Setting: Almost immediately following episode 1.17, "Letters From Pegasus."
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or any of the Stargate franchise.
"Hey, Colonel, you know what all the excitement's about?" Evan asked Colonel Dixon as he entered the locker room at Stargate Command. "Something's got everyone running around like there's no tomorrow. Did Goa'uld mothership park overhead and someone forget to tell me?"
Colonel Dixon looked up from tying his bootlaces. "Ha-ha, very funny, Lorne. Atlantis finally called in. Now O'Neill's got everyone bouncing like jackrabbits. Whatever was in that message, it wasn't 'Thank you for the champagne, see you soon.'"
"Atlantis, huh? So they're alright after all?" Lorne grabbed his BDUs from his locker. No word had been heard from the expedition since its arrival in the Pegasus Galaxy almost a year ago, and the Prometheus's abortive mission to check up on them had been turned back due to a sudden unexpected battle with the Lucian Alliance.
The colonel shrugged. "They're alive, but in this place 'alright' is a relative term. Could mean 'We've found the answer to life, the universe, and everything,' or 'There's an armada coming to kill us but it's not here yet.'"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Evan grimaced.
Just then, Sergeant Harriman's voice came on the PA. "Major Lorne, report to General O'Neill's office. Major Lorne, to General O'Neill's office."
Colonel Dixon snorted as Evan threw on his BDUs in a hurry. "Good luck, Major."
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Oh, yeah, Major. Shut the door. And sit down, too." The general sat behind his desk, dressed in the same green BDUs as Evan and most of the other military personnel on the base. The only exception being the star on his collar. Of course, that exception made a world of difference. After Evan complied with his order, O'Neill stared at him for several seconds before leaping right into it. "So, Lorne, how would you like to go to Pegasus and help save the backsides of the Atlantis Expedition?"
"Love to, sir," Evan replied immediately. "So long as it's not a one-way trip this time. You know how much I love a return ticket, sir."
O'Neill smirked in an oddly sympathetic manner. "Well, pending the outcome of the mission, you might be put there awhile, Lorne."
"Sir?"
"Let's just say they got a bit in over their heads over there, Major. An entire armada is heading their way. I've already put Colonel Everett in charge of an advance party to provide immediate support to the city, but I want you to command the second wave of men and supplies that will be arriving on Daedalus, to be stationed on Atlantis permanently. Oh, and that includes the ZPM, Lorne. You lose it, it'll be coming out of your paycheck," the general said dryly.
"Yes, sir," Evan responded, a bit bewildered by the sudden turn in events. "What about the rest of my team, sir?"
"Coughlin and Reed will be going to Atlantis with you on the Daedalus. I know you'd like Stevens there, too, but he won't be on active duty again for three weeks, and we just don't have that much time. As it is, we've got less than two before the armada arrives at Atlantis and all hell breaks loose, and we need time to set up defenses. Get your things in order before you ship out. Oh, and on your way, pick up a copy of the Atlantis mission reports from Walter. Knowing him, he's already got them ready for you." As O'Neill stood, he extended his hand to Evan, who shook it in surprise. "You're a good man, Lorne. Much as I hate to give you up, Atlantis is a bit short on officers at the moment. Good luck."
Thinking back to their less-than-stellar first mission together, Evan felt a great deal of pride in the general's remarks. "Thank you, sir!"
"Now, get out of here. Unless, of course, you want to help out with a mountain of paperwork." O'Neill ordered.