Atlantis stood in all of its beauty on the planet M35-117 or New Lantea. Ever since they left Lantea and lost Elizabeth to the Replicators, the expedition got a new leader, Colonel Samantha Carter who used to be a member of the team called SG-1 back in SGC. It was a little difficult for the expedition to get used to the new leader but because she was a legend, they were more than glad to work with her.
The Atlantis Expedition had their good times but they now had some big problems to fix. They recently found out that the Replicators were attacking the human worlds in the Pegasus galaxy as a result of Rodney activating the attack code. Since it really was their fault that it happened, the expedition started working to shut down the attack code. They made some progress but were still far from turning off the code.
While Rodney and the other scientists were working on shutting down the attack code, two new members of the expedition were practicing their combat skills in the gym.
These two members were Major Jason Connor and Lieutenant Jake O'Neill (not related to Jack O'Neill). They were elected into the expedition a few days before Colonel Carter was chosen as the leader of Atlantis.
Jason and Jake also have a long history. They've been friends ever since they were kids, they got enlisted as soon as they were old enough, and went through a lot during their time in Afghanistan. They were wanted to SGC and Atlantis Expedition mostly because of their extraordinary skills as soldiers and pilots but also because of their success on the battlefield and clean records.
They also had the Ancient gene. Jason had it naturally while Jake got it from gene therapy.
Jason and Jake kept practicing their skill until Teyla came in.
"Hello," Teyla greeted.
"Oh, hi," Jason said as he and Jake stopped practicing.
"I see you're practicing again," Teyla said.
"Well, we just want to sharpen our skills before going off-world," Jason said.
"We also wanted to show our mentor how good we have become," Jake added.
Teyla couldn't help but smile at the two soldiers' enthusiasm. Ever since she started to teach them her people's fighting skills, she kind of became a mentor to them.
"By the way. How are things going with you and Sheppard?" Jason asked.
"We're doing well actually. We're taking things slowly but we're doing good," Teyla said with a smile.
She and Sheppard have been dating for a few weeks now (Teyla is not pregnant, yet). Their relationship was still at the beginning but they were hanging out every time they had an opportunity.
They were suddenly interrupted when they were contacted through their headsets by Lt Colonel John Sheppard.
"Teyla, are you there?" Sheppard asked.
"I'm here John," Teyla said.
"Are Connor and O'Neill with you?" Sheppard asked.
"Yes, they're here with me in the gym," Teyla informed.
"I need all three of you to the control room. Rodney found something you should see," Sheppard said.
"We're on our way," Teyla said.
They left the gym and headed to the control room. When they got there, they saw Sheppard along with Carter and Ronon standing in the control room while Rodney was checking the computer.
"Did we miss anything, sir?" Jason asked.
"No, you got here just in time," Sheppard said.
"You said that there was something we should see," Teyla said.
"Yeah, Rodney found something from the Ancient database," Sheppard said.
Everyone looked at Rodney who opened an Ancient file from the database.
"What did you find Rodney?" Carter asked.
"Some kind of encrypted file the Ancients hid in the database," Rodney said.
"Encrypted?" Carter asked.
"Yeah, I found it strange too when I saw it," Rodney said.
"Have you tried to decrypt it?" Jake asked.
"Yes, but so far nothing worked," Rodney said.
"What about the decryption bypass?" Carter asked.
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Rodney said.
"Why not?" Sheppard asked.
"Because the chances are that it might wipe out the file from the database," Rodney explained.
"Yes, but it can decrypt the file and open it," Carter said.
"Yes but the chances are 50 %. Not exactly a good number," Rodney said not liking what Carter suggested.
They knew that there was a risk of losing the file for good but they tried everything, the only thing they haven't tried was the decryption bypass.
"I'm sorry Rodney but there's no other way," Carter said.
Rodney sighed and started running the decryption bypass program. It took a few minutes but the program did its job and like a miracle, it opened the encrypted file and opened it. Everyone sighed in relief that the bypass worked.
"Whew, it worked," Rodney said.
"Uh, how did you know it would work?" Jake asked Carter.
"I think it was just luck," Carter said with a smile.
"Oh," Jake said.
After that, everyone turned their attention to the file they just opened. It was filled with Ancient text but it was all just technical data, something that made absolutely no sense.
"Can you make anything out of this Rodney?" Sheppard asked.
"Not at the moment. But I think if I analyze this completely, I might be able to make some sense of this," Rodney said.
"Alright, inform us when you got something," Carter said.
Rodney nodded and began analyzing the data while everyone else went back to their business.
Later in the meeting room
It took some time but Rodney was able to complete the analysis on the file they decrypted. After he checked what was in the file, he called everyone to the meeting room to discuss the intel that was in the file.
"Okay, what did you find?" Carter asked.
"It turns out that the file contains what appears to be the Ancients' study on another galaxy," Rodney said.
"You mean the Pegasus is not the only galaxy the Ancients visited?" Jason asked.
"Yes, but from I was able to understand. The Ancients didn't habit or try to colonize the galaxy mentioned in the file," Rodney said.
"Why not?" Teyla asked.
"I'm not sure but I think the Ancients were exploring that galaxy but didn't get a chance to complete it because of their war with the Wraith," Rodney explained.
It was a little strange that the Ancients didn't fully explore the galaxy mentioned in the file but they weren't sure if that was the case because the Ancients had erased data before. And they always had a good reason to, especially when they tried to hide the existence of the Replicators.
"Did the Ancients give that galaxy a name?" Carter asked.
"Yes, Skyriver," Rodney said.
"For once the Ancients gave a good name," Sheppard commented.
"I can agree with that," Jason added.
Everyone was quiet for a moment until Jason spoke.
"Shouldn't we go to see what's in that 'Skyriver' galaxy?" Jason asked.
"Unfortunately we Can't," Carter said.
"Why not?" Sheppard asked.
"Because the Replicators are still attacking the human-populated worlds and we haven't found the way to shut down the attack code yet. We also have the Wraith to deal with," Carter said.
"Yes but if there is something in that galaxy we can use against the Replicators and the Wraith, it's worth checking out," Jason reasoned.
"Good point," Sheppard added.
"Even if I give you permission to go, it will take weeks for you to reach the Skyriver galaxy," Carter said.
"Actually it won't take long," Rodney mentioned.
"What do you mean?" Carter asked.
"Well, the Skyriver isn't very far from the Pegasus. Sure it's light-years away but it's a lot closer than the Milky Way," Rodney explained.
"How long will it take to get there?" Carter asked.
"About a week with Daedalus," Rodney said.
Carter thought about it carefully. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let her best people go to explore another galaxy because they still had to find a way to stop the Replicators. But because the Skyriver galaxy wasn't very far away and it would only take a week to get there, it wouldn't be so bad to let her best people go there. There were many risks involved but exploring a new galaxy could be rewarding.
"Alright, I'll inform Caldwell and tell him to take you to Skyriver," Carter said finally agreeing with her key members' proposal.
"I guess we should go and pack," Jake said.
"Indeed," Carter said with a smile.
Later
After the team got everything packed, they were beamed aboard Daedalus where Colonel Caldwell was waiting for them.
"Got everything you need?" Caldwell asked.
"Yeah, Jake even brought his toolbox," Sheppard joked.
"Hey! You never know when you need me to fix something," Jake protested.
"Easy now Lieutenant. I was just kidding," Sheppard said as he tapped Jake's shoulder.
After Jake and Sheppard were done with their little 'disagreement', Rodney downloaded the coordinates he found from the file into Daedalus's navigation computer.
"The coordinates are in the nav computer," Rodney said.
"Thank you, doctor," Caldwell said and turned to Marks. "Take us out, Marks."
"Yes sir," Marks replied.
He pressed some buttons and then took them into hyperspace. While they were in hyperspace, Caldwell turned to Sheppard's team.
"I think you should go to your quarters and settle down. It's gonna take a while until we get to the Skyriver galaxy," Caldwell said.
"Yeah, good idea," Sheppard agreed.
While Caldwell and the crew were taking care of things, the team went to check their quarters. They were given private quarters which gave them some private time to get settled in the ship.
While Jason was getting settled in his quarters, he looked outside into a space filled with blue light and couldn't help but think.
"What are we gonna find when we get there?" Jason thought.
A week later
It was an exciting but also a little boring week. Jason and Jake mostly chatted and practiced their fighting skill with Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon while Rodney continued his research on the galaxy they were going to.
So far he didn't find anything which was a little strange. It was almost like the Ancients wiped almost all information about the Skyriver galaxy's existence just like when they tried to hide the existence of the Replicators.
While everyone was doing their works, Jason and Jake were in the ship's canteen eating their snack.
"So, what do you think we will find?" Jake asked.
"I don't know but I think that's the reason why we're going there," Jason said.
"Well, I hope we'll find a great adventure. It's mostly the reason we joined the Atlantis Expedition," Jake said remembering the time they were chosen for the expedition.
It was true that they wanted to join Stargate Command and later Atlantis Expedition because they wanted to explore the unknown, fight the bad guys, and have great adventures. But because most of the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxy were already explored, they were worried that they missed all the fun. But the new galaxy they were going to allowed them to make their dream reality.
"I'm sure we will. That is why we're going to the new galaxy," Jason said.
Before they could finish their snack, they were called through the ship's loudspeaker.
"Connor and O'Neill to the bridge immediately."
Jason and Jake couldn't help but sigh at the bad timing but they knew that this was kind of what they signed up for.
"Well, we can finish our snack later," Jason said.
"Yeah, or we could just throw these into the garbage can and get a new lunch when we get back," Jake said.
However, they chose to be nature-friendly and gave their food to the cook for safekeeping until they returned, then left the canteen and headed to the bridge. When they got there, they noticed that they came out of the hyperspace and there was a planet some distance away from their ship.
"We're there already?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, we came out of hyperspace just a few seconds ago," Rodney said.
"I thought we would be stopping at the edge of the galaxy, not in front of the planet," Ronon said.
"Actually, this planet was in the coordinates I put in the nav computer," Rodney said.
"Does it mean that this planet is worth investigating?" Teyla asked.
"The Ancients had it in their file so I guess it is," Rodney said.
Everyone looked at each other thinking what they should do until they made their decision.
"Well, we didn't come this far to turn back now," Jason said.
"Agreed, there could something worth finding on that planet," Sheppard agreed.
"Or there could be something waiting for you down there," Caldwell protested.
"We've taken risks before. We can handle this," Sheppard said.
Caldwell wasn't sure about this but knew he couldn't change the team's decision so he agreed.
"Alright, but don't do anything reckless down there," Caldwell said.
"Yes sir," the military members of the team said.
After Caldwell permitted them to go, the team headed to the ship's armory to pick up their weapons and gear. Everyone on the team (except Ronon) put on their black Atlantis military uniforms and gear. But when Jason and Jake put on half-face masks and combat glasses, it got a little attention from other members of the team.
"Why are you wearing those things?" Sheppard asked.
"We always put these on before going to the battlefield. It kind of became a habit from our time in Afghanistan," Jason explained.
"The masks and glasses you wear are your symbols. they make you who you are," Teyla said wisely.
Jason and Jake looked at each other for a minute. They never realized it before but now that they really thought about it, what Teyla said about their masks made sense.
"I guess they do," Jason said with amazement.
"Indeed," Jake agreed.
After their little realization, they walked to the gun cabinets to pick up their weapons. Each of them except Ronon took FN P90 (with weapon lights) as their main weapons and took M9 as their sidearm, except Sheppard who had P-14 Limited (early model) as his sidearm. Jason and Jake also took a couple of Ancient energy pistols (Asuran/Replicator pistols) for a little test run.
After they were armed and all geared up, they walked to the hangar bay and entered the Puddle Jumper they took with them from Atlantis. After Caldwell permitted them to go, they left Daedalus and headed towards the planet. While they were flying towards the planet, they went through everything they knew so far about the planet.
"Rodney, what do we have?" Sheppard asked.
"Well, according to the Ancient file, the planet we're heading to is called Malachor," Rodney said as he checked the intel from his tablet.
"Malachor?" Ronon asked.
"Yes, it was one of the first planets inhabited by the Ancients when they came to this galaxy for the first time," Rodney explained.
"And it's the planet we're going to, right?" Jake asked.
"Yep, but I didn't find anything more about it from the file," Rodney said.
"Why not?" Teyla asked.
"I don't know. It's almost like some of the information was erased," Rodney said.
As soon as he said it, Jason realized something.
"What if they did it on purpose," Jason suggested.
"What do you mean?" Rodney asked.
"I may not have been in Atlantis as long as you have, but I have noticed that the Ancients always erased intel for a good reason," Jason explained his theory.
"Like the time they tried to wipe all evidence about the Replicators," Rodney said realizing that Jason had a point.
"Exactly," Jason confirmed.
They were suddenly interrupted when the sensors picked up an energy reading and a life sign.
"What's that?" Jake asked.
"The sensors are picking up something," Sheppard said.
He activated the ship's HUD that showed some kind of weak energy reading and a single life sign on the whole planet.
"That can't be the only life sign on the entire planet," Rodney said not believing what he was seeing.
"Yeah, but we also got a weak energy reading," Jake added.
"Well, we didn't come this far to turn back now. We're going in," Sheppard said as he began to fly the ship through the planet's atmosphere.
It didn't take long until they reached the planet's surface, but they noticed a hole on the surface when they were about to land. They used the sensors to scanned it and detected what looked like a structure underground, it was also where the life sign was located. They decided to go to investigate and Sheppard landed them through the hole right to the underground.
When they landed, the team left the ship and cloaked it just in case.
"Okay, Rodney. What do we have?" Sheppard asked.
"Well, the energy reading is some distance away from us but the life sign is close," Rodney said as he checked the life signs detector.
"Alright. Connor, you, Teyla, and O'Neill go to check that life sign. Ronon, Rodney, you're with me," Sheppard said.
Everyone nodded and went in their separate ways. It was a little difficult to move around because the place was a total mess. There were ruins all over the place but the team also noticed a lot of bodies covered with petrified lava.
It was strange but they didn't have time to get a closer look so they moved on. They walked for a while until Jason noticed that the life sign they've been tracking was moving away from them.
"It's moving away from us," Jason said.
"You think it knows we're tracking it?" Jake asked.
"Probably," Jason said.
"It probably feels threatened because we're following it," Teyla said.
"Hmm, perhaps I can catch up with it if I follow it alone," Jason said.
Jake and Teyla looked at Jason with disbelief.
"Are you crazy? Going alone is too dangerous," Jake said.
"I've done this before, remember," Jason said.
"In Afghanistan. You haven't exactly chased an alien on an alien planet," Jake said.
"I know it's risky but I can do this," Jason said.
Jake and Teyla looked at each other for a minute until Teyla spoke.
"Alright, but be careful," Teyla said.
Jason nodded and went after who or whatever was running away from them. It was getting difficult to track the life sign because the deeper Jason went, the more static the detector became.
"Come on, how long do I have to keep this up?" Jason thought.
But suddenly the life sign disappeared from the screen.
"What the hell?" Jason said.
He was about to turn around until someone jumped on him. He tried to get free but whoever was holding him down was doing a pretty good job keeping him on the ground. Jason kept struggling until his captor spoke.
"Who are you? Are you with the Empire?" A feminine voice asked.
Jason was taken a little by surprise. He guessed that his captor would ask who he is but he had no idea what she meant by asking if he was with the Empire.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jason asked.
"I asked if you're with the Empire or not. I will let you go if you answer truthfully," the female captor said.
"My name is Jason Connor. But I have no idea what the Empire is," Jason said.
His captor stopped asking questions and seemed to be surprised when Jason said that he didn't know about the Empire. The captor was about to ask another question until a blast hit her, stunning her. Jason pushed his captor aside and saw Jake holding an energy pistol.
"Jake?" Jason asked.
"I had a feeling that you might walk into a trap so I followed you," Jake said as he helped Jason up.
"I told you I can do this but I'm glad you followed me," Jason said.
They both looked at the person they've been tracking. They knew it was a female but she was covered with some kind of robe along with a hood. Jake kept his pistol aimed at the female while Jason carefully removed the hood. But as soon as he did it, he froze like a statue.
In front of him was a woman with orange skin, white tattoo markings on her face, and what looked like lekkus. Jason couldn't help but admire her beauty.
"Wow, she's beautiful," Jason thought as he was stunned by an alien woman's beauty.
This didn't go unnoticed by Jake who couldn't help but smirk. But he knew they had to report this to Sheppard so he tapped Jason's shoulder a few times to break him out of his thoughts.
"Wha, what?" Jason said.
"I hate to break your thoughts but we've got to report this to Sheppard and probably take this person with us," Jake said.
"Yeah, right," Jason said as he carefully picked up the alien woman in bridal style.
Later onboard Daedalus
After the team brought the woman onboard Daedalus, they took her to the isolated medical room where Jennifer was checking the woman in case she had any diseases and also scanned her to see her physiology.
After she completed her examinations, she requested the team and Caldwell to the briefing room where she started explaining what she had found so far.
"Well?" Caldwell asked.
"Well, as far as I can tell. Our 'guests' physiology is almost similar to ours," Jennifer said.
"Almost?" Rodney asked.
"She has the same organs and genetic structure as we do but there are some changes that make her different," Jennifer said.
"Such as?" Sheppard asked.
"Well, there are some differences in her DNA which makes her look different on the outside," Jennifer explained.
"You mean like her skin color and lekkus?" Jason asked.
"Yes, but that's not all," Jennifer said.
"What else is there?" Sheppard asked.
Jennifer hesitated at first but eventually got the courage to tell her friends what she found.
"She has unusual brain activity. Something that we have found on people who have... powers," Jennifer explained.
"You mean like the Ori Priors?" Jake asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Jennifer said.
Everyone in the room was silent and in deep thought. They didn't know if the stranger they brought in was friendly but they didn't like the idea of having someone in the ship who has the same or similar powers as the Priors do.
"Isn't there a way we can neutralize her powers?" Caldwell asked.
"We do have several Anti-Prior devices with us that should be effective," Rodney said.
"But they work only temporarily," Caldwell said.
"We can boost the signal to make it permanent but it's gonna take a while," Rodney said.
"Then you better get started," Sheppard said.
They were suddenly interrupted when one of the crew members came to the briefing room.
"What is it?" Caldwell asked.
"The prisoner, she's awake," the crew member said.
They immediately rushed to the ship's infirmary where they held the woman. They had her bound on the hospital bed but she didn't seem to be any threat, at least not at the first glance.
"Did she say anything?" Caldwell asked.
"She wishes to speak with the one she captured on the planet," the nurse said.
The team looked at Jason for a second until he sighed.
"Alright, I'll do it," Jason said.
He carefully opened the door and walked into the room. As soon as he entered and closed the door behind him, the woman turned her head to him but didn't say anything. He carefully walked next to her bed and sat down on the chair.
"You wanted to see me," Jason said.
"Yes," the woman said.
"I know you want answers but I'll have to ask some questions. And I wish you would answer them truthfully," Jason said.
"I understand," the woman said.
Jason could tell that she meant what she said but he still didn't know who she was.
"What's your name?" Jason asked.
"Ahsoka, my name is Ahsoka Tano."