Synopsis:
SG1 is off in search of what they believe to be a utopian society created by the Ancients only to lose their memories along the way and make a shocking discovery that puts their lives as well as the rest of the Milky Way in danger.
Characters:
SG1 new and old, as well as Reynolds.
Timeline: Takes place after Continuum and Enemy at the Gate though there is no use of Atlantis characters in this one. I don't think. Not yet.
Author's note:
This is a plot bunny I've been sitting on for awhile now. I'm in college and finals are coming up and I work on the Stargate Movies Campaign (shameless plug: .com) so the updates might be a bit slow. Or I might just lose sleep trying to crank out chapters. Who knows. :) But hopefully this won't be too terribly slow. No beta as I'm just brave like that, so constructive criticism is welcome. On we go!
Chapter One:
The event horizon of the Stargate at the SGC exploded into a burst of blue liquid as the wormhole from PL6-549 opened. Moments later, SG1 stepped through from their scheduled return from said planet. Vala had her arms linked between the two Colonels of the team, now Mitchell and Reynolds, as they stepped through, with Daniel Jackson trailing behind them with a frown clear on his face. At the site of the General at the bottom of the ramp ahead of them, Vala released the arms of her military escorts and bounded down to meet him, her neat ponytail whipping around with the skip of her step.
"Hello General Landry!"
The man lifted a brow in question at the beaming woman standing in front of him. "Nice to see you too, Vala. I take it you have good news."
"I have hit the Vala-pot!" she announced proudly. "I have found the Ancients!"
"Jackpot," Daniel halfheartedly corrected. "And I wouldn't exactly go that far."
Vala turned ever so slightly with a cock of her head. "No, this is most definitely a Vala-pot. General O'Neill has nothing to do with my findings."
Landry looked back and forth between the two. "Briefing room in five. Then I'll decide whose hit what."
Vala saluted happily before marching off to the locker room, clearly not phased by Daniel's skepticism. Her high spirits hadn't waned by the time SG-1 was seated around the briefing room table.
"I'm not saying that it's impossible," Daniel repeated for the umpteenth time since Vala had announced her discovery. "I'm saying it's not probable. Vala, we're talking about beings who were capable of ascending to a higher plane of existence."
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Just because they are capable doesn't mean they can."
He blinked at her. "That's exactly what it means, actually."
"Well just because they can doesn't mean they did, Daniel. I mean, honestly, don't you think it's just a tad bit arrogant to assume that when given the chance, everyone would make the same choices as you?"
He cut a glare to the newest addition to their team, Colonel Reynolds of SG3, as he tried to stifle a laugh. "You're missing the point, Vala. You pieced together the few remaining pages of a journal that referenced this place and now you think that you found the Ancients." His argument was cut short as General Landry came out of his office. Daniel sighed as the two Colonels stood at attention.
Landry nodded to Reynolds and Mitchell before turning to Daniel. "So, Dr. Jackson, what is it exactly that you found?"
"Nothing," Vala interjected as Daniel opened his mouth to speak. "I, on the other hand, found the Ancients." She beamed at the General, clearly awaiting the praise she felt she deserved.
The General folded his hands in front of him, eyebrows raised in expectation as he waited for her explanation.
"General, as you know," Daniel began, coming to Vala's rescue before Landry's patience could run out. "We found a massive library on PL6-549. There seems to be a wealth of knowledge there from many different planets and races, we even found some tomes on the Alterans."
"Blah, blah, blah, Daniel. Honestly, we'd be here all day if you got to run these things." Vala returned the appreciative smile Cameron threw her way. "We also found journals. Personal journals. Of the Ancients," she added. "And they were chock full of good stuff! Including a gate address as to where they might have gone."
"Some of them," Daniel amended.
"Some of them," she agreed.
"Possibly," he pressed.
"Probably," she countered with a forced smile still directed at Landry.
"Okay, okay," Cameron finally jumped in, waving his hands at them. "Vala was able to piece together some parts of a very beat up journal. It talks about some sort of paradise or something-"
"Utopia is the word they used," Vala corrected.
Cam cut her a look of annoyance before continuing. "But it also looks like the place is forbidden."
"Other texts reference the place in a more negative light, sir," Reynolds explained. "It seems like some of the Alterans, or the people of PL6-549—we're not sure—went there a long time ago. A group reported back and they weren't very pleased with what they had found."
Landry looked around the briefing room table. "What do you think they found?" Four sets of shoulders shrugged at him.
"We're not sure," Daniel explained. "Whatever it was, it was pretty controversial. There was a group that was opposed to locking out the gate address from their dialing systems but they were overruled by the majority."
Vala sat up eagerly. "Here's the good part—it says in the journal that I found that the group who opposed blacklisting the place requested to join the original group on the planet."
Landry lifted his hands in question. "Meaning?"
"Meaning the original group never came back. They stayed on the utopian planet." She smiled brightly again, certain that she had made her case.
Landry turned to the archeologist whose lips were clamped together tightly as if he were trying to resist the urge to speak up. "Dr. Jackson? What do you think?"
"I think...I think it's unlikely that any Ancients that might have gone there would still be around. But it's worth taking a look at," he quickly added in response to the dejected look that had just come over Vala.
"Very well. You leave at 0800 tomorrow. Mitchell, I'd like a word with you. The rest of you are dismissed." He waited for the other three members of SG1 to leave before turning to the unit commander. "How is Reynolds working out for you?"
"Fits like a glove," Mitchell responded with a shrug. "Okay, maybe not like a glove, but he works. Better than the last three."
"Is that so?"
"Well, he's not Teal'c or Sam, but this could work. Reynolds knows his way around the field and has experience leading an SG team."
Landry leaned back in his chair. "And you don't think that's going to be a problem? Two team leaders on one team?"
"Nah," Cam replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If anything I think that's what's going to make it work. SG1 is the flagship team for Stargate Command, which means we have to deal with a lot of hot button issues and sticky situations. Most of which we tend to get ourselves into. I need someone who can think on their feet and make split second decisions without trying to figure out the chain of command. That's how SG1 works. It's how it's always worked."
"I agree," Landry stood, locking the Colonel's eyes as he stood in turn. "You just keep in mind that this is still your team."
"Meaning my ass is the one on the line if we screw up. Got it, sir," he replied with a wry smile.