Chapter 4: Besieged by the unknown.
"Pick up the pace!" Colonel Barnes yelled, glancing again at the man he was almost carrying down the path. "We'll have you back at the SGC in no time Major."
"I'm good Sir," Evan Lorne ground out, the groan he couldn't hold in every time he was forced to put weight on his right leg belaying that self diagnosis.
It was supposed to have been a simple meet and greet mission for SG-6 ... Colonel Barnes had even been building a nice rapport with the leader of the village they'd spent an hour walking to. Until they'd admitted to having had an alliance with the Tok'ra. Then it was a guns pointed, shots fired, run for your life kind of mission.
Unluckily for Lorne, they hadn't run quite fast enough and he'd managed to catch a bullet in the back of his upper right thigh. The amount of blood he could feel soaking his trouser leg as he did a combination of sprint left leg, limp with support from Barnes right leg was more than a little concerning ... as was the fact that he was starting to feel a little grey around the edges. If the bullet had hit something crucial he'd be on his way to the gate over someone's shoulder ... but there was still a lot of ground between 'gushing your life's blood from a major artery' and 'it barely left a mark' and Lorne sincerely hoped he was more on the latter end of the scale.
Behind them they could hear the sounds of the villagers continuing their pursuit ... their weapons not as sophisticated as the Earth versions but still gun related just the same. Apparently they weren't put off by the prospect of P90 automatic weapons fire either ... the warning rounds Fisher had carefully placed at their feet hardly causing them to pause.
"Nearly there Major," Barnes said reassuringly, hauling Evan along at his side while glancing now and then behind him.
"Yes Sir," Lorne replied in a low tone, clamping down on the desire to groan or better yet yell ... just because he knew it would feel good.
And then they were at the gate, hopefully with enough of a gap on their pursuers to make escape without further incident possible.
"Dial it up!" Barnes ordered Ryan, moving to stand at the very limit of closeness to the gate without risking being touched by the expanding kawhoosh.
Ryan followed the order, rapidly dialling Earth and sending through his IDC.
"Let's go," Barnes pushed forward as soon as the stable wormhole was established, dragging Lorne with him.
And then finally they were safely back at the SGC, Barnes carefully lowering Lorne to sit on the ramp while calling for medical attention.
"What did you do to yourself Major?" O'Neill's voice rang into the Gateroom from the Control room.
Glancing up Lorne saw the General standing at the control room window looking down at him.
"This Sir?" Lorne replied with a cross between grin and grimace. "Just a scratch General."
"We'll see Major," O'Neill replied just as the medics arrived along with Doctor Lam. "Your timing couldn't be worse ... something we'll talk about after they patch you up."
"Sorry Sir," Lorne said even though it wasn't his fault his leg had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Let's get you to the infirmary Major," Doctor Lam said after doing a quick examination, motioning for the stretcher medics to assist him.
"I can walk Ma'am," Lorne insisted.
"I'm sure you can Major but I'd prefer it if we gave you a lift," Doctor Lam insisted.
Lorne reluctantly let himself be stretchered out of the Control Room, his mind mostly occupied with wondering how serious his injury was and therefore how long he'd be out of action. But a small part of him had registered General O'Neill's words – clearly there was some kind of mission he'd been slotted for and Lorne could only hope he wouldn't miss out, that there'd be time for him to recover.
A few hours later Lorne was installed in the infirmary, awake and already annoyed with the inactivity. His wound hadn't been as serious as he'd feared but the bullet had still lodged deep in the muscle. He'd had surgery to remove it and repair the damage and apart from feeling weak from the amount of blood he'd lost felt ready to get moving. It would still be a couple of weeks before Lorne could return to full duty and he'd have to get around on crutches for some of that but it could have been much worse.
It brought back a few memories from Afghanistan – his familiarity with gunshot wounds earned there. Lucky for him this time the injury wasn't anywhere near as bad – Evan knew his own weaknesses – he didn't do well with forced downtime.
"Major Lorne," General O'Neill strode into the infirmary and across to his bed.
"Sir," Lorne replied, looking at the other man curiously. There was no way he was important enough to warrant a personal visit from the base commander and Lorne couldn't help but wonder what he'd done now.
"I hear you'll be back on duty in a week or so," O'Neill commented casually.
"So they tell me Sir," Lorne agreed.
"Good – because you're up for reassignment," O'Neill announced abruptly.
"Reassignment Sir?" Lorne queried with a puzzled frown – that wasn't what he'd been expecting.
"We heard from Atlantis," O'Neill replied. "They sent a short data burst while you were off getting yourself injured ... the news isn't good. You'll be briefed fully on their situation before you ship out but I can tell you right now that Pegasus has scary aliens to rival the Goa'uld. They can use as many people as possible with the ATA gene to fly the Puddle Jumpers."
"That sounds –," Lorne broke off, realising he had no idea what to say.
"Exciting?" O'Neill suggested. "Ordinary? Repulsive?"
"Exciting Sir," Lorne returned with a grin. "It sounds very exciting."
"Well that's a relief," Jack quipped. "I'm not ordering anyone on the mission because contact with Earth is still going to be restricted. Thank God you didn't make me pull out the subtle pressure technique ... I think we all know that subtle isn't exactly my forte."
"I wouldn't have said that Sir," Lorne replied without any hint of flattery. Surely a guy who'd allegedly been black ops successfully for so many years knew how to be subtle and manipulative, despite his claims to the contrary.
"You can decline Major," O'Neill said seriously. 'I sincerely hope you won't but ..."
"A new place with new ships to fly Sir?" Lorne queried. "It's a no brainer. I'm sure my family will understand." He wasn't actually, but O'Neill didn't need to know that. Once he knew the details he'd have to deal with the fall out – trespass again on his family's good graces. Hopefully he'd have the time to do that properly.
"I'll give you the full details in the briefing," General O'Neill promised.
"Thank you Sir," Lorne replied, getting a nod from the General before he turned and strode from the room.
Lorne was released from the infirmary for the briefing early the next morning ... the conference room was packed with faces mostly unfamiliar, including two Colonels introduced as Dylan Everett and Stephen Caldwell.
It only took a few minutes of hearing General O'Neill speaking for Lorne to see why the General had been so disappointed he'd been injured. The General gave the highlights from the Atlantis data stream, describing the current threat to the city and as much as they knew of the Wraith enemy.
"Atlantis needs help," General O'Neill summarised. "They have three Wraith Hive ships on the way and no ZPM to power the city's shields. Atlantis is unaware of the ZPM found in Egypt ... their message was clearly more for information than a genuine call for help. Lucky for them there is something we can do. With the new ZPM powering the Daedalus, Colonel Caldwell should be able get to Atlantis within the week. He'll transfer the ZPM to the city so that they can power their shield and hold off the Wraith. Major Lorne, you'll join a small crew for reassignment to Atlantis base once the threat has been eliminated." Lorne nodded once, looking only at the General. It wasn't common knowledge that he had the ATA gene and with his current status as injured Evan could only imagine what Colonel Caldwell thought about his inclusion.
"My crew will be ready to proceed as soon as we've loaded supplies and our passengers are available for transport," Caldwell reported purposefully.
"As soon as Major Lorne gains final clearance from Doctor Lam he'll be ready to go," General O'Neill spoke for the other man. "Isn't that right Major?"
"Yes Sir," Lorne replied confidently although inside he was dismayed to realise he wouldn't get to say goodbye to his sister and nephews or his Mom personally. A phone call would have to do ... it wasn't the first time he'd been reassigned without warning and Evan knew they would forgive him ... eventually.
"While the Daedalus is en route, Colonel Everett will prepare and lead a small strike force through the gate," O'Neill continued. "Their job will be to hold the city until the Daedalus arrives and they'll have whatever firepower they need to do so."
"My team is compilin' strategic plans with weapons requirements as we speak," Everett reported with a distinctive Texas twang. "We will be ready to proceed on schedule."
"Very good," General O'Neill returned. "That's the plan people ... questions?"
Lorne listened distractedly as questions were asked and answered by the mission leaders, his thoughts centred on his own upcoming involvement. It was going to bite that he'd still be on the injured list while the fighting was going on ... in fact Lorne was pretty sure he would have been on Everett's team but for his injury. He could only hope the Daedalus would get there with time to spare. When the meeting was dismissed Evan grabbed his crutches and moved to quickly exit the room.
"Lorne, a minute," O'Neill's voice stopped him dead.
Waiting until everyone had left, Jack put his hands in his pockets and looked at Evan closely. "You okay with this?" he asked.
"Yes Sir," Evan returned promptly, standing as at attention as a man on crutches could get.
"Okay, first would you take that stick out your ass?" Jack retorted.
"Sorry Sir," Evan slouched over his crutches a little.
"If you're not okay for this you'd better tell me now," O'Neill insisted.
"I'm okay with it Sir," Evan repeated in a more relaxed tone.
"And your family ... what was it, your Mom and a sister?"
"That's right Sir," Lorne was impressed that he'd remembered after so long. "I won't pretend they'll be happy with this ..."
"What did Doctor Lam say about your leg?" Jack waved a hand in that general direction.
"To keep off it as much as possible," Evan shrugged. "It'll heal."
"You remember how we first met Major?" Jack asked casually.
"Of course Sir," Lorne returned. Hard to forget being beamed half way across the world like an episode of Star Trek.
"Turns out we have that capability ... via the Daedalus."
"Sir?" Lorne looked at the other man, trying not to be too hopefully.
"Since you spent a year digging naquadah out of the ground it's only fair you get to reap the benefits," Jack smirked when Evan continued to look at him uncertainly. "What are you standing there for Major? Go pack a bag and then tell Harriman where you want to go. We'll grab you from the same spot when the Daedalus is ready to leave."
"Thank you Sir," Evan said gratefully before leaving as fast as his crutches could carry him.
Lorne stood propped on one crutch in front of his open locker contemplating its contents ... discovering that he had no idea what he wanted to take with him.
"I hear they're sending you to a galaxy far, far away," the voice of Colonel Barnes issued from the other side of Evan's locker door.
Spearing a glance at his now ex team leader Evan shrugged. "I guess so Sir," he replied noncommittally.
"Because of this gene you have?" Barnes persisted, slouching onto the nearest bench and stretching his legs out comfortably.
"No other reason to include me, Sir," Lorne pointed out.
"Oh I don't know Major," the colonel quipped. "I hear you're a passable pilot when you're not laid up on crutches."
"Passable ... Sir?" Evan suppressed a grin as he raised an eyebrow at the other man. "You must have been talking to the wrong people ... I don't think that's quite the right word to describe my skills."
"Maybe not," Barnes laughed – flyboys were always so easy to tease. "It sounds like you'll get the chance to show off once you're there."
"A pilot never 'shows off' Sir," Lorne said piously before spoiling it by laughing too. "Sorry to leave the team a member down," Evan turned abruptly serious again.
"Goes with the territory," Barnes replied with a casual shrug. "I've got a couple of candidates for your replacement to consider already."
Both men fell silent as Lorne went back to considering the contents of his locker.
"Take something fun," Barnes suggested in all seriousness.
"Sir?" Evan looked at his ex CO with a puzzled frown.
"You only get a limited number of personal items, right?" Barnes confirmed. When Lorne nodded, Barnes reiterated. "You're gonna be a long way from the nearest Seers ... take something fun."
"Something fun," Evan returned thoughtfully.
"It shouldn't be that hard Major," Barnes pointed out somewhat sarcastically.
Lorne shrugged ... maybe he was over thinking this but moving to a whole other galaxy wasn't something he did every other week. Other planets, sure.
"Take a little time to enjoy the ride Evan," Barnes stood and held out a hand to Major Lorne. "It was a pleasure serving with you."
"Thank you Sir," Lorne shook his CO's hand firmly. "Likewise."
"Good luck Major," Barnes said before heading for the locker-room door. "Try not to break their Ancient city."
"I'll try Sir," Lorne chuckled at the idea ... it was a 10,000 year old city – how breakable was it likely to be? Shaking his head ruefully, Evan turned back to his locker.
He was grateful to be getting the chance for a personal visit home, more than grateful, but it created a quandary for him. San Francisco or Cold Lake? His Mom or Elaine and Drew? The temptation to go see his sister and his nephews was almost too strong to ignore but ... the boys were young enough that they wouldn't remember his visit. Besides, Elaine had Drew and the children.
It had to be his Mom.
"Where to Sir?" Walter Harriman asked when Evan walked into the control room, his bag over his shoulder, crutches under his arms.
"You're just gonna ... beam me in?" he asked uncertainly.
"Not exactly Sir," Walter said earnestly. "We'll pick an out of the way spot – you'll have to get transport from there. Take this," he handed over a small device. "It's a transponder, so we can find you when you're done. They'll give you a permanent one on the way to Atlantis."
"Right, sure," Lorne shrugged, pocketing what looked like a remote car door opener. "Okay, ah ... San Francisco Bay," he went on to give the address.
Harriman turned away, tapping rapidly on his computer and then nodded. "Okay Sir, I have it," he said. "If you'll just stand where you are, I'll alert the Daedalus."
Lorne nodded, feeling a little ridiculous standing in the middle of the room while around him everyone went about their work.
"Daedalus, this is Stargate Command," Harriman spoke formally.
"Go ahead," a vaguely familiar voice replied.
"We have Major Lorne ready for transport Sir," Harriman reported. "I'm sending you the coordinates now."
"Very well. Major, this is Colonel Caldwell. We'll pick you up at the same spot in four hours."
"Thank you Sir," Lorne replied.
Immediately there was that same bright, engulfing light surrounding him. When it faded he found himself standing in a deserted alley just off Bay Road. Now all he had to do was walk home - it was only a couple of blocks and early enough that it hadn't gotten busy yet. The crutches had him moving slowly but he preferred that over calling a taxi to come get him. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it, strange though it was to have gotten most of the way home without any effort whatsoever. Knocking on his Mom's door, Evan stood back, looking at the houses on either side. The neighbourhood hadn't changed much ... looked like Mr Connor had finally added that second storey he'd always talked about.
"Evan?"
Turning back, Evan smiled. "Hi Mom."
"Oh, look at you!" opening the door quickly she hugged him carefully, and then stepped back, eyes on his crutches. "What happened?"
"Can I come in and tell you?" Evan's brow rose expectantly.
"Of course dear," Grace had been so surprised by his appearance and then worried by the crutches that she'd forgotten they were standing on the front step. "I was just about to have coffee," she explained, leading him past the living room on the way to the kitchen.
"I'll take some of that thanks," Evan sat at the table, propping his crutches up beside him as he watched her go about the familiar routine.
"What have you done to yourself this time?" Grace asked quietly, handing him a mug and then sitting down next to him with her own coffee, steam rising lazily.
"Why do you always assume when I'm injured that somehow it's my fault?" he asked irritably.
"Am I wrong?"
"As a matter of fact you are," Evan retorted. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time is all. Should heal within a couple of weeks." He deliberately went vague on the nature of the injury – how would he explain a gunshot wound given he was stationed inside a mountain? He couldn't, not without lying.
"It's amazing how often you end up in that wrong place," Grace quipped, noticing that he'd clammed up on the details and not pressing him. There was no point in forcing him to admit he couldn't tell her more. "So, if it's not because you're injured, why the sudden visit? Not that I'm not happy to see you dear – this is a lovely surprise."
"I got the chance to come at the last minute," Evan explained. "I'm ah ... I'm being reassigned again," he almost winced as he said it, dreading her reaction.
"Somewhere remote, like before?" Grace deduced, her face going blank. "Another 'secret' location?"
"Ah ... pretty much, yeah," he replied. "I'll get regular leave and we can still send emails and letters, just -,"
"No phone calls," she concluded, "no easy visits."
Nodding, he watched her silently, waiting for something.
"And this is important to you?" Grace queried.
"It's important ... and not just to me, to everyone," Evan offered. "And there are opportunities to do some of the things I've always wanted to do ... things I wouldn't get to do anywhere else ... I can't pass that up Mom."
"I know you can't," Grace sighed, reaching over and putting her hand over his. "But someday you're going to have to ask yourself when it's going to be enough. You're giving up so much Evan – the chance to have a stable life, a relationship ... a family. For what?"
"It's hard to explain but ... it's worth it," Evan replied. "I know – I can't possibly know that because I've never had those things, but ... I do know it. The trade-off is worth it. It's not like I've ruled out any of that other stuff, I've just ... postponed it."
"Yes, well, be sure you don't leave it too late," Grace said pointedly. "You're not getting any younger dear."
"Ouch," Evan slumped back, putting a hand over his chest and getting a reluctant smile from his Mom. "Way to bruise a guy's ego Mom."
"You know what I mean," Grace chuckled. "You're still a good looking boy."
"Okay, ouch again," Evan groused, "on the 'boy' and the suggestion I'll need my looks to hook someone!"
Grace laughed outright – she never could resist when faced with her son's teasing sense of humour, always accompanied by a twinkle in the blue eyes that so reminded her of her Jonathon.
"So, we're okay?" Evan asked carefully once the laughter had died down.
"We could never be anything but," Grace replied. "It pains me Evan – having you so far away that you can't even call but ... well, I do understand you ... I know you never do anything lightly."
"Thanks Mom," Evan said feelingly, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
"What did Elaine say when you told her?" Grace was well aware that her daughter hated having her brother out of contact.
"I ah – I haven't told them yet," Evan admitted. "They only gave me time for one personal visit before I head out."
"And you came here?" Grace felt the swell of emotion rising along with the tears in her eyes. "That's ...," she broke off, sniffing quietly.
"Mom, please don't cry," Evan said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Of course I came here – you are my Mom after all."
"See, now you've done it," Grace half laughed, half cried, a few tears escaping to run down her cheeks. Standing, she reached her arms around him where he sat and hugged him close. "You make it hard sometimes Evan Lorne but I do love you dearly."
"Good to know," Evan shot back, submitting to the not all that common display of motherly love. "Just, you know, let go – you're choking me."
"Right," Grace stepped back with a laugh. "How long can you stay?"
"Only for a few hours," Evan revealed reluctantly.
"That soon?" Grace was concerned now. "But ... you're injured! Shouldn't you be resting?"
"It's fine Mom," Evan dismissed. "I'll get to rest a little on the way – and they won't put me to work until I'm fit."
"I see." Grace looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Well, you'll want to contact Elaine and Drew ... and your friends while you're here then," she concluded. "Use my computer now. I'll call and get a substitute to fill in for me at work – then maybe we can go out for a bit."
"That sounds great," Evan got up, holding his weight on his good leg as he pulled his Mom in for another hug. "I love you Mom," he muttered, resting his head against her shoulder and squeezing her tightly.
Grace put a hand on his hair and sighed. "It'll be fine Evan," she said simply. "We'll always be here for you."
Nodding, Evan just soaked it all up ... the familiar feel of his Mom's arms, being surrounded by her love ... and the memories of those same feelings throughout the years, his constant companion. He had to stock up on that because he knew it would be too long before he'd get to renew them.
From: Grace Lorne (Grace _ Lorne
Sent: Friday, 17th July 2004 09:24 AM
To: Elaine and Drew Rider (edrider at eastlink . ca)
Subject: From Evan - New Assignment
Elaine, Drew
It's Evan - I'm at Mom's using her account. Listen, I don't have a lot of time. I tried to call you but no one picked up so it was either this email or have Mom call you for me.
Yeah, as the subject line suggests, I'm getting reassigned. It's another one of those 'no contact' posts which means regular forwarding of all emails and letters but no phone or video call capability. I'm really sorry I didn't give you prior warning this was happening – I only found out myself this morning and they've literally given me a few hours to take care of the personal stuff before they ship me out.
I had to go see Mom and there just wasn't time to go anywhere else ... I'm sorry. I can't really say anything more about where I'm going or what I'm doing. You know I hate that but it's the way it has to be.
So, please, please send me lots of photos of Jon and Matt – videos too if you can. And letters – I want to hear all about what they're doing! You guys too – keep me updated on what's going on with you both, okay?
I'll be fine so don't worry (I know Lainee, easier said than done). I promise just as soon as I get leave to come back to the States I'll come see all of you.
Give the boys a hug from their Uncle. You know I love all of you (yeah, Drew, okay – even you. You've got it in writing now.)
Look after each other.
Evan.
Evan sat back and reread the message before clicking the send button. He regretted that he couldn't speak to Elaine personally – somehow that made him leaving so suddenly feel like some kind of cloak and dagger operation. It would have been nice to leave for Atlantis knowing that everything was squared away back home – now he'd be looking at every mail run once he was there, looking for the one from Elaine that said she was still talking to him.
Family mail taken care of, Evan quickly fired off emails to a number of friends around the country, in Canada and Australia. His Cougar team mates, especially Marcus and Cade got completely personalised missives, as did Dom and Riley. Training had forged strong bonds of friendship for Lorne – his Hornet training and the time he'd spent during Red Flag. They were all used to moving around, used to maintaining a friendship when face to face contact was a rare occurrence, so Evan wasn't really concerned about losing touch.
Once done with those there was one remaining contact he needed to make. Drew would always be his best friend but through circumstance and an unlikely connection, Piper O'Hara had snuck up on Evan and become his closest friend outside of family. He spoke to her when he could and they usually each stopped in on the other when they were in the general vicinity.
She was on leave from the marines at the moment, on maternity leave of all things. One day she'd just decided the time was right – as she'd described it she'd gone home that night and told her husband he had to knock her up, right there and then. Not surprisingly she'd gotten her wish and had given birth to a baby girl – Shannon Eleanor - a couple of months ago.
Evan had been staggered when she'd asked him to be Shannon's godfather, had gone as far as asking her if she was insane. His reasoning being that he was seldom around, had hardly any free time, and couldn't exactly be considered a reliable, constant, presence.
Piper had replied by saying that when he was around there was no one as dependable as Evan Lorne. And then calmly announced that if anything were to happen to both her and Rob she wanted Evan to raise Shannon, even over her brothers and sisters. He'd made her promise that that would never happen and then agreed to take on the job. Shannon was a little princess, cute beyond words. That was another thing for him to regret, that he'd even less be able to have any kind of influence over her young life. Piper had known the possibility was there and he could only hope she didn't regret choosing him to be Shannon's godfather.
Time to try another phone call.
"Hello," Piper herself answered the phone and suddenly Evan felt a little nervous. She had a way of seeing through him which made prevaricating on any story really difficult.
"Hey, Piper, it's Evan," he began.
"Wow, two calls in one week," Piper smiled. "That must be a record."
"Probably," Evan agreed. "I'm ringing because –"
"Wait, don't tell me," she broke in. "You're being reassigned, to another one of those top secret bases, and you won't be able to call for months."
"Man, you're good," Evan drawled.
"What?" Piper said in dismay. "That's really what's happening? I was just joking!"
"I'm being reassigned," Evan confirmed. "Just got the news this morning but I'm leaving late today. I wish I could have come down to see you guys."
"So do I!" Piper sighed. "They had to pick you huh? Not someone else who doesn't have friends in Nebraska who were going to invite them to stay for a couple of weeks next month."
"Damn, that bites," Evan shook his head. "I've been wanting to come back since that last time. Did Rob get those new horses?"
"They're beauties," Piper shared, her voice awed. "You know I thought he was insane to sell his law firm and buy a horse farm but he's just a natural. We've already had a lot of success with the breeding program to the point that stud services are booked out months in advance."
"Yeah, well it's a great environment for bringing up a kid," Evan offered.
"Huh, listen to the expert!" Piper laughed.
"Hey, Uncle of two, Godfather of one," Evan reminded her, "I've got skills."
"You do okay," Piper allowed.
"That's generous of you," Evan shot back. Sighing, he got serious again. "I wish I could have the best of both worlds," he said simply.
"See your friends when you want but still get to kick ass in your job," Piper suggested.
"Exactly."
"Well, since you can't we'll just have to bombard you with lots of mail," Piper retorted. "Enough that they're going to wonder why it is Evan Lorne is so damn popular."
"I'm sure I'm going to regret this, but that sounds great right now," Evan admitted.
"You'll be fine. The time will go fast and you'll be back here on leave before you know it," Piper fell into the familiar pattern of grounding him in reality. "We won't let you get lonely."
"Thanks Piper," Evan smiled fondly. "Give Shannon a big hug from me okay. Tell her not to grow up too fast."
"Huh, she's changing every day," Piper laughed. "We can't keep up ourselves!"
Evan heard footsteps behind him ... turning he saw his Mom, ready to go out. She raised an eyebrow and he nodded.
"I have to go Piper," he said. "I'd say I'm taking my Mom out but I probably won't get a say in the where so it's more likely she's taking me out."
Grace laughed. She'd met Evan's friend when he'd come back from Afghanistan the first time. It had been a couple of months later, when the young marine had returned from her own tour. Grace had seen immediately that Piper and her son shared a strong bond ... and been quietly disappointed when Evan had disappeared for a couple of days straight after to attend Piper's wedding. He'd laughed when she'd asked in a roundabout way if he was disappointed and told her Piper and he knew far too much about each other's weaknesses to ever be anything but friends. Besides, her new husband was six foot three and would kick Evan's ass all the way to Sunday and back if he so much as thought about the possibility. She'd muttered something about never finding his own 'something' if he insisted on being everybody's best friend.
"You guys take care," Evan continued. "Just as soon as I get leave I'll make some time to come out – see my goddaughter. If you happen to be around too that'll be fine."
"You're still an ass, Evan, you know that right," Piper shot back.
"But you love me anyway," Evan laughed.
"I do – so you make sure you bring yourself back here in one piece or I'm going to be severely annoyed."
"Back atcha," Evan returned. "I'll miss you – especially the 'return to reality' pegging down you're so good at."
"You'll have to find someone else for that," Piper said sadly. "I'm really gonna miss you too – Rob will be jealous."
"Ha," Evan laughed again. Seeing his Mom still waiting, he shrugged. "Okay, gotta go. Be good."
"You too," Piper returned. "Stay safe."
Evan hung up the phone, turning to his Mom. "Okay, I'm done. I had to send an email to Elaine – no one answered – so you might cop a little fallout when she gets it."
"I'll manage," Grace said dryly.
"So, where are you taking me?" he smiled, charmingly holding out his elbow to her, a move made a little awkward by the crutches he was juggling into place.
"You'll see," Grace smiled.
"Right – surprises," Evan muttered. "I like those."
It was a brief respite from reality but over too quickly. He'd wordlessly hugged his Mom, told her he'd write, and then walked out the door. Returning to that alley, feeling just as ridiculous as he'd waited the few minutes needed, he'd been beamed to the Daedalus and a rapid journey to the Pegasus galaxy. There wasn't much to be said about it – other than it had been long and he'd quickly run out of things to do. It had been PT once his leg was up to it and reading every skerrick of information he could lay his hands on about Atlantis ... that and spending time with the new friends he'd made along the way.
Things in the Pegasus galaxy didn't go quite as General O'Neill had planned ... but at the end of the day the city of Atlantis was given a reprieve from destruction by the Wraith. Lives had been lost or altered beyond recovery and it would take time to sort out the longer term consequences. And through it all Major Lorne had been forced to watch from the sidelines ... a situation that was beyond frustrating. Sure, he'd been on the Daedalus as it went into battle but that was as far as his involvement went and he was more than ready to correct that situation at the earliest opportunity.
Lorne stood with a small group of replacement personnel waiting to be beamed into the city for the first time. He'd traded his crutches in for a slight limp and carried his duffle over one shoulder. Colonel Caldwell had informed him that on a temporary basis he would be in command of the military on Atlantis which was a little more daunting that he'd like to admit.
"Don't make any changes," Colonel Caldwell had ordered. "Just keep things ticking over until we return."
Major Sheppard, Doctor Weir and all the department heads had already gated back to Earth for discussions on ongoing needs for the city. Once the new military leader was appointed Major Sheppard would probably return as the base 2IC and Lorne would hopefully be assigned a team of his own. Colonel Caldwell seemed particularly interested in matters pertaining to the military command position and had left his ships return to Earth in the capable hands of his 2IC so that he could gate back to the SGC to be a part of those discussions.
And so it was that Major Evan Lorne's first minutes in the city of the Ancients occurred with so little fanfare or audience. He felt the transport like a warm beam sweeping over his entire body. When the bright light cleared from his eyes, Lorne found himself standing in the Gateroom on Atlantis.
Immediately his senses were assaulted with cries for his attention, like every part of the city was shouting out 'over here!' and 'look at me!'. For the first few seconds, inside his head it was just static ... melodious, mysterious, compelling, it swelled in volume until he felt like his head might actually explode. Putting a hand to his forehead Lorne glanced at the other members of his group, noting that none of them seemed similarly affected. How the hell was he going to be able to function with background noise like this?
"Enough!" he finally yelled out the order inside his head.
Silence.
Suddenly his mind was blessedly his again.
"Thank you," Lorne thought, more than a little disturbed at the turn of events. Had that somehow been the city greeting him?
Had he really just told a 10,000 year old supposedly inanimate object to be quiet? Evan could already see that having the ATA gene and living in the city was going to be a little more than he'd bargained for.
"Welcome to Atlantis," the tall gangly man introduced as Chuck the control room technician spoke for the civilian contingent of the city, Lieutenant Smith seconding that as the ranking officer for the military.
"Thank you," Lorne replied, going for confident but friendly in his expression and approach. "Let's get these people settled into quarters and then you two can brief me on the current situation."
As everyone moved to comply Evan relaxed just a little. The silence in his head was immediately replaced by a gentle stream of that same strangely compelling static. After the initial rush he realised it was familiar in a way that wasn't unexpected – the Ancients had build the Stargates and the city after all. Lorne frowned for a moment before deciding it was something he'd learn to ignore.
Authors Note:
Lorne on Atlantis! Yay! For anyone curious about why I had Evan arrive when he did and put him in charge it was because nothing else made sense to me. All the leaders gate back to Earth at the end of the Siege Pt 3 and from flashbacks in Intruder we know Caldwell was also on Earth. The Daedalus took everyone back to Atlantis so it had to return to Earth at some point too. And someone of high enough rank had to be left to keep things running on Atlantis. So I decided since we don't really know when exactly Lorne arrived on Atlantis he might as well arrive while all that was going on.