STARGATE UNIVERSE
SEASON III
Introduction
Tracked by a drone armada, Rush, Colonel Young and Eli decide to jump in FTL through inter-galacti void early. The void is so vast that in order to survive, Destiny's crew must be put in stasis. Yet they're facing a great issue. There are enough pod for all of them but one is malfunctioning. Eli proposes to sacrifice himself as he's the most qualified. He have got two weeks before the life supports shutdown to perform the pod repairs and survive throughout the FTL jump.
Chapter I: Hope
It's dark. The air is dry. Not even a tiny particule of dust is hovering. In the pod lights come up. Tamara open her eyes. They are tired due to stasis. She's dazzled. She perceives a shadow then a shape. She sees Young smiling at her:
"-Are you OK Tamara?
-Yes, I think. I feel so tired she said. She scraps her tongue.
-That's normal too. Drink some fluids it will pass quickly.
-Have we made it?
-Yes we did. We made it through the inter-galactic void. We're approaching a star for a pit stop as we speak." Releaved, Tamara walks out the stasis pod. She stumbles a bit. Her legs are shaky. Volker hands her a cup of water. She drinks some. She snaps out of it. She can't stand looking Young face to face:
"-Is Ely...Is he...
"-We don't know. There no sign of him, not a note. We have only searched a part of the ship beacause our batteries are almost empty. The ship won't let us turn life support on everywhere. We will be able to do so in five hours, as soon as Destiny refuelled itself.
-I see. I'll help you to wake up the rest of the crew.
-Of course TJ.
-Thank you Colonel.
-Well, I leave you to it. I've got issues to deal with. I need to ask rush about our situation. Radio me if you need anything."
TJ, Volker and the others agreed by a head sign. Young arrives on the observation deck. Young approaches. Rush hears him and make him a place to sit. The two men are now sitting together. Young starts:
"-Have you got an update about the search?
-I couldn't find him. After a pause he continues. I activated life sensors throughout the ship, checked every energy levels and consuption. I found nothing that allow to believe that Ely is in a statsis pod aboard the ship. But, I'm happy that we managed to survive. Surprised too. Destiny is a hell of a ship.
-Yeah, a bloddy ship. We search the ship and we will find him.
-Allow me to doubt that Colonel Young but Even I cannot see how he could have repaired the pod. In so little time without the replacement components.
-Be optimist Rush.
-You know I'm not that kind. I prefer to face reality. Anyway we'll see.
-Did any drone showed up?
-Still nothing. It's been several hours since we jumped out of F.T.L. I think they'd have dopped out on us already if they had followed us. It seems like we managed to lose them after all.
-Any damage to report while we were asleep?
-Two propulsion cells went down along the jump. Fortunately, the ship was able to compensate the required energy levels for us to survive. It is close, we only have 6 hours of life support left but we'll make it. I already sent a robot to fix the damaged cells on the hull.
-How long will it take?
-It will be done an hour before the ship dives into the stars corona. And of course we have enough power left to survive the process.
-Alright. Very good. Is there anything else important you'd like to bring to my attention Rush?
-Many Colonel, but our situation haven't changed much since we left the previous galaxy."
-Okay then."
The clock is ticking. Everyone is now out of stasis. The crew is fine. There are only few minutes left before the dive inside the corona begins. Some people are on the observation deck. They contemplate, silently. It is a star much like our sun. Yellow. Some think it's very little compared to the blue giant previously encountered. Others like to remind earth. A familiar sun takes comfort. They are smiling. Clohe thoughts go to Eli. "He would love this sight. Where are you Eli?"
Scott is next to her and share the same thought. Young is behind them. He is happy that the crew survived but worried about their future, Ely. We could read his eyes and find sadness, fear. Without news from earth during their sleep, he fears the worse. Young radio's come up. It is Rush:
"-Colonel do you read?
-Yes rush. Go ahead.
-We are about to dive into the star.
-I can see that Rush.
-Yes but you should know that it might get a bit bumpy.
-Thank you rush.
-Rush out..."
The ship crumbles. The pannels under the ship open up. The energy intake manifolds slide out and start refueling the Destiny. The process is quick. About a minute. The ship emmerges. The urrent ourse will lead Destiny away from the star. For now Ddestiny is flying over the incandecent thousand degrees plasma. Young is radioed again:
"-Our energy reserves are replenished and at maximum of destiny's capability. All systems are online.
-Good. I send teams to search the entire ship immediatly. I'm going to the communication room to try to establish contact with earth with the stones". Young turn to scott and Greer:
"-I want to teams asap to search the ship for Eli.
-Yes colonel" they said as one.
Young arrives in the communication room. Volker is already here. The equipment is ready. Young takes a stone in his hand. He puts it ont the device, turns it on. He closes his eyes. Nothing. He tries again. Still nothing.
"We'll try again later, meanwhile I want two men in this room in case earth contacts us. I want to be informed right away of any connexion. Also, The man awaiting contact must be restrained. We don't know if the blue aliens can use the stone. That would be all."
In the machinerie room:
Time remaining before life support shuts down 1 day and 8 hours.
Eli nervously hit keystrokes on his console in the machinery room."Failed again" he thinks. "One more time". Desperation is written all over his face. He sits on the ground and lies here couple minutes. He pulls away his sweat shirt and check the time. "Damn it. 32:00:3-2-1. bibip. Damn it..." He ran out of ideas a day ago. It was his last hope. He tried everything he could think of. For each scenario a piece, a tool is missing. He cannot make up the news parts nor fix the damaged ones. He can't get some new neither. "Only a miracle could save me" he thought. Nothing happens so he decides to take a nap. Well, let's call it a rest. He hasn't been sleeping for too much time. Perhaps his ideas will get cleared after. He wakes up, watch his clock. He slept almost 17 hours. 15:33:21-20-19.
"-Let's take a breakfast." He said to no one. He is walking to the dining quarter. He arrives couples of minutes later. He pick up the few goods that's left for breakfast. He is hungry. The hell, he takes everything left to make a great breakfast. His last breakfast... He tries to appreciate each piece but it's nothing like a bowl of golden graams. Everything is blend, not tasty at all. Ouch, he feels a pain in his tooth. He manages to get the thing out. A seed. "It's not my day" he sadly said. His breakfast done, he goes for the observation deck. This place has space and he kinda likes it. He stays there for some time. Since he woke up and watched the clock, he doesn't want to take a look again. It's too frightening. After a while he decides to walk a bit. To wander in the ship corridors. He feels thristy and goes get a drink. He decides then to go the machinery room. He arrives. Strangly he thinks of his mother telling him to clean up his messy desk:
"Eli, it's not sane to live in such mess and dirt. Make me the pleasure to lean things up in your room would you?"
He would usually try to negociate and get his way out of cleaning but this time his mom isn't there to argue him. He start cleaning. Putting dirt to waste. When he's finished he look around him and feel a bit hungry. Anyway, there's nothing left to eat. He still doesn't want to look at his watch.
That's when the ship dropped ou of FTL. He stands up and watch the console. The gatebridge! There is an incoming wormhole. But who? Or what? He tries to be optimistic. But what if the drones found out destiny's address?
On the GateBridge:
Last chevron activates, the vortex connects. The room is enlighted . People are coming in. They are few but the kino angle makes it impossible to see who it is. It's too bright. He starts recording the kino feed. Eli looking at the kino feed from his console feels a cold on the back of his neck. He take a look at his watch. 4 minutes left... If it's a threat he won't have time to come up with a plan. He should have prepared for it he thought. He remind that scott left some firearms, just in case in the gatebridge. In the gatebridge...
Young is on the bridge. Everyone is looking at some screen or monitor. Rush is giving directions but is very busy and so a bit harch and edgy. Rush took control and is flying the ship in manual. There are several stargates that would be in range after a 3 hours jump. Young radio comes up.
"-Colonel young this is scott. We checked everywhere there's no trace of Eli.
-Re check one more time please. He must have left a clue to where he went.
Rush comes in the conversation:
-Colonel, I know it might be innapropriate but perhaps Eli commited suicide. He may have ejected himself into space so we won't have to find his body after 3 years of decomposition.
-Rush please... He he's done so, he'd have left a message for us to find. Scott, please check again and ome back to me.
-Yes sir, I'm already on it.
-Greer, did you copy?
-Yes sir.
-Young out."
Riley sitting in front of a monitor annonces:
"-I think I found something.
-What is it. said Rush.
-Yea what is it? Asked Young.
-I'm not sure. It looks like someone recorded a message with a kino. While we were in .
-When was that? Asked young.
-hum, few minutes before life support failed said Riley.
-You see colonel, Eli left us a message...
-I haven't seen it earlier but it coincide with a gate dial. Someone dialed in Destiny!
-Are you sure? asked Young. Who was it, what happended? I wanno know.
-There's a problem with the kino feed. It's corrupted. I cannot tell what was recorded.
-All right. Can you tell us were do they come from. Was it earth?
-No sir. We don't keep log of incoming wormholes.
-It looks like no one but the crew is aboard the ship. Did they dialed out?
-Yes. I have a gate address.
-Good. Now try to get to decypher something out of the kino feeds. Aliens could perhaps have set a trap on the destiny. A bomb of some kind.
-Now colonel, for once it's me telling you that you should be optimistic. If there was a bomb I think it would have blowned a long time ago.
-You probably right Rush.
-Sir said Riley. I've been able to clear few seconds of the kino feeds. It looks like humans dialed in but there is no way of telling who they are. We just can't see.
-Do you think it's the lucian allliance? Asked Volker.
-Perhaps. The thruth is we don't know, for now and we have no way to know until Riley fixes the kino record. Young grabs his radio:
"-Scott. Greer. Do you copy?
-Yes Colonel
-Affirmative Colonel.
-Fall back to the bridge immediatly. We just learned that someone boarded the ship while we were in FTL.
-Are you sure sir? Asked scott.
-Yes, it seems that Eli recorder an incoming vortex with a kino. But the video is corrupted. We should know more about what happened when you arrive.
-Right away sir.
-Copy that. Greer out."