The Mystery of the Missing Hyper-Drive Element – Chapter 2

A/N: Forgot to put my disclaimer in the first chapter. I do not, and will not ever, own the SGU characters used in this story. The characters' names you are not familiar with though are original to me. Please read and review and let me know what you think. On with the story!

The household was busy the next morning as everyone who was going out got ready to go. By half-past eight, Everett, Melissa, Lisa, and Nicholas were standing at the front entry-way of the house waiting for the government car that was coming to get them. The others, who were not going, were also standing there. Katie ran up to her mother, and motioning to Matthew, said, "We'll miss you, Mama. You come home soon?"

Everyone chuckled as Missy bent down and hugged both children. "Of course…I'll be…home soon. And…you'll get…to play…with…Grandma Linda…Aunt TJ…Uncle Mac, and…Uncle Ron."

"And baby Livvy, Mama. You forgot baby Livvy."

"That I did…munchkin." She looked at her friend who was carrying the aforementioned baby. When Olivia had been born six months after their arrival on Altera, she had been a welcome addition to the household, and she was just as loved and doted on as Matthew and Katie were. "Make sure…they…behave."

"They'll be fine," said TJ with a warm smile. "Go. Have fun. I know you've been looking forward to this."

"Thank you."

At that moment, the door chimed, and Everett answered it and greeted their driver. The ones who were leaving said farewell to those who were not, and moments later, Ev, Missy, Lisa, and Nicholas were sitting in a hover car driving towards the middle of the capitol city. Turning towards Ev, the driver, whose name was Erich, asked, "Where are we going today, Sir?"

Pointing to the other three, Everett responded, "We're taking them to the Scientific Institute first, and then you'll take me to the Senatorial building."

"Very good, Sir."

The car continued to drive to its first destination. A few minutes later, they pulled up to the front of a sleek modern-looking building. Ev leaned over and kissed his wife and then said to all of them, "All right, here's where you three get off. We'll be back to get you later."

"Thank you, Everett," said Nick.

"Yes…thank you…sweetheart," said Missy who kissed his cheek. She whispered in his ear, "I…would…say have…fun, but I…know…what you'll…be doing."

Ev smiled at her. "That's all right, honey. You have fun, okay?"

"Okay."

Nicholas, Lisa, and Missy then got out of the car and walked into the Institute. Once he saw the door close, Everett spoke to the driver. "Okay, go ahead and head for the Senate."

"Yes, Sir," replied Erich.

They drove over to the Senatorial building arriving a few minutes ahead of the meeting Everett was supposed to attend. When Erich pulled up to the front, the other man got out and walked to the entrance where he saw another man waiting for him. "Fair day, Gaius. How are you doing today?"

Gaius Aurelius, who had been one of the first Alterans Everett had met, greeted him. "Fair day, Everett. Are you ready for this briefing?"

"Of course. I heard there were some more attacks on the outer colonies last week."

"There were. Senator Giovanni doesn't think it will be long before something substantial happens here."

They walked into the building as they continued their conversation. "What does he think about increased security? I want to make sure my office and the house have enough coverage."

"Well, so far, they've only been attacking governmental offices so I would make sure your office had plenty, but I don't think you're going to need to worry about your house."

"Really?" He gave the man a penetrating look. "I'll make sure everyone at the house has a weapons refresher anyway."

"That's probably a good idea." They rounded the corner and walked towards the meeting room where people were milling around. Gaius put his hand on Everett's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "You might want to tell your driver to keep an eye on the car. There have been problems with car bombs too."

Ev hissed back at him. "What!" I just had Missy in the car with me!" The other man shook his head at him warningly, and he breathed deeply to calm himself. "All right." They walked into the room where several politicians were already waiting. He plastered a smile on his face and greeted the dark-haired man who came up to him. "Fair day, Senator."

Aleksander Giovanni greeted him. "Fair day, Ambassador Young." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Well, it will start going well once this group is in custody."

"Yes, it will. Are there any leads?"

The senator nodded his head briskly. "Several." He motioned to the chairs. "Go ahead and have a seat. The briefing will start shortly." Gaius and Ev sat down continuing to talk with the other people until Giovanni called for everyone's attention. "Fair day. I would like to begin the briefing on the Par Pro Aulum terrorist group." He began speaking with everyone listening intently.


Meanwhile, Melissa, Lisa, and Nicholas had been taken to one of the main labs in the Scientific Institute by the head scientist, Dr. Roberto Monetti, and his assistant, Dr. Ariana Tiberius. Monetti said, "This element is going to change what space travel means to our planet." He addressed Dr. Rush. "I was not opposed to you and Dr. Greer coming, but…" He pointed to Missy and said in a haughty tone, "I didn't think there was any way she could possibly understand the science behind this. However, I was overruled."

A furious expression came over Nick's face, but before he could say anything, Melissa laid her hand on his shoulder and addressed Monetti. "I know…what…this…element means. It…means…inter…galaxy travel…will…only take…weeks…instead…of months." She gazed at him angrily. "Don't…treat…me like…an…idiot!"

Nicholas and Lisa both gave Missy a thumbs up before Nick turned back to the scientist. "Okay, if we're done with the condescending tone, can we get started with the demonstration?"

Taken aback by Missy's and then Nick's statements, Roberto didn't speak for a moment. Then he gazed at them apologetically. "I am sorry, Dr. Rush, and to you as well, Dr. Young. The information I was given said your difficulties were more pronounced than they actually are."

"That is…all right," said Missy. "Everyone…makes…mistakes."

"Thank you." He motioned to his assistant who walked over to a wall-safe. She came back with two beakers and a small engine prototype and placed them on the table in front of him. "All right, today we are going to see how a miniscule amount of what we are calling Element X can make this prototype disappear and reappear on the other side of the room." He placed a small dropper in the first beaker, took it out and dropped the contents into the prototype after which he did the same thing with the second beaker. Once he had done that, they all watched in fascination as the prototype winked out of existence and reappeared on the other side of the room. "And it worked!"

"Congratulations, Dr. Monetti," said Rush.

"Thank you."

Lisa spoke up. "So, the contents of both beakers make up Element X?"

"They do. There is an ample supply of one of them on Altera, but the other one is only found on one of our moons. That's why it took so long to make this discovery. The other element was only found two years ago."

Melissa asked a question of her own. "I'm guessing…it will…take larger…amounts…of this…element…to power…ships for…inter galaxy…travel?"

"That is correct, Dr. Young, but not by much. The engineers who have been building our latest starship have made improvements in the engine design. It should be able to travel to Earth in less than six weeks."

"Excellent."

At that moment, an alarm sounded. Dr. Monetti instructed his assistant, "Go find out what that is."

"Yes Sir," replied Dr. Tiberius. She left the room, and minutes later, they heard her voice over the intercom. "Dr. Monetti to Lab 4. Dr. Monetti to Lab 4."

Roberto told the other three, "Well, I guess I'm needed. Please stay here until one of us comes back."

"Of course," said Nicholas. After the head scientist left, Nick walked over to where the two women were staring at the prototype in fascination. "That certainly is impressive, isn't it?"

"It is," said Lisa. "And the amounts of the element needed were even more impressive. Dale would have enjoyed seeing it." Dale Volker had been a member of their crew on the Destiny.

Missy smiled at her friends. "Yes, he…would have." She stared at the door concernedly. "I hope…everything…is okay."

"I'm sure it is." They continued to look at the element and prototype and read some of the information in the open file that was sitting on the table.

A few minutes later, Dr. Monetti and Dr. Tiberius walked back in with Monetti saying, "I think that problem has been taken care of. Do you have any questions?"

Nodding, Nicholas asked, "Does Element X power the engine while it's within a galaxy too or just when the ship is traveling from galaxy to galaxy?"

"Oh, we have traditional fuel sources for traveling within galaxies. This element will allow us to cut the travel time between galaxies from months to weeks."

"I understand."

They continued to discuss the element and its ramifications for the next few hours. Monetti then took them to the Institute's dining room where an elegant lunch had been set out. The three people from Earth met several other scientists who worked at the facility while eating and found out about the other types of projects they were working on. After being invited to come back another day, Monetti and Tiberius delivered them to the front entrance of the Institute. Dr. Rush said, "Thank you for having us here today. We would welcome a chance to see the next round of testing."

The women nodded in agreement with Melissa saying, "Yes, we…would. Just…let us…know…when."

"I will let the ambassador's office know," said Roberto with a cordial smile. "It has been a pleasure meeting all of you."

Seeing that their car had arrived, Nicholas, Melissa, and Lisa walked out of the Institute not noticing the changed expression on the other scientist's face. They got in the car where they were greeted by Everett. "So, how did it go?"

His wife responded excitedly. "It went…great! And we…were…invited…back."

"Very nice."

Nicholas grinned at them. "Yes, that element was everything they said it was going to be, and some of the other scientists had some intriguing projects going on. I think we have a new focus that we can contribute to."

"It seems like things went quite well." As the car drove back to the house and not realizing that things were about to change drastically, they continued to discuss all of the possibilities with Ev updating them on the information he had received.