The Ascension of the Fifth Race
Chapter Four
Seeds
In the hours since the City had touched down on the oceans of Lantea, the Expedition members were busy getting back into the swing of the Pegasus Galaxy. The teams that John had sent off world had brought back disturbing news: the Wraith that the George Hammond had detected when it had travelled to Pegasus to return Teyla had been culling many worlds.
A number of their off-world contacts were very angry with them, thinking that they had abandoned them to the Wraith. Many still thought of them as the Ancestors of old. Others thought that they had merely saved themselves. The teams had been forced to explain that they had been forced to return to their own Galaxy but that they were back now to help the people of the Galaxy.
The Gate within Atlantis had seen constant traffic with the teams returning to get trading supplies and returning to continue relations. The 'gate itself had changed back the moment the sensors had finished their sweeps of the Lantea System, and, detecting that they were back in the Pegasus Galaxy, the automated system changed the gate model again.
John stood at the window of what was now his office looking down at the activity that was going on through the gate room and operations. He smiled only three hours in. Atlantis was reintegrated itself back into Pegasus. Woolsey had been sent to the Coalition with an escort, but as a matter of precaution he had also sent a second team as backup in a cloaked puddle jumper. He didn't expect the meeting to be entirely friendly, but he was sure that in their absence the Genii would have tried to fill the void they left.
The gate lit up with an incoming wormhole, but the kwoosh was stopped by the shield.
He saw that the technicians looked surprised, so he walked out to operations to see what was going on.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing, Sir. Doctor Becket is taking his time getting through the gate," Chuck said. "Teyla is coming through."
"Well, let's roll out the welcome banners," John said, smiling. He walked towards the stairs just as the 'jumper came through and began to ascend to the jumper bay.
When he arrived, Becket was just managing to land, and the rear compartment door was lowered. For the first time in months, John got to see Teyla. She had returned her clothing to her Athosian style. She looked good. On her hip was a small child that could only been Torren. He had grown a lot since he had last seen the boy who had been named after John.
"John!" Teyla said warmly and embraced him carefully to avoid squashing her son. "It is good to see you again, and I had not thought to see you or Atlantis back in this Galaxy."
"It is good to see you Teyla, and Torren too," John said as he tickled the little boy. "Let's just say that I did not agree with a decision, so I may have taken the city without the full approval of Earth."
"You stole the city?" she asked, shocked.
"Not entirely," John said, shrugging. "Doctor Becket, do you need anything?"
"I wouldn't mind some medical supplies. A number of the Athosians could use some of our treatments. Mostly they are in good health, but I would like to give them a thorough going over."
"That's fine. Where is Ronon?" he asked, looking for his large friend.
"He said that he wanted to see how his people were but said that he would return to New Athos in a few hours," Teyla said.
"Okay," John replied, "Becket, get back to New Athos and see the people. Now, Teyla, why don't we go downstairs."
They walked back down to operations, and Teyla was met happily. It took half an hour for them to get into John's office where she caught him up on the local news and rumours that she had heard. John also told her how the city came to be back in Pegasus and that he was now in charge of the entire city and expedition.
"John, you are a good person. You will make a good leader to your people. Elizabeth would be proud if she could see you now."
"Except that she is now floating in the harshness of space and is unable to do anything," he said bitterly. "Have I told you how much I hate the Asurans?"
"Many times," Teyla said, smiling. "And I noticed that you have also received a promotion in rank. You are a full colonel now."
"Yes, but I am not sure what my rank will be if I am brought back to Earth tomorrow," John shrugged. "I am the highest ranking military officer, but it doesn't matter as I am still the leader of the Expedition."
"So what is your plan for this Galaxy?" she asked.
"Well, I will be consolidating for the time being, and when I have my intel I will be able to plan the strikes against the Wraith. But for now, we have been gone too long to do any good, not to mention without the Daedalus which should be on its way our recourses are limited."
"But I do have a proposition for you," John added, sounding hopeful.
"The Athosians were once welcome on Atlantis and the mainland. I would propose that this continue. You told me that your people have struggled and that many worlds fear you as they heard rumours of what happened with Michael. In exchange, we will give your people protection, and you will get the benefit of our medical treatment and housing that we will help you build on the mainland. In exchange, all we would need is a small amount of the harvest that your people would grow. The rest is for you to trade off world. You will also have use of the gate."
"What about security for my people and trade?" she asked, concerned for her people's wellbeing.
"Like I said, we will provide your people with a settlement and means of protection on the mainland. I understand your people are a trading people. You can have full access to cultivate the land. However, we will soon have three new vessels, which we can teach you to pilot, and you can continue your trade," John said, smiling. "They are not unlike the 'jumpers. They are easy to pilot, and they will enable your people to trade easier."
"You are giving us your vessels?" She asked, surprised.
"No," John said firmly, "but your people will be able to have use of them when they have need, but if needed, they will form a military function. Primarily, they are for transportation."
"I think my people would find that acceptable, but I fear that many will believe that we will be forced to relocate again," she said sadly.
"No" John said firmly, "I give my word that the Athosians will always be welcome on Lantea and in the city. The villagers can either remain farming and trading but some can if they choose join the Atlantis Reconnaissance teams or become part of the security teams."
"Might I also request a form of schooling for my people? Many still do not have a true understanding of the technology or sciences in use," she requested, "I myself sometimes do not understand."
John thought about it for a moment and realised that with the amount of scientists and other professionals in the city that was not unreasonable. "I think that can be arranged. We have enough geeks here to be able to teach your people something."
"You are kind to consider my people like this. I know that Dr Weir had hoped to keep our people together, but your people on Earth treated us with so much caution," she pointed out. "Will this not happen again?"
"No," John said firmly, "I will not allow it, especially when your people were stolen without our knowledge. I promise you that even when we are back in contact with Earth, you and your people will not be forced from my city."
"Will they not just send a ship to find you, or even dial the gate?" Teyla asked after a number of minutes trying to settle Torren.
"Rodney is looking for any subspace transponders and locators, so no ship will find us. Even if they send one, the city's Cloak will prevent our discovery. Even the Asgard technology cannot detect this city," John explained. "The gate has been programmed for now to prevent any intergalactic dialling, but even if they do connect, they will not be able to come through the shield."
"Well, I had better get back to my people," Teyla said. She placed Torren in John's arms. "Please, can you look after him until I return. I believe that on your planet you would be called a godparent to him."
John gave an almost terrified look at the small child, which made Teyla laugh as she left them. John looked like he was carrying a small bomb.
A number of days later, the Athosians had all been gated to Atlantis, where they had already begun to settle in. Their previous settlement had been entirely dismantled when they had left, and the fields that they had farmed had become overgrown and required a lot of work. But, the Athosians were happy.
John had set the engineers and architects the challenge of designing and planning the construction of a long term settlement. So far, he had not been disappointed in what he had seen on paper and in computer models.
The architecture proposed was entirely unique to the settlement. They were using a stone that they were sourcing from off world. It was stone enriched with a metallic element unique to Pegasus, which according to the Atlantis database was called 'Melonite' that could be molecularly fused together to create a strong structure. They would fit large glass windows with some stained glass design to match the City, but they would also use dark woods and other stones for other parts of the buildings. They hoped that the structures that were planned to be built would last many centuries, and expansion was also taken into account for the future into the very design.
The interior of the buildings matched the Athosians' own style with lots of woods and handmade furniture, furs and other such things that they were used to, but they would have some modern advances. Each building was fitted with electrical lighting and heating and modern plumbing. They would also have communications between the buildings and Atlantis.
The settlement would take time to build as they did not have all of the resources, but they could build the actual stone structure easily. The more advanced features would have to wait for the renewed connection with Earth to acquire materials.
Teyla's request for a school was also taking shape. Two large tents had been erected and two different schools were set up one to teach children. The other to teach adults and so far they had seen expanding numbers attending to learn, and it was hoped that once a school was built a true curriculum could be made.
Mr Woolsey had returned from the Coalition, and he had told John that they had not been happy to see him and were very angry at Atlantis. They believed that they had stolen the City of the Ancestors and abandoned them all to return to their own safe galaxy.
Woolsey had explained why it had necessitated in the city's temporary relocation, but they had now returned and they were determined to see the Wraith beaten. A number of them had not been accepting of their story and it was the Genii who had questioned their integrity the most.
It has taken some stern words from Woolsey to quieten the discord amongst the members, he had pointed out the advances they had that none in the coalition did, but the nail in the coffin had been informing them that the City of Atlantis had been built on Earth, the Ancestors had come from Earth and returned to Earth after they fled and to remind them that them that they were the children of the Ancestors.
Woolsey was settling in to his reviewed position and had a new office one floor down from Stargate Operations. He was still helping with all personnel issues, but John was still overseeing everything he did. He seemed to understand why John had done what he did but did not agree by the means he achieved it. A military commander would not last long as leader of the expedition; the international committee that sponsored the expedition would want a civilian not a military man.
A most startling discovery had come from a young graduate from England who had been sent by the British to be a part of the expedition. His name was Gordon Matthews, and he may have been young but was reported had one of the most gifted minds in Britain. According to the file that had been provided when he was assigned to the city, he had drawn the attention of the government while he was still in Cambridge University. He had been snapped up and given clearance to know about the Stargate and study advanced science theories and applications gained by the Gate.
John assigned Gordon to comb through the Atlantis database and mainframe to discover what program had been running while they had been on Earth. But, John had terminated the search when they arrived back on Lantea as the fragments of code left by the Program had made them worried. Gordon was efficient and had discovered that it had been a virus that would have destroyed the Atlantis Database if the city had not returned to Pegasus within another three months of when they left.
With the discovery of a Virus within the database John had called for an emergency meeting to discuss this revelation and why no one had found it earlier.
"Rodney, how did you not know that there was a deadline?" John asked, "and for that matter, how did you not know there was a virus in the computers?"
"Well, it was a buried program," Rodney said defensively, not liking that he was being held at fault for this situation. "When the city is relocated and automated sensors sweeps are carried out of the surrounding space, planet, and the city. Atlantis contained the entire repository of knowledge of the Ancients, and it has all the data from every system and galaxy they explored. The city would have been able to determine that it was on Earth and back in the Milky Way Galaxy, and when it detected this I believe that the Virus was activated and released into the mainframe and control systems."
"Sorry, Doctor McKay," Gordon interrupted nervously. "What you are saying about the city's capabilities is not wrong. However, the virus was not stored within the database. It was introduced to the database four days after the city came to rest in San Francisco, the same day as the first talks were held regarding the possible destruction and salvage of the city took place."
"What?" Rodney asked, taking the young man's tablet to check his findings. He was startled. "He is right. It was introduced after we returned to Earth."
"This was a good find, Mr Matthews," John said, "You have shown you are have an aptitude of searching through the database, something Rodney here had failed to do many times. Please continue to do so and see who entered this virus into the system."
"Yes, of course, Colonel," Gordon said, blushing. "I will get right on that."
Once he was out of the room, John looked back at Rodney. "Is it possible that that virus could have been planted into the database?"
"No. There are protocols in place that would have prevented it. Making amendments to the database requires an authentication code created by the Ancients, and it is something that we cannot crack. If we had it, we would have unfretted access to the database and everything it contains," Rodney explained. "You might be able to add a virus to the operating system, but not the Database. That is impossible and the Operating system resets every night, so it wouldn't last long."
"I want you to check in with Gordon between your other duties, and I want a list of possibilities. If someone has found a way to infect the database, I want to know who, and I want it protected from further intrusions," John ordered. "Now, let's get Beckett, Keller, Teyla and Woolsey here. We have a meeting to hold. Ronon is off world with Lorne. I will need to be available for their report after, and they are scouting a known Wraith stronghold."
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Edited: July 2016
Beta: The Avid Musician
Authors Note: I am finally going to have this story Beta'd so watch this space
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