Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers for Rising
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis does not belong to me. Sadly, neither does John Sheppard.
It was cold, which was to be expected when you were in Antarctica, but John had gotten used to the cold. What he hadn't gotten used to was the research being conducted deep under the ice of Antarctica. He had been told it was about alien technology and other worlds, but he was beginning to wonder if that was all just a cover story. If it was, it was the worst cover story John had ever heard; and he'd heard some pretty unbelievable ones.
He decided to test his theory by sitting in the 'alien' chair. If it was alien it would probably do something strange; he wasn't quite sure what, but it would probably light up at least. So if it did nothing that would prove it was just an ordinary Earth-made chair, he reasoned. As he lowered himself into the chair, he heard the Scottish doctor telling him not to sit down. He replied with a quick reminder that he was human so it didn't matter. But then the chair lit up and reclined with a mechanical whir. The Scottish man told him not to move and then ran off.
The man returned a few minutes later with a small group of people. The only person John recognized was General O'Neill. Shit, he was in trouble now. The General reminded him that he had said not to touch anything. "I just sat down," John defended himself. He was about to explain when one of the men – a scientist, no doubt – told John to imagine where they were in the solar system. What did that have to do with anything? But he complied, and a holographic image of the solar system appeared above his head. "Did I do that?" he wondered aloud.
John was beginning to regret his decision; because the moment he sat down in that chair, he had changed his future; and the future of the men and women around him. Those brave souls who dared to travel to a distant galaxy. Some would explore these new worlds and make exciting discoveries. But others would make the ultimate sacrifice: to give their lives for their comrades – their friends. John wondered which fate would be his, and he decided that he was going to find out. Taking a deep breath, Major John Sheppard stepped through the gate and changed his life forever.
FIN
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