16
Preparations
Fifty-one-hour before zero hour
To Colonel John Sheppard it didn't come as such a big surprise as it might have been to Rodney McKay or some of the others. In fact, he was glad he didn't have to step up to fill Weir's shoes, or even Carter's and Woolsey's. Lorne was a soldier and a pretty skilled diplomat when it came to that; he was good with people and he suspected the man had an angel's patience because - if it had been up to him to meddle some of the things Lorne had done between scientists and soldiers - he might just have stunned both parties and thrown them into the brig together to settle their differences.
"Lorne huh?" Rodney stated sourly as John found him unpacking his things.
Sheppard rolled his eyes at the sarcastic tone. "You of all people should know-,"
"Know what?" he interrupted.
"Sorry," Sheppard drawled. "I keep forgetting that the Rodney I met in the future wasn't really you."
McKay raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Sheppard's chest. "You know, for a smart guy, you're just really dumb."
"Wow," he said. "I think I am offended."
Rodney sighed irritably. "Since the future Rodney McKay sent you back, you practically erased him and everything he was from the time line. None of the things he saw or did is probably going to be repeated in this version."
"Life works in mysterious ways," Sheppard countered with a smirk. "You see, I didn't believe him either when he said you and Keller got together."
McKay almost choked on his coffee and put the mug down at the desk. "You just had to wait until I took a sip, didn't you?" he said testily.
Sheppard shrugged. "Didn't know it would warrant such a hefty reaction," he offered casually. "Besides, Carter's received her own command over the George Hammond."
"So, that happened too, huh?" Rodney mused.
"Well, over there, the name was Phoenix but otherwise it pretty much follows protocol," he answered seriously as a dark look crossed his features.
Rodney looked surprised. "So, Lorne took command of Atlantis?" he guessed.
"No, not exactly," Sheppard replied carefully. "Well, he might have done that too. I don't know, Rodney. Sometimes – filling in the gaps in the future Rodney's story – it scares the hell out of me," he said sincerely.
"Too deep, Sheppard," he protested. "You of all people should know I suck at deep things."
"So-," he changed subject suddenly, "-have you talked to Zelenka yet?"
Rodney sat back in his chair and theatrically - in typical McKay fashion - gave him a look of annoyance and defiance. "What do we need him for?" he whined. "Isn't he back in Budapest or something?"
"The capital of Czechia is Prague," John enlightened him. "You know that."
"Of course, I do," he replied sarcastically. "I excelled in geography. Don't you have things to do? Other than sitting here, pestering me?"
John raised his eyebrows and nodded as he slowly vacated his chair. "Sure, I'll go find Ronon and tell him you need some practice. I bet you've lagged behind in your combat training while you've been cooped up in some air-conditioned lab somewhere for the last couple of years."
"Oh, ha ha," he managed but, this time, it was without the usual self-confidence.
OOOOOO
Teyla watched her son with pride and joy as she held his small hand while walking into the gateroom of Atlantis. It was with a slight concern she watched the four-year-old boy getting excited at seeing the ring of the ancestors being reassembled and set up to the network for the first time in three and a half years. She wondered what was to become of him; a son of the Pegasus galaxy, partly raised in the Milky Way galaxy. He had been fully integrated in the society on Earth, he wouldn't know what they had left behind and she didn't know what had become of it.
The Athosian suddenly felt stricken by the fact that she had left her own people back there; left their son's dad, even though they had nothing in common anymore. She had done it to save them; to save both the people of Earth and her tribe but she wasn't so sure they saw it that way after several years of absence. She had thought – like so many other members of the expedition – that Atlantis would return after the battle with the Wraith. For all she knew there might not be anyone left in Pegasus in the near future if the Wraith really were gathering their forces for a strike.
"Why doesn't Uncle John use this ring when they head out? And why doesn't it look like the other one?" Torren asked bluntly.
Teyla sighed and knelt next to him to look him in the eyes. "One - Because this ring belongs somewhere else and secondly – it's stronger than the other. When it activates, the other ring deep down in the mountain will stop working," she explained softly.
"Why?" he said.
"Because the Pegasus network supersedes the Milky Way network-," McKay said as he walked up from behind and moved past them with a tablet in hand to inspect the gate up close. "- and because the seventh symbol – which is the symbol for your dialing address by the way – can't be the same on two separate gates at the same time."
"You're talking to a four-year-old Rodney," Teyla reminded him kindly.
"Okay," he said with a shrug but continued anyway. "To dial with the Pegasus gate from the Milky Way galaxy to the Milky Way network you'd have to use the eight chevron all the time and it requires a massive amount of energy. Besides, you'd have to convert the addresses since the glyphs on the two different types of gates aren't corresponding."
"You know, I'm sure Uncle John would have loved to use this gate instead of the other all the time but – it has been "broken" – just like your favorite toy car – and Uncle Rodney haven't had time to fix it," Teyla said patiently with a soft smile.
Rodney hung his head as he lowered his arms and let the tablet rest on his thigs. "Did you just compare a Stargate to a toy?" he asked unbelievingly.
"Hey guys!" Cadman said jovially. "Have you missed me?"
"Not particularly," McKay muttered.
"Such a shame," she said sarcastically and turned to Teyla with a bright smile. "I am going with you this time. I've been cleared for travel and released from my work at SGC. I'm going to suggest that Colonel Sheppard gives me command of my own gate team."
"Great," Rodney piped up sourly. "First they give command to Lorne and now they let Cadman lose at the frontlines."
"Grumpy," Teyla mouthed apologetically to Laura.
She nodded. "With such a personality, I would be too."
OOOOOO
John Sheppard was overseeing the retraction of the private companies and contractors from the city. It was a lot of people and things to ship out and it seemed like a painstakingly long process. There where people everywhere – coming and going – and he had a hard time to keep up with everything that was currently going on. It didn't help that his former 2IC, and now expedition leader, was flat on his back in the infirmary. However, knowing Lorne, he knew the man was doing everything to get out of there.
He rounded a corner without seeing where he was going and promptly collided with a long, dark-haired woman clad in a kaftan.
She gave him a pained expression and straightened before him while she began to rub her sore chest. "Ow."
Sheppard looked dumb-founded for a second. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention," he began apologetically.
She nodded, her dark brown eyes looked both sympathetic and mirthful at the same time as some kind of recognition sparked. "Colonel John Sheppard, I presume?"
He nodded carefully.
"I'm glad we bumped into each other –," she paused, the smile on her face vanishing, "- well, not literally. You do pack a punch to a woman's gut."
He nodded apologetically, not sure what to say.
"I'm Sarah Buchannon, your new counselor," she said lightly and offered an outstretched hand.
He reluctantly shook it. "John Sheppard, but you already knew that," he replied. "Just to clarify things – my new counselor or the expedition's new counselor?"
She laughed at him, dimples becoming visible on her cheeks. "Don't feel singled out or special now. I am here for everyone. Do you know where I can find my designated quarters?"
"I can do better than that. I'll call Banks, one of our gate technicians, she's part of the welcoming committee for incoming personal," he said and clicked his radio.
OOOOOO
Forty-eight-hour before zero hour
It is strange that, after being away from something for several years, you can just walk into a room and feel like you've never left. Ronon walked into the gym like he owned the place; like it had been yesterday he'd last sparred with the marines, kicking their asses, sending some of them to the infirmary.
The late afternoon sun shone brightly, streaming through the various colors of the large and beautifully arched Lantean windows. His eyes landed on a pair of abandoned bantos sticks which lay abandoned on a bench, his thoughts immediately went to Teyla. They'd been having lose discussions about this moment, wondering if it would even come and what they'd do on Earth until someone authorized Atlantis' return.
Even though hope had started to diminish lately, he'd never given up the thought of once again returning to the Pegasus galaxy. Atlantis had become his home, he hadn't lied about that, but the rules and regulations – the customs and traditions – back on Earth were much more complicated than he'd originally thought them to be.
Sure, he'd gotten a place in the army, as a combat specialist and he'd started a gym with Amelia but he still felt there was something missing in his life. He'd missed his team mates, the scientists and military personnel who'd lived on Atlantis, he'd missed his early morning runs around the outskirts of the city and he'd missed the bickering with McKay, the sparring with Teyla and the missions with the whole team.
"There you are," Amelia said as she popped her head into the room and gave him an appreciative smile. "Look, Sheppard needs your help to reorganize the weaponry. Colonel Caldwell's delivered a whole bunch of boxes with supplies and ammunition before he left."
The Satedan shrugged. "Sheppard knows I might blow up things," he offered casually. "Not really good at logistics either."
Amelia broke into a wicked grin. "He suggested you might blow off some steam. If you blow some C4 you might end up in trouble," she said. "He also said you could grab as many of the new marines as you liked to help out."
He nodded. "Beats feeling in the way all the time," he admitted.
"Thought so," Amelia said with a playful smirk. "You might want to trade places with me? Make sure everyone feels welcome here and find their designated quarters?"
"I don't know; do you want someone to leave?" he challenged bluntly.
She laughed, ignoring the straight-forward question and shook her head. "Have you settled everything back home with the gym and all?"
"The lease is signed, apartment is all boxed up and Tucker threated to kiss me," he replied sourly.
Amelia widened her smile into a grin. Travis Tucker was going to be a great coach one day and by renting their place to him while doing time on Atlantis they'd given him just the right push and means to get there.
"You want that sleek, mean feline thing with you?" Ronon added.
"Don't think that's what she wants. I'll drop her off at mom's place before we fire up this thing," she offered and gestured around the room.
"Shame. I like her. Think she'd come in handy when we run into the Wraith. She can claw their eyes out. Didn't actually know you had such feisty aggressive creatures on your planet at first."
"Viola is a cat. Her larger cousins kill humans on the savannah," she explained. "See you later?"
"Bet on it," he replied and headed out the door, almost colliding with the counselor.
"Interesting character," Buchannon noted.
Amelia let out a faint chuckle. "His excuse is that he's a Satedan - a former specialist in the military forces - but you already knew all that," she explained. "Sorry for the hold up, we'll be at your quarters in a few minutes. Are you sure you'd want to make this trip with us?"
The psychiatrist broke into a half-smile. "Darling, wild horses couldn't keep me away. There are so many interesting people here."
Banks nodded. "Wait till you get to Pegasus," she replied enigmatically.
OOOOOO
To be continued