02 - Reliquary Read Online Free PDF Page A

over McKay’s
shoulder at the sensor. “No energy readings?”
    “No such luck. If there’s anything still intact in there, it’s been shut
down.” McKay eyed the repository grimly, apparently forgetting that he had just tried to eviscerate Kavanagh for asking
nearly the same question earlier. “We’re going to have to do this the hard way.”
    John nodded. He wasn’t surprised; the hard way was the way they did
everything. He made everybody do radio checks, then used the remote to tell the
puddlejumper to close its ramp and set its cloak. The little ship obediently
sealed itself, then vanished. The cloak would keep it invisible to the naked eye
and to any non-Ancient instruments, and each team member had a remote to allow
them to open the ramp and enter. Those precautions, plus leaving the two Marines
on guard, made John reasonably sure the jumper would still be here when they
came back—possible Wraith, flesh-eating zombies, and mutants notwithstanding.
“Right, let’s go,” he said, and started up the steps to the entrance.
    Once inside, McKay paused to take some more readings, and the others spread
out a little to look around, Corrigan still filming, moving close to the walls
to get detailed shots.
    John led the way on through the foyer and into the big triangular corridor.
The bright daylight outside and the broken skylights made it possible to see the
big control area at the opposite end, and he could hear the scientists’ awed
reactions.
    “Well, here it is,” McKay said as they reached the entrance. He didn’t sound
as enthusiastic as John had expected. Normally something like this would have
caused McKay to go into a near hysterical frenzy of excitement. He should almost
be able to smell the ZPMs that possibly lurked in the bowels of the building’s
power systems. Instead he sounded almost resigned. “I’m still not getting any
readings—most of this is probably too damaged to tell us much—but this has to be
the control center for the structure.”
    “The only thing missing is the Stargate,” Kavanagh put in. Corrigan was still
filming, and Kolesnikova was already moving toward the intriguing heaps of dead
machinery, both as eager as kids in a toy store. Kavanagh was frowning at a spiral design in the center of the floor, directly below the peak of the
ceiling. It was too obscured by dust and debris for John to make out much, but
it looked as though it was made of little silver tiles. Kavanagh shook his head.
“The Heliopolis in our galaxy had an interior ’gate. The one here must have
been removed at some point.”
    “You think?” McKay glanced up, intrigued, studying the chamber again. “It
would have to be here in the center, and I’m not seeing anything like a well or
a platform safety zone. Though it could be—”
    “If there was a ’gate here, we’ll find evidence of it,” Kavanagh cut him off.
    “Listen up.” John raised his voice to make sure they all heard. They had gone
over this with the new kids before leaving, but he wanted to emphasize the
point. “Everybody remember the rules. Especially the one about not going
anywhere alone. Stay in sight of me, Ford, or Teyla at all times. If you see
something interesting in another room and need to take a closer look, tell one
of us and we’ll come with you. At the moment we have plenty of time, and there’s
no point in not practicing safe science.”
    “He means,” Rodney added, digging through his vest pockets distractedly,
“Don’t do anything stupid and get killed. This is an alien planet, possibly
filled with things that will try to eat you. Listen to the man who had a giant
bug attached to his neck, he knows.”
    John rolled his eyes. I am never living the giant bug thing down. He
asked Rodney, “Can you not bring that up every time we go out with new people?”
    Rodney already had a power bar unwrapped and shoved into his mouth. He said
around it, “It makes an excellent object