Beyond the Gate

by Xeir Zith

The last thing Tanith remembered was Cameron cracking a very bad joke and Daniel cracking up in laughter. The next thing she knows is that she has a splitting headache and is in the dark, literally. As she unravels where she is, she finds out things she would rather not know. The SGC and Atlantis learn more of who the Furlings really are, and where they were hiding all that time

5. Tanith 3

Beyond the Gate

Chapter 5 Opening Bids

Unknown Planet

Sunrise

The present

As the sun rose it found me awake and trying to find a sense of peace. I was on a planet, not Earth, and with me was the missing Miami cast of a musical that had disappeared in a thunderstorm, a freak storm at that, and woke up in a meadow a good dozen kilometers from where the Stargate was kept. And if I had my data right, they had been on the world a good four weeks already. Whereas Zane had been on this planet for ten days, and me now for about three possibly or so.

So when the one in silver fur, with black stripes asked to talk to me one on one, it raised warning bells for me because that meant that either I wouldnt get any sleep, because of the silver and black mancat pestering me, or he'd passout before I would.

It turned out niether of us got any sleep.

"So let me get this straight, you were on a different planet, before waking up here ?" the silver mancat asked me, he later told me his name was Munkustrap.

"Yes, I was the commander of a backup training ground for soldiers of any of the Armed Forces, we called it the Iota Site, Captain Zane was my second, otherwise known as the XO, or Executive Officer of the site." I replied

"Iota Site ?" Munkus asked me

I sighed, "its a long story. But the short version is Earth has five backup locations to send political people to that deem it required in the case of an attack, the other sites, in this case Delta, Iota and Isa are used for military training grounds, basically Boot Camp as we call it. Twelve weeks on Iota and you're trained for whatever Earth throws at you." I tried to explain then as quickly as I was able what it was that I did for a living.

Munkus gave me a hard look, I crossed my arms over my chest and was relaxed and rather bored under his relentless gaze. "And you're military ?" He then asked me

I nodded, "yes. I am Lt Colonel Tanthial Raines, US Marines, commander of the Iota Site, there is a device that my XO and the Chief, who you know as Quaxo are heading for." I told him. It was a long conversation but over all things worked for the better. I then smiled at him softly, "You may call me Tanith"

A good long moment passed in silence as Munkus stared out a window into the darkness. "We woke up, all of us, in a meadow." He finally spoke.

"What ?" I asked, confused of what he meant.

"We, the others and I, woke up in a meadow, the last thing I could remember was a thunderous applause at our performance, it was the last performance of the tour. And the next thing I remember, was a crack of lightning, and then waking up in that meadow." Munkus told me, he never turned from the window.

"So Alonzo had mentioned." I mumbled.

"Alonzo according to what little information we could find, was a soldier on this world a long time ago. Some three thousand or so years ago." Munkus said in thought. His hand dropped to a nearby table. A book laid upon it. "It is detailed here, but I cannot hope to read it" he admitted.

Well that changed things. This planet was briefly used by the Ori as a staging ground before we forced them off of it through the stargate. We had amassed enough weaponry to form several armories on the world alone. "I see" I said simply.

Munkus turned towards me, "The only one of us with any military training is Quaxo, and then you, Zane and Zack show up here on this world, why ?" He asked

"Why ? Why what ?" I replied

"Why us, why this world, what is going on that we do not know ?" Munkus asked me

"Look, I know as much as you do about why me, and why this planet and why this shit's going sideways as it is" I replied, my eyes lit with an inner fire that briefly made Munkus nervous before I calmed a bit. I sighed and forced myself to stay calm. "look, the last thing I can remember was a friend of mine, named Mitchell, cracking a bad joke and causing another friend of mine to start laughing, next thing I know our truck was hit by an IED type of flash and I woke up in a tomb with five bodies laid neatly nearby to me." I told him, I also explained the weapons I carried and the clothing I had found.

"That was another thing that struck me as odd." Munkus said softly after I had explained my clothing choice, it was the only stuff that felt right to take from that tomb, like it was meant for me in the first place

I looked at him confused "What do you mean ?" I asked him

"When I first saw you I thought you were native to this planet, but now you explained to me that you are not. You are just as lost as we are. But with your military training and memories of that training, you managed to figure out a means of survival, or a way of getting help ?" Munkus said to me. I had to smile, I did think of a means to get help, or at least a permission to return to the Iota site.

I nodded, "I did yes" I told him, I then explained my plan of getting information to Earth and then hopefully getting some answers, maybe a way off this world, or at least find out more about this planet. Why it felt so hauntingly familiar.

"You have a means to get a message to others ?" Munkus asked me.

I had to smirk. "I have already explained the stargate to you, I know the address to the Iota site, and can easily find it on the DHD, so why worry ? Earth sent a UAV set for UCAV, Zane and the Chief went to where that UAV landed and attached a letter, informing the SGC back on Earth of where we are, plus who we are. And how many." I told him, I then just smiled thinly. "In short order as soon as the sun comes up, we can get more information from a second UAV." I told him

"I see" Munkus replied, the mancat was naked in just his thick silver and black striped fur. He was thoghtful in his tone and movements. His tail twitching slightly, my own tail unseen thanks to my dress was doing the same only in my case I was more upset of being kept awake.

"Can I get some sleep now ? I'd like to be awake for when the second UAV shows up" I told Munkus, my tone made it clear, I didnt answer to him, nor did I answer to anyone else, at that moment at least I answered only to myself, and myself told me I needed to get my ass to bed.

A good seven hours of talking things out, finding out more of the group, their backgrounds, and why only the Chief, whom Munkus referred to as Quaxo, his own bodyguard, had any combat experience.

So by the time I could get any sleep, the sun was rising and I watched the sunset. And right on cue, the stargate came to life, another UAV was flying a mapping pattern from far off that I could easily see

As the sun rose I patted on my hip, out of habit of course as each morning I'd check my phone for updates from the SGC or the daily timelocks for the patrol crews and other Iota Site troops for the daily agenda.

After a minute of careful searching I stopped and remembered, I was not at the Iota site anymore, nor was I carrying my phone or anything like it other then a SGC radio from the armory.

I sighed, defeated, the last thing I needed was to be reminded of the fact that I wasnt able to have a shred of home with me. Everything on my body was new, the dress, the gloves, the leather boots and leggings. The only things I had with me that reminded me of home were the Ori Staff weapon, the Kull blasters, and the SGC radio. None of them mine

But at that moment now that I could see the sunrising on this new world, I found myself staring at a welcome, yet unexpected sight before me.

I counted twenty five different cats, an even split betwene male and female for the most part. The only Odd Men Out were myself, Sgt White, Captain Zane, and the Chief, Thomas Wallace, otherwise known as Quaxo. I found myself in the Chiefs company. And yet even though the cat had insisted on me calling him Quaxo, I had insisted on calling him Chief just until we got to know each other on a first name basis.

So as the sun rose I found the Chief doing a martial exercise in a small copse of trees set apart from the main massive camp area. With my gear, I watched him for a good long quiet minute. As he practised on his own, I spoke, "Have you found anything important on this world so far ?"

"I only know that it is big. It must have been huge. Because the history we've found, our resident magic users for example, the black and white small one, my mini-me I suppose you could call him, Everyone calls him Mistoffelees, then there is the gold and black one, Demeter, Munkus wife, a seer of a sort, from what I understand at least." The Chief replied

I nodded, "Munkus apparently is the leader of the bunch ?" I asked then

"He is, to a point, he deferrs things to me and the one called Tugger for military or security related affairs. But since I, up until you three arrived, had the only military experience I had to also teach Tugger a bit of how to properly handle a weapon or to properly hunt" He replied, he finally finished his martial meditation and turned to me. "You asked me what the last thing I remembered seeing before waking up here was ?"

"I meant to, but I forgot ?" I actually couldnt remember if I had asked him, and it was so late that he said he'd tell me in the morning, or something else. "What do you remember ?" I decided it might as well get out there.

"I remember asking about a stained glass window, which I could swear I used to have in my bedroom. But for the life of me, each building we have discovered here so far, no stained glass windows were like what I remember seeing." The Chief replied, Quaxo looked slightly upset by the fact he couldnt find any stained glass windows that looked familar.

Yet.

"You said yourself this planet is big" I told him, He nodded. "So what is to worry about for now if you cannot find a stained glass window just yet ? For all we know theres a city on this planet somewhere and some of those buildings has a stained glass window or two or even more." I said, he seemed to brighten up at that mere thought. So I then asked him. "How much of an area have you been able to explore ?"

"So far, not a lot, this small town really, or was it a village ? There isnt enough houses yet for each of us to pair off and have a place. But that isnt stopping us from exploring the nearby woods over there or finding a river. This place looks generally flat for some reason so this meadow to the south might be useful for something." He said

We both turned towards the meadow and I could see that it stretched for at least an easy dozen kilos in every direction, I could barely make out the mountains to the west, and nothing to the south aside for a faint hard to see copse of woods.

"So the UAV, was where ?" I asked

Quaxo turned his back to the meadow and pointed in the oppiste direction. I smiled, "Its about two klicks that way" He said. "Captain Zane and I had to walk quite a bit to get to it to deliever your letter."

I smiled again, that meant the stargate was a good two day walk away at this point if we wanted to get anywhere. "How hard did you search the houses and buildings here ?" I asked, there had to be a means of transportation somewhere on this planet.

"From what I can remember, we've been here a month at the most, and recently started searching the houses we're using, why ?" Quaxo replied, I remembered my brief visit to Atlantis at request of Col Sheppard and Col Carter. Mostly to ensure some of the troops trained at Iota could survive the city of Atlantis. Of course I had also used what I could be able to see in my brief video t oAtlantis to design maze and corridors at Iota, which we called the Tenbroro Maze as a training ground for in the countless halls of Atlantis.

"Its possible" I said thoughtfully, "That this village is connected to where you, the other guy, and the other girl found Sgt White, Zane and myself. If that is the case there must be a transporter around here somewhere."

I could tell my words made the Chief confused, so when he said to me, ":Colonel, your words confuse me. What is a transporter ? Is it similar to the Transport Rings ?"

I nodded, "Something like that, only in this case they're much nicer, and safer, and quicker. As well as much quieter" I told him. I looked at the design of the structures we had found, or rather the small tribe as they were calling themselves had found. Only a scant few of the buildings even looked remotly like part of a Cityship. They werent as tall or as angular, nor were the buildings such finely crafted matierel.

Maybe it was age ? Sheppard did mention a sister city known only as The Tower in the Pegasus galaxy which only had the centeral control tower surviving after so many generations.

But that did not matter. No, what mattered at that moment was that there was barely enough buildings at that location. I had to remember what some fo the mission reports were concerning various locations in pegasus, the Wraith, the Ancients, their ships and technologies. So then I remembered.

"This planet might have a shipyard on it. The Ancients had a unique, huge vessel as their primary source of a warship. To build one would require a lot of space, this village, I think its part of a larger shipyard." As I spoke I turned and regarded each building, the village, or rather shipyard outpost was nested around a centeral hub, and then in a hexagonal pattern around it made a zone of a sort three rings deep, everything inside it built in a hexagonal design.

Turning to Quaxo I said to him, "Walk with me Chief, its time to explore this area, from above." Turning the two of us then headed through the townlike structures to the center and found a single structure, built in a hexagonal shape we went inside, a metal stair lead upwards, as well as downwards. There were doors, clearly Ancient in design and the structure itself screamed Ancient to me as well.

However as we stepped into the structure, lights came on by themselves as the floor was suddenly backlit and the stairs were alight with bright light. Quaxo and I stopped, Looking first to the stairs and the lights coming on, the bonelights I recognised from Atlantis right away, Quaxo asked me "Did you do that ?"

I shook my head. "No, but I think I know what is, this city is recognising us and in doing so, its activating key systems so we dont get hurt while exploring it, did any of the other buildings turn on when you entered them ?"

"Three of the buildings we explored never activated, the fourth however had living quarters so we used all of them, and then the fifth structure we found also had living quarters in it. As such we were able to spread to two of the low towers here." Quaxo replied as we stood by a window, he pointed the two structures for living quarters out to me.

"Did they activate when you entered them ?" I asked him

"Only the living quarters activated, and that was a month ago" Quaxo replied

"I see" I said thoughtfully, Dr Beckett was able to confirm I had the gene and didnt have to give me the gene therapy to begin with, so it was possible that the structure recognised me and was reacting to my gene. I looked around, and sighed, "Alright, what I wouldnt give for a map" I mumbled.

A holo9gram formed around us, showing the structres around the tower we were in. as well as a nearby layout of a landing field, three runways, all the living quarters in the twoers across the 'street' so to speak were even on the hologram. "Whoa" Quaxo said upon sight of it.

Neither of us saw Tantomile following us in with Zane by her side. Mostly because Zane wanted to patrol around the village and Tantomile wouldnt leave him alone. So they ended up patrolling together. Tantomile learning from Zane, and vice versa.

The hologram shifted. "I was right, this might be a shipyard." I said, I found the floor by floor map of the eight floor tower. And smiled. At the center of the tower on the main ground floor we stood in was a transporter and two offices, each floor above us held offices of a control tower of a sort like back home on Earth.

"Zane!" I said sensing him nearby.

"Sir" He replied coming around a corner.

"I think I know a way to get to the Stargate from here. Maybe even find more of a.. oh hello." I said, cut off in midspeaking as the hologram shifted again to show the entire Shipyard, it was twenty seven kilometers in diameter with the center of it being a good two kilcks away from us, we only were on a short wing, a outpost wing that was more like an anchor of the actual shipyard structure itself.

"So we find the stargate ?" Tantomile asked, "Does that mean we can go home ?"

"No, not just yet. Not until we know what happened to us, the last thing we want is to end up as test dummies for the braincases back on Earth." Zane grunted, he was right and I had to agree with him, I hated the idea of the mad scientst types getting their hands on someone just because they showed a difference or two in certain skills or even in appearance.

"So what happens now ?" Quaxo asked me

I was thoughtful as Tantomile was upset and wandered the floor, the door slid open, it lead to the transporter I was hoping to find, there was a seemingly blank wall directly in front of us. The room of course was large, like a freight elevator, large enough to hold us all.

Perfect.

"If I am reading this right, this is just an anchor of a much larger structure ?" Tantomile stared at the hologram from the doorframe she stood next to. The room was perfect. I briefly ignored her and stepped into the large room and looked around, it was hexagonal in layout, and large enough to easily hold a good dozen or so people at once, a panel appeared on the wall and it took my immediate attention, it showed a transport station near the Stargate. I smiled.

"You are indeed reading that hologram correctly" I replied. "Infact, if I am right, the stargate is, here." I hit the panel, the door closed behind Tantomile, cutting us both off from Zane and Quaxo as the panel I touched also closed.

A second later and the panel and door both slid open, and I smirked, I recognised the room. The DHD panel was nearby, a typical Atlantis design.

Wait.

"That's not right" I said simply, it wasnt the stargate I remembered finding, nor was it the stargate that the UAV had come through! But a different stargate, like the one in Atlantis!

"What is it ?" Tantomile asked me as she followed in my footsteps, my staffweapon ready I went right to the DHD and stared at it. "That just isnt good at all" It was a Pegasus DHD. Which meant there were two stargates on the planet.

And I only knew two stargate addresses in Pegasus, Atlantis, and Sateda.

"What is that ?" Tantomile asked me, looking at the stargate.

I looked up to her as she spoke. I knew then she had spotted the stargate by her tone of voice, pure quiet awe and had to smile, the first time ever seeing the thing left everyone in awe of it. But I too had to stare at it, yup, that was a Pegasus Stargate for sure.

"So the stargate Zane and I found is on the other side of the planet ?" It was strange, the stargate we had found was a Milky Way gate, I knew that just by looking at it. At which point however it only made things more confusing. Why were there two stargates on this planet ?

"Should we go back ?" Tantomile asked me

"Yeah, lets go back" I replied, we went back to the transporter, I hit the panel to where we last were. Mostly because I recognised it easily. The door and panel both slid shut behind us, and then it reopened, there was Zane and Quaxo looking at each other and then at the closed door as it opened

"Sir, there you are" Zane said on seeing me and Tantomile step from the transporter. "Any luck ?"

"Plenety, this planet has two stargates" I replied, "That transporter can take us to the stargate that will allow us to dial Atlantis from here easily." I told him

"Atlantis ? Why would we want to go there ?" Zane asked me, "We want to go to Iota, which is the stargate two days walk from here" He explained, though I could tell he was confused, just as confused as I was.

I nodded, "yes, and that stargate we can use to dial Iota if we must and can do so. However, the other stargate is a Pegasus gate, much more advanced as well. And can easily dial Atlantis from here"

"Something tells me that there is something you are not telling me" Tantomile said softly. She wanted to go back to Earth, and that I knew, but I also knew that just going back to earth would mean a battery of unwanted tests, and careful screenings, and worse, fur cutting for further testings. In short, we'd be locked up before getting two feet from the stargate on Earth.

"Whats the plan then ?" Quaxo asked

I had to think on that very carefully, it had been a good year since Atlantis had moved from her original planet of Lantea to the new planet. Which a name I never was given, I think it was Soulus ? But it was not easy to remember, but at that moment it didnt matter.

"I think we need to regroup, its possible more will be showing up if others like you three were to arrive here soon" Tantomile said

"Why wait ?" Zane asked her

"You are the first three people, new people, we have seen in a month. A full turn of the moon has happened on this planet, and you three show up last night" Tantomile explained, she turned to me, "What is not easy to explain is that you say you were in a stone tomb, and that was five days ago now," She turned to Zane, "and that you had woken up within an open meadow, eleven days ago ?" He nodded, she continued " Time is interesting here, what is to say there is going to be more people showing up like us, and they would be lost and confused just like we were ?"

She had a point and I wasnt ready to admit that yet.

So I put forth a question to Tantomile. "What do you remember of this world ?"

"How do you mean ?" She asked me.

"You remember your time on Earth, the last thing you remember before waking up like this, but what is the last thing you remember, before waking up, on Earth ?" I replied, my arms were crossed over my chest, I hadnt had breakfast yet, and I was already grilling others, and getting grilled.

Tantomile was quiet for a good moment. "I remember a battle, many battles. And dogs, Pollicles they were called. Made by the Precoursors. According to the histories we could find they were called the Conquorers" She explained

I raised an eyebrow, but it was Zane who spoke. "You found some books ?"

"Something like that" Tantomile pointed at the writing nearby, I could read it clearly, even though it was in Ancient. It said "Records Hall" "Inside that building" She said, "Is where we found the most recent histories, strangely, holographic in nature as well as in written form upon slats of wood."

My mind however was on something else. "Zane" I said, he looked towards me, I smirked. "This transporter leads to a Pegasus stargate. I've only seen the one in Atlantis, so I know there has to be more and designed in such a way to match the design at the Iota site" I said

"Mean we can dial Atlantis ?" Zane asked me

"Hopefully" I replied, I remember ed that Atlantis had changed addresses recently by leaving their homeplanet of Lantea and escaped the replicators weapon. But I couldnt remember the new address, I turned to Tantomile, she was staring intently at my twin swords. "Is something the matter ?"

"Those swords, when we found weapons to use when searching for shelter and food, we found weapons. But touching them triggered... unwanted memories." She explained. I looked at her confused as she looked from the twin hilts at my hips to my eyes. "When you touched those blades, did you remember anything ? Did they bring back unwanted memories ?"

I had to think carefully on her words, her question was hauntingly scary, and yet confusing as all hell. I shook my head. "No, I found these swords, they're new, in the tomb I woke up in. Why ?"

"Come with me" Tantomile said and headed for the Records Hall door.

I turned to Zane. "When the Chief gets back, ask him to set a guard on the transporter, I have a feeling we might hear from Atlantis or they might send a team here. More then likely both" Zane nodded and went in search of Quaxo as Zackary took up a post, Ori staff in hand.

Tantomile and I headed for the records hall. As we walked along Tantomile explained what she could remember. "When you asked me what I could remember of the time before, the last thing I remember is what Alonzo also said, applause, lightning strikes, a huge rumble of thunder, loud screaming. Then darkness. And waking up in a meadow. As we grew acustomed to this world, we found ourselves able to read things. And fouind out more of the world history."

She waved a hand in front of a door control panel, it slid open without a sound as the panel lit up a pale blue, just like at Atlantis. The door slid open and revealed what should have been a drone holding bay.

But instead of drone weapons waiting to get used, it instead held shelf after shelf of books, scrolls really, pieces of glass, all kept clean and what I could see as Tantomile lead me into it, already three other cat people, another female and two males, one of them big looking to be sure, were searching through a small area.

Tantomile lead me to an area that felt strangely familiar. "This section my brother, Coricopat, had found a week ago. He said it contained of all things, Lessons of swordsmanship, stances, and histories of great warriors in battle." She picked out a crystal and held it towards me. "He insisted this one felt the most familiar. Set this on the floor infront of you." She told me. I did as instructed, the crystal set a half meter from me and then it generated a hologram.

I could have sworn I was looking in a mirror. But I wasnt, instead was a frozen image of a catwoman, dressed identical to me, with twin swords. And what looked like a heavily battledamaged outfit.

The image faded and a scene of battle was replayed. "Why does this feel familiar ?" I asked Tantomile

"I wish I could say, but Cori found it a week ago, I was able to activate it too, watch" Tantomile then activated the data crystal like I did, and a spitting image of herself was seen with a single blade, a Katana well forged like my own pair. Using a mix of the Katana and apparently magic spells of some kind, internal energies more then likely.

Unless. It couldnt be right ? "That magic, why does it look like something the Ori would use ?" I asked aloud

"The Ori ?" Tantomile asked me

"Its complicated." I replied

"I see" Tantomile said, but I knew she didnt see, she didnt understand what I knew of the Ori, what I knew of the Pollicles, their footsoldiers, their army and their technology. Tantomile picked up the datacrystal. "According to further crystals, we were able to find out more of the Conquorers and what they sought. They sought something we once were able to do easily."

"What ?" I asked her

"Apparently according to the histories, the written slats, we were once a massive race, there are three moons in orbit of this planet, one of them can hold life in a paradise of a sort. But what we did on this planet, according to the Histories, was build ships of war in a very matriarchal culture. We had close friends and allies among the stars as well but none of it makes sense."

"The culture here ?" I asked, finding a slatscroll and opening it, I showed it to Tantomile, a smirk on my face "According to this this worlds culture was of a strong Shogun vibe. Almost like a Shogunate type of culture and world. Maybe even Bushido." I mused. Tantomile thankfully knew what I meant.

"But our race were once shipbuilders, we could travel the stars ?" Tantomile said to me, I had to smile at her words, just trying to remember things from this world made my head hurt. We, our race at least, were not originally from this planet, which I later found to be called Ascretta. Our original homeworld was long since destroyed, and we had help fleeing it with all our stuff.

I sighed, "How far back do the histories go ?" I asked her, Tantomile had no answer for that.

At least, not just yet.

A good four hours later and I finally managed to sneak out of the histories room by myself without Tantomile or even one of the other Furlings noticing me do so. There was some sort of perk being able to sneak around like that without getting seen. I could work on that.

Maybe even teach it to Zane ?

I went thoughtfully quiet as I began to wander the huge exspasive meadow between the ancient village, the North Peir it seemed, of the shipyard cityship.

Unlike Atlantis I had found that this massive cityship was also a shipyard, which meant it was easily six times the size of Atlantis. With only four peirs instead of five. In this case the Ancients had given it to the Furlings to use to build ships. And then we somehow used it to build an artifical moon ?

As the sun was starting to set, I found myself in a open expanse of a flat plain, in all directions I could see trinkling of steel far off. A good dozen or so kilometers away. And yet.

Why was I there ?

I had no idea I was about to have a visitor.