Colonial Crossover: chapter 6
Title: Colonial Crossover
Author: Betty (sarah_jones on lj) & Katie
Fandoms: Stargate SG-1, SGA & Battlestar Galactica
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did… *g* I don’t make any money with this! I’m just writing the story for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.
Summary: The survivors of the fight against the Ori ships get thrown into another galaxy where they meet the Colonial fleet. Will they unite against the threats of the Cylons, the Wraith and the Ori?
Warnings: some character deaths implied
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chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5
chapter 6:
Next day - Atlantis Conference Room:
The conference room was once more full of people. There was so much to discuss, so many decisions to make.
With his hands folded on top of the table, Jack sneaked a glance down at his watch for the third time in the past hour. Since arriving in Atlantis he had hardly left this particular room. He was in high demand, if it wasn’t officers from home-land security demanding his time, it were the scientists, the Air Force or his very own SGC and Atlantis personnel. Everyone was awaiting his orders, orders which the General currently didn’t have. And if that was not enough pressure, it was also his job to make sure the fleet was taken care of. Any lesser man would have crumbled under the pressure.
“Any members of your military who have volunteered to join our explorer teams should report to the gate room at 0800 tomorrow. We’ll decide there and then what teams they’ll join. I know we have a position in SG-1 that’ll need to be occupied till Lt. Colonel Carter is ready to return to active duty.”
Cameron Mitchell’s frown did not go unnoticed by Jack. “If you have a problem with this Mitchell you can discuss it with me later.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jack rubbed his forehead sensing one of his headaches coming. “I think it’d also be a good idea to have your pilots trained to fly Atlantis puddle jumpers and our own F-302’s,” Jack told Admiral Adama.
Elizabeth nodded at what Jack said. "We should have all your people tested for the ATA-gene. It is possible that some of your people already have it, too, if you really do come from Earth originally," Elizabeth said turning to Admiral and Commander Adama. "Any pilots who have it could start training to fly the puddle jumpers. Everyone else who wishes to could have the gene therapy. Without it it won´t be possible to fly the jumpers.” She knew it was a risk giving these people the chance to operate their ships, but they were in a very bad situation and had to have some faith.
“And I know I’d definitely like the opportunity to fly in one of your… vipers, isn’t it?” John butted in, looking at Lee and Adama. John couldn’t help but notice how agile the spacecraft had been compared to their own.
Lee nodded. "I would definitely love to fly one of the jumpers," he said with a grin and then turned to John. "And I´ll gladly show you how to fly a viper, or maybe Starbuck will. She usually trains new pilots."
Elizabeth smiled. Their new allies really were very cooperative and everyone seemed to get along very well. Part of her almost couldn´t believe their luck. She had been a bit sceptical at first, but so far there had been no problems. She then turned to General O’Neill.
"Maybe we should think about having new teams, mix them, so that everyone from the Battlestar crews will have at least one member of our people on the team. That should make it easier out there, as we already know a bit more about what awaits us," she suggested.
"Woah, hang on. Does this include SG-1?" Cameron asked, before Jack had a chance to respond to Elizabeth’s suggestion. He really didn't like the thought of his team being split up. They were a close knit group and they worked exceptionally well together, complimenting eachother in each and every way. Mixing them all up would make them loose their team dynamics, which was something he had been working hard on over the past year.
"This won't be a permanent move," Jack quickly stated, making sure that everyone was well aware of this and trying to reassure Mitchell that his team would not be separated for long.
Elizabeth nodded at Jack’s words. "I agree, it doesn´t have to be permanent, just until our new friends start to know their way around," she said.
Cameron was still not happy, but reluctantly agreed.
"Will I get to choose who is on my team?" John asked, looking between Elizabeth and General O’Neill.
"I'd feel more comfortable choosing my own team," he admitted. "Or at least a couple of members of my team."
“That’ll be taken under consideration,” Jack said.
Elizabeth nodded and turned to look at John who seemed to be back to normal. She really wondered if he remembered how he acted last night. Pushing those thoughts away she then tried to concentrate on the current situation again.
"I think we can discuss this better once we know who exactly will be joining the teams. I certainly won´t be making these decisions," she stated. This was military terrain.
"We also have managed to check out more of the city that can be inhabited. So, several of your people can settle down in Atlantis now," Elizabeth then told Admiral Adama and Laura Roslin.
Laura smiled at Elizabeth. She knew how much trust it took for Elizabeth to offer this and was really grateful. "Thank you. We can go over our people’s records together later and decide who can move in first."
“Dr. Weir, I’d like to have a word with you after this meeting,” Jack then said with a sharp nod in Elizabeth’s direction.
Elizabeth nodded. So far they hadn´t had time to talk privately and she thought that it would be a good idea, seeing as he was the new military leader.
"If there is nothing more to discuss, I believe we can call this meeting to an end," Jack said with a trace of hope. He was tired and his patience was wearing thin from lack of sleep.
He looked to the Admiral and Lee. "There is nothing else you want to discuss at this moment, is there?"
The Admiral shook his head. "I think you've answered all I wanted to know for now. Thank you for your time General."
Jack smiled and waved his hand, discarding Adama’s thanks. "Not a problem. I'm a slave to the people, or so I’ve been told. Who needs sleep? ...apparently I don’t." He then stood up, so the others could leave.
Lee chuckled at the Generals words. He liked the man and he could sympathise with him as well. A lack of sleep always sucked. He felt a little tired himself, but that was his own fault. Besides, he´d survive, he had been working on a lot less sleep after all, he thought remembering when the Cylons had come after them every 33 minutes. That now seemed really far away however. So much had changed in the last few days. He never would have imagined that he´d have to worry about other enemies besides the Cylons. He then followed his father out of the room.
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Once Jack and Elizabeth were alone he turned to her. "I just want to apologise for treading on your toes, Dr."
Elizabeth looked at him and raised an eyebrow at what he said.
"I didn´t notice you did," she told him with a smile. Actually I´m really glad you’re here. The days before your arrival have been kind of horrible," she admitted. "Several of your men who believed to be in charge actually did tread on my toes."
"Ah, yes, those men." Jack grimaced before quietly admitting to her: "I've been trying to avoid them all morning. You know, they're more persistent than the freaking Goa'uld."
Elizabeth laughed slightly at his words. "Don´t let them hear that," she told him.
Relaxing in Elizabeth’s presence, Jack rested against the table and relaxed his shoulders.
"I just wanted to make sure you know that I have no intention of overstepping my boundaries. You've done a good job here, Doctor. Besides, I've never taken great pleasure in the endless paper work and mission debriefs." He smiled at her, no longer hiding his amusement. “Kinda makes me wish I was back out there exploring.”
Sitting down on the edge of the table Elizabeth watched him. "Yes, the paperwork... it´s not my favourite thing to do either, but it comes with the responsibilities. And I´m sure we´ll work this out. It´s all a matter of organisation. Just drop some of your least favourite duties on someone else," she told him looking rather innocent. "That´s the advantage of being a leader."
Jack chuckled amused.
Before they could continue the conversation however the cities alarms suddenly went off and Elizabeth jumped up, rushing towards the door.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Jack muttered sighing and slapped his hand over his eyes in frustration. It looked like he definitely wouldn't be getting any sleep any time soon. He then followed Elizabeth out of the room.
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Western part of Atlantis:
The military personnel who had been given the task of exploring the western part of Atlantis that morning had come across a strange device in a room which had been locked. The room being locked had given them enough reason to believe that the discovery was an important one. By Sheppard’s orders, McKay and Zelenka were called straight away to try and discover what the ancient device actually was, and by O’Neill’s command Daniel Jackson had joined them.
“It’s an exact replica of the device on P4X-639. The device was meant to be able to change time, like a time machine, however the ancients never actually managed to make it work and it only created time loops. We were caught in a time loop for months. At the time Jack and Teal’c were the only ones who could remember previous…”
“Yes, yes, that is all very fascinating,” Rodney exclaimed blandly, not sounding very riveted at all by Daniel’s trip down memory lane. “So you think this is some kind of device that plays with time?”
“Possibly,” Daniel said while peering closer at the large movable slabs. “There was also another ancient device similar to this one which actually was a weapon. We used it to stop the replicators. So, maybe it isn’t wise to touch anything until I’ve had time to translate the writings around the base.”
“And how long will that take?” Rodney asked.
“Well, without my research, it could take a while. All my notes are back on Earth at the SGC.” Daniel crouched down and examined the writings closely. “Some of the inscriptions are familiar… but others are not.”
"Maybe we should ask Dr. Weir to help with the translations," Zelenka suggested. He couldn´t wait to examine the new device closely.
Cadman walked through the room and looked at the three of them. Just like always, she thought. Rodney snapped at the others and everyone thought he knew everything best. Daniel Jackson fit right in. Her gaze then fell onto Rodney and a small smirk appeared on her lips. Her memories of the last night were a little blurry, but she remembered that he had walked her to her room, which she thought was rather nice of him.
"No, I don't think we need to be troubling Dr. Weir," Daniel decided. "I'll just ask her if I can borrow her notes. A lot of them are based on my previous work on the ancient language, so I should be able to use them. I'll go and ask her now." Standing up he headed back towards the door. Noticing Cadman he nodded his greeting as he passed her.
"And don't touch anything," he called out as he left.
The moment Daniel was gone, Rodney pulled out his miniature hand held computer and began to circle the machine once again.
"I wonder where the power storage is. It's obvious that it works by encoding some kind of sequence."
Zelenka nodded at Rodney and kneeled down in front of the device. "Maybe we can open it and just have a look," he suggested. Nothing could go wrong by doing that.
Looking up, Rodney noticed Cadman, who was their military guard. Embarrassed, he glanced back down at his computer, avoiding eye contact. “How is your head this morning,” he asked.
Cadman glanced at Rodney and put on and innocent smile. "My head? It´s just fine," she told him. It was the truth, she didn´t have a headache, but her stomach was badly reminding her of the past night. She hadn´t managed to eat much so far.
"Why, are you worried about me, Rodney?" she then asked giving him a perky grin.
Rodney’s mouth dropped open slightly at Cadmans question. For a couple of moments he was at a loss for words. He honestly didn´t know how to respond to that. Luckily he recovered from the initial surprise fairly quickly.
"Why should I be worried? You're quite capable of coping with a hangover, which you do not appear to be suffering from anyway." Had his concern been that obvious? It was one thing to be concerned and another to show that concern. He glanced up at her wondering if she remembered kissing his cheek. She hadn't hinted at doing so, so it was safe to assume that she didn't.
Rodney then turned back to Zelenka and the device. Nodding his head at what Zelenka had said before he gestured for him to remove the panel which he believed to be covering the power supply.
“I want to run a few tests.”
Cadman smirked. She had just been teasing Rodney, but as he seemed to be speechless for a bit she wondered if he could really have been worried. She actually liked the thought. She was getting along with Rodney quite well lately.
Zelenka nodded at Rodneys words. "Me, too," he said and started to open the device carefully.
"Just be careful," Cadman warned. "We have no idea what that thing actually does."
"Oh, thank you, I wasn't aware that we have no idea what this device does," Rodney said sarcastically. Once Zelenka had the panel off Rodney brought his flash torch out of his shirt pocket and shined it inside.
Cadman just ignored Rodneys remark and kneeled down to be able to peer into the device over Zelenka’s shoulder.
"I can't believe it," Rodney then exclaimed excitedly, his face lighting up with his discovery. Apparently the device was powered by what looked like a miniature ZPM. He however couldn´t be sure until he examined it properly.
Zelenka’s face lit up as well. "This is fantastic," he said excitedly. "The device is built to operate without stripping power from the city itself."
Thinking for a moment he then went on: "We should take it out and examine it properly. Maybe parts of the city can be activated through it as well," he suggested. They really needed to make more parts of the city inhabitable, now that their new allies were here.
Zelenka then carefully reached into the device and grabbed the miniature ZPM to take it out. At that moment he felt like he got a small electric shock and then the device roared and started glowing weirdly. Pulling out his hand Zelenka stared at it shocked and stumbled backwards. The next second an alarm could be heard.
"What did you do?" Rodney accused while jumping back in panic. Certain slabs started to rise and fall as if they had a life of their own, and Rodney watched in horror as a shield which appeared to be protecting the device showed up and started to expand.
Moving further back, he pointed an accusing finger at Zelenka. "Why did you try to remove the power supply, you idiot!?"
Zelenka got to his feet and turned to Rodney. "You didn´t have any objections when I suggested to remove it," he snapped pushing his glasses back.
Daniel appeared in the door way, his eyes wide. "I thought I told you not to touch anything," he yelled.
Cadman stared at the device and then the still growing shield.
"Move back," she ordered quickly, not really trusting the shield not to harm anyone. Then she tapped her radio.
"Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Weir, we have a problem down in the new lab."
Rodney moved backwards until he was up against the wall. The golden glow continued to expand, now almost filling the whole room.
"Oh god, we're trapped." It had just dawned on him that there was a possibility that he might die, and that thought terrified him.
”This is Colonel Sheppard. I'm on my way.”
Cadman talked to Dr. Weir over the radio and brought her up to date. She was just about to tell Rodney and Zelenka that Dr. Weir ordered them to shut the device down, when she saw Rodney backed up against a wall. Rushing towards him she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the door. If the shield was dangerous they better left the room.
"Move, Rodney!"
Once outside the door closed and they could hear a noise and feel a little tremor. "I guess the shield is covering the whole room now," Cadman said and glanced from Zelenka to Daniel and then to Rodney.
"You all ok?" she asked.
"If we don't stop it the shield might expand till it covers the whole city," Rodney mumbled, still staring at the door, that now glowed orange. It took him a couple of moments to realise that Cadman was talking to them.
"I'm… how can I be ok? We may have just doomed the whole city!"
Daniel frowned. "We don't even know if the shield is harmful."
Rodney turned to him. "Oh be my guest, if you want to find out."
At that moment Sheppard arrived. Glancing into the room through a window, he made an 'o' expression.
"What is that thing?"
"We don't know," Daniel answered.
They then felt another small tremor and the door opened again. The glowing shield slowly moved out of the room.
Sheppard took a step towards it and dipped his gun into the shield. The gun passed through easily.
“It’s not solid.”
Cadman glanced from Rodney to John. "At least it doesn´t seem to destroy everything that gets in contact with it," she said.
"It stopped," Zelenka then called. "It´s not getting bigger anymore."
Cadman turned to him. "That’s a good thing, right?" The next second some sort of energy wave erupted a few feet away.
"Woah, what was that?" she called and instantly looked at Rodney for an explanation.
"It looked like some kind of energy wave," Rodney said, looking just as confused as everyone else. "And before you ask me, no, I have no idea what it did." He hated not having the answers.
"I don't care what it is or does. I just want that thing off!" Sheppard ordered as he tried to make out what was being said over the radios.
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Control room:
Elizabeth hurried into the control room and looked around. "What's going on?" she demanded to know.
"We don´t know, Dr. Weir. The alarm suddenly went off," someone called.
"Then find out," she answered.
The next second she heard Cadman over the communications system: "Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Weir, we have a problem down in the new lab."
"What kind of problem?" Elizabeth asked.
"Great," she then mumbled after Cadman informed her about the situation. "Tell them to shut it down."
Turning around she looked at Jack with a frown. "Apparently Dr. Zelenka and Dr. McKay have activated some sort of ancient device," she let him know. "But they don´t know what it does."
Jack raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth. "Of course they did." His voice dripped with sarcasm. Tilting his radio towards his mouth he then contacted Daniel.
"Daniel? What's going on?"
"I don't know Jack. I returned back to the lab and they somehow activated the device. It created some kind of shield which is growing dramatically."
"Of course it is," Jack mumbled. Why wasn't he surprised?
Elizabeth tipped her radio. "Rodney, do you hear me? Do you have any idea what that device does and how to shut it down?" she asked.
----- -----
Teyla had just returned from visiting her people on the mainland when the alarms were triggered. She increased her pace to a quick jog as she headed directly for the control room. A wave of emotion suddenly hit her. Coming to an abrupt halt she shakily grasped onto the nearest door in surprise. She reached for her com-unit and realised that she had left it in her room. Quickly she started to run as fast as she could.
"The Wraith," she yelled as she rushed into the control room, breathing heavily.
"The Wraith... they are in Atlantis."
Elizabeth was still waiting for Rodney’s answer when she heard Teyla.
"How the hell did that happen?" she called and looked from Teyla to her people.
"Did our sensors pick up any darts or other ships?"
"No, Dr. Weir. There are no ships anywhere near the city. They must have found another way in."
"If I had an idea, don't you think I would have turned it off by now?" came Rodney's sarcastic remark through the radio. "The shield has stopped expanding but the device emitted some kind of pulse wave. We seem to be fine, so I don't think it's dangerous... at least not yet."
"Then find a way to shut shut it down," Elizabeth told Rodney before turning back to Teyla and the others.
"They're close by," Teyla said glancing from Elizabeth to Jack.
Jack nodded to himself, coming to a decision. Grabbing the nearest military personnel's gun, he waved his hand. "You four are with me."
"I'm coming with you," Teyla said, walking towards Jack. "I can prove to be of some assistance to you."
Jack considered her offer for a moment before agreeing. "Ok, let's go."
Watching the General and the others leave Elizabeth decided that it was time to warn the city.
"Put me on the cities communication system."
Seconds later she got the ok and then addressed the city.
"This is Weir. We seem to have a security leek. Wraith are in the city and an unknown ancient device is out of control. All military personnel report for duty immediately. All civilians go to your quarters and lock them until further notice." She would have preferred to evacuate all civilians at once, but having them run through a city with god knew how many Wraith was not a good idea.
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Atlantis balcony:
Clear of her duties for the day, Dee had decided to see the city for herself. The cities architecture took her breath away. It was beautiful and so advanced compared to their own cities back on Caprica. Atlantis may not be Earth but it was a worthy substitute.
Free to explore Dee had found herself out on a balcony, overlooking the sea and the mainland in the distance. The old man had told them that some of them would live in the city while others would stay on the mainland. She hoped she was one of the people chosen to stay in the city. She had no doubts that she would, Lee’s relationship settled that.
Suddenly alarms were triggered. Dee looked wildly around searching the skies for Cylon raiders. It took her a couple of seconds to remember that there were no Cylons here.
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Aiden Ford rushed along one of Atlantis large balconies with his men when suddenly several Wraith appeared in front of them. Pointing his P-90 at them he then saw several of his men turning around. The Wraith seemed to be everywhere. They were trapped.
Immediately he gave the order to fire and shot several Wraith himself.
From the corner of his eye he could see men going down and wondered how they would be able to survive this when suddenly some kind of energy wave hit him.
What the hell was that, he wondered. Then he was grabbed from behind and pushed against the railing.
----- -----
One minute Dee was alone and in the next further down the balcony a man was pinned against the railing by a... Dee’s eyes grew wide as she stared at the creature. It wasn't like anything she had ever laid eyes on before. For a couple of moments her legs refused to move, leaving her helpless to watch. It was only when she realised that her fear was keeping her from moving that she managed to regain control of her legs. Moving quickly but stealthily, Dee approached them. Noticing that the man had dropped his firearm she grabbed it.
"Let him go!"
Hearing a voice the Wraith turned to her, startled for a second. This second was enough for Ford to get his knife and drag it into the Wraith’s chest. He then ducked and threw himself sideways out of the Wraith’s reach. Getting back up on his feet he then noticed the Wraith turning towards them.
"Shoot," he called and glanced at the woman.
Dee squeezed the trigger and shot the Wraith straight in the chest. When the creature still moved she shot it three more times, until it fell to the ground. Once she was positive that they were no longer in danger she swiftly pointed the gun at the man.
"Where the frak did you come from?" she demanded. They had just appeared out of nowhere. She knew she had been alone out here, and she knew she wasn't crazy.
Aiden looked at the woman when she pointed the gun at him.
"Easy...," Ford mumbled taking a step back. "Actually I was about to ask you the same thing. Who are you anyway?" he wanted to know. She wasn´t part of the expedition team, he knew that. He would have remembered if he had seen her before. Glancing around he then frowned.
"Where are all the others?" he asked referring to his men and the Wraith that had been there moments before. Then he looked at the sky. "And where are the darts and hive ships?" The air around the city had been full of ships moments before. They couldn´t all have disappeared.
Dee ignored his 'easy' request and kept the gun pointed firmly at his chest. She was not one to be easily spooked but at this precise moment she definitely was.
"I'm…" she quickly stopped herself. What the hell was she doing?
"What others?" she frowned, her uneasiness growing. "Darts? Hive ships?" Unintentionally her arm dropped slightly as she stared at him. He was either a very good liar or he was just as confused as she was. She wasn't sure what to believe.
"My team," Ford answered still glancing around. "And why is the damn alarm turned on?" It was pretty annoying and everyone knew that they were under attack anyway... or weren´t they, he wondered looking at the empty sky again.
Realising that her arm was slacking, Dee pointed the gun at him again. "Who are you?" she asked deciding to ask him the question he had just asked her.
"Lt. Aiden Ford," he said and then heard Dr. Weirs familiar voice over the communication systems.
"This is Weir. We seem to have a security leek. Wraith are in the city and an unknown ancient device is out of control. All military personnel report for duty immediately. All civilians go to your quarters and lock them until further notice."
"What the hell...," Ford mumbled. "We already knew that there are Wraith in the city." He then glanced at the woman, who still hadn´t told him her name. Something was really odd here.
Dee lowered the gun yet again, deciding that the man couldn't be that good of a liar. He did appear generally confused.
"You are from Earth?" she asked assuming that he must be one of the Earthlings. They had been warned about the Wraith. She guessed the creature she had killed had been one of them. Glancing down at it, she nudged it with her shoe to check that it was dead. It didn’t move. Glancing back up at Lt. Aiden Ford, she waited for him to answer her question.
When she finally lowered the gun completely Ford relaxed a little.
"Yes, I am," he told her, wondering why she asked. Could she be one of the Athosians? No, most of them had been evacuated and he knew all the remaining ones. Besides, she wasn´t dressed like an Athosian.
"We should head to the control room," he then suggested. He still felt rather confused, but Dr. Weir probably could tell him what was going on. He then attempted to tap his radio to contact her, but noticed that it was gone. Great, he thought. It must have fallen off when the Wraith attacked him.
Dee was still a little weary of the man, but reluctantly nodded her head in agreement. She had been alone, she was certain. This just didn't make any sense, unless they were beamed in? These people had beaming technology after all. She sighed. Going to the control room seemed like a good idea. She wanted answers.
She waved the gun towards the door. "Lead the way," she told him. She’d keep an eye on him and definitely would not give him his gun back.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Atlantis corridors:
Sheila Trebal and her sister Sherry were on their way to the landing deck of the Aurora, when they suddenly saw some kind of energy wave coming towards them.
"Run," Sheila called and turned around. She had no clue what this was, but she didn´t want to risk finding out. But they were too late. The wave hit them and Sheila stumbled forward.
"What happened?" she called and then suddenly heard the cities alarm.
"No idea, but let´s get back to the control room," Sherry answered.
Sheila nodded and they started for the control room. Walking around a corner Sheila then got hit in the stomach and was thrown against the wall. Breathing heavily she looked up and froze when she saw a Wraith coming towards her. How did the Wraith get into Atlantis?
Her sisters scream then pulled her out of her stasis.
"No," she called out jumping up and pulling her gun.
But before she could shoot the Wraith who was feeding on her sister the other Wraith knocked the gun out of her hand and threw her back against the wall. The next second Sheila felt the Wraith’s hand around her neck. She tried to struggle to get free, but the Wraith was too strong.
Seeing the Wraith strike out with his arm she knew that this was her end.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Wraith was shot three times in the back. Growling in pain it let go of Sheila and turned to face Cameron Mitchell, who continued to point his gun at the creature. Cameron was heading towards the control room when out of no where these people and two Wraith appeared further down the corridor. He then quickly rushed towards them to help the women.
Sheila dropped to the ground when the Wraith let go of her and looked up to the shooter. Trying to catch her breath she then glanced around and saw the body of her sister lying a few feet away. A wave of sadness, shock and anger rushed through her.
Meanwhile the Wraith Cameron had shot stumbled before charging towards him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three more shots seemed to do the trick and the Wraith finally dropped to the ground, no longer moving. Cameron had been so focused on killing the damn thing that he had forgotten about the other one. Before he had a chance to react the other Wraith grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Cameron groaned in pain. Rolling onto his side, he looked up seeing that the Wraith was standing over him. Reaching for his belt he pulled out a small hand held gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The next second the Wraith toppled on top of him. The thing was still breathing but didn't seem to have the strength to move.
Hearing more shots Sheila tore her eyes away from her sisters remains, turned around and saw the second Wraith - the one that had been feeding on her sister - fall on top of the man that had saved her life. Rushing forward she pulled the Wraith away from him. He wouldn´t feed on anyone else! Grabbing the knife from her boot she then drove it into the Wraith several times, until she finally was sure that it was dead.
Cameron was able to breathe easier as the Wraith was pulled off him. Man, that thing had been heavy. Sitting up, he was just in time to see the woman plunge a knife a couple of times into the Wraith. And here he had thought she was a damsel in distress. Boy, had he been wrong. Quickly clambering to his feet, he stepped beside her and looked down at the Wraith.
"Thanks. You okay?" He then remembered the other woman. Looking over his shoulder he saw what was left of her. It was barely more than bones.
“I´m fine,” Sheila said while getting up and following him to her sister. Looking down at the body Sheila had trouble holding back tears. Sherry had been so young... and now she looked like an old woman. No, more like a skeleton. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself she then turned to the man.
"Who are you and how did you get into the city?" she asked. The man wasn´t dressed like anyone in Atlantis and she had never seen him before. Of course she didn´t know everyone in the city, but he didn´t look like he belonged here.
"Who am I?" Cameron repeated her question slowly. After a couple of seconds he answered her: "I'm Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell," he said standing back up to his full height to face her properly. Judging by her appearance and clothing it was obvious that she wasn't military or one of Teyla's people. It was possible that she was one of the Galactica or Pegasus crew but somehow he didn't think so.
"We occupy this city. Who are you?" he then asked. He kept his firearm close to his side, just in case. “And how did you just do that?” he waved his hand about. “Just appear like that?”
"You occupie the city?" Sheila asked stunned and shocked. That just didn´t sound good. Frowning she noticed that her gun was several feet away on the ground and she didn´t think she could do much with her knife against his gun.
"I´m Sheila Trebal, 1st officer of the Aurora," she told him. "What do you want from us?" She then looked a bit quizzically at him. "What do you mean, appear like that? We were on our way to the Aurora and if we... I… don´t get there soon my people will look for me."
"Well it's nice to meet you Sheila," Cameron said, trying to ease the tension a little. He had already seen what the woman could do with a knife. The last thing he wanted was for her to consider him a threat.
"I want nothing from you. I don't even know how you got here, and I don't think you do either for that matter." He had no idea what the Aurora was, but he could save that question for later.
"Who are your people?" he then asked.
"Who are my people?" Sheila asked surprised and suspicious.
"You are in our city and don´t know?" she added and glanced at him again. She had a weird feeling, as if something was terribly wrong. Well, of course it was, there were Wraith in Atlantis, her sister was dead and a man had just told her that his people occupied Atlantis!
"Your... city?" Cameron asked, confused. It then suddenly dawned on him. "Wait? Are you saying you're an actual Ancient?" he asked. Talk about luck. If anyone knew where Merlin’s stone was or how to stop the Ori, the ancients would. And now one had been delivered literally right to their doorstep.
Sheila stared at him. "Ancient? Do I look ancient to you?" she asked confused. Before she could say anything else however she heard a voice over the cities communication channel. She had never heard the voice before.
"This is Weir. We seem to have a security leek. Wraith are in the city and an unknown ancient device is out of control. All military personnel report for duty immediately. All civilians go to your quarters and lock them until further notice."
A frown appeared on Sheilas face as she looked at Cameron again. His people really seemed to have taken over the city, but how? She hadn´t even noticed anything.
Cameron sighed. Great, he had already noticed that Wraith were in the city, but now an ancient device was out of control as well? That never was a good thing, especially if Sam was in the infirmary and had no idea who she was.
Before either of them could say something they heard footsteps coming closer. Turning around Sheila hoped that it were her people and not more Wraith or his people.
Gripping his gun tightly, Cameron pointed it into the direction the footsteps were coming from. A young woman and a man appeared. He recognised the woman. She was one of the crew from the Pegasus. He had no idea who the guy was, he was donning Atlantis military wear however. He lowered his gun.
“Not running away from any life suckers, were you?” he asked, meaning the Wraith.
Dee shook her head. "We´re heading to the control room." She glanced at Lt. Ford before looking back at Lt. Colonel Mitchell. “Atlantis is under attack?”
“Yup, looks that way. People and Wraith are appearing out of thin air all over the place it seems.”
Sheila frowned when she noticed that the arriving people were not her own. The Colonel however seemed to know them. She still didn´t understand where they were coming from. Or was she the one who didn´t belong here? He had said that she just appeared after all. Maybe it had something to do with the weird energy wave that had hit them right before the Wraith attacked?
"Have you noticed any energy waves or something like that?" she then asked. "My sister and I were followed and hit by something like that just before the Wraith attacked us."
Ford glanced from the Colonel to the woman. He didn´t know any of them. Maybe they were more reinforcements from Earth? When she then mentioned something like an energy wave he looked at her.
"Yes, I saw something like that, too. It hit me and after that everything seemed different. My men were gone and the attacking Wraith darts and hiveships were no where to bee seen as well," he told them.
"He appeared out of no where, sir," Dee quickly told Cameron before taking a step closer to the Colonel. Now that Mitchell had confirmed that people were indeed popping up all over the place, she was relived to know that she was still sane.
Cameron glanced from Dee to Ford and then at Sheila. "It's a safe guess to say that this has something to do with that ancient device thingy that Daniel and McKay are looking at."
Ford frowned. "So McKay is messing with something again?" he asked and then thought about it. "But it can´t be bad if it got rid of all the attacking Wraith and their ships."
Sheila glanced at him. "Wraith ships were attacking?" she asked surprised. "Why have the long range sensors not picked up anything?"
"Of course they have. We have been preparing for the attack for weeks," Ford told her. He then looked to the Colonel and Dee.
"Are you more reinforcements from Earth?"
"Woah, Woah, Woah!" Cameron raised both of his hands asking for silence. He could only deal with these people one at a time. He first turned to Sheila. "The long range sensors have not picked up anything because there are no Wraith ships," he said with certainty.
He then turned to Ford. "There is no Wraith attack… at least there wasn't until now." He glanced at the wraith bodies, before looking back at Ford. "Who are you exactly? You’re wearing the Atlantis explorers military uniform, but I don't recognise you."
Ford glanced at the Colonel. He was weird, but so was the whole situation. The Wraith attack couldn´t just have ended like that...
"I´m, Lt. Aiden Ford. I´ve been here for about a year now, since we first came to Atlantis and I don´t recognise you either," he said.
"Why don´t we go to the control room and talk to Dr. Weir," he then suggested.
Sheila just observed them. She once more had the feeling that something was up. If she just knew what it was.
Cameron didn't agree to Fords suggestion straight away. He just stared at him. It was as if he was searching for hidden answers that were not there. He had noticed how Lt. Ford had mentioned that the Atlantis expedition team had only been there for a year, when in fact it were a bit over two. Still, he did not correct him.
"Ok, Lieutenant. Let's all go and talk to Dr. Weir," he finally agreed. Looking at Sheila he gave her a smile. "Maybe she'll have a better idea about what the heck is going on here."
The four then headed towards the control room.
-------------------------------------
Another corridor:
"I want to volunteer," Kara told Lee firmly, as if she was worried that he'd for some reason not agree to it. They had literally bumped into each other around ten minutes ago and Lee had not wasted any time telling her that they were getting the chance to join the earthling’s off-world exploring teams. Kara straight away knew that she wanted to be part of the experience.
"I knew you would," Lee said with a smirk. It was why he had told her.
Before they had a chance to discuss it further, the cities alarms burst into life. Jumping slightly, Kara turned her head sharply to Lee. "What`s going on?"
Glancing around Lee tapped at the radio he had been given earlier.
"This is Commander Adama, can anyone hear me?" he asked. He hadn´t had a chance to test the radio yet, so he wasn´t sure if it worked.
“This is Cadman, I hear you Commander. We have a small technical problem in one of the labs. Nothing to worry about... I hope.”
"Understood. Keep me updated, if anything important happens."
“Yes, sir."
Kara smirked as Lee contacted someone on the radio and she playfully poked her own piece of equipment to cause a reaction. Listening to Cadman and Lee's response her smirk grew.
Lee glanced at Kara. "Seems to be a technical problem," he told her. Not being familiar with the city he didn´t know if he should be worried or not.
"We've been here for three days and you're already giving these people orders. You don't hang about, do you?"
Lee grinned at Kara. "That´s what Commanders do, isn´t it?"
Before Kara could reply they heard Dr. Weir’s voice over the cities communication system.
"This is Weir. We seem to have a security leek. Wraith are in the city and an unknown ancient device is out of control. All military person report for duty immediately. All civilians go to your quarters and lock them until further notice."
"Wraith? Ancient Device?...What?" Moment's before it had been a mere technical problem, now however things appeared to be much more serious.
"C'mon." Kara started walking briskly down the corridor. “Hurry up, Apollo,” she yelled at him over her shoulder.
Surprised at the news Lee rushed after Kara and was glad that he had his gun with him.
"The control room is that way," he called pointing to their left.
Then some sort of energy wave erupted in front of them. Lee stopped and saw a group of four people appearing out of thin air.
"Woah, what was th...," he started and then threw himself sideways, knocking Kara down in the process. Several pullets flew over their heads and hit the wall. Another one grazed his arm.
Kara landed heavily on her side as she made impact with the floor. With a sharp grunt, she raised her head. Grabbing Lee she pulled him through an open door two feet away, allowing them some coverage against the open fire. Bullets bounced off the floor where they had been seconds before. It had been a close call.
Weaponless herself, Kara then snatched Lee’s gun from his grasp and fired a few rounds at the people who had attacked them, warning them against coming any closer.
"Lee, you okay?" she asked, her words laced with concern.
Lee groaned and held his arm. "Yeah... I´ll survive."
"Who the hell are those guys? They looked human, right? So they can´t be those Wraith," he said glancing at Kara.
"Yeah, they looked human," Kara agreed, risking a sneak glance around the door to acknowledge their attackers positions. The four seemed to be conversing with each other. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she guessed it was about what their next move should be.
Lee tapped his radio again.
"This is Commander Adama. We are under attack... er,... somewhere between the living quarters and the control room," he said frowning. Great, how should they get help if he didn´t even know where they were?
"And our attackers seem to be human."
Kara was glad that Lee had thought of asking for backup. They were trapped with no way out and only one weapon. It looked like her warning shots had worked so far but it was only a matter of time before these people would advance in on them.
"Lesson of the day, always carry a weapon," she muttered, annoyed at herself for being so reckless. Still, before now Atlantis had appeared fairly safe, so she could easily blame her moment of idiocy on false sense of security.
“This is Weir. I´ll send someone your way, Commander.”
Then there was a pause before Lee heard her voice again. “Humans are attacking you?”
"Yes," Lee muttered. "Four of them," he added with a frown. For the first time it occurred to him, that she might already know that. Was this all a trap? They had trusted these people so easily. But why would they try to kill them? They had helped rescue all their people from New Caprica after all, risking their own lives. Before he could do or say anything else Lee then suddenly heard shooting from outside.
----- -----
Ronon was near the living quarters when Dr. Weir asked for backup for Commander Adama. Having heard shots before he had already been on his way anyway. Glancing around a corner he spotted Genii and frowned. Shooting at them he then called:
"Commander Adama, get out here." If they stayed in that room they were trapped.
Holding the Genii back with his gun he tapped his radio with the other hand. "Dr. Weir, Colonel Sheppard, we have Genii in the city."
“Genii?” Elizabeth’s voice came over the radio. “How the hell did they get here?”
"Want me to ask them?" Ronon answered while firing at the Genii to keep them busy.
Kara turned to Lee and glanced at his arm. "You need help to stand?" It looked like nothing more than a graze but she was no doc, and she wasn't about to pretend to be one either. Not waiting for him to respond she held her hand out for him to grasp. Pulling him up, she cautiously poked her head out of the room to check that it was ok to come out, not that she needed have worried. Their 'backup' appeared to have everything under control.
Keeping alert, Kara kept the gun raised as she exited the room. Lee followed her and both of them headed around the corner where Ronon was.
When Lee and Kara were with him Ronon stopped shooting and glanced at them. "You ok?"
"I´ll survive," Lee answered. "Who are those people?"
"Genii," Ronon answered, as if that would explain everything. He then peered around the corner again and saw an energy wave of some sort rush through the hallway, until it hit the Genii, making them disappear. Surprised he stared at the empty corridor.
Tapping his radio again he then said: "Dr. Weir, the Genii just disappeared... and I mean disappeared. Do they have beaming technology?"
Kara blinked when the Genii suddenly vanished again. She lowered her gun, looking a little frustrated. How was she supposed to shoot anything if they kept appearing and disappearing like that? It was enough to give her a headache. She glanced at Ronon who was busy talking into his radio. Then her gaze flickered to Lee and she raised one of her eyebrows.
Lee returned Karas look, feeling as confused as she did.
"I guess it won´t get boring around here," he said. They seemed to have left the Cylons behind, but living peacefully didn´t seem to be an option after all.
Ronon then turned to them again. "For now they are gone. We should get you to the infirmary."
Lee nodded. "Ok, but can you tell us what is going on here?"
Ronon shrugged. "We don´t know yet. But McKay will figure it out. Until then, keep your eyes open. Wraith and Genii could still be in the city and they could appear out of thin air."
"We saw that," Lee answered with a frown. "Do you have a spare gun?"
Ronon nodded and handed him one. "The infirmary is this way."
Kara snorted in response to Lees comment, but said nothing. She was still trying to understand how people could just appear and disappear like that. It was insane, and what was even more insane was that she was starting to miss the simplicity of the Cylons. At least with them she had a solid target to hit. Shaking her head in disbelief, she fell into step next to Lee, around three feet behind Ronon who was leading them to the infirmary.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Control room:
Elizabeth was talking to Ronon over the radio and raised an eyebrow at his words.
"The Genii? No, I don´t think they have beaming technology. They aren´t that advanced," she told him.
Something was up here. First that ancient device triggered the alarm, then Wraith showed up and now Genii who just appeared and disappeared?
"Rodney, can you hear me? Any progress with that device? Did you find out what it does?" she asked. She had the feeling that it was somehow connected to the other incidents.
"Could it have anything to do with Wraith and Genii suddenly appearing in the city?"
Rodney’s irritable voice came back through the radio:
“Yes, I can hear you. I'm trying. The device seems to be overpowering. If we don't do something soon there is a chance it might explode. I’m trying to save us all here, so if you don’t mind, I can't talk right now!” The radio went dead.
Elizabeth frowned at Rodney’s words, but knew that he would do his best.
Two Lieutenants then entered the control room. Walking between them was a young girl who looked to be around six years old. "Dr. Weir, we found her wandering the halls. We have no idea where she…"
The girl suddenly rushed towards Elizabeth and threw her arms around her waist, clutching onto her tightly as if she was scared to let go. Burring her head in Elizabeths top, the child muttered something.
The Lieutenant who had spoken looked a little taken aback, his brown eyes flickering between Elizabeth and the child uncertainly. “Er… we have no idea where she came from.”
A little surprised and taken aback by the childs behavior Elizabeth glanced from the girl to the Lieutenants.
"It´s ok, I´ll handle this," she told them before turning her attention back to the girl. Putting a hand on the obviously frightened girls shoulder she then spoke: "It´s ok, you´re safe. Want to tell me what happened and where you came from?"
The girl slowly tilted her head so she could look up at Elizabeth, but remained hugging her tightly. Her forehead creased and her lips tilted into a small frown.
"Mummy?” she asked with uncertainty, her tiny voice filled with confusion.
Elizabeth stared at the girl surprised and a little shocked. She had never seen her before, so how could she confuse her with her mother?
Kneeling down in front of her Elizabeth looked at the girl closely, feeling uncertain of what to do.
"I´m sorry, but I don´t know where your Mummy is. Can you tell me where you last saw her?" she asked. Looking at the girl Elizabeth then got a weird feeling. Somehow she looked familiar. Maybe she looked a bit like someone she knew?
The little girl continued to frown at Elizabeth for a couple of seconds before breaking out into a smile.
"Don't be silly, Mummy," she scolded as if she believed they were playing a game. She no longer felt afraid, she was with her mother after all.
She then wrapped her arms around Elizabeth’s neck and hugged her once again tightly. "Is this a game?" she asked innocently.
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at the girl’s words and then was taken by surprise once more when the girl hugged her again.
"A game? Er... yes, this is a game," she then said. "How about you show me where you were coming from when the men found you and then we can play a bit more," she said hoping to find out more about the girl this way.
When the girl finally let go of her again Elizabeth got up and held her hand out for the girl to take. She had the feeling, that the girl was somehow connected to the device, as well as the Genii and the Wraith. Maybe the girl could show her something that helped them understand what the device exactly did? It was worth a try.
The girl happily grasped Elizabeths hand and eagerly dragged her out of the control room. On the way there, she chatted away to Elizabeth, occasionally mentioning 'Daddy'.
Elizabeth listened to the girl and smiled. She really was a cute little thing, just a bit confused obviously.
"They found me over here!" Letting go of Elizabeth's hand she ran ahead and stood in the exact spot where the two large men had found her.
"Can we play now?" she asked with another radiant smile.
Elizabeth looked at the girl and then around. There was nothing there that could give her any clue about what was going on. Turning back to the girl she then noticed some sort of energy wave rushing towards the girl.
"No," Elizabeth called and rushed forward, but she was too late. The energy wave hit the girl and then she was gone.
A wave of loss and sadness rushed through Elizabeth, making her feel confused. She didn´t even know the girl after all. But just disappearing wasn´t something Elizabeth wished on anyone. She then turned around and looked at the two Lieutenants, who had followed her in a small distance, making sure that she was safe in a city full of Wraith and Genii. They seemed as confused as she was.
"Let´s go back to the control room," she told them and then tapped her radio once more.
"Rodney, have you found out what the device does?" she asked in an impatient voice. "And don´t tell me to shut up. I just saw a girl disappear in front of my eyes. I want to know what´s going on!"
"I've managed to shut it down. Dr Jackson believes that it is a device that effects time. Until further examination I cannot say if he is correct or not. But considering what just happened I believe it is possible that he is right. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the infirmary... I think I permanently scarred my hand."
----- -----
One minute he was with six of his men and then they suddenly vanished and he was alone. What was going on? He kept walking and then noticed several military personnel. Where did they come from? Atlantis was almost deserted because of the storm. The only person still annoying him had been Major Sheppard!
Kolya didn´t understand what was going on, but he knew that he didn´t have time to find out. He needed some leverage if he was going to make it out of the city alive, and he found the perfect one five minutes later, Dr. Weir.
----- -----
"Well done, Rodney. I´m sure Carson will fix your ha...," Elizabeth said, but was interrupted by two gun shots.
Turning around she then saw the two Lieutenants lying on the floor dead. Looking up her eyes fell on a soaked person pointing a gun at her.
"Kolya," she muttered shocked and terrified.
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chapter 7