6

Incoming Wormhole

One year, six months and twenty-nine days after the second homecoming.

While Colonel Sheppard had moved on to attend other matters at hand back at SGC headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Lorne had ended up staying in Atlantis; acting as a liaison officer between IOA, SGC, Homeworld Command and the armada of newly contracted scientists and technicians. It was a position Lorne had begrudgingly accepted only after being pushed into it by General Landry as General O'Neill had handpicked him for the role. Evan had tried to reason with them, arguing that he was a soldier and a pilot in the United States Airforce – not a diplomat.

Landry seemed amused at his attempt to try and get out of his new assignment and countered with the fact that Lorne had first-hand experience with the Pegasus Galaxy, the Lantean technology, knew Atlantis like the back of his hand and had the ATA gene. He was also used to juggling schedules, writing reports, meddle in personnel matters, fix logistical problems and deal with a range of problems that could arise in and around the city.

Realizing he was cornered and had no real choice in the matter, Evan had signed the papers. However, he'd insisted that he didn't want to deal with whiny people and papers all hours of the day. He preferred gating off-world, running recon missions, meet up with new aliens and maybe save the day once in a while. That was why Evan had boldly requested some time on the SG teams at SGC occasionally.

When he'd mentioned it to Landry, that he wanted to escape the clutches of IOA and SGC and just go back to being on a team once in a while the General had said no. However, Evan Lorne wasn't known to be a quitter, he usually saw to it that he got what he wanted. He'd taken the question to General O'Neill which had resulted in an agreement that he, on rare occasions, would be allowed to tag along with SG-teams one to ten. It had come with a prize though. The General had protested – saying if he got himself injured or worse on one of those missions and wouldn't be able to get back to his desk and keep the peace at Atlantis – he would personally kill Evan himself.

Undeterred, Lorne had retorted by saying that if the roles were reversed the General himself would have revolted, regulations be damned and the consequences of his actions a fierce reprimand and then nothing. General O'Neill had glared at him and then given him a go and a lazy wave to get out of his office before he came to his senses and changed his mind.

Lorne had then been called right up to Landry's office, gotten a reprimand for going to General O'Neill behind his back and been forced to explain himself.

Evan had done so while standing at attention, saying that it was only fair he got a word with General O'Neill, since he'd been the one who'd recommended him for the service. He had also claimed that the General knew what it would mean to him to be able to get away from the scientists for a day or two.

Landry had studied him for a moment – scrutinized him – and then nodded with an appreciative smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. He told Evan he was beginning to understand why he'd been able to work so tightly with Colonel Sheppard. That he had just the right amount of push and diplomatic tact that was needed to keep the Colonel grounded. Landry finished by saying that he'd done one hell of a job back there in the Pegasus Galaxy and that he was a valuable member of the expedition, therefore the General had acted with self-interest when it came to the request to be able to go off-world.

A little baffled by the praise, Evan, had humbly nodded and somehow managed to promise the General he would not get himself into trouble. He had, believe it or not, actually managed to keep that promise on his two previous excursions with SG-8 and SG-2. He just hoped he could do a repeat performance tomorrow travelling to Isa with Doctor Jackson and Colonel Carter.

Evan sighed as he leaned back in his chair and reached up to rub his tired eyes. He had been working overtime again, trying to sort everything out. He yawned and blinked as he stared out over the bay of San Francisco from the top of the central spire of Atlantis. "At least I have a beautiful view from my office," he said to himself.

He briefly wondered what Daniel had found that had him request Evan's presence on the upcoming mission. Not that he minded shrugging into a TAC-vest and clipping a P90 to his chest, in fact, he was itching to get a break right about now. However, he had a feeling it was something ancient related. He cursed as he was getting late back to SGC for his pre-mission briefing and his pre-mission check-up. Having been back on Earth for so long, sitting in an office, he needed clearance to get off base.

He grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder and gave a mental command to the lights to go offline, resulting in a complete blackness in his office, before he bounced down the stairs and headed toward the east pier. He was in luck today as Odyssey was lurking around in orbit and could beam him to Cheyenne Mountain.

Thirty minutes later, Evan smirked as he saw Carolyn Lam standing next to a young marine, her expression stern and admonishing. He felt sorry for the guy even though he probably deserved it for some reason. Doctor Lam was a bright woman, a brilliant doctor but also very intent on keeping people in her care a bit too long if you asked any military personnel. She reminded him of Jennifer at times. He knocked lightly on the doorframe to let her know he was there.

She glanced up with a frown, given the late hour, and smirked as she noticed who it was. She said something to the marine and then headed his way.

"Colonel Lorne himself," she stated dryly.

It was his time to frown. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Sounds like you want a word with me," he said curiously. "Am I supposed to have done something?"

"You were supposed to come 'early'," she reminded him as she threw out her arms. "If this is your version of early, I don't know what your version of late is, Colonel."

He shrugged, giving her a dimpled smile as he moved over to a bed and sat down. "I'm sorry. I got caught up in something. I promise, I'll be a good patient," he said softly.

She shook her head with a snort. "Considering that you're a flyboy and a senior officer around here, I pretty much doubt that," she replied.

He frowned in surprise. "Okay, something more you'd want to get off your chest? I'm listening?"

She looked up from what could only have been his medical file and studied him for a moment, then shrugged. "Lieutenant Colonel Lorne," she began with a faint smirk. "Good-looking, obviously diplomatic and a well-trained killer should the need arise," she summarized.

He cringed. "I feel I haven't given you credit for your bluntness, doctor. Did you just compare me to a civilized mercenary?"

"Just said you seem to be a man with many talents," she offered. "And no, I've been listening to gossip in the mess hall. Some of the girls were a bit upset you aren't around much."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Gossip in the mess hall, huh?" he drawled, knowing Cadman was stationed at SGC at the moment. "You'd better fill me in sometime."

"Colonel Lorne to the gate room immediately!" Sergeant Walter called seriously over the general channel.

Evan looked apologetically at Doctor Lam. "Raincheck?" he asked.

Carolyn stabbed a finger at him. "Just as long as you don't sneak through the gate," she replied.

OOOOOO

Sergeant Walter frowned and tapped in a few commands, then shook his head.

General Landry crossed his arms over his chest as he curiously eyed the stargate. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Bill stared in fascination at the controls and computers in front of him where he sat next to the gate technician. "Someone is activating a set of stargates simultaneously," he explained with excitement.

Landry's eyebrows shot up in his hairline and was just about to ask how that was possible when Atlantis former military SIC joined them in the small room above the gate.

"General," Evan greeted as he walked up to him.

Hank nodded his acknowledgement.

Colonel Carter and Colonel Mitchell joined in too.

"Problem?" Sam asked.

"Someone's calling from a long distance apparently," the General noted.

"Didn't realize there was any short distance calls available," Mitchell quipped and then straightened as the General turned to him with a disapproving glare.

"Someone is dialing a gate and then directly uses that gate to jumpstart another," Bill explained in awe as he turned to Carter. "Almost like the Midway concept you and McKay set up in order to enable gateway travel from here to Atlantis."

"You mean someone else has figured out how to bypass the close proximity issue and disabled the thirty-eight-minutes failsafe?" Mitchell deduced.

"I thought you said no one had the ability or the technology to do that from the Pegasus end?" General Landry said as he turned to Lorne.

"That was the conclusion drawn by both Doctor McKay and Doctor Zelenka," he replied carefully as he turned away from the General's glare and turned to Colonel Carter. "However, we weren't the only ones capable of using technologically advanced gadgets and formulas. Besides, we've worked closely with the Wraith a few times."

"It can't be Colonel Sheppard's Wraith buddy, can it?" Landry asked quizzically.

"Daedalus?" Lorne stated darkly, his blood running cold.

Sam shared a worried look with Evan, then shook her head and addressed Landry. "General, we have been absent from the Pegasus galaxy for over a year now. Alliances with the Genii and the travelers might have been resolved. The Wraith could have grown in numbers again or we might have missed a few replicators," she reasoned.

"General, if I may," Lorne began, choosing his words carefully. "This is what Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay were afraid of all along. We've left a bunch of loose ends behind and we've taken the city of the ancients with us. We've taken the only thing the people of the Pegasus galaxy needed – the protective shield of Atlantis."

"Yes, and the IOA couldn't be happier about it," Landry replied sarcastically.

"They are paper-pushers," Lorne protested mildly. "They don't know what it is like out there in the real world."

"Evan is right," Carter said. "Woolsey might have had his share of adventures and dilemmas while he tried to run the city but, in the end, it comes down to military strategies, firepower and powerful alliances in order to ensure the safety of the people dependent on us for their survival."

"The Pegasus bank account is empty, Carter," Mitchell offered. "Just be glad this base is still up and running. All they care about is the Destiny Expedition."

"Shall I open the iris?" Walter asked, bringing everyone back to the present situation.

"No," Landry replied forcefully. "For all we know it could be the Wraith standing on our doorstep."

"What if it's a mayday call?" Carter countered.

"We can't take that risk," the General pointed out. "The moment the gate shuts down, I want you to start investigate. Call Doctor McKay to the base as well. I need the best people in on this," he added as he walked through the door and disappeared down the corridor.

Sam shared a skeptical look with Evan. "Rodney said there wasn't a single DHD in Pegasus except the one on Atlantis that was capable of dialing another galaxy?" she stated.

"You and McKay built the intergalactic bridge. Maybe there's another way to reach us," Evan pointed out kindly.

"Doubtful," Carter mused.

"I'll head down to the lab immediately," Bill said as he stood. He turned to Walter. "Empty the buffer as soon as you can."

"Will do," the gate technician said with a nod.

Mitchell leaned back against the wall and stared down at the gate room. "I better do a headcount and organize a recall of all our teams off-world. I suppose we're closing the shop for now."

"Limiting it anyway," Sam said apologetically. "Daniel and I will be heading back to Isa tomorrow. And we'll be taking Evan with us."

Cam hung his head slightly, disappointed that he was missing out on the fun. "Ancient gadgets?" he guessed.

"He says he's on to something big," she let on.

Mitchell scrunched his face. "Isn't he preoccupied with those 'crash-course-videos' for our new recruits?" he asked, doing air citation marks with his hands.

"Come on, Cam. That's just a side project, you know he can't sit idle," Sam argued with a smile. "He's been collecting some favors lately from SG-6 and SG-11. They've brought him enough pottery, charts and items to return to his study room for a year, not to mention all the clues he's found deep within Atlantis over the last couple of months."

"Clues for what?" Mitchell asked. "For finding another Atlantis? That would come in handy just about now."

"He thinks he's found the address to a Lantean facility," Colonel Lorne offered kindly as he joined the two other Colonels on their way out. "Which gives me something to look forward to nowadays. I rarely get to see the outside of the top-spire of Atlantis as I am being stuck behind a desk, coordinating things."

Cam laughed, shook his head and slapped the shorter man on his back.

"At least you're one of the few from SGC to have the privilege to be in the city," Sam reminded him softly with a smile.

"Yeah," Evan said seriously. "I guess I shouldn't complain."

Carter continued explaining to Mitchell. "When Daniel ascended, he had access to things we couldn't even begin to dream about but as you are well aware; he was forced to give everything up as he defied the others and descended to our plane of existence again," she stated.

Cam and Evan shared a look, both of them a bit uneasy.

"However, for some reason he's always thought that the ninth chevron gate address, found in the Lantean database in Atlantis a few years ago-," Carter said.

"The one that had SGC and Homeworld Command begging for money from IOA? So that they could launch the Icarus Project in order to find out where it lead?" Mitchell interrupted.

"Yeah," Carter said with a confirming nod. "Daniel has always believed that there are more of those. He's been working on that for almost as long as Doctor Rush worked with establishing a direct link between the Icarus base and the ship we now know as Destiny," she explained.

"Okay, I am missing something here," Cam reasoned. "We literally had to tap into a planet with a Naquadria core to be able to reach the Destiny."

"Using the ninth chevron doesn't necessary mean that we need an enormous amount of power," Sam explained. "Think of it as a complete and unique address within the complex gate system. Those secret places where the Ancients carried out experiments – except perhaps Doranda – were never stored in the common database. The Lanteans couldn't afford to have their enemies break their codes and simply download every gate address, single out the research bases and show up to collect all their secrets."

"Makes sense," Lorne said. "Todd and his bunch of happy campers downloaded all our gate addresses while filling our computers with a virus, pretending to be interested in Beckett and Keller's retrovirus. The reason they didn't make breakthroughs was that they didn't have the addresses to any Lantean facilities."

"And now Daniel has got a complete nine chevron address to some cool ancient base?" Cam asked curiously.

"Almost," Sam replied enigmatically.

Mitchell's eyebrows shot up in his hairline. "Almost?" he echoed dryly. "Either he's got it or he hasn't."

"There is a problem with the last symbol," Sam admitted. "He's tried a number of combinations but since it uses an unforeseeable amount of energy to dial randomly to Pegasus in hope of finding anything, General Landry said he'd better pick the right one next time or the search will be suspended."

Mitchell shook his head. "There is always something – isn't it?"

"He thinks another trip to Isa, and the ruins of the ancestral city, might shed some more light about the last symbol."

Lorne looked up in surprise as Doctor Jackson came running toward them, looking excited. "I think he's sorted it out," he said with a dimpled smile.

Out of breath, Daniel stopped before the trio and put his hands on his knees. "I've been looking for you guys," he said. "How soon can we leave?"

Unsure if he was included, Lorne remained quiet but the archaeologist specifically looked at Evan, hopefully.

"Are we still talking about the scheduled revisit to Isa – P47-," Mitchell began.

Daniel shook his head. "There is something there worth looking into – yes – but no. We're not going to Isa," he replied.

"Where have you been?" the doctor said somewhat accusatory to Lorne.

"Where I have been?" Evan echoed curiously. "Where have you been?"

"I flew back to Atlantis yesterday evening and began searching the Lantean database. I lost track of time and when I finally reached your office it was empty," Daniel answered.

"We've just had an incoming call from Pegasus," Mitchell volunteered. "Landry thinks it might be hostiles. All gate travel is to be suspended until further notice."

Daniel shook his head. "No, no," he complained. "I've been up all night and then some, studying the old scrolls we found in the last raid against the Lucian Alliance. It might not be Ancient/Lantean letters - there are deviations - but it makes sense."

"Wow," Mitchell replied. "What does?"

"All this time and I-," he began excitingly.

"Daniel," Sam tried.

"I don't know how or where they've got it but I am pretty certain this symbol that appears from time to time on the scrolls is important. Look-," he held up the worn notebook for the others to see. On the displayed page was a Greek letter. "Omicron. It means little O but it could also mean little land as in an island. The ancients were fond of riddles that way." He turned a page and revealed another Greek letter. "Sigma, the nineteenth letter of the alphabet. We use it as a sign for the sum of all things."

Sam beamed brightly as she caught on to his train of thought. "The sum of all things, on an island," she mused as she recalled the glyphs of the Milky Way Galaxy gate. "Poseidon – the God of the ocean according to the mythology. He created the first horse – Pegasus."

"So," Daniel deduced cunningly. "He, Poseidon, was the sculptor of the winged horse, which is a Pegasus," he displayed another page with several letters. "Centauri," he added triumphantly.

Carter nodded. "That would mean a creature of both man and horse," she confirmed. "But it is also a star constellation that shows as a globular cluster."

"If you run all this through your head, play with it a little, translate it and configure the number and glyphs to the Pegasus network system-," Daniel put the book to his thigh and scribbled down an address.

"You'll get a nine-chevron address," Carter deduced.

"Yes," Daniel confirmed as he handed it to Lorne.

The Colonel reluctantly took it. "I am not sure what to do with this," he said skeptically. "You must think I am smarter than I actually am."

"During all the years you've been deployed over there, did you come across something mythological that might involve ruins or references to a horse-like creature, sea monsters or-, "

"- or Poseidon?" Evan asked.

Daniel nodded.

"Paradise," Evan said thoughtfully.

The SG-1 members shared a confused look, wondering if he'd just lost his mind.

"Oh," Mitchell said, making a face. "Didn't know you'd been there."

Sam rolled her eyes.

"We were about to set out exploring that world when Colonel Sheppard got abducted by the travelers," Lorne explained. "Doctor McKenzie nick-named it Paradise because of its lush plant life, turquoise waters and tropical climate. It was uninhabited – at least that's what we deduced using our scanners. In fact, no technology worth mentioning could be found; unless they are shielded. There were a number of islands on the southern continent," he explained.

Daniel's face lit up.

"I don't recall exactly how we found the place but I think it was one of Teyla's contacts who'd found the address somewhere," Lorne offered.

"It wasn't in the Lantean database in Atlantis?" Daniel asked, as his eyes lit up with excitement.

"The planet has a space gate," Evan added seriously.

"That complicates things at the moment," Mitchell piped up.

"A jumper can't dial that far from its point of origin," Sam added somewhat unnecessarily. "But if we can wait for a few weeks, I can bring the George Hammond there and store a jumper in the hanger bay. Then we can dial from there."

"What if we could dial up the stargate in Atlantis for a moment?" Lorne suggested.

"The city doesn't have the amount of power required to do so anymore, the ZPMs are depleted," Sam reminded him sadly.

"But you have a ZPM at Area 51," Lorne insisted.

"As a study object," Carter replied. "Even if it weren't near depletion, it wouldn't be enough since we are in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"What about sequential travel through a set of gates?" Mitchell asked curiously. "We've done that before. Someone just attempted something similar from the Pegasus."

"I take it you don't remember the amount of time and planning it took to set up the Midway station and all the connections in between, huh?" Sam said sarcastically.

"McKay made it sound so simple – well, he kind of told everyone how great he was to accomplish it first – but he gloated and bragged a lot about it."

"There must be some way we can get there fast," Daniel reasoned, frustration seeping into his voice.

"Daedalus is on her way back, she's always checking in once in a week," Lorne suggested. "At least she did when Atlantis was still in Pegasus. Since we aren't there anymore, there is no point in calling back to us after a week so Caldwell's first check-in with Earth would be as soon as possible. If we're lucky he'll contact Earth sometime tomorrow."

"The stargate is closing down due to the threat of the unknown caller," Mitchell reminded him.

"We could isolate Daedalus from other incoming sources," Sam reasoned. "With a little luck we could coax Caldwell into giving us a ride within close proximity of the space gate."

"Colonel Caldwell is not too keen on spending time in space while low on supplies, especially in uncharted territory," Lorne reminded her.

Mitchell slapped Lorne gently on his back. "We'll take out chances. I'm dying for a mission to a tropical planet with no enemies."

Lorne turned to Jackson. "What do you expect to find? What key personnel do you want to bring?" he asked.

Daniel stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, then broke into a grin. "You mean I can choose? Jack would have called it a geek mission and, as such, not top priority."

"Well, IOA is still funding our trips so no promises but, you know, there are a lot of Atlantis personnel stuck on this base that could use some change of scenery and there are a lot of guys and girls on the ropes just waiting for a call to serve again."

"Where have you been hiding, Evan," Daniel said jovially.

"In Pegasus," he said in a subdued voice. "Let's get back there."

OOOOOO

To be continued