A/N: Well, you guys are awesome. 132 unique visitors in 5 days from 21 countries! As I promised, here is the second chapter. I hope to have the third chapter posted by next weekend, but I am having a few issues with my dialogue, so I can't make any promises. Anyway, here is the second chapter. I think I'm really starting to love this story! As usual, reviews are better than gold. They're…naquadah…like.

Don't forget to take a look at my writing blog. The link is on my profile.

DISCLAIMER: Same as the first chapter. I still own nothing about SGU.


"Wow."

Eli stood breathlessly, gaping at the ornate room. Nothing like this had ever been found on Destiny. While still thinking about the new discovery, Rush broke into his thoughts.

"Thank you for finally showing up, Mr. Wallace. I need your help with the console over here."

Eli remained stationary, still racking his brain for answers. What was this ornate auditorium doing aboard the utilitarian ship? He finally found his speech to question the older scientist.

"What is this place?"

Rush didn't look back at him, but continued his trek to the lone console at the front of the room.

"I'm not sure. That's why you're here. We need to get one of these displays working."

Eli followed Dr. Rush to the console, and began to examine the workings. They worked for about ten minutes before attempting to restart the console system. The problem was that the power relay had fused, which was a natural mechanism to prevent fire or a short circuit. Bypassing the relay, they managed to regain power to the console. Rush gave the cue to Eli.

"It's unlocked. Try to restart the display."

Eli pushed one of the many buttons to the left of the screen, accessing the vast power grid belonging to the entire ship. The quiet hum of the display came on, but then faded back out. Rush uttered a long string of profanity at the power relay. Eli waited until he came up for air, and then jumped in.

"What happened?"

"Something is wrong with the power grid. This station wasn't intended to last for millions of years." Rush replied bitterly.

Not stopping to confer with Eli, Dr. Rush stood to his feet and went down to the corridor with the booths containing more displays. Eli wordlessly followed, ready to assist the older man. Within an hour, though, both of them were ready to giving up. Out of the six consoles they had fixed, none had been able to power up. It was as though something other than the fused power relay was blocking the display. As they completed the seventh console out of the nine, Rush began to get more nervous. Calling out to his younger assistant, Dr. Rush gave out his instructions.

"It's unlocked. Give it a try, Eli."

Eli gently activated the display. He acted as if he was worried that every reactivated console would explode in his face. With a soft click, however, the black screen jumped to blue, with the computer coming online for the first time in millennia, and the younger man's worries not coming to fruition.

"Well?" Dr. Rush asked impatiently from underneath the display.

"Give it a minute to come online. It's still starting up."

A breathless minute later, Eli's face broke into a grin.

"I think we got it!"


Unfortunately, as soon as they examined the working display, they discovered that the massive database was in an obscure dialect of the Alteran tongue. While Rush tried to decode the information, Eli gave up began to wander the main hall looking for some clue as to what the room was used for. Scientific presentations? Crew meetings? Officer's lounge? The walls held their secrets tightly, and Eli was starting to lose hope. Wandering back down the hall of cubicles, Eli found Dr. Rush looking extremely tired.

"Doctor Rush? Are you OK?" Eli asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Eli. This translation is just giving me a headache." Rush answered without looking up.

"Do you want me to get you some aspirin from TJ?"

NO! Rush caught himself before he lashed out at the young genius. This time, he looked not only away from the console, but straight into the eyes of his assistant.

"Eli, the reason I brought you here, was because I don't think I can trust anyone else. You need to guard this well. That means that no one, not even TJ, can find out about this."

"But it's just an auditorium. Why would that be a secret?"

Rush's gaze returned to the screen.

"You found something else."

It wasn't an accusation. Eli simply hit the truth like the proverbial nail on the head.

"What was it? Engine controls? Power reserves that could get us home? What?" Eli began to spout guesses in his anger.

"I found the bridge."

The younger man's anger quickly turned to surprise.

"Hold on. You found the bridge and you didn't even tell anyone?"

"Well, I told you, didn't I?" Eli saw Rush's defensive barriers begin to come up.

"Just now. I mean, we might have found a way home. I could have been a huge help…"

"I don't know whether you could have helped me or not," Rush interrupted, "But you're here now, and your not helping."

"Well, yeah. That's because I'm not fluent in ancient Alteran." This time Eli began to raise his shields.

Rush suddenly looked up at Eli and glared with his piercing eyes.

"Then get someone who is," Dr. Rush sneered.

Eli stood there for a moment, then silently turned and strode out the door.


What should he do? If he told Colonel Young about the auditorium, or the bridge, then he could lose all of Rush's trust. Dr. Jackson could read Alteran fluently. Maybe they could bring him using the stones. The problem was that he needed the Colonel's approval to use the communication devices. There was no way to win.

Then something else crossed his mind. Dr. Boyd. She was a linguist. Maybe she could help with the translation. Of course, Rush was scared that she was some sort of "religious fanatic". He'd just have to get over that.

Walking towards the mess hall, Eli first checked her quarters, to which he received no answer. Unshaken, he continued through the labyrinth of a ship that was Destiny, and into the dining room. Spotting his target near the opposite end of the room, Eli navigated through the maze of people, and over to Trisha Boyd.

She was a brunette, just a few inches shorter than Eli, but almost ten years older. At thirty-three, she was one of the younger surviving members of the Icarus project. Her face seemed to be drawn into something of a permanent smile. She consistently tried to cheer up the depressed occupants of the ancient ship. Unfazed by their brush-offs, she had managed to draw a small group of people together every afternoon in the corner of the mess hall.

Watching Eli approach the table, she stood up and walked over to him.

"Hey, Eli. Come to join the group?"

"Not today. I actually came to get you. Rush needs some help with a translation job." Eli sat down at one of the other tables facing her group.

"Great. Let me finish up and then I'll meet you out in the hall."


"So, what sort of project is this?" Boyd inquired.

"Rush found some sort of auditorium with a separate data core. He's trying to translate the contents, but the entire thing seems to be in some obscure form of Alteran." Eli tried to explain the situation, feeling inadequate from his lack of description.

"I still can't believe that he actually asked for my help."

Eli's face paled a bit, and he glanced nervously at the floor.

"Oh, no. You didn't tell him I was coming?" Trisha Boyd lost her signature smile.

"He needs the help. I thought that…you know…you might be able to figure it out." Eli tried to justify his actions, eliciting no response from the other scientist. After a few moments, she finally responded.

"I may be able to help, but you know how he feels about me. It's no secret."

Eli toggled the 'open' button to gain access to the auditorium. Instead of the door opening with the usual screech, the lock clicked back and forth, as if it was a phonograph, continually skipping back to that annoying loop. Eli reached for his radio.

"Doctor Rush? We're outside the door, but the lock is stuck. Got any suggestions?"

The dead silence of the static filled the metallic corridor.

"Doctor Rush, please respond."

Another long pause followed.

"Dr. Rush!"

After a quick glance at the linguist, Eli changed the channel of the radio.

"Eli to Colonel Young."

"Young here," a tense voice responded.

"Colonel, Dr. Rush is locked in a room on Deck 5. He's not answering his radio."

"I'll send a team. Where on Deck 5 is he?" Eli paused for a moment. Should he give up Rush's secret? A nagging thought in the back of his mind decided for him: If Dr. Rush is dead, then he wouldn't be able to have secrets. That made up his mind.

"He's in Sector 28, corridor 36. Make sure you TJ comes. I think he's hurt." Eli answered with a tone of worry in his voice.

Returning his radio to the clip on his belt loop, Eli turned back to the linguist next to him.

"I hope that he's alright."