David Wilson - Brimstone

In the picture, an alien with long dark hair and rippling muscles lunged at a giant scaled lizard. The man wielded an impossibly heavy broadsword that seemed to shimmer with some form of energy. The creature reared back, long neck rippling and jaws open wide enough to swallow the warrior whole. Cumby brushed the dust away from more of the image, revealing writing at the bottom.

“It’s a poster,” Sheppard said.

“Advertising what?”

“If I’m translating this correctly,” Rodney said, “it’s an ‘entertainment’. That’s all it says. No indication if it’s some sort of movie, or…”

“There’s another one up here,” Teyla called.

She’d moved up the stairs and they joined her. The second poster showed a creature that seemed to be part human and part Wraith. It stood twice as tall as either and brandished its feeding-hand, ready to suck the life from a pair of very human warriors. They held spears, and appeared to be taunting the creature. Its expression of rage and hunger radiated from the poster.

“Not sure what that means,” Rodney said. “I can catch a couple of words. One is undefeated. This one,” he reached out and tapped an odd symbol, “Is something like ‘Woard’ — but that doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“What kind of place was this?” Cumby muttered.

“Fun?” Ronon raised an eyebrow and grinned. Teyla shook her head.

“Let’s keep moving,” Sheppard said. “We don’t have much time.”

They continued up the stairs. Along the way they saw a series of the odd posters, each more fantastic than the last. All of them appeared to advertise some sort of event, but none was any clearer what the event might be. There were huge creatures, aliens pitted against one another with an array of strange weapons, and always the lifeless lighted frames that indicated the images had once had significance. Rodney took pictures for later translation, but they didn’t slow down to ponder them further.

At the top of the stairs they found another corridor. They took the large double doors to their right, and stepped into a large room. The room resembled the control room in Atlantis, with the noted exclusion of the gate.

“I wonder why they built their gate so far outside the city?” Teyla said. “It would have made more sense to place it here, within the walls. Like in Atlantis.”

“The walls don’t seem to have made much difference to whoever, or whatever, took this place out,” Sheppard said.

“It makes more tactical sense to have the gate outside the walls for a land-based city,” Rodney said. “They could launch ships or teams and still keep their shields in place to protect the city. If something came back through the gate, or managed to open it without their knowledge, it would still be beyond the city’s defenses.”

“Makes sense,” Sheppard agreed. “What about this place? You said there were power signatures…”

Rodney had already stepped up to one of the control consoles. As Sheppard’s words trailed away, he pressed a sequence of buttons on the panel in front of him. There was a deep hum that vibrated through the floor and the walls. The panels to either side of him flickered, and then came to life. Within moments, the room was powered up. Lights in the hallway came on as well, and music filled the air.

“What’s that sound?” Ronon stepped back to the door, his gun raised.

“It started when the power came back,” Cumby cut in. “It’s got to be a broadcast of some sort.”

They fell silent to listen.

“Tonight, one night only,” a voice called out. “In the main arena — undefeated in twelve confrontations — he’s half man, half wraith, and ALL battle. The Woard! Arrange your seating now, and get your bets in early. We have a new warrior just in from off world. You won’t want to miss his first — and possibly last — appearance.”

In the corridor beyond, the posters lining the wall had come to life. Lights ran and flickered around their edges and the voice they’d heard moved along the passageway, first emanating from one speaker, and then the next, singing the praises of whatever event was heralded by each display.

The music playing in the background was intricate, beautiful and haunting, yet at the same time oddly repellent. It was like something you’d expect to hear at a carnival.

“Rodney,” Sheppard said quietly. “Can you locate the ZPMs?”

“I just turned on a city that’s been sitting dormant for, what, a thousand years? And now you want to know if I can find the battery?”

“Well?”

“I’m working on it,” Rodney said, turning back to the computer.

As he worked, Teyla and Ronon stepped up to two of the other consoles and began checking systems and maps. “It’s very similar to Atlantis,” Teyla said. “There are a number of lower levels. Power is active on all of them. There’s a shield in place that is causing some interference.”

“Of course they’re active,” Rodney snapped irritably. “I just turned everything on.”

“No,” Teyla said. “If these logs are correct, the power on the lower levels has been on for many years.”

Rodney flipped through some screens and looked up. “She’s right,” he told Sheppard. “The computers have been active all along. All we did was activate the main level. There has been access to the system regularly. We are very definitely not alone here.”

Sheppard’s hands tightened on his weapon. “Who’s down there?”

“I might be able to answer that.” The voice rose from down the corridor and Teyla and Ronon spun into the hall, weapons raised. A man stood at the far end of the corridor, dressed in very fine clothing — long robes festooned with gold ornamentation, and brightly polished black boots. His hair was thick and flowed down over his shoulders.

“That would be appreciated,” Sheppard said, stepping forward and reaching out to press the barrel of Ronon’s gun down gently. “Maybe you could tell us why the surface of this planet looks like it’s been through a war, why the lights are off, and who you are?”

“No need for weapons,” the man said. “I’ll be happy to answer any and all of your questions. First, I would like to welcome you all to the city of Admah. I am Saul.”

Saul led them down the wide main stairway into another hall on the level directly below. It was equally run down. He stopped at the end of the corridor, pressed his hand into an intricately carved bit of masonry, and a crack opened in the wall. It widened slowly and they all waited to see what it would reveal.

“If you don’t mind my saying so,” Sheppard said, glancing up and down the hall, “you guys could use a good housekeeper.”

Saul smiled. “You’ll find the lower levels better tended,” he said. “When the Wraith threatened, we managed to fight them off — but we found it simpler to allow them to believe we’d been wiped out than to make ourselves a target for repeat attacks. We retreated to the lower levels and we left the main floors and the outer grounds untouched. We had sufficient shielding to prevent detection from long range scans, and the appearance of the planet’s surface acted as a shield against visual searches. A very simple ploy, I know, but it has served us well.”

“Oh really?” Rodney said. “That’s interesting, because I had no trouble detecting your power signatures, or your life signs. If I can tell you’re here, what’s to prevent the Wraith?”

“We’ve turned the shields off,” Saul said with a smile. “We no longer fear the Wraith, or any other form of attack.”

“Why not?” Ronon said. “Wraith are active again. Didn’t you know that?”

“Yes, of course we do, and I’ll be happy to explain what has changed for us in good time,” Saul replied. “But first, please, allow me to offer a proper welcome. You are our guests. There will be plenty of time for talk.”