Summary: What are Ba'al's forces doing on a planet in the Pegasus galaxy?
Rating: Pg-13
Archive: Cross-Gate, WeirMckayship, All others please ask.
Pairings: Eventual Weir/McKay
Spoilers: SG-1: The Lost City Parts I and II, Season Eight; SGA: Season One (with the exception of The Storm as I had the very misfortunate luck to miss that one…)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Warnings: Some adult language and situations, but nothing anyone thirteen and older can't handle.
A/N: The seeds of this story began with me wanting to see Carter's reaction to McKay having a ((gasp)) real relationship. Of course, I then had to have some kind of way for her to get to Atlantis, and as the story slowly evolved, it began to have absolutely nothing to do with that at all. And Jack somehow forced his way into becoming a major character (even though I had originally planned to leave him sitting in his office, gritting his teeth over missing yet another mission while his team goes into danger just like they do on the show). The general can be a little…persuasive…when he wants to be…
I would like to thank MurdocsAngel for starting the Weir/McKay group and for writing her two lovely Weir/McKay stories (of Chocolate and Edible Boxers and Of Chocolate and Babies); they've really inspired me.
Also, if somebody would be kind enough to beta, I would be very grateful. Just e-mail me, or leave your e-mail address in a review saying you're interested.
Chapter One
Rodney McKay, leading expert (at least in the Pegasus Galaxy) in wormholes and stargate technology, stepped through the 'gate, coming out just behind Lieutenant Ford. The other members of the team were already standing around the giant ring, doing what they always did when first setting foot on a new planet. Major Sheppard was gazing at the terrain with a trained eye, looking for any aggressors; Ford had gone ahead, scouting the perimeter; and Teyla was scanning the area for signs of familiar faces.
McKay sighed and hoisted the rucksack containing all his expensive and delicate equipment to his shoulder. According to the Athosian woman, the people of this planet were friendly, but shy. Just like the majority of the other peoples of the Pegasus galaxy. Not that he blamed them, of course. Who wouldn't be shy, when at any minute life-sucking vampires could come through the gate and take you for the main course?
Ford hadn't yet come back, but McKay took out his recently nicknamed tricorder anyway and flipped it on. It immediately picked up a surge of energy from somewhere nearby. Not too far to walk, but far enough away from the 'gate that they couldn't see what had caused it. He gazed at the horizon anyway, squinting in the brightness of the sun, then looked back at his instrument. Excitement coursed through him. It was pulsing, meaning that it was a stable power source.
He grinned foolishly and turned to Sheppard who raised his eyebrows in question. Before McKay could form the words however, Teyla interrupted.
"I do not like the feel of this place," she murmured, glancing around, "The Julans should already have come to greet us."
Instantly, Sheppard was on the alert, his P-90 raised threateningly. McKay swallowed nervously. This was one of the things he hated about interstellar travel; it was too dangerous. He had become somewhat used to constantly being on his guard, his heart tripping dangerously fast as adrenalin pumped through his system, but he still hated the feeling, still wished (albeit, only slightly) that he were back on Earth in a safe environment merely studying the theory of astrophysics.
"Ford," Sheppard said, activating the radio, "Can you read me?"
There was a tense moment of silence as the three of them awaited an answer. Seconds ticked away, and McKay swore he could hear them despite not having a watch that ticked. Finally, the radio came to life and they all let out a sigh of relief, that was proven to be premature by Ford's words.
Goa'uld, sir, Ford said, his voice tinny and soft over the radio. It sounded like he was whispering, There are Jaffa everywhere. I'm on my way back.
After the transmission ended, there was another moment of silence and then…
"Jaffa?"
"Gould?"
The questions came from Teyla and Sheppard, respectively, at the same time; McKay could only stare at them for a moment before he realized that Teyla-being from the Pegasus galaxy-and Sheppard-having never heard of the stargate until he had been drafted onto the Atlantis expedition due to his uncanny ability of activating Ancient technology without effort-had no clue what the Goa'uld were. McKay grunted in annoyance.
They're the enemy we're trying to find technologies to defeat back in our own galaxy," he settled for saying.
"Oh," said Sheppard, "Then, if they're here, that's bad."
"No, it's good. Of course it's bad!" McKay shouted, "Can you imagine what they'd do if they got their snakey little hands on Ancient technology? Not to mention the fact that they obviously are slightly more advanced than they were before we came here or they couldn't be here themselves! We are so screwed…" He muttered the last, imagining Wraith coming at them from one side and Goa'uld from another, and shuddered.
"All right," Sheppard said, sounding annoyed, "We'll be fine. As soon as Ford gets here, we'll go back through the 'gate and tell Dr. Weir what we know."
"What about the Julans?" Teyla asked. She had been silently listening to their conversation, "What has happened to them?" Her dark eyes were on McKay and he frowned. Since when was he the 'know it all'? Oh, since he had told them he was.
"They've probably been…" but he was cut off by a staff blast that missed his head by inches.
"Get down!" Sheppard shouted, pulling the stunned McKay down with him.
They lay belly down on the ground and began crawling towards the 'gate. McKay had been in battles before, but they had been Wraith battles. The Wraith weapons didn't kill. Staff weapons did. He cringed every time a blast went over his head, and began to wonder if the Jaffa who were firing the weapons even knew they were there.
That question was answered a moment later when Ford came flying over the top of a hill and landed beside him on the ground, panting with pain. McKay glanced at him and saw a smoking wound on his leg. The younger man waved him away, however, when he offered a hand, and they continued on to the 'gate.
"Dial it!" shouted Sheppard. He was crouching behind the DHD and firing into the ranks of Jaffa that were rapidly closing in. As bullets met their marks, the bright lights of staff blasts were thinned, but more soon rose to fill the gaps.
McKay crawled around, and keeping his head ducked, punched in the symbols that would take them to Atlantis. The 'gate whirled to life as the symbols locked into place, and the swirling vortex of the forming wormhole shot out and then settled within the ring, a shimmering pool of undulating lights. Relief filled McKay, making him almost dizzy as he and Teyla crawled to the event-horizon. The Athosian went through, and the scientist risked one look back to see Ford right behind him.
As if in slow motion, he saw a staff blast headed right for the young man, and McKay was almost fascinated by it. Through molasses he moved, not questioning his motives-or his sanity-and shoved the lieutenant out of the way, taking the brunt of the blast himself. -----------------
Jack O'Neill gave a soft groan as he attempted to move his arms and legs. They were stiff with lack of exercise and he wondered how long he'd been out of it. He had woken only a few minutes before to find himself staring at sunlight filtering down through tree-leaves. In that few minutes he had tried to figure out where he was and what happened, but the last thing he remembered was being in his office filling out requisition forms for weapons and food.
Sitting up slowly, he took in the surroundings with a practiced eye. He was in a forest of some sort, but was it on Earth? Or had he been taken to some other planet? It was a temperate forest, but that could include a lot of places on his home planet and he didn't even want to think about the similar landscapes he'd come across in his travels through the 'gate.
The 'gate is about four kilometers to the southeast, he thought. The thought gave him pause, because he had no idea where it had come from, or what it might mean. Brief flashes of memory passed before his eyes, but none of it made any sense. It did make his head hurt though, and he pressed his hands to his temples, closing his eyes against the pain.
It went soon enough, and he got shakily to his feet. He trusted his instincts, despite how strange that thought had been, and they told him to follow the directions his mind had provided. It was eerily similar to how he'd reacted when having the Ancients' knowledge in his head, but he refused to even think about that. He needed to find out where he was first. Then he could worry about the possibility of dying from a mental overload.
The way was slow going at first; his body still hadn't recovered from being useless for however long it was. However, his muscles recalled what they had been trained for so long and Jack was making much better progress, following some inner feeling that he was going the right way-and as the trees became thicker-changing his course ever so slightly.
Finally, the trees thinned out, and he could see a clearing ahead. In the center of it stood a giant ring, and Jack smiled tiredly. He didn't have a GDO, but he could 'gate to the Alpha Site and go home through there. Or, if the unthinkable had happened, figure out how and why he'd been taken to an alien planet and left there. And if he had actually taken the download for a third time, well, he would just have to contact Thor. The little alien had been more protective of him after the last incident, and every time he called, he had been answered.
Where was he when this happened? a snide little voice asked. Jack shrugged. He never said the Asgard were perfect. In fact, he had, at times, been quite annoyed with the grey aliens.
He shook these thoughts aside as he came up to the DHD and raised his hand in anticipation of dialing. However, the symbols brought him up short. There was something strange about them. Instead of having just the simple line drawing, each constellation was dotted-as if it were showing the actual stars that made them. Frowning, he looked up at the 'gate. It looked…sleeker. Newer.
Dread filled the pit of his stomach, and he swallowed against the lump that had risen into his throat. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what his observations meant.
Slowly, he punched in the symbols for the Alpha Site, praying with each on that lit, it would work. Right before he got to the seventh he paused and closed his eyes, muttering fervently, and then pounded it with unnecessary force.
Nothing happened. He tried it again.
Still nothing.
He sighed and leaned against the DHD for support. This was so not good. Then, as he had felt the dread, he felt a moment's hope. It was just a hunch, but it wouldn't hurt to try it out. He swallowed again, and began dialing. He remembered the address, not from that strange not-quite-his-own-thoughts, but from seeing it written on a dry-erase board. Few people knew he had a photographic memory-and he wanted to keep it that way.
This time, when punched in the last symbol, the 'gate spun, and a wormhole opened. He took a few steps towards it, stopped and closed his eyes as the meaning behind this presented itself fully to his conscious.
He was, somehow, in the Pegasus galaxy. The ramifications of this nearly overwhelmed him, but he shoved it all to the back of his mind. He could discuss this with the people on the other side of that 'gate. With the team he had watched disappear for what everyone was reasonably certain had been for a long time, perhaps forever. He would be stepping into the lost city he had nearly died trying to find in time to prevent the earth from being destroyed by Anubis; Atlantis.
Well, I hope you liked the first chapter. Let me know what you think.