“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.