A/N: I decided, seeing as this will be my first Christmas as a fanfiction writer, that I'd like to write a Christmassy story to say thank you to all my readers (and especially my lovely reviewers) who have joined me on my writing journey since I began in April (and any new readers too, of course!). A Stargate Atlantis version of the 1988 Bruce Willis movie seemed like a fun idea, so here it is!

I have had to change some parts and add in some extras, such as the short prologue, so that the story would make sense, but I've tried to put in as many equivalents to the best scenes as I could and have used quite a lot of the original dialogue.

It is set in Season One, following Episode Thirteen, Hotzone, where Atlantis is quarantined due to a nanovirus outbreak. I hope you enjoy it!

Die Hard with a Stargate

Prologue

It was buried when they found it. Buried, ages deep, in thousands of years of rot and decay, hidden amid the dark secrets of time and earth and small creeping things. Only an intermittent pulse of energy told a story of the treasures that lay below.

They dug. A doorway was uncovered. A magic touch and the doors slid open, a faint, shuddering grate the only hint of their immense age and the long, long years of their gradual interment.

The four team-mates entered, weapons at the ready because, although they knew they were the first to enter in untold years, they also knew that, in the Pegasus Galaxy, trouble would always find those who didn't expect it and, very often, those who did. The room lit and a central console was revealed. A casual swipe of a hand and the console glowed with life. Then came the sound of connections being made, interfacing between the Ancient and the modern, followed by noises of interest and pleasure and excitement from one team member, increasingly interspersed with expressions of impatience from the others as time passed. Eventually, there was something to report.

"It's a kind of time capsule, a message in a bottle. Look, I've run it through a translator. You're gonna love this!"

They read:

I, Cadrocles of the Ancients, leave this my testament, in the hope that one day others of my kind will return. The enemy are strong and we must abandon our beautiful city and seek a life elsewhere or ascend, each according to our individual determination. There is so much that must be left behind; so much that we cannot bring with us on our desperate flight. And so I leave these directions, so that in the far distant future, the things that are lost may be found, only by those children of our bloodline who are most worthy. The treasures that are dearest to our hearts, that retain or increase their value down the long ages of our absence, those shining prizes of incalculable worth..."

There was more, and excited eyes skimmed faster and faster, noting detailed maps, plans and specifications; everything, in fact, that was needed to access a secret vault in Atlantis, City of the Ancients.

Three of the team members looked up. Eyes met, narrowed in speculation.

"It'll take some planning."

"Worth it, though, if what this guy says is true!"

"He doesn't actually say what's in there."

"Did you even read it? 'Treasures'? 'Shining'? 'Increase their value'? Who cares, as long as it's worth something!"

"It'll be precious materials; alloys, rare crystals and so on. Things we can sell!"

The fourth man looked up and spoke, his voice hard and cold. "Things I can sell and you will be allowed a certain specified percentage."

"Yeah, Boss, sure. Erm... Anyway, where it says, 'only by the children of our bloodline who are most worthy'? That implies some kind of defence, maybe a series of barriers."

"You can do it?"

"Of course! Best tech guy in the galaxy here! But you know that."

"You'd better be." He stepped closer, a thinly veiled threat in his voice. "I'll make sure we get into the City and get out, but you'd better be able to access the vault!"

"Yeah, sure!" He tittered nervously. "Those are some tough-guy types, the Atlanteans! Bet you're looking forward to taking them on!"

"Tough? We'll see." His pale grey eyes ran over the console. "Download everything. Then destroy it."

"Yes, Boss!"