Not Alone Anymore

The next morning, she stumbled blearily out of bed to the sound of Ronon's knock on her door. They ate a quick breakfast, and joined the others in the Jumper bay. Sheppard invited her to take the co-pilot's seat, to help him navigate to the temple. Once they reached her planet, she pointed him towards the mountain range to the north. It was different to be seeing the land from above, and they had to circle twice before she found the landmarks she was looking for. "There, on the other side of the river," she pointed, "There will be a small village. Past that, in the hills, there is a place to land. The temple is not far."

Sheppard followed her directions, thankful that there had been no sign of Kolya and his men. With any luck, they'd given up their search and gone home. He landed the Jumper and they disembarked, Madi leading the way.

"Are you absolutely sure that this temple is around here?" McKay asked, zipping his jacket tightly against the winter chill, "Because I don't see anything, and the scanners didn't pick up anything, and quite frankly, I'm freezing."

"The walk will warm your blood," she assured him over her shoulder, following the path further up into the hills. It was a fairly steep climb, and by the time Madi stopped, they were all panting from the exertion. McKay leaned wearily against a tree, gasping. "We are here," she informed him at last, indicating a low stone structure that appeared to be carved out of the side of the mountain itself. She walked to the door, pausing with her hand on it to turn to the others. "This is a most holy place to my people..." she began hesitantly.

"Best behaviour. Gotcha." Sheppard nodded seriously.

She gave him a thankful smile, pushing the door open and stepping into the darkness beyond. She felt along the wall with her hand, finding a torch and lighting it. The others gathered around her in the flickering light, and she pointed to a staircase leading down from the back of the room. "The shrine is this way." She led them without hesitation through the caverns and corridors that stretched far back into the heart of the mountain.

"Are you absolutely certain that we're heading the right way?" McKay questioned, checking one of his devices, "I'm not getting any kind of signal. All I'm reading is some rocks, a few stones, and ooh! Over there's a shiny pebble."

Madi rolled her eyes at him. "I was here only last year," she told him, "No-one else has been here for ten years, remember?" She pointed down to the tracks she was following, faintly visible in the thick dust that coated the floor.

Ronon glanced down, surprised he hadn't noticed the footprints earlier. "Huh," he grunted, a quick look of admiration crossing his face.

At last the tunnel ended in a spacious cavern, it's walls and ceiling lost in shadows. On a dais in the center of the room, the light from the torch fell upon the statue of a woman, an ancient goddess of the people whose name had long been forgotten. Madi handed the torch to Sheppard and reverently approached the statue. She dropped to her knees and lowered her forehead to the floor, whispering a prayer. Mckay looked as though he was about to open his mouth, but Sheppard raised his hand to stop him. Raising her head, Madi raised the lid of a large box at the statue's feet. She pulled out something wrapped in a thick cloth, rose to her feet and turned from the statue with a quick bow and a prayer of thanks. She walked to McKay and put the bundle in his arms. "May your people make good use of it," she said. McKay grinned, unwrapping the Z.P.M. to inspect it. It was in perfect condition.

As they headed back to the entrance, they noticed a sort of whining noise, which seemed to be growing louder. McKay, getting nervous, edged closer to Sheppard.

"Relax, it's wind." Ronon informed him, "Probably a storm or something outside."

"Yes, and we will not be able to leave the mountain until it has gone," Madi replied, sighing in resignation. "We should wait it out down here, where it is warmer. It shouldn't last more than a few hours, at most."

She managed to find a room that had once been the living quarters for some of the temple priests. They settled down to impatiently wait.

"Um, you all know I hate to ask," McKay piped up from across the room, "But, does anyone happen to have an extra power bar or something? If you recall, I'm hypoglycemic, and...and I can feel my blood sugar levels dropping, so --"

"Rodney," Sheppard warned, "We will be out of here in a couple of hours. You will not die of starvation before then, I promise you."

"No, no, I was referring to my blood sugar --"

"I will find him something to eat," Madi sighed, standing up and stretching. A look from Sheppard had Ronon on his feet as well. "Yes, yes, yes, come on." From what she recalled, the store room was a little ways back down the hall. "Aha," she found the door she was looking for and shoved it open.

Ronon shone his flashlight around the room. "What are we lookin' for?" he asked.

"I left a supply of nuts and dried berries in these jars," she said pointing, "In case I ever returned here. Look over there and see if there is anything else that is still edible."

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Weir glanced up from the report she was reading at the sound of tapping at her door. Beckett stood smiling in the doorway, and she waved him in.

"I just got back the last of the scans from our new arrival," he said, handing over the folder he carried.

She gave it a cursory glance, not really understanding most of the medical jargon. "Thank you Carson," she said, putting it aside to be filed. When he didn't leave right away, she raised her eyes to him again. "Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Not a problem, no," he replied slowly, taking a seat across from her. "But her scans did show a slight...anomaly,"

Weir narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to go on.

"The scans I took of her brain show an unusually high level of synaptic activity in the cerebral cortex," he said eagerly, "Basically, her sensory receptors are working on overload."

"And...what exactly does that mean?" she wondered.

"I have no idea!" he exclaimed, "That's why I said it was an anomaly! I've never come across anything like it before. I would like to run a few more tests though, if I could. With her permission, of course," he added quickly.

"You'll have to wait," Weir sighed, "She's offworld with Sheppard."

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"So how'd you end up finding this place in the first place?" Ronon wondered, sniffing at the contents of a small box and deciding that whatever it was, it was definitely not safe for consumption.

"Among my people, it is a tradition for a person to make a pilgrimage to the Life Crystal when they reach their twenty-first year." She tossed him a bag full of hard biscuits. "We come here, to the Great Temple, to experience the Life Crystal for ourselves, and to meditate on it's many gifts."

Ronon gave her a clearly skeptical look. "Gifts?" he repeated, "I didn't think your people possesed the Ancestor's devices?"

Madi laughed. "Surely, you do not believe that is the only thing the Life Crystal does?" she asked, "Why do you think we call it such? It is the reason for all that you see; it is what gives life to every living creature, every growing thing. It is what causes the waters to nourish life, and the airs to sustain it. The legends even say that it came from the very heart of the world -- thus, it is the source of all life upon it. To look upon that which gives life..." She trailed off, seeing that he was not convinced. "Perhaps I should put it another way: when you gaze upon the Crystal, what do you feel?"

"Feel?" Ronon scoffed, "I feel like we just got another Z.P.M."

Madi stepped away from him slightly, a look of sheer disbelief on her face. "You...you do not feel anything?" He stared at her in confusion. "You truly cannot sense it's call?"

"What do you mean, 'call'?" He was starting to get the feeling there was something more the girl wasn't telling him. "You're saying...you can feel that thing?"

"Yes, of course," she replied almost indignantly, "I...I thought everyone could. All of my people could. That is what guides us on our pilgrimage; we follow the voice of the Life Crystal."

Ronon spun for the door, grabbing her wrist in his free hand as he did so. Madi struggled against his grip as best she could, at the same time trying to keep up with his quick strides. Once they were back in the room with the others, he released her. "I need you to repeat what you just told me," he urged her, an excited gleam in his eyes. Confused, she did as he asked, recounting to the rest of the team what she had just revealed to Ronon.

When she had finished, the four of them shared hopeful looks. "Do you have any idea what this could mean?!" McKay exclaimed. He began pacing wildly, munching on a handful of dried berries. "I mean, where do we even start? I've got a list of addresses where we weren't able to get successful readings...we wouldn't have to rely on the sensors, so electro-magnetic interference would essentially be cancelled out. If she's right, and the range of this...this 'feeling' is as broad as she says, it may even be a simple matter of...of..."

"McKay!" Sheppard interrupted loudly, startling him out of his rambling. "She's not a bloodhound! Let's just take it easy, ok?" He turned back to Madi with an apologetic smile. "Let's just head home, and then we can talk about what to do next, alright?"

She nodded, suddenly feeling quite self-conscious.

Teyla seemed to sense this, and moved to sit closer to the girl. "Please understand," she said soothingly, "We have never before encountered one with this...gift you seem to possess. We do not intend for you to feel put-upon, but if you are willing to help us, it would greatly aid us in both the defense of Atlantis and our attack on the Wraith. Please consider --"

"I will help you," Madi insisted, "I gave my word to Dr. Weir. If this is the best way for me to be of use, then I will do so gladly."

Teyla grinned, laying her hand on the girl's shoulder. "We are grateful."

Ronon, who was leaning against the wall by the door, cleared his throat. "Sounds like the wind's dying down."

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Madi sat on the examination table, idly inspecting some of the items nearby. Beckett caught her eyeing his stethescope, and indulgently offered it to her. "Would ye like to give it a try?" She nodded enthusiastically, and he showed her how it worked. She listened in child-like fascination to her own heartbeat while he finished up her exam.

"Well, you're all clear," he assured her, "But before ye go, I was wonderin' if I could ask ye to let me run a few more tests. Remember when ye first came here, I took those pictures of your brain? Well, it seems as though your brain is...special, and --"

"And we know why." Sheppard stated, walking up behind him. "We're on our way to bring Elizabeth the good news, if you care to join us."