” Weir’s tone was more understanding now. “It must be a very difficult position. It’s probably wise to recall your team and send a delegation to discuss an alliance with them.”

“Good luck prying McKay away from those ruins,” Sheppard muttered.

“Ruins? Is that where he is?”

“Well you have to admit, it’s a lot easier to make a phone call home this way.”

“What’s he found?”

“I don’t know, he and Ronon left about the same time we did. They’re supposed to call on the radio if they find anything.”

“I see. And what about you John?”

“What about me?”

“Do you feel comfortable staying there, or should I recall your team?”

Teyla glanced at her team leader, seeing the emotions warring in his eyes. She knew from experience that he hated to give up on anything or anyone, and giving up on a mission just because it made him uncomfortable didn’t seem very characteristic, even though in this case it might be the best action.

“I can handle it. Teyla and I will see what else we can find out about what exactly went on while we wait for Ronon and McKay to get back with us.”

“Are you sure?”

There was a moment’s hesitation. “Yes.”

“All right. I’m extending your mission until tomorrow. I expect a full report on your findings. While a very puzzling mystery, we can’t stay here forever.”

“Trust me. We won’t.” Sheppard agreed.

“Very well. Atlantis out.”

-end chapter 3-