Hello everyone Knight here, just thought i'd say thanks to all those who find interest here in this fic, i understand that for some it isnt moving fast enough or maybe the changes are not being shown as dramatically enough but those things take time, after Atlantis gets started we are going to be moving quickly with new things being added into the timeline, colonies, seeing about old friends and old enemies, essentially touching base with things that were only slightly touched on in the show that i hope to flesh out a bit more, i know some of you may not like the direction of the story and all i can do is invite those people to write their own story because i would love to read more Stargate stories involving space ships and battles and the like!
Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 12.
Cheyenne Mountain, Stargate Command.
Brigadier General Johnathan Jack O'Neill was curious as to why his second in command had asked for a hold on the Prometheus's mission to flush that super dangerous Zpm into the universe's equivalent of a public toilet, after all it was Sam that stated how dangerous the thing was, could have destroyed the solar system if memory served.
Walking into the lab he was surprised to find not only the 2 people he'd expected to see but also the new wiz kid on the block Doctor James Felger working on something, making his presence known he released a "cough" to get their attention.
"So kids you all seem excited about something, Jay good to see you again, though I thought you still had another day at your folks?"
"Good to see you too boss, and yeah, but Sam asked me to come in early to take a look at this". I pointed out the sickly looking Zpm to the General.
"Sam?" asked O'Neill, cocking his head to the side in question.
"Sir we had to try, even if Bill and I couldn't do anything about the tainted Zpm, that doesn't mean Doctor Felger couldn't, and I'm glad I called him too".
"You were right?" O'Neill asked in surprise, getting a "Yes sir" from his XO, O'Neill looked to Felger waiting for some kind of explanation.
"You see General, whatever Camulus used to taint the Zpm had suffused itself into all the device's cavities and ports, making our ability to use it impossible, except I had a bit of a notion". Gesturing to the device now in hand, Felger continued on.
"This device is designed to emit an energy wave set to the specific sub-atomic frequency of the element itself, essentially I set the Anti replicator weapon I designed to affect not energy but matter instead and in so doing I have created a device that can, essentially, deep clean the Zpm from every nook and cranny, the wave would consume the element in a metabolic- sub-atomic process until all the intra-atomic bonds that held the material together would then simply begin to unravel, then the element would essentially cease to exist at that point leaving a perfectly functional zero point module." Felger explained to the General.
We could see the General trying to follow along but zoned out by the end, asking Felger to explain in as fewer words as possible, he obliged.
"Meaning?" O'Neill asked deadpanning.
"Bad element go poof, essentially." Felger deadpanned in return.
"Awesome, well go ahead, wait, this ain't dangerous is it?"
"No sir, the energy wave itself doesn't contain any elements to it that could set off the taint on the Zpm, it'll either work or it wont" answered Carter.
"And if it works, what will happen? Will we see a difference straight away or what?"
Doctor Lee decided to step up then and answer the General, "Yes sir, we should see the coloration of the Zpm return to the normal yellow glow we are used to seeing with the one SG-1 and yourself brought back from Proclarosh Teonass".
"Alright then, give it a whirl." O'niell gestured to the Ancient device.
Needing no other encouragement then that, I pointed the device at the Zpm and fired.
Now I know what you're all thinking, "But Felger isn't this just a variant on the anti Ascended gun you used against Anubis? And wouldn't the Ascended be pissed at you for making another one so soon?"
Well first of all, no one likes a smart ass.
Second of all, not really, that weapon had some very specific components to make it work on Ascended beings/Energy beings, this device does not have those components in it, essentially it was closer to the original concept of the Ancient weapon at Dakara, so with that out of the way, back to the show.
The energy wave swiftly left the device, rushing in the direction of the Zpm, the circular waves passing over the device in but a moment, we all held our breath wondering if it would work or not and luckily we didn't have to wait long.
A faint mist left the Zpm's surface, disappearing into thin air, the sickly glow of the ancient power core returning to its proper yellow, golden glow, it worked.
Bill moved over to the computer attached to the diagnostic device that held the Zpm within and focused his attention on the screen, his eyes roaming over the data that the diagnostic program was showing him.
"Don't keep us in suspense here Bill" I said.
"I can't believe it, I think it worked!" Doctor Lee said joyfully.
Sam and I went over to the computer to confirm, both of us finding that Bill's assessment was accurate, the zero point module was clean, fully restored and ready for use.
"Well Doc, looks like you've done it again, so what do you think we should use it for?" O'niell really shouldn't be surprised anymore, Felger had really turned out to be another national treasure for Earth and humanity in general, the man's earlier first impressions and fumbles long forgotten.
"Well if it was up to me? I'd say we should think about giving it to the Atlantis expedition, something tells me they are gonna need it way more then we are". I said, almost sounding prophetic.
"Hmm, well I'm gonna have to think about that for a bit, but speaking of the expedition, they have requested you head over there for a spell to assist them in setting up those new power cores of yours, something about the lead scientist there pulling his hair out trying to make an interface or whatever, apparently he's driving everyone stir crazy, so yeah, you leave in 3 days, pack warm huh?" O'niell said, gracing me with that legendary "I'm a serious guy but not really" expression he does to people he wants to mess with, problem is he was about as subtle as a nuke in a knife fight with it, damn troll.
"Why do you hate me" I asked looking at the man, no heat in my voice what so ever.
O'niell just smiled at me, turned around and walked out of the room. Sam, deciding then to make her graceful exit, came up behind me and clapped me on the shoulder in a comforting manner before she too, sheepishly, walked out of the lab.
'I really can't hate these people.' I thought to myself with a sigh.
"And say hi to Daniel for me would ya!" O'niells voice came from down the hall, and while hearing the man's distant laughter another thought happened to pop into my mind.
'But I could learn'.
McMurdo Base, Antarctica.
As luck would have it, the beard I had been growing came in handy in this kind of cold ass weather, my military flight touched down at McMurdo base at around 7 am and once I was processed by base security I was shuttled over to the site by chopper and as luck would have it I had a rather familiar face in the pilots seat taking me over.
"So you're some kind of big shot Doc right?" asked Major John Shepard, his voice coming in through the internal comms of the aircraft.
That pulled me up short, me? A big shot? That was new.
"Wouldn't call myself a big shot Major, I'm curious though, why would you call me that?" I asked the man.
Seeing the man shrug he continued on. "Well, its just everyone been talking about Doctor James Felger! Made it seem like you were super important, important enough to have the base's best pilot shuttle you over the the site pronto, you know".
"Well I can't argue about the best pilot part, this is definitely a smooth ride."
I could almost see Shepard grinning in the reflection of the helicopters cockpit.
"Well thank ya kindly Doc." quipped Shepard, this guy was going to be one of the most important people fighting for Earth soon, I'd like to be on friendly terms with him before then.
"No need for formalities Major, Feel free to call me Jay if you'd like."
"Alright then Jay you can call me John, hey you're an alright guy, I was kinda afraid you'd turn out like that one scientist they already got over there you know."
"Oh I can guess which one you're talking about." And I was already not looking forward to the headache that was Meredith Rodney Mckay.
"Alright we got about 5 minutes before we arrive, just sit back and enjoy the ride Doctor Jay" The man said with a chuckle.
I couldn't help giving a quirky reply of my own "sounds fine by me Major John".
We had a good chuckle at that.
Antarctic defense platform, Antarctica.
On the icy surface sat several buildings, each having specific functions like housing, storage and maintenance warehouses, everything a large group of scientists might need to dedicate their time to figuring out one of the greatest mysteries of their time, where was Atlantis, and was it still there, just waiting for them.
Beneath the surface of this icy plain was the Ancient defense outpost that was left by the Gate Builders themselves, scientists from multiple nations bustled too and fro from work benches and mobile labs studying every nook and cranny trying to figure out how things worked, some studying the chair platform, the "Heart" of the outpost so to speak, others looking into the stasis chamber hoping to glean the secrets of cryogenic stasis technology, others studying the weapon drones that were so instrumental in the defeat of Anubis and his fleet just mere months ago, all in all everyone was busy and happy in their assigned tasks-
"OH COME ON!"
Well, most of them.
"Rodney just calm down alright, he's almost here anyway" said Weir, her patience wearing thin thanks to their head scientist and his issues with figuring out an answer to his current problem.
"Elizabeth! I didn't see you there," said the man in surprise. "Look I told you we don't need Felger alright, I can figure this out just fine on my own, I just need more time-
"No Rodney! You are driving yourself crazy trying to build an interface between the ship class power cores and the Zpm slot in the chair platform, and while YOU go crazy you're also taking the rest of us with you! Now Doctor Felger will be here in a few minutes I want you to join me and Doctor Jackson on the surface to greet him, alright!?."
The women's voice was firm, and Mckay knew she meant business, it had taken a few months but Elizabeth was able to figure out a way to get through Rodney Mckay's rather special brand of stubborn narcissism.
Begrudgingly Doctor Mckay followed Weir out of the lab he had holed himself up in, a type of personal exile until he could figure out the problem of marrying the 2 technologies somehow. Making their way over to the main elevator shaft they were met by none other then Doctor Daniel Jackson, a man who has been buried in what they could access of the Ancient archives here in the outpost's computer systems for weeks, it would seem finding Atlantis's Stargate address was harder then they all had first thought.
Entering the elevator they began to ascend, Weir and Jackson talking idly about the ancient language and what not, doing their level best trying to ignore the grumpy Mckay stewing in his own failures.
Reaching the surface they all made their way outside and waited just inside the cover of the entrance to the elevator, out of the biting cold wind, a voice called out to them getting their attention.
"Doctor Weir? Doctor Felger's chopper is 2 minutes out" said a young dark skinned Air force lieutenant.
"Thank you Lt. Ford" said Weir.
Rodney, who had been grumbling under his breath all the way up the elevator, seemed to have reached some kind of figurative critical mass and no longer could keep his mouth shut.
"You know if I couldn't figure this out there's not a chance in hell Felger could, and yes, sure he seems to be weirdly smarter then everyone thought he was but the odds of him getting this to work is infinitesimally small, barely worth mentioning really, I really do think that nothing else could be used to power the outpost but the Zpm, the chair platform just won't accept any other input" said Mckay.
"Yes well, we'll just see what Doctor Felger has to say about the situation alright Rodney" said Weir, hoping Felger's presence would give her a buffer between herself and the force of nature that was Rodney Mckay.
"Plus he seems to have a knack for figuring out these sorts of things you know, I mean did you hear about what happened to the tainted Zpm we got a week or so ago?" asked Daniel.
"What? What happened?" Mckay asked almost dreading the answer.
"Well the Prometheus was all ready to dump the thing into a black hole when Sam calls Doctor Felger in a day early from his time off and well..." Daniel trails off slightly, both of his audience waiting for him to continue, and of course Rodney Mckay the poster child for patience that he was couldn't help speaking up.
"Well what!?" the man said irritably.
Daniel turns to the both of them to respond with hands in pockets and a smile on his lips.
"He fixed it" was all he said.
Both Weir and Rodney started at that, Weir turned to Mckay and could see a storm brewing on Rodney's face and lamented her lack of paracetamol for the foreseeable future.
"He fixed it!? What do you mean he fixed it!? There was nothing to fix! It was tainted with an unknown elemental compound through every surface of the Zed-pm, how could he have fixed that!?"
Hearing the approaching sound of a helicopter Daniel turned to face the incoming craft and watched as it came in for a landing.
"How about you ask him yourself Rodney."
Weir and Rodney turned towards the landing chopper themselves, watching as it landed on the large H set on the landing platform, the ground crew stood nearby, ready to assist in maintenance and whatever else was necessary, Weir, Mckay and Jackson looked into the helicopter and they watched as the two individuals within shook hands, the one in the back seat then got out of the aircraft, pulling his large bag and suitcase out, he moved swiftly over to their position keeping his head down for a few moments to keep from getting buffeted by the winds that the rotor blades were causing as they slowly shutdown.
The man straightened and continued his walk towards them, sun glasses on and a grin on his lightly bearded face, stopping just in front of them one of the military staff there offered to take his bags and with a "thank you" he handed them over.
"Well this is a fine welcome! Nice to see you all again!" The one and only Doctor James Felger said, a smile on his face and a warm disposition shining to those around him, that's when the grumbling started again.
Looking over at the source of said grumbling the man couldn't help add but one more thing.
"Well, most of you."
Heading down the elevator I couldn't help but admire the ripples in the ice that was made by the energy drill that the Tel'tak had used to get SG-1 down to the outpost, the blue icy walls reflecting the light of the makeshift elevator as we continued to descend the hundreds of feet to the Ancient site, mood lighting that shared our journey down into the depths of the Earth.
Hearing my name being called knocked my out of my thoughts and I focused on my current companions.
"So how was your time at your folks?" asked Daniel.
"Oh yeah it was good, did the classics you know? Had some barbecue, had some laughs, dug a hole, just an all around good time really, what about you guys? How goes the search for the Lost city of Atlantis coming along?"
Frowning slightly at the "Dug a hole" part Daniel just shook it off and decided to continue on, "hmm, well we've hit a bit of a snag really, something with the gate address not making any sense" said Daniel.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, we've got an address, 6 chevrons plus the point of origin, Earth, but the SGC keep saying they can't seem to get a connection, and we have no idea why"
"Maybe the gate's buried?" I supplied helpfully.
"We've thought of that, but the error code the gate at the SGC keeps giving back indicates the gate address is incorrect" added Mckay.
"We do have other addresses in the archive as well, the problem is the symbols they show don't seem to correspond to any on our Stargate or any other in our database so far, so we are a little confused as to where to go from here." Weir said, her words ending the explanation of the issue that they were suffering.
Now I knew they figured this out by themselves but I didn't see the harm helping them along a little sooner then canon showed us.
"Have you considered that the gate address is simply incomplete and not incorrect?" I asked with a smile.
Blank stares pointed my way, I could almost see all three of their brain's synapses firing, reaching the only conclusion any could reach about the problem that had been stumping them for months, was rather enjoyable to watch really.
"The Stargate address isn't incorrect" began Mckay.
"Its just not complete" Weir continued the thought.
"Atlantis is in another galaxy" Daniel said, finishing the thoughts all three had reached in the end, all three turned to me with wide eyes and awed expressions.
"You're welcome" I said with an easy smile.
'Jay Felger strikes again' I thought with a laugh.