Thunder struck overhead, clashing energy in a swordfight of the gods. The black, rolling clouds cast a pre-mature night fall on the hills. Trees bent to the will of the wind, leaves flinging off in a horrid act of desolation. Tall grasses and weeds rippled in waves, bowing to the supreme storm. Lightning arched gracefully overhead, radiating power and magnitude of a sight unseen. The hill was connected by a steep drop into a stony valley, a creek rushing past. The mountains stood in the distance, solid sentinels of rock and metals.
Two figures, hunched over against the wind, trudged their way through the tall greens. They were dressed in heavy cloaks, black and rippling. Scarves covered their mouths, goggles covered their eyes. Each one carried a rifle, the gun fairly primitive. Hunters coming home from the game. They didn't need to hunt, of course. This trip was mostly for sport. One reached forward and tapped his comrade on the shoulder. He pointed up at the nearest mountain. His friend looked up. Lightning had just struck the top, making and avalanche deposit tons and tons of snow on a neighboring cliff. The second hiker nodded and turned to the front again.
Thunder rumbled and a bright sphere of light opened in the clouds. The hunters pointed and muttered to themselves. The miniature sun moved slowly out of the clouds. A lightning bolt slammed into the side of it and a meteor rocketed out of the bright light. It smoked and left streaks of fire in the sky. The sphere eased back into the clouds, disappearing. The meteor disappeared behind the next hill and turned dark. The ground shook, the sky thundered and the crash lit up. An excited hunter rushed after it, his friend in close pursuit.
When they arrived, they beheld a sight few have ever seen. A huge crater had ripped a chunk of the hill off the side. The outer layer was hit so hard, it had become coal. The inner layer had become diamond from the pressure of impact! What had done this? In the middle of the crater lay a figure, slightly glowing. Steam vented off his body. It was a man, clothed in a shining white robe. Long black hair covered half of his face. One closed eye had a shining scar on it.
A hunter lowered his gun and got on one knee. Lifting his goggles, blue eyes looking over the man, he turned to his friend.
"It's a man for sure, but how did he fall from the sky…?"
"I don't know… but we need to get him back to the town, fast. The storm is getting worse."
The blue eyed one tried to lift the man.
"Good Lord!"
"What is it?"
"This one weighs half a ton!"
Before his friend could help, the stranger on the ground stirred and his eye flashed open. A silver, fragmented pupil stared to the sky…
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The Stargate sat on its usual pedestal in the field. The grasses rippled against the naquadah shell, the DHD sat at a crooked angle. An alien machine sat in front of the Gate, still as stone. A lone man waited in front of the Gate with hands behind his back. He wore respectable clothing, red leather and black cloth. He eyed the Gate and DHD with anticipation. When the Gate groaned and began to light up, he winced. A watery vortex exploded out of the Gate, massive collections of light drifting over the field. Four humans walked out of the event horizon. The Gate shut down and the plasma disappeared. The man at the head walked forward. Sheppard smiled.
"Ruben, I presume?"
"And you must be Sheppard. I've been appointed to take you back to the village. It will be a two hour walk at least.
"Then we best not dawdle…" Behind Sheppard, Rodney groaned.
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The humans walked through the fields on the rolling hills. Rodney was in the back, grumbling after walking for an hour. Sheppard was up by Ruben, their tour guide on the planet. Ruben laughed.
"You know… it was a miracle that your machine's arrival was seen at all. If it wasn't for him, we may not have known of the Stargate for quite some time…"
"Of whom do you speak?" Teyla asked. She felt the presence of another on the mental plane. At first, she thought it was a Wraith on the mental network, but it felt different, but highly familiar.
"About two months ago, one of our hunting parties were returning to the village. There was a terrible storm. On their way back, they saw what they described as a small sun drop from the clouds and shoot a meteor to the planet. After investigating the crater, they found the object was in fact, a human. When they found him, he was near death, but somehow awakened and followed them to the village. The elders had never seen a person like him before. His first words were: Ego indaeo esse asórdo Atlantis. We recognized his speech as that of the Ancient ones, so when we heard of your MALP and you saying you were from Atlantis, we knew we could trust you…."
"That ancient term… it means… 'I need to be helping Atlantis…' This guy could be an ancient…"
"Just the guy we need… Ruben… how did he introduce you to the Gate?" Ruben laughed.
"He would leave the village for a few hours at a time every day. We followed him one day, and he went to the Gate. He never dialed it, but stood there and looked it over. Sometimes, he would use his robotic arm to craft many tools for repairing the Gate…"
"Robotic arm…? This sounds familiar…"
"When you dialed the first time, he fled the Gate at the sight of the MALP. He apparently didn't want to be seen…"
"What's his name?"
"He never told anyone until a few weeks after he came by. Havoc, he called himself."
The team stopped, wide eyed. Havoc was dead. They saw him die. There wasn't enough left of him to put in a pill bottle. Havoc was an ascended soldier from 10,000 years ago who had vowed to help Atlantis, but was terminally ill. He sacrificed his life for Atlantis almost a year ago. (A/N: If you want this to make sense, read Final Gate.)
"When… When is the next time you'll meet him…?" Sheppard asked anxiously. Ruben turned around and smiled.
"Why… I asked him to meet us here, actually… He should be here momentarily."
Like clockwork, a hyperspace window ripped open in the upper atmosphere. A lone figure exploded out and rocketed out to the ground. It rushed to the dirt and made a sudden 90 degree angle to the humans. The Atlantis team flinched as it drew close, but Ruben merely stepped aside. The blur was ten feet away when all momentum stopped. A tall man stood in the middle of a cloud of dust. Teyla and Rodney almost dropped their P-90's. The tall man had spiky black hair, like someone tried to cut it with a sword. Three streaks of silver hair arched out in different directions. Silver eyes glared out from under stray hairs. A white scar crossed over his right eye. He wore a white tunic and red pants. He bore the insignia of Earth on his chest and a shield on his shoulder. His hands were in his pockets. Havoc gave a small, embarrassed smile.
"…Hey guys…"