Gateway of the Gods
Chapter One
Entrance
"Colonel! The radiation buildup is reaching critical!" Doctor Zelenka cried out.
"I can see that, Radek!" Samantha Carter yelled back, frantically pressing keys on the Ancient control board in front of her. It made no difference to the giant red warning messages on her laptop's screen. "Try increasing our draw from the ZPM!"
"But if I do that, it will dry up!" Zelenka protested.
"Now, Radek!"
"OK, OK, I do it," the Czech scientist relented. He pressed a few buttons on his control board, typed a command into his own laptop, and sighed in relief when the multiple yellow bars on the screen dropped like a stone. "That did it. Buildup is dropping."
"How's the ZedPM?" Rodney McKay asked, looking over Zelenka's shoulder.
The scientist scowled at his screen in response. "Just over 50% and dropping quickly. We must close the bridge before it drains completely!"
"Well maybe if I was included in this project..." McKay began.
"Don't start, Rodney," Sam glared at him. Turning her head to Dr. Zelenka, she donned a pleading look.
"The bridge is not responding to the shutdown command, and the ZPM is just under 40% now," he offered.
"Give me any solution you've got," she said, glancing over to his over-the-shoulder companion. "That includes you, McKay."
"Oh really? Now you want my help?" he scoffed, crossing his arms. "Only when our lives are on the line do you come to me?"
Sam glared dangerously at him. "McKay..." she warned.
He threw his arms up and walked over to a third console, grumbling all the way. Rodney glanced at the laptop on top of the console for a few seconds, then shrieked "What the hell did you two do?"
"ZPM at 30%," Zelenka warned.
"McKay!" Sam yelled.
"Yes, yes, I've got it," he yelled back, before rapidly entering commands on the laptop. A few seconds passed before he stopped, looking expectantly up at the shielded chamber. The vortex of light changed from a nasty red to a more comforting green and McKay put a hand to his forehead. "Whew," he said.
Sam glanced at her own laptop and noticed the radiation levels dropping. "Radek, I think you can wean us off the ZPM now."
"I believe you are right," Zelenka agreed, entering a single command on his laptop. The program displayed the power line to the room from the ZPM room going dark, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"How much is left?" Rodney asked, fearing the answer.
Zelenka glanced at his screen, then to Carter and McKay with a grim expression. "About 15%"
Rodney's hand promptly met his face. "This is the third time we've tried this and it never works."
"Perhaps we should stop these experiments," Zelenka agreed.
"Maybe," Sam capitulated. "Okay Rodney, what did you do?" she asked, turning to him and putting her hands on her hips.
"How you two have not managed to destroy us all by now is beyond me," McKay muttered, but catching Sam's withering look he relented. "It's simple, both my sister and I could have told you what you did wrong. Or rather, where you went wrong."
"Get on with it, McKay," Sam demanded.
Rodney's smile became very smug. "You opened the bridge inside a very powerful energy source. My guess is a pulsar, perhaps a black hole." He enunciated every word with his forefinger and thumb forming an O. "Neither my sister or I would have screwed up like that."
"It wasn't a black hole," a new voice sounded out.
In less than a second, Sam had her sidearm drawn and aimed at the intruder, safety off. "Identify yourself," she demanded.
The newcomer was a woman of eighteen years at maximum, with long flowing crimson hair and a relaxed demeanor. Her eyes seemed to glow, simultaneously both like twin stars and deep hazel oceans. Sam shuddered at the similarity to a certain Ori.
However, this woman was... different. She had a kind, patient smile, and was eyeing the Colonel like a mother would a young child despite the appearance of a significant age gap between them. Her clothing looked like she'd waltzed in off the street on Earth, something that was flatly impossible given the planet's location half a galaxy away. Sam had seen a lot during her time on and off SG1, but this was pushing it.
"You can put the gun away Colonel, it will do you no good," the younger woman said, waving her hand dismissively. The magazine dropped to the floor, bullets clanging as they scattered.
Rodney stared at her in shock, trying to process what he'd just seen. Radek stood up and backed away, since she had appeared right next to his console. Sam stared at her suspiciously.
"Wow. Tough crowd," she joked. Turning to look directly at Sam, she crossed her arms and stared back. "Take me to your leader," she said, gaining a smirk.
"I'm in command of Atlantis," Sam stated.
The woman's face paled, and she dropped her arms. "Atlantis. This is Atlantis?"
"Yes..?" Sam offered, unsure of what to make of this interaction.
"Damn it," the woman swore, holding out her hand as if to grab something. A loud, deep hum was heard, then a dark metal staff appeared in her hand, which she grasped. As soon as her fist closed around it, orange lines exploded outward across the surface, emanating from her hand. When the lines reached the top of the staff, it grew a pair of wings, made out of the same metal. Between the wings a harshly bright light flared into existence, a miniature orange star born anew. When the light died down, the woman's clothes had changed; now she was clad in a skintight suit of the same metal, complete with glowing lines, and her long crimson hair was in a ponytail. The source of the light had died down, with the star dim enough to look at directly.
"Damn it? Why 'Damn it'?" McKay asked, looking a little panicky.
Without taking any time to respond, the woman planted her staff into the floor, not unlike an Ori Prior, and closed her eyes. The hand not holding the staff was held vertically, palm facing forward. A flare of light alongside another hum emanated from the star in her staff, and three Zero Point Modules appeared out of thin air. Well, they resembled the Ancient power storage devices in shape, at least. Instead of crystal these were constructed of the same metal her staff was. They hovered just in front of her outstretched hand slightly bobbing up and down.
"Did you just make ZedPMs?" Rodney asked in amazement. His eyes shared the state of both Carter and Zelenka; wide as dinner plates.
Even with her eyes closed, the woman smirked and responded. "They are called potentia, Dr. McKay," she began, then gestured at the three she had 'made'. "These are a little different; they are deae potentia."
"My Ancient is little rusty, but does that not mean 'goddess' power?'" Zelenka asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.
The woman laughed. "Indeed it does, Radek." She opened her eyes and glanced at McKay, gaining a smug smile. Rodney began panicking, and his demeanor didn't improve when the three ZPMs flew through the air at him. In fact, his response was pretty distinct.
"Ahh!" McKay screamed, holding up his arms in front of his face and ducking down. When nothing happened, he peeked out to see three dark metallic ZPMs hovering in front of his face. He glared at the woman despite the abilities she had displayed so far. "You could have warned me, you know!"
The woman snickered, then motioned to Zelenka with her head. "Consider it payback for what you've put Radek through all these years."
Zelenka's eyes widened and he looked at her in fear. "Jste v mé mysli?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded. "I am inside all of your minds, doctor."
Sam growled. "Then you should know what we think of beings who do that."
"My apologies Colonel, I was merely taking a cursory glance," the woman said with a kind smile, "It was necessary to determine what your intentions were for my universe."
"So you're not from this one?" Rodney asked.
The woman shook her head. "No, I came through the bridge. I figured that if your intentions were not hostile and you'd just messed up, I could help. If they were, well… You get the idea."
Zelenka gulped.
"You look an awful lot like a certain enemy of ours," Sam noted.
The woman closed her eyes with a nod. "Adria, I believe," she said. "You have nothing to worry about. Well, not from me anyways, the similarities end at our appearance. I've never even met her," the woman sighed.
"How do you know of her then?" Sam asked, crossing her arms.
The woman simply smiled and tapped her forehead. "The image of her in your thoughts, Samantha," she said. Glancing over to McKay, she continued onwards. "Rodney, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could run those, uh… What did you call them? ZedPMs? Down to the power room."
"We call them ZPMs," Zelenka corrected her.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"He's Canadian," Sam offered.
"Ah. That explains it," she smirked. "I'm sorry."
McKay scowled at the stereotype while the other two snickered.
"Hold on, why are we all chatting with you like old friends?" Sam asked, noticing the casual manner they were discussing things in. "You're an intruder, have displayed abilities clearly making you a threat, but we're all sitting around talking?"
The woman shrugged. "I've got that effect on people." At a glare from Sam she clarified. "It's not an ability. I'm just likeable."
"We don't even know your name," Zelenka said.
"That's easily solved. I am Ari," the woman responded.
"No last name?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Nope. Rodney, the ZPMs?"
"Wait," Sam motioned to McKay, who was already grabbing up the floating metallic batteries, "I'm the commander of this base. Whatever you want to do, you have to have my approval."
"Understandable," Ari nodded, "But the more time we spend talking and not plugging those in, the more time the gods of your universe have to notice my presence."
"And that would be a bad thing?" McKay asked.
"Not for me. But for you, very," the woman responded
McKay gulped.
"Can you promise me they are safe?" Sam asked with a sigh.
"Certainly safer than the ones you're running right now. Plus, they've got some upgrades," Ari smiled.
McKay's face lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Upgrades?"
Ari nodded, the look she was giving Rodney one of recognition. She'd clearly seen this behaviour before. "Each of those has about six times the capacity of a normal potentia, plus a miniature fusion star built in."
Rodney did his best imitation of a fish.
Sam's curiosity became as peaked as Rodney's. "Fusion star?"
Ari pointed to the star in her staff. "A smaller version of this one. This is a supergiant; the potentia have red dwarves. They generate power like you wouldn't believe, with a lifespan longer than the universe itself."
Sam's mouth dropped open. "That's a real star?!"
"Yep!" Ari smiled back.
"But… How?" Zelenka asked in disbelief.
Taking her hand off her staff, Ari placed both hands spread out on the sides of her head and then moved them outwards to mimic an explosion. "Woo, Magic!"
Her staff continued standing upright, to the chagrin of the physicists in the room.
"Magic doesn't exist," Sam declared, crossing her arms. "It's just really advanced technology."
Ari turned back to her, placing her hand around her staff once more. "Not true, Colonel. Magic is quite real, but most beings cannot access it. Gods can easily do so, and when you combine advanced magic with advanced technology, you can do things like shrink stars."
Zelenka raised an eyebrow at this. "You keep mentioning gods," he noticed.
"It's entirely possible you don't call us gods," Ari said, scratching her chin. "Are you all aware of what energy beings are?"
Something clicked in McKay's mind, and he stared at Ari with a open mouth. "You're an Ancient?"
Ari looked puzzled. "You call the energy beings of your universe 'Ancients'?"
"Uh... Some of them?" Zelenka offered.
Ari raised an eyebrow. "Explain, please."
"The Ancients were a race of humans that evolved to a point where they could shed their physical forms and exist as energy," McKay explained.
Ari's eyes lit up in recognition. "You're referring to the Alterans?"
"You know of them?" Zelenka asked, quite surprised.
"Indeed. This is not my first visit to this universe," Ari replied. "Though when I was last here, most of the Alterans were quite mortal."
Rodney quickly did some calculations. "But that would make you at least ten thousand years old!" he exclaimed.
Ari blinked. "Yes, and?"
"Rodney's asking how," Sam chimed in.
The woman looked puzzled. "I did mention that I'm a goddess, yes?"
McKay's face paled, and Sam pointed her gun at Ari, despite the futility. "This is sounding disturbingly familiar," she growled.
Ari looked puzzled for a couple of seconds, then the assumption visibly dawned on her. "Already told you, I'm nothing like Adria or the Ori."
McKay let out his held breath, but Sam wasn't convinced. "Yet you refer to yourself as a goddess."
Ari rolled her eyes. "I used to say I was an energy being, but got fed up with people not knowing what that was. 'Goddess' is much more universally understood."
"Understandable," Zelenka concluded.
"However, the Ancients, Alterans, whatever you call them, are not like me," Ari continued. "We are both energy beings, yes, but I outclass them so badly it's not even a contest. They changed into energy beings; I was born one."
Sam tilted her head to the side, holstering her sidearm. "Is that why they haven't stopped you from talking to us?"
Ari shrugged. "They haven't noticed me yet, most likely. While there's no way for them to control me, using mortals like you to exert a semblance of control over me is not remotely beyond them."
"I thought their highest rule is not to interfere," Zelenka said.
Rodney gave him an unimpressed look, and Sam scoffed.
"Bah. Yeah right," Ari fired back. "Maybe not normally, but with a threat to them like me, their rules seem to magically no longer apply. This, Rodney, is why you need to plug the new ZPMs in. They'll cloak my presence."
"Why not just leave then?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you would like more ZPMs," Ari deadpanned. This gained furious nodding from both McKay and Zelenka. "Plus, I'd like to meet your people. When you're immortal, anything to break the boredom is welcomed."
"How exactly are three ZPMs going to hide you?" Sam questioned. "If you're as powerful as you say, isn't that like using a firework to hide a star?"
"You have a point. But I'm not technically here," Ari said.
All three scientists looked dumbfounded.
Rolling her eyes, Ari drew in a breath. "My main self, my true form, is in my universe," she began. "The being you see before you is supremely powerful, yes, but is not an energy being," she continued, gesturing to her body.
"But you said you were an energy being," McKay questioned.
Ari rubbed the bridge of her nose with her free hand in annoyance. "It's hard to dumb this down, okay? Like trying to explain quantum physics to a two year old."
Zelenka and Carter smirked when they saw McKay's offended expression. He was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.
"The simplest explanation I can offer is that this body is human, more or less, pushed as far as the genome can go. She has no mind, however; a brain, yes, but with my mind filling it up, almost like remote control. Is that satisfactory?" Ari explained irately.
"Are you suppressing her?" Sam asked, her face gaining a hostile expression.
"What? No. Of course not. There's nothing to suppress," Ari sighed. "Hell, suppressing isn't even something this situation would be capable of. That would imply I'm the intruder, when I'm in fact the host."
"How does that even work?" McKay asked.
"If it helps, think of me as having multiple bodies," Ari said. "Now seriously McKay, we've waited long enough. Get going," she commanded, pointing to the hallway.
Rodney glanced at the hallway in mock pain. "But it's so far away!" he whined.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Just use the transporters McKay."
He looked like he was considering it for a couple of seconds, then shook his head and crossed his arms. "Nope, have Zelenka do it."
"Oh for the sake of existence, Rodney!" Ari yelled, stomping over. Her staff cheerily followed her, ignoring gravity entirely. When she reached him, she grabbed his arm, holding out her other hand. A second later, her staff arrived, settling into her grip. It began to hum, the orange lines glowing brighter.
McKay looked worried and uncrossed his arms. "What are you doing?" he shrieked. Sam saw Ari's smirk, and caught "Hold onto your butt, Mckay," right before they both vanished.
-CB-
Zelenka's eyes popped open, his mouth dropping.
Sam immediately went to her radio. "Control room, this is Colonel Carter. An ascended being just popped up from the other universe, had a chat, and then took McKay."
"This is Chuck. Say again, Colonel?" her radio responded.
"You heard me. Our assumption is that they are in the ZPM room. Send a team of Marines down there right now, along with a couple of Anti-Prior devices."
"Would those even affect an ascended?"
"She said her body was human, just advanced genetically. I don't think they'll help, but I'd rather not take any chances."
"Understood, ma'am. Should I have the Hammond perform a site to site?"
"Yes, thank you Chuck," Sam finished, mouthing 'site-to-site' to Radek. He nodded his head just as her radio chirped again.
"Hammond acknowledges. Performing site-to-site now."
Sam felt the tingly feeling of the Asgard beams take hold over her body, the familiar whine ringing out among a sea of bright white light. A second later the light faded, and she was standing in the ZPM room looking at an irate Rodney McKay. He seemed to be yelling at Ari about the ZPM itself, the woman currently being yelled at leaning against her staff with an amused expression. The staff was still resolutely defying gravity, and didn't seem to care about the weight of the woman leaning on it.
"You can't just pull the ZedPM out before putting those in!" Rodney barked, arms crossed and expression even more so."In case you haven't noticed, we are mortal and we need to breathe. We are currently sitting in the empty void of space between two galaxies with an atmosphere only maintained by the shield," he continued, taking a deep breath, "which in case your ascended butt hasn't noticed, requires power FROM the ZedPM!"
Ari chuckled and glanced over to Sam. "Is he always like this?"
"Unfortunately," Zelenka grimaced. Sam nodded in agreement.
"As I already told McKay here, we can't operate the two types of potentia at the same time," Ari sighed, gesturing to Rodney. "Doing so would rupture the Alteran one."
Zelenka's face paled. "Which would be bad," Sam reasoned.
Ari closed her eyes and nodded "Very."
"Well then, what are you going to do about it?" Rodney fired back.
Ari rolled her eyes yet again, then turned lazily to the ZPM console. "Cheat." She held out a hand, and one of her new ZPMs floated over the console, stopping just above an empty slot. The ZPM covers spiraled open, revealing two empty slots and another filled by a slightly glowing crystalline structure.
"What are you doing?" Rodney demanded.
"I'm trying not to kill you all," Ari scolded, her face contorting in concentration, "So shut up."
Rodney complied with a gulp.
Suddenly the star in her staff changed color, blue instead of orange, and energy from it lanced out into the columns of the room. Zelenka and McKay looked around in awe, but Sam remained focused on the ZPMs. She watched as theirs stopped glowing, then floated up out of the receptacle and landed in Ari's free hand. Quick as a flash, the other two of Ari's ZPMs joined the first one, hovering above all three empty receptacles. Slowly they sunk down into the holes, fitting just as snugly as the normal ones would. When all three were locked in place, the orange lines on their metal surfaces began to glow, and a low hum began to make itself known. The receptacles irised closed, and Ari's staff returned to a normal orange color, the beams of energy dissipating.
"Here, catch!" Ari said, tossing the normal ZPM to Sam who barely caught it. Sighing in relief, she gently placed her ZPM on the floor. Ari lowered her hand, the look of a job well done on her face. "There. All done, new potentia installed. Now how about we all go and get something-"
She cut herself off when six burly men in black BDUs stormed in, P90s trained on her without wavering. Behind them two scientists walked in, holding silver disks with blue lights circling their equators in sequence. She let out a sigh, glaring at Sam.
"Really, Carter?" Ari asked, disappointment clear on her face.
"You had just abducted Dr. McKay," Sam reasoned. "Even though you said your intentions were not hostile, I couldn't take the chance."
Ari nodded her head, but raised an eyebrow. "And now?"
"Still not sure. Please relinquish your weapon so we can get you checked out."
Ari's lips creased into a flat line and she rubbed her eyebrows in obvious irritation. "While I understand your position, I don't appreciate it. Here I am trying to help you, and yet you still do not trust me."
"We have been burnt too many times in the past," Zelenka chimed in.
"Not that I'm agreeing with this, but say I do let go of my 'weapon'," Ari said, making air quotes with her free hand. "What would you do with it?"
"Put it in a safe place, far away from you, where our scientists could study it," Sam said.
Ari scrunched up her mouth, crossed her arms and stepped away from her staff. "For the record, I'm humoring you lot. There is literally nothing you can do to stop me if I wished you harm." She smirked, glancing over to the anti-Prior devices. Her eye twitched a little, barely noticeable, and rock music suddenly started playing out of them. Loudly.
"Turn those off!" Sam yelled over the noise, her hands over her ears. The scientists who had been carrying them scrambled to pick them up, turning off the power. When everyone could hear again, Sam scowled at Ari. Her expression was mirrored by the Marines.
"Well played," McKay grinned.
"Stackhouse!" Sam addressed one of the Marines, "secure the staff."
Markham Stackhouse nodded, slowly approaching the woman and her staff. He stared down the star in the staff, which turned a delightful shade of purple, almost as if it was amused. To his credit, the staredown continued until the Marine was close enough to grab the staff. He eyed Ari warily, looking for any signs of resistance. She simply sighed and rolled her eyes. Confident that she would not take action, Stackhouse let go of his P90, the gun falling by his side due to the strap threaded through it. Taking a deep breath to prepare for the worst, the marine closed his eyes and grabbed the staff with both hands. After a couple of seconds, he reopened his eyes, noticing that he was still alive. The staff had not hurt him, as much as he swore the star at its top was staring at him with a smirk.
"This decade, Marine?" Sam called, getting a little impatient.
"Yes ma'am," Stackhouse replied with a smile, then began to walk back towards the doorway, staff in hand. Or at least, that's what his brain assumed was occurring before registering the lack of movement. Turning back around, he frowned at the staff, making a few more attempts to move it. His feet slid across the floor, as though he was trying to pull a mountain. No matter how much effort he put into the action, however, the staff remained in place, resolutely defying both gravity and the laws of motion.
The marine sighed, dropping his hands down to his weapon and pointing it back at the woman. "Its stuck, ma'am," he declared, backing up to the doorway and his squad of marines.
"See what I mean?" Ari smirked, grabbing her staff once more. "This is not just a staff, Sam. It's a tool, a power generator, and a ship all in one," she said, stepping towards the doorway. "And I'm the only being capable of moving it," she finished, demonstrating by twirling the staff around her body.
Sam looked incredulous. "How is that even possible?"
Air shrugged. "Part nanotech, part compressed space, with an added dash of quantum locking accomplished via magic."
"Quantum locking?" Rodney asked.
"He whosoever holds this hammer…" Ari quoted.
"Thor's Hammer was a ship," Sam stated.
Ari blinked. "You have Norse gods in this universe too?"
"Ah… not really? We had the Asgard. They're like… little grey men," Rodney supplied.
Ari's eyes widened. "Roswell?"