Chapter 2

"Elizabeth?" the soft, accented voice of Radek Zelenka interrupted her as she was sitting at the large group of tables SGA-1, Elizabeth and a number of others usually occupied. Radek was one of the many that sat at the table and she smiled at him as he sat down across from her; glad of the distraction of his company. She had spent the entire morning resolving an issue between one of the marines and Keras. Her instincts told her it was a situation similar to the one between Teyla and Bates in their first year on Atlantis, but as before she did not have the luxury to take sides. What did bother her about the whole affair – and the thing she had been brooding about before Radek had interrupted her – was that the marine not only questioned Keras' loyalty, but also his ability as one of the leaders of Lantea. And though it seemed Keras wasn't overly concerned with the marine's allegations and attitude, it worried Elizabeth. She had been the one to ask Keras to serve as her liaison between her and the artisans in the city and on the mainland. This made him responsible for the wellbeing of about a quarter of the people on Lantea and he was good at it. He was perhaps not perfect and still had a lot to learn, but already he was an important part of the unofficial government of the planet. Besides, he was her choice and if the marine questioned Keras, he questioned her. To Elizabeth it wasn't about the glory or power of being the leader, but she was concerned that the entire system might unravel. The honeymoon period of their new world was running out and she knew now was the time to ensure everyone stuck together. Within a few years it would be better, when everyone had completely settled in and found their place. But until then it was important to keep everyone focussed and together.

"Radek," she smiled at her friend; her mind distracted from her brooding thoughts. Instead she focussed on the scientist across from her. She had thought he had come to join her for lunch, but he only had a cup of tea and a tablet with him. Also: he looked excited. "How's Anne?" she asked over the rim of her cup as she regarded him. For years the two of them had worked together in an effort to keep the city running, especially as Rodney was often off-world. Yet in all that time it seemed the two of them had never known much about each other. They had been colleagues, but nothing more. That had radically changed a few months ago when Atlantis had been caught in the black hole. In a way that timeline had never happened, and yet it had changed so many things. The memories were faded, but after that encounter Elizabeth and Radek had somehow found they were drawn towards one another. The friendship they had shared in another lifetime seemed to have lasted into this lifetime as well. They were no longer just co-workers, but also friends that shared a lifetime of searching for the truth. Besides, it really was true that of all the people in Atlantis, they somehow seemed to spend the most time together. Elizabeth loved her other friends: mostly Sitnalta, Teyla, Jennifer, Laura and Anne, but somehow it was Radek she felt closest to. Besides, though Rodney was officially the head scientist, it was Radek that had to report to her the most often.

At the mention of his wife Radek seemed to melt. In the beginning Elizabeth had thought he looked peculiar with his wild hair and absent-minded look, but she had learned to look at him through new eyes. He was slightly shorter than her, but not as scrawny as she had first supposed. She suspected Anne had something to do with that; and truth be told, she was happy about it. Most of the non-military personnel had started to take some combat lessons from the female marines that are grounded – as they refer to it – and it was good for everyone concerned. Even she had put in a few lessons with Teyla and Anne respectively.

"Anne is slightly cranky, thank you," he truthfully admitted. He completely adores his kick-ass sexy wife, but this pregnancy thing was getting on all their nerves. "Finding out she's carrying twins wasn't easy for her, but on the other hand; she's already picked out names for the girls," he added. As the women were entering their fourth month the doctors were able to start determining the children's sex. Anne had found out only days ago she was carrying twin daughters.

Elizabeth smiled. "She's a very strong-willed woman," she told Radek, who returned her smile.

"Tell me about it," he grinned. But their light mood lasted only another moment. Then he quickly tapped his tablet to bring up some information and, turning it around, handed the device to her. Aware that much of the data Radek easily read was gibberish to her, she doubted whether she would understand anything on the tablet. She pulled it closer as she put down her cup and scanned the small screen. Strangely enough, she actually knew what she was looking at: well, at least up to a point. It was the flight-path of a starship through a part of space, although its flight-path looked erratic.

She looked at her friend and raised an eyebrow in question. With barely contained excitement making him seem to vibrate, Radek leaned over and touched the screen. Instantly she image shifted and now she could see the path the starship had taken was even more erratic than she had thought, yet there seemed to be a pattern behind the erratic flight-path.

"This is the flight-path of the Aurora," Radek proudly told her. Elizabeth clearly remembered the ship he was referring to, but for a moment she could not fathom why he seemed so excited. She looked back at the screen almost as if the answer lay there, but she could not see what it was that Radek wanted to show her. He didn't wait for her to ask him, though. "When Colonel Sheppard had been in their virtual world," he began explaining; both hands raised level with his head and fingers spread as he gestured, "he learned the ship was carrying information vital to the war."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, but they destroyed the ship before John could learn what the information was," she recalled.

"Yes!" Radek snapped as he gestured in her direction. "Exactly! But I've been trying to determine where the ship had been coming from with the secret," he triumphantly told her. She still didn't get it, though.

"But I thought the ship had been drifting in space a long time," she tried to understand. Sometimes she envied Samantha Carter her scientific knowledge: though she had been the leader of Atlantis for only a year, the job had seemed so much easier for her than Elizabeth, seeing as she usually instantly understood what Rodney, Radek and Sitnalta had been talking about.

Now Radek pointed at the screen once more; seemingly unconcerned and not in the least impatient with her lack of knowledge. "Yes, but a ship drifting in space has to follow certain rules," he told her. Now he seemed to indicate a large ball with his hands as he got into his explanation. "See, there are only so many factors working in on anything in space that can make it change its course or speed."

"Like the gravitational pull of suns or planets," Elizabeth finally understood. Again he excitedly pointed at her.

"Exactly!" he repeated. "And working back from the speed of the Aurora when we found her, I can extrapolate the path she should have taken to get to that point," he happily told her.

Though she now understood – in broad terms – what Radek was telling her, she still could not figure out why this news was so...newsworthy. She told him as much and again he tapped the screen. This time a planet appeared on the screen with its designation.

"You recognize the address?" he asked her. It took her a moment to work through the list she carried in her head, but then suddenly she knew what she was looking at and her head snapped up.

"It's the planet where we found the first Wraith ship, the one with the Iratus bug," she identified it.

"Yes!" One of the good things about Radek explaining things to her was that he became so excited every time she got something right. "Whatever the secret was, it has to do with that planet," he happily informed her.