A New Mission
In the Independence's mess hall, Colonel Carter sits staring at the passing stars lost in her memories. She always hates the 2 week journey to Atlantis because it gives her far too much time to think. As usual she thinks of her old comrades. One in particular.
She thinks it a great crime that such a noble hero as Jack O'Neil died all alone at his cabin. They found him lying next to his fishing pole. A massive heart attack they told her. Even with all the tech she has found over the years, there would have been nothing she could have done to save him they told her. They don't understand that she should have been there to at least hold his hand. She will never forgive herself for letting her duty keep her from him. He was the one she had waited for and she never had the will to act on it. Why hadn't she just told him? That is a question she ponders ever night before sleep claims her.
When they offered her command of Atlantis again she jumped at it. This is just what she needs to keep her going. Saving the universe is about the only thing that will help her get past Jack's Death. She wipes the tears that run down her cheeks. She misses him so much.
Deciding she has been melancholy long enough today, she forces down the rest of her now cold meal and heads back to her work station. There she reviews the latest intel on Atlantis one more time. She has read the material several times already but she figures once more won't hurt. She does not want to miss anything. She was a bit overwhelmed the first time she was in command of Atlantis and she is determined not to let that happen again.
Reviewing the battle report, she feels sorry for Commander Woolsey. What happened wasn't his fault but he was in command so he took full responsibility. She admires him for that decision. He has never been her favorite person but she has come to respect him. When she arrived, he would turn over command and head back to Earth to face the Earth Council. He will probably take pride in being the first person court-martialed by the new Earth government. It is an amazing thing to see the major powers united for the good of Earth.
She will have a lot to do when she arrives. The Wraith attack caused massive damage to the city. The city's shields and cloak were destroyed which leaves the city painfully vulnerable. Best estimate say it will be months before the city is back up and running.
As for the USS Daedalus, it will takes several weeks before she is space worthy. The fact that her commander was able to bring her down intact at all is a testament to his skill.
The Independence is carrying new shield generators based on Asgard technology but Earth still has not been able to replicate the cloaking technology. Also, the new improved beam weapons will help. The Independence's two sister ships will head to Atlantis as soon as they clear the shipyards.
No one knows where the ten hive ships came from. As far as Todd and their other allies knew, no one faction commanded that many hives. All ten hives were destroyed in the battle and the search of the debris has not turned up anything. It is critical to Earth and her allies that the source of this attack be found.
Eventually, she is exhausted enough to sleep so she makes her way thru the hallways to reach her quarters. She nods and half waves to the crew she passes. They are all good people but not friends. They understand her pain and so keep their distance.
Her bedtime routine only takes a few minutes so she cannot stall very long. She turns off the light and tries to sleep but he is there waiting for her. In the dark, she cannot escape him. She sees his faint smirk/smile despite the darkness. She wants to reach out and touch him. She wants to tell him everything in her heart but she knows he is not really here. Her rational mind explains this is just part of the grieving process but knowing that doesn't make the nights any better. She fights her tears as she sleep finally claims her.
When the Independence arrives in orbit, Sam beams down right away. She salutes the staff on hand and heads for Woolsey's office. Protocol states she should have contacted Woolsey before beaming down but she didn't want to waste any time. Also, knowing Woolsey, he would have felt it necessary to hold some sort of ceremony and no one had the time for that.
Woolsey looks up as his office door opens. He figured she would come straight down so he is not surprised. He motions for her to sit but she declines with a shake of her head. "It is good to see you again Colonel" he says.
"Call me Sam." she replies.
He is deeply touched by her words. He knows she is not one of his biggest fans. Particularly after he replaced her here not all that long ago. He doubts he could be as gracious in her place. "I was just finishing my final report. I had hoped to have it done before you arrived but the last part is proving hard than I thought. I just can't seem to find the words." he admits.
"I know how hard it is to lose people under your command and how much harder it is when they are your friends." Sam sympathizes.
Woolsey is grateful for her understanding but he knows it was his fault. He should have been more prepared. He should have had another option. Sheppard and his team shouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves. He tells Sam "Thanks."
They then get down to the details of the transfer of command. Several hours later it is official, Sam is in command once again. Still she lets Woolsey perform one last act as commander.
At the memorial service, Woolsey addresses the surviving staff. His speech is surprisingly moving and heartfelt. Sam can't concentrate on the speech though. Jack fills her thoughts again. She imagines him standing solemnly slightly behind Woolsey. She even imagines him saluting when the coffins are sent thru the gate. The tear that rolls unchecked down her cheek touches everyone who notices it so it doesn't matter that it is there for more than those they lost.
With that painful last duty completed, Woolsey takes his leave thru the gate. He will be traveling back to Earth using the new gateway station that the Independence dropped off on their way. He felt it best to travel with his fallen staff. He explained that he owed it to them to see them home.
The first few weeks with Sam in command fly by. There is so much to do; she actually manages to keep her mind occupied. She works so hard that Dr. Keller has to order her to take a day off. It will be a long day.
As she stares across this world's ocean trying to gain control of her emotions, she hears footsteps behind her. A hand is placed on her shoulder as Dr. McKay's head comes into her view. Just what she doesn't need right now.
"I heard about Jack. If you want to talk, well, I am sure Dr. Keller will be happy too." he says while trying to do his little laugh.
It is not a good joke but she still smiles. She turns to face him. "I know Sheppard and Talia were good friends of yours." she replies.
"That is the hardest part of what we do. It hurts losing our friends." McKay manages to say with sympathy and pain. There is no hint of his arrogance.
She finds herself crying in his arms. She is in command. This is a major violation of protocol but his tears in her hair make it ok.
When they have collected themselves, McKay looks her in the eyes and stammers in his McKay way "I am sorry to tell you this but I am leaving. You see Dr. Keller, Jennifer, and I have been dating for a few months now. Well, I think she is the one. I want to marry her. After what happened, I realized this is no place to try and raise a family. We are going back to Earth. I am sorry. Please understand."
'Damn' she thinks but she does understand so she says "Of course I do. I am glad you found someone." Another person in her life leaving. It is better this way actually. It will make it easier for her to restart.
McKay leaves with Jennifer before the end of the month. In fact, nearly half the remaining staff have rotated back to Earth. She can't blame them. They have been thru hell. Atlantis is not short staffed. There are still plenty of eager volunteers anxious to visit another galaxy. All this changes proves helpful to Sam. It allows her to make a new start. She just wishes she could get Jack off her mind. She still sees him right before she falls asleep but at least she doesn't seem in the hallways anymore.
By the end of her second month in command, the city is nearly completely repaired. The Daedalus is fully functional and has joined the Independence in orbit. There have been no new worlds explored but contact with their existing allies has been fully restored. Also, there has been no sign of their mysterious attacker.
Tod, their wraith ally, has verified that there are no unaccounted for hives. Whoever these wraith were they weren't local. Tod guesses they may have been from a nearby galaxy. Ancient records in Wraith possession indicate that the Ancients sent several hives out to explore before their war started. Tod is convinced these Ancient wraith had returned convinced the war was still on. Sam is not so sure. The ship did not try to communicate. They just attacked. Also, how did they find Atlantis? It is not even in the same star system as it was during the war. Something else is going on but what?
Part of the answer comes to her when the battle salvage teams recover part of one of the hive's navigation computers. The device is smashed but it indicates that these wraith were tracking some sort of signal coming from Atlantis. What it does not tell is exactly what type of signal. Sam immediately orders a details scan and check of all emission coming from Atlantis but they don't find anything.
Frustrated but not defeated she orders her science team to compare the logs from just before the attack with now. Their analysis takes a few days but produces surprising results. The city was indeed sending a signal. A day before the attack one of the science teams had discovered another Ancient lab. While studying the equipment, they had turned on several devices. One of which started sending a signal in a very unusual frequency. Instead of the subspace signals and hyperspace signals used by the majority of tech races, this sent a signal thru a fold in space. Unlike a wormhole which connects to separate locations, this technology actual bends space so two distant point touch. This is a stunning discover. If this technology can be applied to a ship's drive, entire galaxies could be crossed in a second. This would be a much faster and more versatile method of travel than even the stargate system. According to the records found in the lab, the ancients stopped pursuing this technology even though they had several working prototypes. Why they stopped using it is a complete mystery. Using this information, Sam reanalysis the wraith attack pattern. They clearly devoted all their firepower to stopping that signal. Her review of the battle reveals another disturbing fact. It was not the heroic sacrifice of John and his pilots but she believes the ships suicide as soon as the signal was stopped. Two of the hive ships which were rammed by jumpers where hit in areas that should not have caused their complete destruction. In fact, if all the ship's firepower was not focused on the breaking thru the city's shields, their space forces would have been wiped out. Unfortunately, this raise more questions than it answers. The wraith are not known for their self sacrifice so what caused them to?
Sam contacts Todd and sends him her findings. The information means nothing to him but one of his subordinates mentions something. Todd replies "That is just a legend."
Curious, Sam inquires "What legend?"
"My apologies but my subordinate is referring to one of our more obscure creation myths. According to the legend, one group of Ancients were bent of conquering the universe. This group was rumored to be even more aggressive than the Ori. It is said they created the wraith to be their foot soldiers. The problem is there is nothing in our history to that confirms this. There is no evidence of this other group. I do not believe it to be more than a, what is the word, fairytale." Todd explains.
"Well, if you think these wraith are from another galaxy, why couldn't they be from this other group of Ancients?" Sam asks. Her facial features tighten as she tries to focus on this concept. Something is tugging at the edge of her mind but she just can't place it.
"While it is possible and even likely that other hives moved out of this region to find food, it is impossible that any wraith would still serve any Ancients. Besides, if this group was as hostile as believed, we would have heard of them. Have you heard of them?"
"No but it triggered something. I just can't place it. Well, let me know if you come up with anything." Sam says as she breaks contact.
Since her shift ended 4 hours ago, she decides she better grab some dinner and get to her room before the new medical officer, Allison Morgan, comes to check up on her. She may look like your grandmother but boy she runs a tight medical department. She has been driving everyone crazy by insisting they get all physicals, shots and other treatments described in the manual. Everyone had gotten a bit lax about regular check ups but not anymore. Sam does not want to sit thru another "everyone needs to eat and sleep dear" lectures. She has never met anyone who can make so many adults feel like they are 5 all over again.
Taking her tray back to her room, Sam sits at her console while munching on her dinner. The chicken on her salad is surprisingly good. In the military you get use to some pretty bad food but the new chief is a master.
Jack is standing in front of her. His lips are moving but she can't make out what he is saying. He reaches out his hand to touch her. When their fingers meet, Sam jolts awake. "Another dream. I wish I could just get over him." she thinks. Yawning and orienting herself, she realizes she fell asleep at her computer console. Her face had landed on the key board and had triggered a number of random commands. Laughing at herself for falling asleep, she stops. There on the screen it clicks. The Asgard! Of course! Sam calls up the copy of the Asgard database and starts a search. In seconds she finds what she was seeking. The Asgard history file describes a war which she had initial believed was a reference to the wraith/ancient war but upon closer examination she discovers that the timing is wrong. This war is nearly two centuries earlier. It also mentions the Ancients occupying a much large section of the universe than believed. Unfortunately, the records are not that detailed. She does have an idea on how to get more details.
She pulls the mission Daniel once told her about. He and McKay had been captured by Asgard living in this galaxy. They had been hiding from the Ancient/Wraith war. They might have more details on the war mentioned. But how to contact them? The first meeting had not gone well. Snapping her fingers it comes to her. She knows exactly what to trade them for the information she wants.