3/7/12
Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the read so far! Because I sure as hell am enjoying writing these chapters for you guys. This was a fun chapter to write. I bet you guys are getting tired of newcomers from other universes and galaxies, but don't worry. There's no more new characters coming in from other universes for the rest of the story...at least, none that I have planned yet. So, I intend to keep it like this for now, and plan to start with off-world exploration fairly soon. In the mean time, I'd like to say that there are going to be a few familiar names in this chapter, names of certain real-life people whom I have come to respect greatly the past couple months. Who are they? Well, if you don't know about the SGU and SciFi movements on FaceBook, then you won't know who they are. But I'm pretty sure those people will know who they are once they read the names of those characters. Just a little side note, this chapter was going to be a bit longer than it currently is. But I decided against releasing another huge chapter, so I cut it down to a little bit over 20 pages. All material excluded in this chapter will be in chapter 8. Anyways, enjoy the read guys!
Hello fans of Stargate Universe. The name's sheesh.
This is the story of our friends onboard the Destiny, 3 years after they made the fateful FTL jump from one galaxy, to another. We follow them as their jouney continues through this new, and strange galaxy. What mysteries await them? What sort of alien species will they encounter, and wil they be hostile? And what has become of the one man we have come to know and love as the incredibly smart, Eli Wallace? Has he survived the jump? Or did the crew wake up too late? To find out the answers to these questions, read the story that could have been, the story that many of us SGU fans would love to see finished.
This is a fan fiction that I have been working on for the last few months. Forgive me if you see mistakes here and there, as I have been a novice writer for about 6 years now. Since I learned while watching the season 2 finale that there would no longer be new episodes, I was haunted with many, many questions about where the story of the Destiny would go, and what would become of the characters we have come to love. After giving it some thought, I decided I would write my take on a season 3 of Stargate Universe. This is a fan fiction, written by a fan, for the fans. I hope that you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. This is the biggest project I've ever done. Please, I only ask one thing from those of you who read it...REVIEWS! Again, I'm still a novice writer, and I need...would like reviews from other fans ands readers about my writings. If there is something that you did or did not like, please tell me in your review, so that I may improve upon it in future chapters. Again, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!
Stargate Universe: Infinite Ultimatum
This story is no way affiliated with the Stargate franchise, SyFy, or anything else associated with Stargate and MGM. All characters and name's that appeared in the Stargate series belong to Stargate, I do not own them. This is a fan fiction. I do not own any copyright claims, no copyright infringement is intended. I own only those characters and name's whom I have added to the storyline. Again, all characters and name's that have appeared in the shows belong to the Stargate franchise, and all other affiliates.
2/16/12
Chapter 7
Cry for Innocence
It had been a day since Eli returned and since McKay and Sam fell unconscious. It had been a day since no progress had been made on figuring what happened with the communication stones, and no progress was made on regaining control over Destiny. It had been a day since the Lucian assault on the SGC had finally been stopped. And it had been a day since Greer made the wish with Tarvock in order to save Eli.
McKay opened his eyes, but his vision was clouded. He blinked several times until his vision returned, and looked up at the metal ceiling. He was still on Destiny. As he sat up, he groaned in pain and held his head in his hands. "What the hell happened?" he asked to no one in particular.
TJ swiveled around in her chair quickly, "Lt. Scott? Is that you?"
McKay shook his head, "No. I'm still McKay…or at least I think I still am."
TJ clicked the switch on her radio, "Col. Young, Dr. McKay is awake."
"I'm on my way," was the response from the radio.
"Dr. McKay," TJ said as she approached him, "how are you feeling?"
McKay shook his head. "Like I got hit by a freight train." He looked around, his eyes widening, almost as if he was seeing the world for the first time. "I feel like…I've lived another life…"
TJ clicked the flashlight on and held it up as she shined it into McKay's left eye, then his right. "What do you mean, 'lived another life'?"
McKay blinked rapidly as she clicked the flashlight off, "I-I…I think I have every single one of Lt. Scott's memories in my head."
TJ furrowed her eyebrows, confused, "All of Matt's memories?"
McKay nodded slowly as the foreign memories flooded his mind. He remembered Scott's childhood days, how he had always wanted to be a soldier. McKay remembered how he used to march around his house in camouflaged clothing with a plastic assault rifle tucked underneath his arm. He remembered how excited he was when he was finally drafted into the military when he came of age. The memories of how rough life as a marine was were very distinct to McKay, as the constant training and maintaining of physical shape were probably the only unfavorable memories. It was hard for McKay to believe that Scott hadn't broken mentally due to all that stress and difficult lifestyle.
The memories of when Scott was assigned to the Stargate Program, and his stationing on the planet Icarus came up. Then it was the feeling of total isolation from friends and family when everyone stepped through the gate during the Lucian attack on the Icarus Base. McKay finally understood how everyone on board this ship felt during their first few days and week on Destiny. Loneliness, fear, helplessness and the feeling of being completely lost. McKay couldn't have been able to imagine these feelings. He had to be feeling what Scott had felt the first days on Destiny. And then the more recent memories came to the surface. Scott's feelings for Chloe. Was this the love that Scott felt towards Chloe that McKay was currently feeling? It had to be, there could be no other explanation for these foreign memories and feelings.
Young walked into the infirmary while TJ was taking McKay's blood pressure, "How is he?"
TJ undid the velcro on the blood pressure gauge sleeve and wrapped the air pump into the sleeve, "Well, he's alright, besides a headache and a few extra memories that aren't his."
Young glanced at TJ, confused, "What?"
"I have Lt. Scott's memories," McKay answered bluntly.
Young looked at McKay blankly for a moment, then he furrowed his eyebrows, "A side effect of the stone's malfunctioning?"
McKay looked up at Young, "What? Stone's malfunctioning? No, that's impossible. It can't happen."
"Then how do you explain you falling unconscious and the strange readings the stone's gave off?" Young asked.
McKay was about to answer, but stopped as he had no answer for Young. "Strange readings?" he asked.
Young motioned for him to follow, "Come on, I'll show you."
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Scott jolted upright in the bed. He frantically looked all over the room, confused as to where he was. Then he remembered that he had been on his was up to help with clearing rubble from the main entrance into the mountain base. But this wasn't the main entrance corridor. This was the infirmary. "What the hell am I doing here?" he thought to himself. "Why am I back here?" A dull pain suddenly started to throb behind his eyes, and he groaned as he rubbed them.
Dr. Lam entered the infirmary and saw that he was awake, "Hey, you're finally awake. We thought you'd never wake up, Lt."
Scott realized that he was still in McKay's body, rather than his own, "Yeah, how'd you know it was me?"
Dr. Lam shrugged, "Well, you didn't touch the communication stone, so I figured that you couldn't have gone back to your body."
Scott nodded, "Oh, yeah. I guess you're right." He winced as the dull pain behind his eyes intensified. He placed his face into his hands and groaned again. Dr. Lam noticed his discomfort, and approached him to ask what was wrong. But as she stepped closer to him, his head snapped back up as he stared straight ahead, a look of bewilderment in his eyes.
Dr. Lam could tell something was wrong. "Lt. Scott? Are you alright?" she asked as she carefully reached out and placed her hand on his right shoulder.
Scott remained silent, as he could not speak. He only continued to stare straight ahead at the concrete wall ten feet away from him. But he did not see a concrete wall. Instead, he saw strange alien landscapes and ships, and fearsome alien faces he had never seen before. He saw Dr. Woolsey, Dr. Weir, Zelenka, Teyla, and a wraith he knew by the name Michael. He saw the city of Atlantis before him as he gazed out upon its glory.
Then, childhood memories that weren't his flashed passed his eyes. He remembered how he had a crush on his science teacher's assistance, Mrs. Fredrickson. He remembered how he was always bullied by the third grade class bully, Ned, for being a nerd that loved his science books, as well as for having a crush on a teacher's assistant that was twenty-eight years older than him. He remembered graduating at the very top of his classes in both high school, and college. Receiving those master's diplomas' in science and technology, and advanced quantum physics was probably the second most exhilarating thing to have happened to him in his life. The first most exhilarating thing to have happened in his life was seeing an active Stargate for the first time, and stepping through it onto another planet, thousands of light-years away from Earth in the blink of an eye.
Scott blinked again as the memories slowly faded from his vision, and the bleak, grey concrete wall of the infirmary returned to his field of vision. He cast Dr. Lam a confused look. Dr. Lam looked back at him worriedly, "Is everything alright, Lt.?"
Scott shook his head slowly, "No. I…I remember…things I shouldn't…"
"What do you mean?" Dr. Lam asked, confused.
"I…know everything about Dr. McKay," Scott answered. "Right down to his kindergarten days." His eyes strayed from Dr. Lam to the bed behind her, on which Sam lay unconscious as well. He indicated towards the unconscious colonel, "What happened to her?"
Dr. Lam glanced over her shoulder at Sam, "Same thing that happened to you Lt. Gen. Riverstone wanted to return to her normal body. As soon as she touched to stone, she fell unconscious. You did too, only five minutes later."
As she finished her sentence, Sheppard walked into the infirmary. His eyes immediately fell upon Scott. "McKay?" he asked.
Scott shook his head in response, but did not say anything. He was still trying to understand why he had all of McKay's memories, why McKay's entire life was among Scott's own memories. He did not like the fact that someone else's life was now part of his life. He felt uncomfortable, like he had violated someone else's personal space. He knew things he should not have known, as well as things he never learned. He knew everything that McKay knew about Ancient technology, even everything McKay had learned in his college studies.
Sheppard glanced quizzically at Dr. Lam, "Is that-?"
Dr. Lam answered his question before he could finish asking it, "It's Lt. Scott. But that's not the major issue here right now."
Sheppard sensed something was off. He waited for Dr. Lam to explain herself, but she didn't. She only looked at Scott with concern. "So…what's the problem? He's all still there, right?"
Dr. Lam nodded, "Yeah, he seems to be intact." Then she shook her head, and furrowed her eyebrows.
"But?" Sheppard asked, urging her to continue.
This time Scott answered him, "I know everything about him."
Sheppard seemed a bit confused by the answer, "Everything about…who? McKay?" Scott nodded in response again. Sheppard looked to Dr. Lam again for an answer, "So…that's a problem then, right? How'd it even happen?"
Dr. Lam shrugged, "I'm not sure." She turned to face Sheppard, "We won't know for sure what it means and how it happened until Dr. Cook is done with his analysis of the stones."
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The scientist shook his head in frustration as he scanned over the connection readings data for the fifteenth time. Dr. Martin Cook, the stones expert that Jack had called in to find out what went wrong with the stones, rubbed his tired eyes. He had been looking over this data for the past twelve hours. He knew what he was looking at; he knew what it all meant and he knew that the abnormal readings that had gone off the charts when Gen. Riverstone tried to reverse the connection should not have happened.
But it had happened, and Dr. Cook had to find out why. But so for, the reason as to why the strange and erratic readings had occurred eluded him. So far, it seemed to him that the only answer was simply a random glitch in the connections between all four stones. But that was not an answer he was willing to give, nor was he even going to consider that to be a likely answer.
Since it had happened, the stones had been quarantined and were left on the communication pedestal. During that time, the connection readings were left running, in case the abnormal readings were to happen again. As the fifteenth scan of the readings continued, Dr. Cook's eyes absentmindedly strayed from the laptop in front of him to the laptop with the live readings a few feet away on his left. Sam and Riverstone's connection readings had stayed the same since the incident; little to no activity at all. He moved his eyes down to McKay and Scott's connection readings. The readings showed activity, but those of a reversed connection that would return the individuals minds to their original bodies.
He looked tiredly at the readings for a few seconds and then yawned, not registering what he was seeing. Then it clicked and he sat upright in his chair, thrusting his body forwards in the swivel chair. He thrust himself forward with such force that he tipped the chair forward too much, which allowed the wheeled chair to roll out from underneath him. Dr. Cook fell forward when the chair disappeared from underneath him. He threw a hand up and caught the edge of the counter top that the laptops and stones sat on. He quickly popped his head up above the counter top and stood up on his knees. He leaned closer to the laptop with the live connection readings, his eyes wide with bewildered disbelief as he studied the readings.
The readings showed that McKay and Scott's minds were in the process of exchanging bodies once again, indicating that they were returning to their normal bodies. But from the three years that Dr. Cook had spent studying the communication stones, he knew that the process of reversing the transfer of minds only lasted for about half a second. The readings from that process would have only appeared for that long before fading to normal readings. But as he stared at the readings, it was clear to him that what was happening was not supposed to happen. Within these readings, he could see the distinct normal readings that signify the individuals had returned to their respected bodies.
Dr. Cook was confounded. He had never seen such bizarre readings before. "What the hell is this?" he asked the empty air of the room. He reached up and hit a few keys on the laptop, saving the readings data. Then he typed in the command to refresh the readings. But the readings he had seen before remained the same. This confounded him even more. Then, his bewilderment disappeared and he became worried, "Oh boy…this can't be good."
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Addamo stood in the observatory, gazing at the beauty of the colors that danced passed the glass dome as Destiny traveled in FTL. He was leaning on his forearms against the railing with a cigarette in his hand. He lifted the cigarette up to his lips, and took a deep drag. Lowering his hand again, he exhaled thick streams of white smoke from his nostrils. The smoke cloud billowed in front of him for a few moments before slowly fading as it rose. Behind him, two marines stood on either side of the door, keeping careful watch over the lone Viterosaur.
The star heart crystal around his neck suddenly started to glow brightly. Addamo glanced down at the gem and sighed, "I know, I know. You don't approve of me smoking. But it's a habit, okay? You're just going to have to deal with it." He smirked and looked back out the glass dome as the gem intensified in brightness, "Sorry, but no amount of nagging is going to make me quit. You can blame my father for introducing me to the concept of smoking."
He lifted the cigarette to his lips again, and took another drag. As he exhaled another stream of smoke from his nostrils again, the crystal intensified yet again in brightness. Glancing down again, Addamo knew then something was wrong. The crystal wasn't disapproving of his smoking; it was warning him of danger. Suddenly he froze, finally noticing the feeling of a presence directly behind him. "That's what you were trying to warn me about, weren't you?" he directed his thoughts towards the star heart crystal. His instincts told him to ready himself to strike at whatever was behind him, but he ignored them, fearing that it might be one of the humans. He whirled around with snarl and bared his teeth.
But there was no one there, no one behind him like his instincts told him there had been someone there. He quickly glanced down once more at the star heart; it was still glowing, which meant that danger was still close by. His eyes darted from every dark corner of the observatory. But there was no one in sight; no eminent danger was visible to him. He was completely alone in the observatory, and that struck him as odd. "Where are the guards?" he thought. He cautiously walked toward the entrance, casting his eyes quickly left and right as he did. And then he stopped, dead in his tracks.
The guards were still in the observatory with him, albeit on the floor, seemingly lifeless. "What the hell?" he exclaimed loudly. He hadn't heard a sound. How could he have not heard the guards' distress? Addamo rushed over to the guard on the right side of the doorway, and pressed his index finger against the mans jugular. No pulse. He quickly stood up and moved to the other guard and checked the humans pulse. There was a pulse, albeit faint. The man was still alive, but barely. "What happened to you two? How the hell did this happen?" he asked himself. He glanced down at the crystal once more, hoping that danger had passed. But the gem still radiated the same brilliant blue light. Addamo looked warily over his shoulders, but he was still completely alone in the observatory. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and out of place.
Every prey instinct was telling him to get out of there as fast as he could. He felt like a frightened cornered mouse that had nowhere to go as a cat slowly and teasingly approached it, ready to pounce on it. He'd only felt like this once before in his life, and his decision to flee caused the deaths of his comrades and best friend.
Suddenly, the smell of rotten eggs washed over Addamo. The distinct smell of sulfur surrounded him, almost choking him. And then his instincts took over his muscles. Without a second thought, he grabbed the limp marine under the armpit with one hand, and the vest with his other hand. With almost no effort, he hoisted the human onto his right shoulder. In less than a second, he had stood up and sprinted out of the observatory.
As he sprinted down the corridor, his prey instincts were telling him to not look back and to keep running forwards. He had the distinct feeling of being chased by a dangerous predator. As he skid around a corner, his claws carving scratches into the hard surface of the floor, he reached up and pulled the radio off of the marines vest.
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"What?" McKay exclaimed. He studied the strange reading pattern that depicted his connection with Scott's body. The abnormal connection readings that were recorded just before Sam fell unconscious had stumped him, but now the live readings of his connection greatly confounded him. "What the hell is this? This isn't supposed to be happening."
The bio-android Viterosaur Tarvock nodded, "That's exactly what I said. From what I am able to decipher from the live data, apparently there's no more connection between your communication stone, and Lt. Scott's communication stone."
"B-But that's not possible!" McKay exclaimed. "The stones are designed to reverse the transfer when the connection is broken. I should be back in my body right now with these kinds of readings!"
"Maybe it's a glitch," Brody proposed.
McKay shook his head, "That's not possible. The stones are flawless. They were designed not to have any glitches."
"Well," Young said as he stopped pacing at the opposite side of the table across from McKay, "looks like they're not flawless. Look." He pointed at the communications pedestal. "It's off. And you're still here."
"Which probably means that Col. Carter is still here," Volker said.
McKay shook his head again as he continued to scan over all the data again, "But how did this happen? And how does that explain me having Lt. Scott's memories?"
"Maybe the glitch caused some reverse feedback or something. Sort of like backwash," Brody suggested. "Maybe it's kind of like what happened when Dr. Perry and Ginn were sharing Chloe's body through the stone." He shrugged, "Maybe you and Lt. Scott were both here and on Earth at the same time." He glanced at Volker, who was giving him a confused look, "I don't know."
"Perhaps," Tarvock began, "that is the case here." McKay quickly looked up at Tarvock. "Maybe, when the incident happened, the glitch in the connection caused you and Scott to re-exchange bodies again. Only when you re-exchanged bodies, you're mind was still here while Lt. Scott's mind was returning to his body, and Lt. Scott's mind was still in your body while your mind was returning to your body as well…" His eyes migrated from McKay, to Young, then to Volker and Brody. He shrugged, "But that's just a theory, I guess."
"But then…how am I still here if the communications pedestal is off?" McKay asked. The room remained silent, as no one had an answer for him.
As Young opened his mouth to say something, a frantic voice crackled from his radio as well as what sounded like the sound of a fierce wind, "We've got a security breach! There's a man down! I repeat, we've got a security breach!" And the radio fell silent again.
"That was Col. Addamo," Tarvock stated. No sooner had he finished his statement, a white and black blur sped passed the doorway and down the corridor. Tarvock blinked, "And that was Col. Addamo too."
"He's heading towards the infirmary," Young said as he quickly stepped towards the door. "Let's see what the deal is." And he exited the room. Tarvock quickly followed behind him, leaving McKay, Volker and Brody alone and a bit confused as to what had just happened.
"Man," Volker finally said after a few moments of silence, "the infirmary's been getting a lot of action lately." Brody nodded in agreement.
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Eli and his Viterosaur counterpart were in his room, talking amongst each other. Two marines stood outside the door. Eli sat on the chair by the control console on the wall opposite his bed. He swiveled side to side in the chair as he exchanged stories with his counterpart, who sat on the edge of Eli's bed fiddling with the plume of fur on the end of his tail.
Eli smirked when his counterpart said something funny. "Yeah," he said as he glanced up at the ceiling, "reminds me of the day when Jesse thought he was being funny by flipping my tray out of my hands in the cafeteria. Out of all the years we went to high school together, that was the only time he actually did anything to make himself look cool. Picking on the biggest geek of the whole class."
"What did you do?" Vitero-Eli asked as he noticed a small knot nestled among the long gray strands of fine silky fur on the end of his tail. He immediately went about removing the knot.
Eli shrugged, "Nothing. What could I do? He was the class bully, and there wasn't anything I could've done to make him stop being such a douche bag that day."
Vitero-Eli glanced up from his work on the knot in his fur, "Dude, really? You didn't do anything?" Eli shrugged, "Man, you should've done what I did when he decided to be such a douche that day."
"And what was that?" Eli asked interested in hearing what happened to the class bully in another life.
Vitero-Eli let a smirk appear on his muzzle, "Oh, nothing…just…pushed him into the janitors closet when he least expected it." Vitero-Eli laughed silently for a moment before continuing, "He fell and hit the mop bucket. All of that dirty water completely soaked him. Class bully my ass." He and Eli laughed with one another for a minute or two.
Silence fell between them for a moment or two. Then Eli spoke again as he slowly shook his head side to side, "Man, I wish I had the guts back then to go up against Jesse." He glanced at his counterpart's uniform. It looked similar to Scott's uniform, only it looked very ragged and very worn, as if it had seen many years of use. He saw the name patch on the left side of Vitero-Eli's chest. Finally, he mustered the courage to ask, "So, what's the story with that?" he asked, indicating the uniform.
Vitero-Eli glanced down at the uniform, "Oh this?" He shrugged his shoulders to fix a kink in the back of the uniform, "Yeah, it's not exactly mine…but in kind of a way…it is."
"Let me guess," Eli said, "descendants?"
"Bingo," Vitero-Eli said with a nod of his angular head. "So, apparently when Matt was about sixty years old, he gave his uniform to my…second son, I think. Don't know why though, just did. So, my daughter, the first of my kids, decided to one day take it out of the display case in the museum, and make a name patch with my last name on it."
"So…no military stuff?" Eli asked.
Vitero-Eli shook his head in response, "Nah. Well, I mean there were some that apparently went into the military, but that was two thousand years later."
"Man," Eli said as he studied the ragged uniform, "it looks exactly like the one I saw Matt wearing in the kino recordings. And it's two thousand years old…"
Vitero-Eli nodded, "Yeah. I'm kinda surprised that it hasn't disintegrated yet. Maybe that display case was vacuum sealed or something."
"So you took it from the museum?"
"Well," Vitero-Eli started to say, "there wasn't anyone around, and I figured it'd be kinda cool wearing it, so-"
"You stole it?" Eli asked with a smirk.
Vitero-Eli started to shake his head but stopped. He shrugged after a moment, "Yeah, I guess you can say that."
Eli laughed silently at that. He could only imagine what the descendants of this universe would have thought of him if he had taken the uniform from the Tenaran Museum…if there had been a uniform in this universe. Eli glanced towards the doorway as Terra exited the room directly across from his, and walked away down the corridor to the left. He looked surprised, as it was the first time he had seen her since returning to the ship. "Why is there…a…lizard on the ship?" he asked as quietly as he could, but loud enough so that everyone heard him, his counterpart and the marines outside the doorway as well.
"You haven't met Terra yet?" Vitero-Eli asked.
The marine on the left side of the doorway leaned inside as he looked at Eli over his shoulder, "She's only the first British alien in the universe."
Eli raised his eyebrows, "British?" He glanced at Vitero-Eli as his counterpart started laughing. The marine who had spoken smiled as he leaned back and returned his attention straight ahead.
Vitero-Eli was still smiling as he spoke, "Terra isn't a lizard."
"But-" Eli began.
"She only looks like a lizard," Vitero-Eli continued. "She's a Petrus'iri. Her species are mammals. If they were reptiles, then Terra wouldn't have…um…" He seemed embarrassed to say what he wanted to say, so he leaned in closer towards Eli, "She wouldn't have any breasts." He paused for a moment as he pondered something. Then, still whispering he added, "Kinda like my species. The General doesn't have any, if you didn't notice."
Eli nodded, understanding what his counterpart was telling him. "But…what is, uh…she doing on the ship?"
The marine who had spoken earlier replied, "We saved her species from extinction. She was onboard the ship when Destiny decided to lock down all systems except the most basic, and then jumped into FTL before Terra could leave."
"So she's stranded on the ship, like us," Eli concluded.
"Not really," said Vitero-Eli. "Well, I mean, yeah she's stranded on the ship like all of us, but…she said she's always wanted to explore other worlds."
"Now," said the marine on the right side of the door, "I think she's become Rush's pet."
"Oh come on," Vitero-Eli said, "she isn't Rush's pet…at least, not in my universe."
The marine on the right glanced over his shoulder at Eli's counterpart, "Yeah, at least in your universe. This ain't your universe."
The marine on the left turned his head towards the other marine, "Come to think of it, she's been going pretty much everywhere Rush goes. She's more like his little fan girl than his pet."
"Heh," the other marine smirked, "that sounds about right." He fell silent, but he clearly looked as if he wanted to say something else.
"What?" the marine on the left asked.
"Though you gotta admit," the other marine looked at his comrade, "if it weren't for her being on the ship, we wouldn't be here right now. She did save our asses."
The marine on the left nodded, "Yeah, she did." A few minutes of silence followed before he looked over his shoulder again at Eli, "You know, she's pretty smart, definitely smarter than Rush. Hey, maybe if you two teamed up with her, maybe you guys can finally bring the ship to listen to us."
"That is a pretty good idea," the other marine stated in agreement. "There's two of the same kid genius on the ship right now." He turned and leaned his left shoulder against the doorway frame. "Two's better than one, and since you two are basically the same, then there's twice the nerd-power." Eli and Vitero-Eli exchanged quick glances.
"How'd you guys get control of your ship again?" the marine on the left asked, his question directed towards Vitero-Eli.
"Um," Vitero-Eli started, "well…I don't know really. By the time Gen. Riverstone and Col. Addamo brought me back, they'd already taken control of the ship."
"Is it the same story though?" the marine on the left asked. "I mean, did the ship go haywire when the lizard got on your ship?"
Vitero-Eli thought for a moment as he tried to remember what he had been told of what had happened before his return, "I think Rush said something about after finishing the transfer of the entire Petrus'iri database, and downloading the English language into Terra's brain, Destiny Two suddenly decided to stop accepting commands of any kind." He gave a small shrug as his gaze moved away from the marine to stare blankly at the far wall in the corridor, "And then Destiny stopped accepting commands. And then both ships went into FTL. Rush didn't tell me what happened in between that and my rescue."
Eli was a bit confused when he heard his counterpart mention the name 'Destiny Two.' "You guys have two Ancient ships in your universe?" he asked as he looked at Vitero-Eli with a mixture of confusion, amazement and envy.
Vitero-Eli nodded, "Yeah. When we dialed Earth in the star, Col. Telford was the only one to actually walk through to Earth. He got sent back in time ten hours. But when the crew walked through, they got sent back in time two thousand years…along with Rush and Destiny."
"So…" the marine on the left said, "the crazy guy went back in time with your crew and ship, huh?" He smirked, "Bet he didn't have any kids, did he?" He glanced over at the other marine, "Kinda like old man Brody, right?"
Vitero-Eli shook his head, "Nope. He spent pretty much his entire life trying to restore Destiny Two to working condition. All he could do was fix the sub-light engines. FTL never got fixed until…only a day before we turned up and tried to do the same thing. Good thing they stopped us."
"So then who's in charge of…the ships?" the other marine asked.
"Gen. Riverstone commands Destiny, although sometimes she'll go over to Destiny Two to take charge for a few days," Vitero-Eli replied. "And Col. Young is in charge of Destiny Two. Although, he mostly lets the original commander of Destiny Two to be in command, since he had been commanding it for a long time before we came along…again."
"Who's that?" asked Eli.
"That would be Tarvock," Vitero-Eli answered.
"The robot?" the marine on the left asked.
Vitero-Eli nodded, "Yeah. He pretty much took charge over Destiny Two the day after Col. Young's funeral."
"Your android has been commanding the other Destiny for almost two thousand years?" asked Eli. He already knew about Tarvock. He knew that his counterpart had built the android using pieces from their Destiny. But he hadn't known that the android had been built two thousand years ago. Vitero-Eli nodded silently in response. Eli shook his head and looked down at the floor as he swiveled his chair to one side again, "Man, why couldn't Destiny be sent back in time with us? I could've built an android too…" He glanced up at his counterpart, "Where'd you get the name? And…everything else that makes him a bio-android?"
"What, you mean like his heart and all that stuff?" Eli nodded in response. And Vitero-Eli smiled with pride as he placed his hand on his chest, "Believe it or not, but the other me replaced everything inside him with robotic parts. Heart, lungs, liver, everything that made me…me. And he preserved them until he finished building Tarvock. Oh yeah, he preserved them in the cryo-chambers on Destiny Two. And…I don't know where the other me got the name, really. I guess it just kinda came to him one day."
The marine on the right side of the door whistled, "That ain't similar at all to our universe, that's for sure." The marine on the left nodded in agreement.
"Then…what's keeping him alive?" Eli asked.
Just as Vitero-Eli was about to answer, the radio on the other marine's vest crackled, and Young's voice spoke, "Sgt. Sardone, I need you and Oliver in the infirmary right now." There was a pause as static crackled for a few moments. Then Young's voice spoke again, "And bring the other Eli with you."
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In Hydroponics, Dr. Park peered down at a tablet in her hands. She took a step towards the doorway, and then paused. She looked over her shoulder at Terra, who was leaning over a small culture of herbs that she had started caring for a few days after Destiny prevented her from returning to her planet. She carefully touched the small fragile leaves of one of the baby plants with a single short claw.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself Terra?" Dr. Park asked. "I just need to go and give an inventory report to Camille about our cultures."
Terra glanced over her shoulder at Dr. Park and gave a slight nod of her head, "I will be fine. I will tend to the cultures while you are gone."
Dr. Park nodded, "Okay. I won't be long." And she exited the room. She set off on a brisk pace down the corridor, glancing down at the tablet in her hand. She tapped a finger on the screen as her eyes quickly scanned over the data that she had entered to make sure that she had not left anything blank or mistakenly entered incorrect information. Satisfied that everything was as it should be, she looked back up and turned right around a corner. She jumped back, startled as she nearly collided with a female marine.
"Sorry Dr. Park," the marine apologized as she side stepped to the left around Dr. Park.
Dr. Park smiled, but did not say anything. She glanced at the name on the marine's uniform. It was Cpl. Barnes.
She continued down towards the end of the corridor. She stopped as an alarm sounded on the tablet. Dr. Park peered down at the tablet once more, and then continued after she dismissed the message. At the end of the corridor, she turned around the left corner. As she did, again she jumped back, startled as she nearly collided with another female marine. She recognized her as Lt. James.
"Sorry Dr. Park," Vanessa apologized as she side stepped to Dr. Park's right.
Again, Dr. Park smiled but said nothing. Absent-mindedly, she glanced at the name patch on Vanessa's uniform. It was blank.
Dr. Park continued down the corridor she had turned into. Suddenly, she stopped. She whipped her head around as she realized something. The name patch on Lt. Jame's uniform had been blank. She knew for a fact that Vanessa had a name patch on her uniform, and she knew that her name was on it. Yet there had been no name when she glanced at it. She quickly ran back to the corner and peered around it, but Lt. James was no where to be seen. Perhaps she had already reached the end of the corridor. Dr. Park shook her head, turned back and continued down the corridor. Maybe she just hadn't noticed the letters on the name patch.
For several minutes, she walked down the long corridor. She passed by a few open laboratories that were either vacant, or full of supply crates from New Novus. As she reached the end of the corner, she turned right around the corner but glanced over her left shoulder down the left end of the corridor when she heard a noise.
She froze as soon as she saw it.
Down at the end of the corridor, the distinct shape of Col. Addamo slowly walked towards the junction. His right arm was out behind him. In his right hand, which Dr. Park could see from where she stood was covered in blood, he dragged the limp and lifeless body of Lt. James. Her head hung limply, resting on her left shoulder and her eyes were wide open. Her throat had been slit open and blood spilled from the fresh wound down her neck, turning the front of her green uniform a very dark red, almost crimson color as it soaked through. A smeared trail of blood followed behind Addamo as he continued down the corridor.
Dr. Park could not take her eyes off of the horror. Fear froze her eyes and legs in place. She could only look on as Addamo walked away from her. Time seemed to slow down around her as she beheld the horrible sight. Suddenly, still walking in the opposite direction, Addamo turned his head and looked towards her over his right shoulder. But the eye that fell upon her was not that of Col. Addamo. Rather, what should have been white was jet black, while what she remembered being the sky blue color of his iris' was now a bright blood red, and there was no pupil.
Confusion mixed with her fear. Addamo's expression seemed very sad, almost as if he were in mourning. A single stream of blood streamed down from his eye, almost as if he were crying. And still, Dr. Park felt as if she were seeing all of this in slow motion. Then Addamo looked away as he turned left into the junction of corridors. As he turned, he looked over at her again, this time over his left shoulder. This eye was black and red as well. All of the scars that crisscrossed the left side of his face and muzzle were bleeding profusely, almost as if the wounds had just been inflicted upon him. He opened his jaws slightly and his long tongue slid out sideways from between his oblique and sharp teeth. His teeth seemed to have a thin coating of blood on them, and even his gums seemed to be bleeding as well. The expression on his face wasn't that of sadness any longer, rather it was that of madness. Dr. Park could see murder in his eye, even with no pupil.
And then Addamo disappeared behind the corner, and Vanessa's body slowly disappeared as it dragged over the floor.
No sooner had Vanessa's feet disappeared behind the corner, than did Dr. Park utter a subdued cry of terror. She turned, preparing to sprint back the way she had come, find anyone who could help her.
Addamo stood in her way, less than a foot away from her. She gasped and took a step back as she looked up at the Viterosaur. As she had seen, his eyes were black and red. A single stream of blood dripped from his right eye, and Dr. Park could see the shear sadness within the pool of red that was his right eye. The scars on the left side of his face and muzzle were all bleeding. His tongue lolled out the left side of his mouth, blood dripping from the tip of it. She could see nothing but bloodlust in his left eye. That's when the smell of sulfur filled her lungs.
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Terra stood up straight from where she had been caressing the leaves of the herbs that she had been caring for almost a week now. She glanced around the Hydroponics room; there was a large assortment of different plants, most green, some a variety of dark colors and others red, and many of the herbs gave off a flood of different aromas. She took a deep breath, the different smells of the herbs filling her lungs, soothing her. She took hold of the spray bottle that was used for misting the plants, and walked towards the rear of the room and began spraying the water onto the plants.
She enjoyed aiding Dr. Park in caring for these plants. Working in this laboratory brought back old memories to the surface. Ever since she was young, she would take time out of her days to run about the market isles that were nearby her home. There had always been an elderly male Petrus'iri that she enjoyed chatting with, and even helped him tend to the variety of vegetation that he had growing in his workshop. She always enjoyed those days. She would spend many hours trimming leaves and adding nutrients and acids to the soil for every plant. She learned about the different techniques of properly caring for each species of plant, as every one of them were grown under different conditions. But more often than not, she enjoyed listening to the elderly Petrus'iri tell her stories of his travels around the globe, seeing various plants that some may have never laid eyes on. His tales were both far-fetched, and fantastical. Perhaps he-
A long shriek pierced Terra's thoughts, startling her. The spray bottle dropped from her hand, and bounced off the floor twice. In a matter of seconds, Terra was out the door and sprinting as fast as her clawed feet could carry her down the corridor. "That was Dr. Park. What has happened?" she thought as she slid to a halt at the end of the corridor. Dr. Park's scent turned right, and so Terra followed it down the right corridor, and then left down the even longer corridor. Off in the distance at the end of the corridor by the junction, Terra could see a limp figure lying on the floor. As she drew closer, Terra saw another figure squatting over the limp figure. Dr. Park lay on the floor, while Vanessa squat over her, checking her pulse. She quickly glanced up at Terra as she approached.
"What has happened?" Terra asked, slowing down as she drew nearer. "Is she alright?"
Vanessa shook her head frowning, "She's alright, but I don't know what happened. I was heading this way when I heard her scream."
Terra sniffed the air and grimaced. She covered her nostrils with her hand as she suppressed a cough. "What is that horrible stench?" she asked.
Vanessa looked up, and she too grimaced as she smelled it. "Sulfur. But where's it coming from?" She glanced down at Dr. Park as she stirred and opened her eyes, "Dr. Park, are you okay? What happened?"
Terra noticed the tablet lying by Dr. Park's side. She bent over and picked it up. The screen was cracked slightly, but it was still functional. Then Terra noticed a smear of red substance on one of the corners of the screen. She sniffed it and then jerked the tablet away from her. She found where the smell of sulfur was coming from, but what the substance was she was not sure.
"Dr. Park," Vanessa said again, "are you okay?"
Dr. Park's eyes locked onto Vanessa. She uttered a cry as she bolted upright and moved away from Vanessa, the color drained from her face, "But I saw you! You were dead!" She backed herself up against Terra's legs.
Vanessa was confused, "Huh? I was…dead?" She cast a worried glance up at Terra.
Terra bent down and rested one knee on the floor as she placed a hand on Dr. Park's shoulder, "Dr. Park, what ever do you mean? What happened?"
Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes as Dr. Park continued to stare at Vanessa, "He-he killed you! I saw him dragging you away! You were dead!"
Then Greer came rushing around the corner. He stopped and fell to his knees beside Dr. Park, "Hey, what happened? I heard you scream."
She raised a shaky hand and pointed at Vanessa, "He-he killed her!"
"What?" Greer asked as he looked up at Vanessa, who shook her head, indicating she had no idea.
"Dr. Park, you must calm down," Terra said. "We do not understand what you mean."
"How can I calm down when I just saw her dead and covered in blood?" Dr. Park shouted as she began to tremble.
Greer took hold of her hands and held them together, "Her hands are freezing." He held up a hand to her forehead, "She's running a fever."
Vanessa shook her head as she tried to make sense of what happened, "I was walking down this way when I heard her scream. She was on the ground when I got here, and her pulse was rapid." She looked at Dr. Park's face, noticing that her skin was as white as a sheet of paper. Dr. Park babbled quietly that she had seen Vanessa dead, and that someone had dragged her away, "She looks like she's seen a ghost."
"What is a ghost?" asked Terra.
"A ghost is basically a dead person that's still walking around without their body," Greer answered bluntly.
Terra glanced at him, "Do you mean a spirit?"
Greer nodded with a slight shrug, "Yeah, only ghosts scare you." He paused for a moment, and then added, "And so do demons." He drew Dr. Park closer to him as she began trembling more violently.
Suddenly, something seemed to click within Terra and she grew tense, "Perhaps she has seen a demon."
Vanessa gave Terra a quizzical look, "What do you mean? You think demons are real?"
Terra shook her head, then glanced at the tablet in her hand, "No…I don't think they're real…" She looked between Greer and Vanessa, "I know they're real."
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"I didn't do it!" Addamo bellowed as the marine Young had called Sgt. Joseph Sardone shoved him into an empty room with his hands bound behind his back. Another marine pushed Vitero-Eli and Tarvock into the room as well, but their hands were not bound. Addamo stumbled forward and fell to his knees, but quickly recovered and spun around, his tail swinging around from the force of his spin, "Everett, I'm telling you I didn't do it!"
"You expect me to believe you that easily?" Young said as he stepped inside the doorway, hold his hands crossed over one another in front of him.
"Everett, we've got a bigger problem right now, I'm telling you!" Addamo shouted. "Locking me up isn't going to solve anything. Right now, there's an even bigger security threat roaming this ship than me!"
"Oh? And I suppose you know what it is?" Young asked, his suspicion rising.
"No!" Addamo growled. He shut his eyes tightly as he tried to understand how he hadn't sensed the danger before his security was attacked. "I'm standing in the observatory one minute having a nice smoke, and the next thing I knew your men were on the floor. One dead, the other unconscious. I don't know how it happened, but it wasn't me! Something that is able to evade my instincts for that long is a major security threat, even greater than the Replicators!"
Tarvock stared at Addamo, his eyes analyzing everything that was invisible to the naked eye, "He speaks the truth, Col. Young." The bio-android turned his head towards Young, "His blood pressure if through the roof. He is obviously scared beyond belief."
Vitero-Eli looked at Addamo, "The Col.? Scared? Of what?"
Addamo shook his head, "I don't know. All I know is that my instincts told me to get out of there. I've never been so…afraid in my life." He closed his eyes as he remembered the dead marine's face, "Sergeant Major Kim…the look in his eyes…" Addamo swayed a little as he became nauseous, "Sulfur."
Young furrowed his eyebrows at that, "What?"
"Sulfur." Addamo looked up and locked eyes with Young, "I smelled sulfur…after it happened." Suddenly, his eyes rolled up and his knees buckled beneath him, and he slumped forward.
Tarvock quickly caught him before he hit the ground. He moved towards the bed, and carefully laid the limp Viterosaur on the covers of the bed. "Are these restraints really necessary, Col.?" he asked as he indicated the plastic cuffs around Addamo's wrists.
Young motioned for one of the marine's to undo the cuffs. Sgt. Sardone walked into the room, and removed the cuffs from Addamo's wrists. Then he quickly retreated back to the door.
"So, what are you going to do with us now?" Vitero-Eli asked as he stared aimlessly at Addamo.
Young shrugged, "I don't know. Keep you here until I figure out what to do with you." And with that, he turned and moved to exit out the door.
Tarvock stopped him, "Col." Young stopped and looked over his shoulder at the bio-android, "I don't know what happened in the observatory that frightened Col. Addamo so much, but I know that it's not friendly." The bio-android turned and set his bright yellow stare upon Young, "Of all the years I've known Col. Addamo, both him and the first him, I've never seen him this scared before. Whatever it was that he saw or felt, it is very dangerous and it is obviously able to conceal its presence from us and you. I suggest you watch your back and be wary of who you trust."
Young stood in the doorway for another moment, remaining silent. Without a word, he exited the room. The marine's followed, and the doors closed and locked.
"So." Vitero-Eli said with a loud sigh, "I guess we're prisoners now too."
Tarvock nodded, "And we'll remain prisoners until we can prove that Col. Addamo's cry for innocence is genuine."
"How do we do that? We don't even know what happened."
'I know," Tarvock replied. "All we can do now is pray that the humans figure out what's going…before they're killed by whatever Col. Addamo saw."
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Dr. Weir hadn't moved from her spot by the window since Theogret and the others went into hibernation. Many thoughts had gone through her mind, and just as many questions emerged from them as well. But the questions became too cluttered, so she ceased thinking about the ships mission, about the purpose of the crew being here…about her own destiny.
Instead, she occupied herself by letting her memories take her back to the days she spent commanding the mission on Atlantis. She reminisced the many times Atlantis had come under attack, both by the Wraith, and the Geni. She knew that the Wraiths' might had been drastically reduced since Michael's rise to power. She knew about Michael's eventual defeat, and the unexpected arrival of the Wraith on Earth's doorstep. But had the Wraith attack been thwarted, she did not know. All she knew was that the Asuran Replicators had essentially taken control of the entire Pegasus galaxy a year after Atlantis returned to Earth. All she knew was that no sooner had Oberoth been eliminated, she had been elected to lead the Replicator nation. All she cared about now was starting over, beginning a new life in another galaxy deep in the depths of the universe. She no longer wished to lead an empire, she just wanted to explore the depths of the universe for the remainder of her life, however long that was.
She sighed. It seemed that fate had other plans for her. It seemed that her destiny was with the people of the planet Earth, the planet she once called home and its people her friends.
As she gazed out the window, she became aware of the feeling of being watched. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Theogret admiring her, but he was still in the same spot where he had been when he went into hibernation. So she turned and resumed watching the green and blue hues flash by the window. But the feeling of being watched persisted and eventually, it began to change from just a feeling of being observed to a menacing feeling. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as it persisted. It was a malevolent feeling, as if whatever was watching her was patiently waiting for her to drop her guard so it may strike. She distinctly felt a presence around her, a dark and foreboding presence, one like she hadn't felt in many years. It was almost as if a Wraith was stalking her in a dark network of hallways. She had the sense that whatever was watching her, there was a murderous intent to its presence.
But she knew there were no Wraith here. If there had been Wraith on this ship, then no humans would have greeted her when she walked through the Stargate. So there was no way for her to be attacked, especially since she was in a confined room that was being guarded. So she ignored it as best as she could. After about ten minutes, the menacing feeling subsided until it faded away completely. Dr. Weir glanced over her shoulder again and scanned the room. Positive that the malevolent feeling was gone, she resumed gazing out the window, and immersed herself within her old memories once more.
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Dr. Cook stood next to Jack in the communication stones room, finishing his explanation to Jack what the significance of his discovery about the stones meant for the eighth time. Daniel sat in the chair in front of the laptops. Dr. Cook turned and looked at the back of Daniel's head, "I'm telling you Dr. Jackson, it shouldn't be happening. Those readings are telling me that the connection is being severed, and their minds are going back to their respective bodies." He glanced over at Scott, who stood on the other side of Jack, "Lt. Scott shouldn't be in Dr. McKay's body right now."
"But I'm still here," Scott said. "If the transfer is being reversed, then why am I still here?"
Dr. Cook shrugged, "That I can't explain. All I can come up with is that there is something interfering with the transfer. Something is preventing the process from finishing. Essentially, there's something either over on their end, or something here that's stopping you from returning to your body. And that goes for Col. Carter and the…creature."
Daniel swiveled around in the chair to face the three of them. He rubbed his eyes, "Just when I needed Rodney the most, something happens."
"Hey," Jack said, "it's not like problems like this haven't happened before…right?"
Daniel shrugged and looked away, unsure of how to answer.
"Right," Jack said, clapping his hands together. "So, interference?"
Dr. Cook nodded, "Yeah, that's the best possible answer I could think of. Either here, or over on their side."
"Then how do we tell them?" Scott asked.
Dr. Cook shrugged, "That, I can't answer either. But I do know that once we find whatever is interfering with the reversed transfer, then you and Dr. McKay should return to your respective bodies. The same goes for Col. Carter and the creature."
"Alright, so we just gotta find whatever it is, turn it off, and we'll finally get this problem over with," Daniel said. "Only one problem with that…how do we even know what's interfering with the reversed transfer?"
Dr. Cook opened his mouth to give an answer but stopped. He had no answer. He was unsure of what the answer was or how they were going to find it. He shrugged.
"Well, whatever it is," Jack said swinging his arms back and forth, "we better start looking."
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Sam opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything, so she blinked a few times until her vision cleared and the metal ceiling appeared. She was confused when she looked down the length of a nose that wasn't hers. She raised her hand; it was covered in fur and there were only four fingers, each with an inch and a half long black claw on the end instead of fingernails. Then she realized that she was still in Riverstone's body, rather than her own. She was still on Destiny.
Sam groaned as she sat up, propping herself up with a hand against the bed as her head started to spin. TJ swiveled around in the chair she sat in, "Col. Carter?"
Sam nodded, "Yeah, it's me."
TJ stood up from the chair and approached Sam where she sat on top of the infirmary bed, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine, other than the worst headache I've ever had," said Sam, wincing as her head began to throb.
"Do you…remember anything?" TJ asked. "Do you remember anything you shouldn't be?"
Sam turned her head towards TJ, "What do you mean, Lt.?"
"Dr. McKay woke up a few hours ago…with all of Scott's memories."
"What? How's that possible?" Sam asked.
TJ shrugged, "We're not sure. Dr. McKay went to try and figure that out."
Sam heard someone groan on her left. She turned her head and saw a marine lying on the bed next to her, a neck brace wrapped around his neck. "What happened to him?"
"Col. Addamo came into the infirmary with him, saying something had attacked his security," TJ replied. "He looked…scared." Sam turned to look at TJ again, "He looked really scared. But Col. Young wouldn't believe him, so he restrained him."
"He locked Addamo up?"
TJ nodded, "I don't know if it's the right thing to do. I mean, if Col. Addamo meant to kill Sgt. Kim and Cpl. Higgs, why would he bring Higgs to the infirmary? And why would he look so…scared?"
Sam shook her head, "I don't know." She winced again as her head throbbed again. "Get me an aspirin, will you?" TJ nodded and left the side of the bed. She went over to a glass cabinet and opened one of the cabinet doors. As she searched for the right medication, Sam's head throbbed yet again. And then, the infirmary faded around her. She stood in total darkness.
Suddenly, the flood of memories started…memories that were not hers, that were completely alien to her. She remembered how, as a young Viterosaur, she always wanted to join the military, to help in the war against the rebel terrorists that threatened the unity of Earth. She had always wanted to fight beside her mother and father, help them kill those who wanted to rule the world with their anarchical beliefs. She remembered the absolute sadness and hatred she felt during her mother's funeral, how she wanted to destroy those who took something so precious, something so dear to her. Sam remembered how excited she was when she learned that the military had decided to recruit her. She remembered how she advanced through the ranks very quickly, and how she had become the youngest Viterosaur in military history to reach the rank of Colonel at the age of just nineteen. She remembered the countless battles she fought, how she had won so many of them with her trusted sword. She remembered how she felt when she beheaded the leader of the rebel forces, the man responsible for so many people dying, the man responsible for her mother's death. She remembered when she was recruited to the Stargate Program, how she was amazed by the idea of traveling millions of light-years in just a matter of seconds.
Then, the intimate memories of when she met Thomas Addamo, the handsome young, and proud, 2nd Lieutenant of SG-2, the largest SG team. She remembered how close they became when she and him were reassigned to fight alongside Jack, Teal'c, Sam and Daniel. Sam remembered when Tom proposed to her, on the sands of an alien beach at an alien ocean, just as two alien suns set behind the horizon. She remembered how she had not hesitated to say yes. Sam already knew what it felt like to love, but this feeling of love was very different from the one she knew. This feeling was very intimate.
Then the memory of the day she first went into labor came to the surface. She couldn't begin to describe what it felt like to go into labor. But the memory turned south, and utter dread filled her as the memory progressed. Her child was stillborn. The child was beautiful, but there was no life within her small frame. Sam finally understood what it meant to be a mother and how devastating it is to know that her child was not alive upon emerging into the world.
Two more similar memories followed, each even more dreadful than the last. No matter how many times they may have tried to have children, she and Tom would never be parents of beautiful children. The knowledge that she and Tom could never start a family had almost sent her over the edge after the third time. She remembered how long she had mourned after the loss of the third child. But she still had Tom, and eventually she had emerged from her shell, and resumed her adventures with Tom and SG-1 around the Milky Way galaxy, meeting many Viterosaurs of other planets. The diversity of the cultures between herself and her alien cousins had always amazed her. With her failed motherhood behind her, she knew that she had to continue forward if she wanted to live a happy life. The years of memories with Tom and SG-1 flashed by. And then the day came when she was promoted to the rank of General. Alongside her in the same promotional ceremony, Tom was promoted to Colonel. It was a day that brought them closer to one another than ever before. They may not be able to enjoy the adventurous lives of parents, but they would forever enjoy the adventurous lives of husband and wife, traveling through the galaxy, seeing sights that no ordinary Viterosaur ever would see.
More memories flashed by; memories of the final battles against the Goa'uld, of the war against the Ori, of defeating Ba'al, the many countless battles against the formidable Lucian Alliance, of Atlantis, and finally of her adventures through the universe onboard Destiny. The memories slowly began to fade, but the feelings she felt from those memories, particularly those of Tom, stayed for a few minutes longer. The last prominent memory to flash by was her thirtieth birthday, which had happened only two weeks ago, in her home universe. Eventually, they too faded and the memories stopped flowing. Before she knew it, she was in the infirmary once more. Sam let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding the whole while she was experiencing the alien memories. Tears blotted her vision, and rolled over the fur on her cheekbones. Tears? She was crying. But why was she crying? These memories weren't hers, yet she felt as if she had lived these memories, as if they were her own memories from the start. "Such a short life with so many memories," Sam thought as she caught one of the tears on the tip of a black claw and looked at the wobbling globule of water.
Sam finally understood what Riverstone felt. She finally understood the life of a Viterosaur, and what it was like being stranded on a ship far from home, far from her father…far from her universe. She finally understood the struggles of motherhood. She finally understood…Shandra Riverstone.
TJ appeared beside Sam, a clear plastic cup full of water in one hand, and a small white pill resting in the palm of her other hand. She was looking passed Sam, at Cpl. Higgs, as he had just stirred. Her attention returned to Sam when she sniffed, and TJ noticed the tears rolling down over the white of her fur. More tears welled up at each corner of the eye facing towards TJ. "Col.? Are you alright?"
Sam blinked, and the fresh tears quickly rolled over her fur and fell onto the cloth of the bed with soft pats, "I…" She couldn't continue her sentence.
"You remember?" asked TJ. "You remember her life, don't you?"
Sam nodded slowly, unable to answer. She sniffed once more before she wiped the tears from her fur and gathered up her composure. She looked at TJ, "Yeah, I know her. I know who she is…and I know that she just wants to go home."
"Then Rush was right," TJ stated. "He was right about them. They really are here by a freak chance, not to take over the ship like Young thinks."
Sam nodded, "Yeah. Which means that To-…Col. Addamo is innocent. He has no reason to cause any of us harm." TJ gave her a look when she stopped herself from saying Addamo's first name, "These people just want to go home. I would know," her gaze wandered and looked off aimlessly into the empty corridor leading to the infirmary, "because I have General Riverstone's memories…all of them."
Å
End Chapter 7
