DISCLAIMER
The only thing I own in this story is the character in the title. Everything else belongs to MGM.
PROLOGUE – Homecoming.
Desterricca was a fairly average planet in the Pegasus galaxy. It had a fairly small rural population of a few thousand humans, whose only real fear was of the coming of the Wraith. Fortunately, the 'culling' was not due for at least 50 years, so most merely went about trading with the humans of other worlds and saying prayers to the Ancestors, just as all the humans of the Pegasus galaxy did.
If only they knew the truth, thought Gwadj, as he overheard a trader 'thank the Ancestors' for something or another. Most believed that the 'Ancestors' watched over them and cared for them, but Gwadj knew different. They cared not about the many worlds that lived in fear of the Wraith cullings, nor did they care about the humans in other galaxies. They didn't even care about their own. They had betrayed him twice, and he would never forgive them for it.
He took a swig of Jijog, earning a few looks from a nearby table. After all, the young man could not be much older than eighteen or nineteen cycles old – definitely not old enough to be drinking a beverage so strong. Not that the apparently young man seemed to care, but still…
Suddenly, Gwadj overheard a word he never thought he'd hear again.
"… Atlantis."
What? he thought frantically, his head snapping back towards the group sitting around a nearby table. There he saw the man who had just 'thanked the Ancestors' receiving several surprised and disbelieving looks from those around him.
"They came from the city of the Ancestors?" one of them asked.
"That is what they said." replied the bearded man.
"And you believed them?" asked another.
The bearded trader nodded. "Their weaponry was like nothing I have ever seen and the way they spoke sounded like no people I have ever come across. Also, their clothing…"
However, before the man finished his sentence, Gwadj sprang to his feet and dashed out of the tavern as fast as he could.
Five minutes later, he reached the Stargate. Breathing heavily, he quickly entered the seven symbol 'address' that he had tried so many times, each time unsuccessfully. There is no chance of this actually working, he thought as he placed his hand in the centre of the Dialler. However, when the last chevron on the gate lit up, rather than doing nothing, the gate activated…
-X-X-X-
"What's he so excited about now?" asked Colonel John Sheppard.
"Who, Rodney?" replied Dr Carson Beckett. "Oh, he and Zelenka have just discovered some new programme in the Atlantis mainframe and they're trying to figure out what it does."
"You mean arguing about what it does." replied Sheppard.
"Aye." sighed Dr Beckett. "They've been at it for nearly an hour now."
Sheppard glanced at the two scientists as they bickered, just as they always did. "Guess I should try and break it up, shouldn't I?"
"Good luck." said Beckett as the Colonel approached the two arguing scientists.
"I mean, does this even look like it has anything to do with power distribution? Does it even remotely look as if it has anything to do with anything related to the ZPM?" said Rodney MacKay in his usual exasperated sounding voice. "No, it doesn't. Clearly it…"
"Rodney." interrupted Sheppard. "Be nice." MacKay stopped and rolled his eyes slightly at the interruption. "What're you two arguing about anyway?" added Sheppard.
"Well, we discovered a couple of new algorithms in the mainframe and Zelenka here thinks it has something to do with power distribution management…" said MacKay.
"As indicated by the display here which clearly shows…" began the bespectacled Czech.
"Whereas it quite clearly has something to do with the Stargate…" interrupted MacKay.
"There is nothing here that suggests any connection to the Stargate…" retorted Zelenka.
"Guys!" said Sheppard forcefully. "Can't you two discover anything without having a shouting match over what it does?"
"Oh, sure we can, if Zelenka would just look at it and not jump to conclusions…" replied MacKay.
"You are the one who is not looking at it, MacKay…" interjected Zelenka.
Sheppard sighed as the argument between the two resumed and left the control room, feeling sorry for the others who were having to listen to the two brilliant, but immature geniuses.
As Sheppard entered Dr Weir's 'office', he noticed the expedition leader almost engrossed in what she was doing.
"Solitaire?" queried Sheppard.
Weir looked up from her computer and shook her head. "Freecell."
"Ah." said Sheppard. "So close."
"So, anything new?" asked Weir.
"Not really." replied Sheppard. "Major Reginald's team found no trace of any ZPM's on M4X-713. Major Lorne's team came up empty too."
"Anything else?" queried Weir.
"Well, I was thinking of taking a team to M3R-332 and search that Ancient temple again, but otherwise…" answered Sheppard.
"Incoming wormhole." announced a voice on the P.A.
Both Sheppard and Weir immediately rushed to the control room, where they saw the gate dialling.
"Do we have any teams still offworld?" asked Weir quickly.
"No, ma'am." a scientist sitting near the city map responded.
"Activate the Iris." Weir commanded upon hearing this.
A few seconds later, a pale blue barrier appeared over the Stargate after the characteristic 'whoosh' receded into the now stable wormhole. Now all anyone could do was wait…
-X-X-X-
Gwadj approached the active wormhole slowly, not quite believing what he was seeing.
How is this possible? he wondered. Atlantis was locked out from this network when the others left. This gate shouldn't have activated. He reached out, his hand almost touching the shimmering gateway. The barrier has been raised, he realised as he felt the energy blocking the other side. Someone is in Atlantis.
He took a step back from the Stargate and held out his right arm. Closing his eyes, he appeared to concentrate for a few seconds before a glowing ball of energy began to form in the palm of his outstretched hand…
-X-X-X-
"I don't get it. Why isn't anyone trying to come through?" Sheppard said out loud.
"I'm not detecting any signals or energy readings coming through the wormhole." replied MacKay.
"Then what the hell is…" began Sheppard.
Suddenly, something hit the Iris shield, but rather than a quick flash, there was a long sustained glow, as if an energy beam was being directed through the Stargate. A few seconds later, the shield collapsed.
"The shield's down!" yelled MacKay frantically.
"Get it back up!" Weir commanded.
"I'm trying, but something's overloaded the system." responded MacKay as he pressed several buttons on a nearby console, to little effect.
When he heard this, Sheppard reached over and held down the P.A button. "All military personnel to the gate room immediately!"
Within seconds, several armed men scrambled into the gate room, their weapons primed and aimed at the open gate.
-X-X-X-
Gwadj paused for a second, realising that before him was an open gate back to Atlantis – after nearly ten thousand years, he was finally going home.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the shimmering vortex and found himself flying through a familiar blue/green tunnel. He watched as the stars streaked past him as the tunnel twisted and turned from one end of the Pegasus galaxy to the other. A few seconds later, a bright flash indicated that he had reached his destination – Atlantis.
Home.
He emerged from the Stargate and found himself in a room he had not seen since the Exodus. However, he was not alone as a group of men were crouched before him, pointing several unfamiliar looking weapons at him. Impossible! he thought. They must have returned…
-X-X-X-
Everyone in the control room watched as the robed figure emerged from the Stargate. He was a young looking man, no older than nineteen years old. His hair was dark and his complexion quite pale. He gave the soldiers before him a peculiar look before turning his head in their direction.
"Della kal el salloch." said the mysterious figure in a language none of them recognised.
In response, Dr Weir lowered her head to the microphone in front of her. "This is Doctor Elizabeth Wier, Leader of the Atlantis Expedition Team. Please identify yourself."
The figure scowled slightly at this before drawing a mysterious looking weapon and pointing it at the control room before anyone could react.
"Who are you?" he said in an outraged voice. "And how did you get into this city?"