Atlantis: Quest for the Lost City (Chapter 5)
by Rheanna
Inspired by fanart by leyna55

Fandom: Atlantis
Summary: A chapter from a non-existent Atlantis steampunk AU with zeppelins and giant mechanical spiders. No, really.
Rating: PG
Timeline: Completely AU
Completed: 2008/04
Length: 5,500 words
Notes: Oh, man, this one requires some explanation. This fic was inspired by a superb piece of fanart by leyna55 depicting the team in a steampunk setting with an airship in the background. (The picture is below, reproduced with kind permission of the artist; the original LJ post is here). Leyna was kind enough to share her imagined backstory for the characters, at which point I thought, somewhat incoherently, OMG, Atlantis steampunk AU! How cool would that be! and asked her if I could write a fic set in that universe. What I ended up writing was a chapter of a fic set in that universe, or maybe a chapter from a non-existent adventure serial from a monthly magazine called something like Fantastical Voyages.

I am very grateful to Leyna for allowing me to play with her wonderful re-imagining of the SGA 'verse.

There are more notes at the end of the fic.

THE STORY SO FAR:

When Teyla Emmagan, heiress and amateur historian, discovered a map which holds the key to the location of the LOST CITY OF ATLANTIS, she did not know she was taking her first step on an incredible journey filled with fantastic discoveries and mortal danger! The first person she approached to join her expedition to find the Lost City was the adventurer Ronon Dex, whose renown as a big game hunter is matched by his notoriety as the disinherited younger son of Lord Randolph Dex. A chance meeting with brilliant but eccentric inventor Professor Rodney McKay led to Teyla advancing him sufficient funds to complete the construction of his prototype Airship, the Pegasus. The party was completed by the addition of Major John Sheppard, a daring aviator with a dark past, recruited by Teyla just hours before their departure when the expedition's original pilot was killed in a mysterious accident.

Together, these four intrepid individuals set off in the Pegasus for the distant land described enigmatically on Teyla's map as the REALM OF THE ANCIENTS. Their journey so far has been filled with incident, but at last they successfully reached the edge of the mysterious territories marked on the map. Just as Teyla hoped their goal was within reach, disaster struck when the Pegasus was attacked by a strange flying creature. The airship plunged into the dense green canopy if the jungle below, and Teyla feared the terrifying sight would be the last thing she would ever see…

NOW READ ON as this exciting story continues!

ATLANTIS: QUEST FOR THE LOST CITY
A Tale of Adventure and Mystery

CHAPTER FIVE:
"PERIL IN THE JUNGLE"

Teyla woke up to the sound of someone saying her name.

"Miss Emmagan? Can you hear me, Miss Emmagan?"

She blinked, opened her eyes and attempted to sit up. This proved to be an unwise decision, as immediately a wave of vertigo threatened to overcome her.

"Not too fast," the voice cautioned, and now that she was fully cognizant of her surroundings, Teyla recognized it was Mr. Dex. "Here, have some water," he said.

"Thank you," she murmured, and sipped gratefully at the mouth of the bottle he was holding to her lips. The water was tepid and tasted a little stale, but it washed the grime from her tongue and was most welcome.

"Are you hurt?" Dex's eyes were dark with concern. Teyla mentally catalogued the bruises and aches she felt and, with great relief, concluded that none of her injuries were serious, although she would certainly have to loosen the stays of her corset if she intended to move very far in the near future.

"I am uninjured," she told him. At that moment, Teyla's memories of the airship's terrifying plunge out of the sky came flooding back to her, bringing with them sharp concern for the other two members of her party. "What of the Professor and Major Sheppard? Did they survive the crash?"

The corners of Dex's mouth quirked upwards in amusement. "Oh, yes. Although if McKay gets his way, Sheppard won't live very much longer."

Sure enough, Teyla could hear the sounds of a heated argument coming from somewhere out of sight. Professor McKay appeared to be doing most of the arguing; Teyla could hear the tone, although not the detail, of his furious and increasingly high-pitched diatribe. Occasionally a single word would float distinctly to the surface of the rant: among those Teyla caught were "reckless", "stupid" and, several times, "half-witted".

"We should intervene before they come to blows," Teyla said. "I think, with your assistance, I can stand now, Mr. Dex."

Dex put the stopper back on the water bottle and replaced the flask in its loop on his belt. He held out his arm to Teyla and she used his weight to anchor her as she pulled herself to her feet, gasping a little as she did so -- yes, those stays would definitely need to be loosened, and soon. Once she was on her feet and it was apparent to both of them that she was going to remain on them unassisted, he withdrew his arm without prompting. Dex, Teyla reflected as she dusted down her ripped skirts, was a model of courtesy, offering her his physical support without any of the awkwardness or embarrassment which was endemic in the refined circles Teyla inhabited at home and which tried her patience to exhaustion. It was a great pity, she thought, that polite society had closed its door upon Dex so firmly, as he was a truer gentleman than any of the men of her acquaintance who called themselves such.

Once upright, Teyla let out a second gasp, this time from shock rather than breathlessness. The damage the Pegasus had sustained in the crash was extensive. The airship's giant envelope had been punctured and now sagged like a vast bed-sheet over the surrounding trees and foliage. The cabin had fared better, but the rear of the compartment was a twisted mass of metal, the graceful lines of the Professor's design quite ruined. Little wonder he was upset.

"Perhaps it is not so bad as it appears," she said, adopting the tone of voice her father had often used when suggesting that a walk would be beneficial in spite of the rain.

"It's exactly as bad as it appears," Professor McKay said as he walked up to them. The Major was not far behind him. Teyla was greatly relieved to see they were both uninjured, save for a few scratches on Major Sheppard's cheek, doubtless sustained when the glass of the cockpit had shattered upon impact. "No, in fact, it's worse."

"If the rips could be mended --" Teyla began, but the Professor was waving his hand dismissively.

"Of course the fabric can be patched," he said. "I designed it in sections precisely to allow for that kind of repair. No, no, the problem is going to be replacing the buoyancy gas which was lost."

"Don't know about that," Dex said. "We're not short of hot air with you around."

"This is hardly the time for jokes, Mr. Dex, least of all ones at the expense of the person you're depending on to get you out of this mess," the Professor snapped.

Teyla looked meaningfully at Dex, but he only smirked unrepentantly. Attempting to keep the discussion on matters directly relevant to their current predicament, she said, "I thought your design included a mechanism for mixing more of the gas, Professor."

"It did," he said glumly, and pointed at the mangled rear section of the cabin. "Unfortunately, the mixing device was located there, and our brilliant pilot succeeded in destroying it completely when he crashed my airship." The last part of the sentence was accompanied by an accusatory look in the direction of Major Sheppard, who visibly bridled.

"In the first place, McKay, the crashing part wasn't my fault," Sheppard said. "It was that overgrown bat with teeth trying to mate with the ship that brought us down."

The Professor glanced in Teyla's direction, obviously scandalised on her behalf. "Major, please mind your language! There is a lady present."

"I am not offended," Teyla said, and then added, "I am familiar with the concept of mating," which caused the Professor's cheeks and the tips of his ears to go bright pink.

"In the second place," Major Sheppard went on, "unless I misunderstood the basis on which this expedition was undertaken, it's not your airship. It belongs to Miss Emmagan here."

At that, the Professor's embarrassment switched immediately back to outrage, and Teyla could tell he was wearing up to another lengthy tirade. Before he could start, she said quickly, "The question of ownership is something of a moot point at the moment." She looked at both of them in turn and said, "I am very certain that our good fortune in surviving the crash was due to the genius of Professor McKay's design and Major Sheppard's exceptional piloting skills, and I am most grateful to both of you."

That seemed to mollify the pair of them somewhat. Teyla resisted the urge to sigh. She had not appreciated before they left England how much of her time on this expedition would be spent corralling the disparate personalities of her party. She had often been told that she was much like her father in outlook and temperament; she had never hoped quite so fervently that she had inherited his extensive skills of diplomacy as well.

"Now, since it appears that we must regretfully abandon the Pegasus --" Professor McKay opened his mouth to object, but Teyla cut him off firmly: "-- temporarily, and only until we can find some means to effect repairs to it, then I suggest we proceed with the expedition exactly as we would have: by following the map to our destination."

Professor McKay's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, and then he said, "On foot? In the jungle?"

"I don't see any carriages or motor cars," Dex said, looking amused. "Or roads to run them on. Come on, we need to start moving if we're to take full advantage of the daylight."

He headed around the wreck of the Pegasus, making for the compartment on the far side where their provisions and equipment were stored. After a second, Major Sheppard followed him. The Professor remained where he was, looking disconsolately at his ruined airship.

Teyla went to join him. She thought about putting a reassuring hand on his arm, but then decided that would probably only fluster him more, so instead she said, "You should be comforted by the knowledge that it was not some flaw in your design that caused the crash. What was built once can be built again."

"I know. It's just that --" He broke off, and sighed. "She was marvellous when she flew, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she was," Teyla agreed.

They stood together in silence for a few moments. Then McKay said, "When you said we survived both because of my genius and Sheppard's piloting --"

Teyla lowered her voice and said, gravely, "It was perhaps a little more due to your genius."

The Professor stood up straighter. "Well, good. I thought so."

~//\\~

While Mr. Dex and Major Sheppard split their supplies into packs suitable for carrying on an extended hike and Professor McKay fretted, Teyla briefly absented herself from the gentlemen's company and removed her corset and several of the more troubling layers of her undergarments. She felt much more comfortable in the jungle's stifling heat once she was no longer encumbered by layer upon layer of fabric. The long sleeves and skirt of her outer dress preserved her modesty adequately; she allowed herself a small smile of amusement as she considered her ripped and grimy appearance. She would not be welcome at any polite gathering in her current state, yet she felt far more comfortable and at ease than she would have at any such assembly.

By the time she rejoined the men, four backpacks were lined up in a row, each one packed tightly with bottles of water, rations and various useful items such as ropes and knives. Dex was carrying his rifle in its customary position slung across his back, but Teyla noted that both the Major and the Professor were now bearing guns as well, Sheppard armed with a rifle like Dex's and Professor McKay with a revolver which he was handling with much trepidation, as if it might explode in his hand. When Dex wordlessly gave Teyla a handgun of her own, Major Sheppard raised an eyebrow in silent surprise.

"There is no need to be nervous," she informed him. "My father's work took us to many countries when I was growing up, some of which were not safe for a young girl. I can defend myself when the occasion demands it, and I am an accomplished markswoman."

He smiled slowly. "I'm starting to appreciate the breadth of your skills, ma'am."

Teyla smiled back. "I also sew an extremely neat backstitch," she said, and Sheppard laughed. He seemed more relaxed than at any time since they had set out -- strange, as it was now that they were facing real peril for the first time. Or perhaps, on reflection, not so strange: the Major was a difficult man to read, but Teyla sensed that he was most at ease when faced with a problem with high stakes and a clear definition. Their current situation, stranded in the depths of an unexplored jungle and without means of transportation, certainly met those criteria.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Dex asked, shouldering his pack.

"I'm ready to go home," Professor McKay said under his breath. Dex ignored him.

"Wait one moment," Teyla said, and went back to the crashed airship. She returned to the spot where she had woken up after the impact and, after a brief search, found what she was looking for: her walking cane and her travelling bag. She was determined not to lose her father's parting gifts to her. Brandishing the stick and bag like prizes, she returned to her party. "Now I am ready."

They shouldered their packs and left the crash site; Professor McKay, Teyla noted, could not help directing a last wistful look back at the wreck of the Pegasus before stepping into the jungle. Once the dense undergrowth had swallowed them up, it was impossible to walk any way other than single file, and so they arranged themselves in a narrowly-spaced line. Dex, whose experience of hunting game was ideal for the task at hand, led the way, hacking at the branches and creepers which blocked their route with one of his many knives. The Professor walked behind him, keeping up a constant litany of complaints about the unpleasantness of the tropical forest, the slowness of their progress and his great regret at ever having agreed to be part of this insane endeavour. Teyla followed next, the faded map which was their most vital guide in this green labyrinth clutched tightly in one hand while she brandished her walking cane in the other -- it was proving a most useful implement for knocking stray creepers out of her way. Major Sheppard brought up the rear of the group.

By the time they had been walking for several hours, Teyla had concluded that Professor McKay had the makings of a gifted orator: he had the ability to speak at length without repetition or hesitation, although unfortunately the content of his monologue lacked variation, concentrating as it did almost exclusively on his immediate physical discomfort. "When I think," he was saying now, "that we could still be cruising high above all of this, travelling in safety and luxury --"

"McKay, would you change the phonograph?" Major Sheppard said from behind Teyla, speaking for the first time since they had left the crash site. "The Pegasus brought us this far, but we don't have her anymore."

"And whose fault is that? You crashed my airship," the Professor said, and Teyla sighed inwardly, sensing that she would hear variations on those words many, many times before their journey was concluded. "This is what comes of hiring people without proper references," McKay continued. Then he added, for the benefit of the party at large, "He's probably not even a real major."

Teyla waited for Sheppard to respond with a put-down of his own. Most of the time he was perfectly happy to trade insults with McKay, and Teyla suspected that he derived an odd kind of entertainment from bickering with the Professor. On this occasion, however, he was strangely silent. The Professor had not noticed, and had already moved on to a new theme in his monologue. Teyla stole a glance back over her shoulder to gauge the Major's reaction, and was greatly surprised by what she saw. The expression on his face was partly one of anger, yes, but that was not the dominant emotion Teyla read there. He looked almost ashamed, she thought: ashamed and something else as well. Was that remorse she saw written in his features?

Then Sheppard noticed her studying him, and all at once his face returned to its usual mask of blank ease. Teyla quickly turned back to the path ahead.

They walked on for another hour, during which Teyla successfully managed to steer the Professor's conversation toward less wearing topics -- it transpired he shared with her a passion for music, and was exceptionally knowledgeable on the subject -- until they came to a small clearing and agreed it was the ideal time and location to break for food and rest.

Teyla set down her pack with a sigh of relief, then placed her much smaller travelling bag and walking cane beside it. She removed the precious map from where she had tucked it inside her dress and put it into the inner pocket of the travelling bag, where it would be safe while they ate.

The long march in such extreme heat and humidity had left them all feeling drained, and at first they sat on the fallen tree-trunks which made convenient seats and ate their rations in silence, pausing only to take long draughts from their water-flasks. After a period of time had elapsed, however, Teyla felt her energy -- and her spirits -- revive somewhat, and she noted that her companions were similarly revitalised.

"Damnation, McKay," Dex said, annoyed, as he watched the Professor attempting to reload his revolver. "Don't hold it like that unless you mean to shoot someone. Haven't you ever used a gun before?"

"As a matter of fact, I have not," McKay said primly. "I am a man of science, Mr. Dex. I inhabit spheres far removed from such base concerns as physical violence."

"You're not inhabiting your spheres now," Dex said. He nodded at the revolver. "If you're going to carry that, you should know how to use it properly. Come on, I'll show you."

He got up and led the Professor, protesting, over to the far side of the clearing, where he began to demonstrate the correct method of holding and firing the gun. They were far enough away that their voices were inaudible, and Teyla observed the pantomime of the lesson with amusement for several minutes.

"I don't know who regrets his participation in this expedition more," Major Sheppard remarked with a nod in McKay's direction: "Him or us."

Teyla glanced sideways at the Major and was relieved to see amusement flickering behind his eyes. Perhaps, she thought, the earlier incident was entirely forgotten. Still, if there was any lingering resentment, it should be dealt with now, lest it resurface at some moment where it might place all of them in danger.

"For a man of great intelligence," she said carefully, "the Professor sometimes speaks without much thought."

Now it was Sheppard's turn to glance cautiously at her. "Are you worried I'm going to flounce off in a fit of pique, Miss Emmagan?" He waved a hand, indicating the clearing and the jungle beyond. "Don't. There isn't anywhere for me to flounce to."

"No," Teyla said, smiling. Then she made her face serious again. "I am more considered than the Professor in my speech. So considered that perhaps sometimes I do not speak as plainly as I ought. So let me be plain now. You are a fine pilot and a brave man and have acquitted yourself admirably in all your actions since I have known you, and that is all that matters to me. I have no interest in your history before you joined my expedition."

Sheppard looked at her, and did not reply for some time. At last, quietly, he said, "I appreciate that, ma'am."

"I am only speaking the truth."

"Then I guess I should, too," Sheppard said. He looked away for a moment, and when his gaze returned to hers, Teyla recognised that look she had seen on the path in the jungle. "I earned my rank. I haven't deserved it for a long time, but military habits are hard to break. It's a… complicated story, and not one fit for genteel company."

"I am disappointed that after all we have experienced on our journey so far, you still consider me genteel," Teyla said. "Plainly I am not trying hard enough, Major." She spoke the last word with deliberate emphasis, and was rewarded by a half-smile in return from Sheppard.

Then he looked up sharply. "What's that noise? Do you hear that?"

Teyla was about to ask what noise he meant when she heard it, too. It was a strange sound, a high-pitched clicking which reminded her a little of the chirruping of crickets which had kept her awake when, as a girl, she had accompanied her father on a posting to the Far East. But this noise was far louder than that had been, and more ominous. It seemed to be emanating from every direction at once, as if the clearing was located at the centre of a giant noose which was slowly tightening around them.

Sheppard stood up and yelled, "Dex! McKay! Get back over here!" at exactly the moment that the other men registered the noise as well and started to run back across the clearing.

Once the party was reunited, they swiftly heaped the packs containing their precious provisions into a single pile and formed a circle with their backs to it, covering off all points of the compass. Mr. Dex and Major Sheppard had shouldered their rifles with the speed and assurance of men who had experienced armed conflict before; the Professor's revolver wavered a little but, Teyla noticed, his grip was surer on the weapon following his lesson. Teyla's gun felt heavy and uncomfortable in her hand. She had told the Major the truth when she had said she knew how to defend herself, but her competence did not equate with any pleasure in wielding something so potentially destructive of life. She held her handgun in her right hand and grasped her walking cane in her left. She felt more protected by its reassuring weight than by the gun.

"Sounds like insects," Sheppard said, frowning, as the noise grew louder and closer.

"That'll be disappointing," Dex remarked. "I was hoping to get in some real hunting while we were here."

In a very faint voice, McKay said, "Would you still be disappointed if the insects turned out to be, oh, say, about eight feet tall?"

Teyla turned around, and saw that the dense foliage at the side of the clearing was being pushed aside, revealing a creature -- no, creatures -- the like of which she had never seen before. They had the appearance of giant, bejewelled spiders, each one with a hard, round, glinting body sitting atop a splayed nest of eight multi-jointed legs. Six of the eight legs were long and spindly, so that the body sat at a level higher than a man's head, but the front two legs were shorter and thicker, and ended with a pair of scissor-sharp claws. It was the clicking together of these claws which had alerted them to the beasts' approach.

As Teyla watched, four of the spider-creatures pushed their way out of the jungle and penetrated the clearing. Any hope Teyla might have had that the monstrous beasts would pass through without paying her party any heed immediately vanished, because the creatures appeared to be immediately aware of their presence, their squat bodies swaying grotesquely on their too-thin legs as if they were testing the air for human scent. Then, acting in perfect concert, the four arachnids lurched toward Teyla and her companions.

"Fire!" Dex yelled.

Teyla heard the crack of rifles, and the closest of the four creatures recoiled back, then overbalanced and crumpled on to the ground. Teyla felt a second's relief, before seeing that the shot had only hindered the monster, not killed it, and now it was slowly rising again.

Sheppard had realised the same thing. "They're too well armoured," he shouted. "The shots don't penetrate --"

"Aim for their legs," Dex called out. "Disable them."

"Their legs?" McKay said, looking horrified. "They're as thin as pipe-cleaners! How am I supposed to hit those?"

"All right, we'll aim for their legs," Sheppard said, taking out the joints of the risen creature with a series of precise shots. "You aim for anything you can hit."

The second arachnid leapt towards them, so close that they had to break their protective formation to escape it. Teyla raised her gun, took a breath to steady herself and then stood perfectly still as the creature skittered towards her. It took all her courage not to turn and flee, but she held her ground until she had a clear shot at the bulbous joints in the middle of its rear legs. She squeezed the trigger, and a second later one of the joints shattered and the beast fell. Its other legs twitched and strained as it tried to right itself, but it was crippled now and could not stand. Teyla felt a surge of cold satisfaction at her handiwork.

At that moment she heard a shout, and when she spun around she saw the third of the creatures bearing down on Dex. He was directly beneath it, much too close to follow his own advice about shooting out its limbs. Sheppard ran over to assist him, and Teyla watched as they both pumped round after round of bullets into the arachnid, until it started to tremble and shake uncontrollably. Then something which looked almost like a wisp of smoke curled up from its body, and it simply -- exploded.

Teyla gasped, and she saw both Sheppard and Dex throw up their arms in twin acts of instinctive self-protection. Reflex made her look away for a second, and when she looked back she expected to see both men covered in the grotesque paint of the creature's innards. But that wasn't the case: they were both entirely gore-free. Instead, they stood ankle-deep in what seemed to be a mound of -- Teyla frowned -- were those machine parts?

"Automata," Professor McKay said, his voice filled with admiration and awe. "They're machines. My God, this is amazing --"

"McKay!" Sheppard yelled. "Behind you!"

McKay turned around, but a fraction of a second too late: the last of the spider-creatures (spider-machines? Teyla wondered) was nearly upon him. He looked terrified, but held his ground. Teyla, who was closer to him than either Dex or Sheppard, ran to help him.

"The crystal!" McKay cried as she reached him. "Knock out the crystal!"

For a moment, Teyla was unsure what he meant, and then she saw what he was talking about. There was a glowing, many-faceted crystal embedded in the arachnid's hard outer skeleton on the underside of its body, where it was only visible either when the creature was lying prone on the ground or, as now, when it had reared up on to its back legs. Teyla wasn't sure why the Professor was so certain that the strange crystal was the creature's weak spot, but she trusted his judgement. She threw her gun aside, which allowed her to take her walking cane in both hands. Then she darted forward, so that she was underneath the monster. With a single, quick action, she thrust the cane up and levered it hard against the crystal's sharp edge. There was a crack and the crystal popped free, dropping on to the ground next to Teyla's feet.

At the same moment, the arachnid went entirely limp and sagged on to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Teyla had to duck out from underneath its falling body to escape being crushed.

With the last of the four creatures despatched, the clearing suddenly became preternaturally quiet. Teyla looked down at her hands and realised she was gripping the handle of her walking cane so tightly that her knuckles were white. She concentrated on breathing in and out, slowly and deliberately, until she felt calm again.

Major Sheppard and Mr. Dex ran up to them. "Are you all right?" Dex asked.

"Physically, I'm fine," McKay said, "although my mental well-being is another question, since this little episode has provided enough material to fuel my nightmares for the next several decades, assuming we survive this ordeal, which is not an outcome that I'd be willing to place a wager on at this point --"

Pointedly, Dex said, "I was asking Miss Emmagan."

"I am fine," Teyla said. "Professor, how did you know about the crystal?"

"What crystal?" Sheppard asked, and McKay bent down to retrieve the crystal Teyla had pried free from where it had fallen on the ground. He held it up; the light within it had been extinguished, Teyla noticed, as if it was somehow tied to the vitality of the creature she had stolen it from.

"This one," the Professor said. He walked over to the heap of broken coils and springs which was all that remained of the arachnid that Dex and Sheppard had destroyed. Poking around in the debris with toe of his boot, he went on, "Those things weren't creatures, they were automata -- machines. You can't kill a machine, but you can cut off its source of fuel. It stood to reason that whoever made the spiders would have put the power source somewhere which was accessible enough to allow it to be removed or replaced, but not so accessible to allow it to be removed easily. Once I was able to get close enough to one of them, I could see that there was a crystal embedded in the shell exactly where one would expect to find the source of power for the mechanism. Having made my examination, I requested Miss Emmagan to remove it."

"So that was you making an examination? It looked more to me like cowering in terror," Dex said.

The Professor made an ambivalent gesture with the hand not holding the crystal. "I concede there may have been some limited cowering."

"If anyone asks, we'll call it examining," Sheppard said. He reached out and, unexpectedly, clapped the Professor on the shoulder. "Good work, McKay."

McKay blinked. "Well -- thank you, Major."

Teyla surveyed the wreckage strewn around the clearing, and found herself considering a number of troubling questions. "Professor, who could build machines such as these? And why?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. They're certainly far beyond anything I've seen before. And the power source is revolutionary." He held up the crystal.

"Let me see that," Sheppard said. He reached out and took the crystal from McKay, and twisted it around in the sunlight. It refracted the light so intensely that for a moment Teyla thought it was glowing -- and then she realised it really was glowing, lighting up in Major Sheppard's hand as if responding directly to his touch. Surprised, Sheppard dropped the crystal. By the time it had hit the ground, the strange luminosity had faded completely.

The Professor picked it up. It stayed dark in his hand. "Now, that is interesting," he said. "Miss Emmagan, Mr. Dex, would you mind taking part in a small experiment?"

Teyla held the crystal in her palm, and was mildly relieved when it didn't react to her either. It was similarly inert in Dex's grasp. But as soon as the Professor handed it back to Major Sheppard, it lit up once again, more brightly than one of Mr. Edison's electric light bulbs.

"Looks like I have the magic touch," Sheppard said. His tone was light, but he looked, Teyla thought, profoundly unsettled.

The Professor made a tsk-tsk noise. "There's no such thing as magic. No, this is --" He frowned. "Something else."

"It seems our list of mysteries is lengthening," Teyla said. "We'll find no answers if we remain here. I suggest we press on, and take advantage of the daylight which remains."

Dex nodded his agreement. "If there are more of those clockwork spiders out there, it'll be easier to avoid them if we keep moving."

The Professor nodded his sincere agreement. "As fascinating as the automata are, I think I've made as close an inspection of them as I want to in this lifetime."

"Very well, let us depart," Teyla said, and went quickly to their backpacks, which had been thrown into disarray during the fight. She began to sort through them, searching for the distinctive pattern of her travelling bag. She did not start to grow concerned until she had looked around and under all four backpacks without finding it.

Her increasingly frantic motions must have betrayed her growing panic, because she heard Professor McKay ask, from behind her, "Miss Emmagan, is something the matter?"

Teyla turned round. The three men were looking at her with concern, clearly aware that something was very wrong.

"The map," she cried. "The map is gone!"

The adventure continues next month in
CHAPTER SIX ~ "CAUGHT IN THE WEB"

Some more author's (and artist's) notes:

There is, of course, no chapter six, although readers concerned about the expedition's ultimate fate will be relieved to know that it's a pretty safe bet that Our Heroes eventually find the Lost City of Atlantis, with or without the map.

Here's Leyna's backstory for this AU:

I worked in as much of this as possible (as well as a couple of the props in her picture), although I have to apologise that the first thing I did in the fic was destroy the airship. I feel confident that, once the expedition reaches Atlantis, one of the discoveries they will make there will be another flying ship, not unlike a zeppelin, which will send Professor McKay into raptures and which Major Sheppard will be able to pilot just by thinking about it. They will name her Pegasus II, and go on to have many, many adventures in her.

Comment on the story at Rheanna's LJ

Comment on the art at Leyna's LJ

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