12

A Lost Cause

They hadn't even been at it for half an hour after the approval from Landry when a voice boomed from behind.

"This ends now," Richard Woolsey said seriously as he appeared in the control room.

"No," Rodney protested as he let his hands fly over the consoles. "We're so close."

Woolsey looked from the almost manic scientist to the resigned gate technician next to him and then jumped a little as he found Ronon Dex leaning against the wall slightly to his right. Colonel Sheppard was there too and a few other marines who'd belonged to the Atlantis Expedition.

"Look, McKay, I know you want to go back out there but I am pulling the plug," Woolsey reasoned calmly.

"No, no, no," Rodney insisted. "If I could just tap into the ZPM-,"

"We don't have the amount of energy required to redial," Woolsey found himself raising his voice. "By making this call you're jeopardizing all other current off-world activities."

"You've been out there," Sheppard spoke up. "You know what it's like."

"You have to listen to me," the IOA representative stated as two burly marines showed up in the doorway behind him.

"Or what?" Ronon hissed as he took a step toward him.

"Just because someone placed a long-distance call-," he began, hoping to make them see reason.

"It's not a random call," McKay insisted testily. "It's Askula, and who gave the IOA authority to overrule Landry anyway!?"

Richard stared at him in surprise as he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"Who knows how long they've been trying to contact Atlantis directly," Rodney added.

"Apollo is leaving for Pegasus as soon as it returns from the Ori galaxy," Sheppard explained. "Unfortunately, that might take a while longer than we expected. The IOA is still conducting interviews of the traumatized Ori followers."

Woolsey swallowed. "Where's the Daedalus?"

"Daedalus is halfway home from having delivered supplies to the Athosian settlement for further distribution through the Pegasus network of allies," John replied.

"Any intel from there?" Richard asked.

"They will be out of communication range for at least a week while travelling fast through a serious of hyperjumps. Sometimes they do stop at one of the space gates halfway in between the two galaxies but nothing like that has been arranged or scheduled," Walter explained.

"I don't understand," Woolsey said. "Only Atlantis can dial intergalactically and no one is supposed to know the gate address to Earth."

"Askula is an ancient city too," Ronon said.

"The city you are referring to was buried deep beneath-,"

"Yes, and no, she doesn't have the power left to dial such a distance," Rodney filled in sourly. "At least she didn't a few years ago. Look, the call was very cleverly rerouted, using as little energy as possible – it's almost smarter than the Midway set-up actually."

John made a face. "Have you hit your head or something?" he inquired.

"Ha ha," McKay snorted. "You do not pay attention to words. I did say almost."

"I am sorry," Woolsey said regrettably, in a much calmer voice. "Until Apollo comes back, there is nothing you can do."

"It could take months," McKay protested.

Woolsey turned to Sam. "Colonel Carter, I believe there is a ship waiting for you to command. Odyssey has run into a bit of a problem. George Hammond is needed as a backup."

OOOOOO

Two years, seven months and twenty-one days after the second homecoming.

Silence settled over the room and its occupants. Colonel Samantha Carter's words still ringing in their ears.

"We've lost the Icarus base," she had said gravely through the link.

The screen had flickered for a moment and then smoke and sparks had filled the bridge of the George Hammond.

"We are evacuating base personal as we speak, but I repeat, we have lost the Icarus base."

Woolsey leaned backwards in his chair, slumping his shoulders. General Landry put an elbow on the table-top and let his forehead come to rest in palm of his hand as he closed his eyes in defeat. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Davis looked beat as he stared at the black screen from which Colonel Carter had stared back at him only moments ago.

Then all of a sudden, the Chinese and the French IOA representative began to argue about whose fault it was. Colonel Sheppard looked pissed, bouncing a stress ball against the floor, feeling like he'd failed his previous mission, digging deeper into the Lucian Alliance command for intel.

The raised voices of the IOA representatives, the bouncing of the small ball against the marbled floor and the feeling of doom that had settled over the room after Colonel Carter signed off was broken by the return of NID agent called Barrett as he stepped into the air-conditioned room. "So," he said. "What now?"

"We'd better go after those Lucian Alliance people," Woolsey spoke up with determination.

"Just like that, huh?" Colonel Cameron Mitchell asked as he appeared in the doorway. "We've been trying to shut down their operations for a while now and they are a persistent bunch of people, I'll have to give them that."

"Didn't realize there was a revolving door to this room," Landry muttered sourly.

"They are mercenaries, smugglers and petty thieves," Doctor Strom spoke up calmly, his voice cold.

Mitchell made a face. "Petty thieves, huh?" he shrugged. "Have you seen one up close? They are not comparative to a teen robbing your pretty little grandma of her purse. Their style is more like- hey give me your stuff or I'll blow your head off with my bazooka."

O'Neill glared at his successor for a moment.

"Their style mixed with their Goa'uld resources makes them a formidable enemy," Mitchell added, ignoring the look he was receiving from the General.

"They followed our people onboard the Destiny," O'Neill spoke up seriously.

General Landry nodded as he studied the faces around the table. "That's all we know at the moment. For the record; we assume that they made it onboard the Destiny - all of them – and," he paused. "If they did, then God help them."

"The last intel we have is that our disagreements with the Lucian Alliance are worsening," Doctor Carl Strom spoke up. Wray and I talked at length a few days ago; before this disaster. The IOA have reason to believe that they might be planning an attack on Earth."

General Jack O'Neill balled his hand into a fist and fixed the civilian with an icy glare. "Damn it, Strom," he said. "How long have you been planning to keep that to yourself?"

"I am telling you now," he said calmly.

"That's not the point and you know it," Jack argued.

"Gentlemen," Landry interrupted. "This is not the time nor the place. Stargate Command is not interested in a conflict between the IOA and the Homeworld Command. I need for everyone to work together and come up with an imminent solution – am I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Colonel Davis spoke up. As a liaison officer between Homeworld Command and Pentagon and also the IOA he knew there would be battles up ahead but he also knew it was necessary to get everyone to start working together.

"Since my jurisdiction only concerns this country, what can I do?" Agent Barrett asked curiously, ready for action. He needed to do something.

Landry nodded seriously as he looked from Barrett to Strom and then back again, a faint yet wicked smile spreading on his lips. "Since the United States has claimed property rights on Atlantis, I strongly suggest that you pack your bag and head out to meet up with Colonel Lorne. Make sure he has everything he needs from us and this country. Right now, I'd consider it a matter of national security-,"

Strom rudely interrupted him.

"If you are looking for a way to ship the IOA and our associates off the Atlantis Expedition base, may I remind you that we have an agreement. The United States and the IOA membership countries are still benefitting from analyzing-,"

Sheppard slammed the ball into the floor hard, unable to stay quiet any longer. "You are dismantling her. You have disassembled almost every functioning system in the city just to satisfy your curiosity and make profit while the people in the Pegasus Galaxy stays unprotected."

Strom turned to him; his eyes cold. "I happen to read mission reports from time-to-time Colonel Sheppard, so that I can deduce whether or not it is a good investment or not."

O'Neill looked taken aback for a moment. "The stargate program was never about money, Doctor Strom. It is about science and exploration."

Strom pointed a finger at him. "Don't interrupt me General," he cautioned before refocusing his attention on John. "When you found Atlantis, she was sitting at the bottom of the ocean and the natives of the Pegasus Galaxy were safe. The problems didn't start until you set your foot over there."

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it? Arguing about what has been?" Colonel Davis reasoned. "Atlantis is an asset no matter who's eyes I am looking trough. I am sure that anyone here would agree with me that if the flying city had been intact, the Atlantis Expedition could have aided the Icarus project more efficiently and then returned to her home galaxy," he finished and turned to John with a tight smile. "I am sure that was what Colonel Sheppard intended to say."

General Landry silently thanked the liaison officer for stepping in with a nod. "Now that we know the situation, we can only hope to rescue as many survivors as possible and that Doctor Rush and the others made it safely onboard the Destiny. I am afraid there is nothing more we can do from this end. Now, as for the situation in the Pegasus Galaxy-," Landry glanced around the table. "It is unsettling to hear that the Wraith might be gathering their forces against us but at the moment it is only rumors – not a fact – and as Doctor Strom just revealed, we have a more imminent threat from the Lucian Alliance to deal with."

Sheppard leaned forward over the table, about to protest.

"Dismissed," Landry said seriously.

Richard Woolsey made his way over to Sheppard on his way out of the room. "Colonel, wait," the IOA member and former leader of the Atlantis Expedition said.

The former military leader of the Atlantis Expedition halted mid-step and sighed as Woolsey fell into steps with him. "Spare me, Richard," John said.

"No, hear me out," he replied. "I am on your side here. In fact, I've been that for years."

John looked at him skeptically as they continued down the corridor. "I thought you said you refused to be a puppet on a string for anyone?" he pointed out.

"I am afraid that some battles can't be won," Richard admitted regrettably.

"Can't because you don't want to win them," Sheppard corrected sullenly. "You have been there. You know how it was and what we did back there."

"Yes, and I was sent away from the boardroom. While I got a dose of reality in Pegasus, the rest of the IOA representative continued with their agenda. They have been pouring money into the Icarus Project for the last couple of years; ever since Doctor Jackson understood the meaning of the ninth chevron and the connection to the seed ships and Destiny was out in the open."

"Look," John said as he stopped and turned to Woolsey. "I don't mind projects being funded and cared for. However, this particular project and all the trouble with the Lucian Alliance-," he trailed off and shook his head. "It's been tough, sitting on the sidelines, knowing what Atlantis can do."

Richard nodded. "It rubs you the wrong way, doesn't it? And you are not the only one."

Sheppard looked away.

"The return of Atlantis sparked hope," Woolsey tried.

"She isn't home," he protested.

The IOA representative chose to ignore the statement. "If you hadn't come back when you did, the Wraith would have decimated Earth's population. If you hadn't stayed as you did – even if it wasn't by choice – the representative nations that constitutes the IOA would not have been so lenient to keep looking for a way to dial the ninth chevron. In the end, Atlantis being on Earth contributed to the funding of finding the Destiny."

"Stop humoring me, Richard," John said seriously. "I am not in the mood and frankly, I don't care about Destiny. All I know is that if you'd had the guts to rattle the cage a little, then Atlantis would have been on her way back to where she belongs a long time ago."

Frustrated with the Colonel's way of thinking, Woolsey stopped dead in his tracks and fixed the other man with a glare. "Well, you've disobeyed orders before. I particularly remember when you and a few others set off towards Atlantis when we've been asked to give her back to the ancients. Why don't you steal her back," he suggested.

"That's low, Richard," Sheppard managed in a low, clipped voice. "Contrary to what many people here believe, I do respect the chain of command, I just don't agree with what has been decided at the moment. In my opinion, Atlantis should have returned years ago instead of being some high-tech playground."

They glared at each other for a moment before Sheppard pointed at Woolsey. "I really hope all is well in the Pegasus Galaxy for the last thing we need at the moment is another battle with the Wraith on our doorstep because you failed to predict their next move. You should pray that Askula's call wasn't a call for help because then we're over a year late to the rescue. The Wraith don't care if the IOA have money or not, they are still hungry."

OOOOOO

To be continued