CHAPTER TWO – A Surprise Reunion
Once they returned to Atlantis, Teyla delivered Katel to his Athosian nanny and accompanied John to Rodney's location. Once Katel had fallen asleep on the ride back, John had filled her in with the details of the situation and she had seemed eager to go along.
"Finally, what took you so long?" Rodney grumbled, not even looking up from his data pad.
"I am sorry, Rodney. John waited for me. I wished to observe this event, but I had to get Katel settled first," Teyla said patiently.
"Right, right." Rodney replied, grabbing John by the arm and trying to move him closer to the door. John stayed firmly planted where he was, causing Rodney to stumble backwards a bit. "Sorry, Colonel. Did I forget to mention that you're going to have to actually touch the access panel for us to proceed?"
John kept his frustration in check. "I gathered that Rodney. I would, however, like to assess the security implications of this little research project, if you don't mind?"
Rodney took a deep breath and launched into 'explanation mode'… "Okay, about six hours ago, we discovered an unusual energy reading on our sensors. When we tried pinpointing it, it disappeared, only to reappear a few minutes later. It did this several times, until we made a few modifications to the sensors and we were able to secure a better lock on it. Once we were able to hold it steady, we were able to track it to this location. We, of course, brought along an appropriate military contingent," he nodded to Ronon, Major Lorne and two marines. "However, I must stress that nothing we've observed so far with this reading has given us any indication of hostility or threat. Anyway, after trying several different combinations to access the room, we discovered a genetic code buried deep in the programming. On a whim, we ran it through the medical database to determine if we could narrow down who we might be looking for." Finally taking a breath, he finished, "We figured it out alright. It's you, Colonel."
John eyed the door warily. Even with all the surprises the Pegasus Galaxy had dealt him, he still wasn't comfortable facing the unknown. He would much rather know what he was up against. But, it sounded like Rodney and Zelenka, who were both nearly bouncing on their toes with anticipation about the possibilities, had done their research and were reasonably comfortable with proceeding. Ronon and Lorne, plus two marines, along with himself and even Teyla, who didn't do much fighting anymore, but could still kick half the marine's asses, ought to be enough to handle what was inside.
He considered the door, walking over to stand directly in front of it. On the outside, it looked like any other door in Atlantis. However, as he looked closer, he could see ancient text inscribed on the panels. He didn't recall seeing it earlier, and as he looked closer, he could swear it was glowing slightly. A faint, almost silvery light seemed to emanate from the flowing script.
"Any idea what this says?" he asked.
"No. It wasn't there before. It appears to have shown up only when you got closer to the door." Rodney said nervously.
John took a deep breath. Go forward or retreat. There was no other option. And, considering he was not one prone to retreating, he took a deep breath and placed his hand on the access panel. It immediately glowed at his touch. Unbeknownst to him, the remainder of the party took a small step back, as if afraid of what could happen. Ronon, Lorne and the marines, armed their weapons, ready to assist if needed.
The first sensation John had was radiant warmth spreading throughout his body. Along with the physical impression, there was something else….feelings, emotions were rushing through him as well. They traveled so quickly, he almost couldn't grasp them all… eagerness, relief, happiness, a sense of peace, and something else, something so deep, so filling, he felt he might burst with the depth of it.
The door opened. The gasp John uttered, was echoed by the group behind him.
There, in the middle of the room, stood Elizabeth.
