Pentavus
Chapter 4
The man bowed to the shocked and awe-struck team. "I am Mottè, supreme Keeper of the Chatt'ai. I greet you well." He turned to the men up in the upstairs control room. "Close the gate."
There was a creak, and the team spun and saw a liquid pour down from the ceiling, forming a liquid shell over the ring, a shell that hardened into what looked like solid trinium—like the iris back at home, Jordan thought to himself.
Jordan turned back to Mottè. "Why did you let us through? We could easily have been attackers."
Mottè laughed. "My race—that is, the Yaren, possess certain telepathic and precognitive abilities." He smiled warmly. "I sensed your good intentions."
Mottè flicked his finger, and the golden door opened again. "I will show you to the guest rooms. Tomorrow, you will learn more of Pentavus, that I assure you." He led them upstairs and around many corners to a long hallway with many doors. Each door led to an extravagant room, with slivery silky sheets on the bed and beautiful abstract paintings on the walls. It was amazing to look at. There were also enough so that each person could have their own room—a thing that Jordan decided against; he wanted them to sleep in pairs—and the whole thing seemed so welcoming.
Jordan, the only person with a room of his own, as there was an odd number of people, slept with his gun beside him.
"We are a very peaceful race, Shawn Jordan," Mottè explained over breakfast, "We use no weapons and rarely use our defensive powers that the ancients left us. We simply keep the secrets of the great glyphs that are engraved upon our walls."
Jordan nodded. Indeed, the glyphs were everywhere, even in the guest room. They were grouped in what had to be in order by Stargate—there were addresses that he recognized as from earth's gate, and some that had nearby the Pegasus point of origin, hinting that they may be Atlantian addresses.
"A team of ours is doing research on a nearby planet we call Shathro, Shawn Jordan," Mottè continued, "You may join them or you may stay—it is your choice."
Jordan thought at moment. "We should...you know...probably stay..." he trailed off, hinting at the reasons behind his decision.
"I see," Mottè replied earnestly, "You do not yet trust my people. That is your choice, of course. Please, stay, and we will be happy to accommodate you."
The Pentavus city, Jordan noticed, was set up much like the SGC. It was restricted almost exclusively to military personnel, while the civilian population lived in the surrounding land.
"The team will be leaving shortly," Mottè informed Jordan a few hours later. "If you would like to observe the embarkation, you may." Jordan agreed.
A few minutes later, Jordan was up in the control bay. The Pentavus control center used computers similar to the SGC's, with loading and dialing codes and gate simulators. This reminded of his friends Josh and Jason, who often worked on the SGC's dialing computer program.
Mottè looked at the controller. "Begin dialing."
The gate was designed much differently than the one on earth. Instead of a spinning dial, each chevron had below it a small LCD screen, which flipped through the different symbols before finding the correct one and locking onto it.
"Chevron seven is locked," The controller said as the last of the green chevrons' symbols clicked into place.
There was a surge of energy which the gate released as the splash. As it receded, the event horizon formed. Jordan watched as the small team stepped through. Moments later, the controller shut the gate down.
Mottè looked over at Jordan. "All done."
Jordan smiled and was about to leave when an alarm went off. He looked down at the gate. The green chevrons were lighting up very quickly.
"Close the shield!" Mottè shouted. The liquid descended on the gate, hardening into place. In the back of him mind, Jordan wondered how the liquid went back into the ceiling against gravity.
"What's happening?" Jordan asked.
Mottè sighed. "An incoming traveler. I sense evil from them."
As the last chevron lit, there was a large surge of energy as the event horizon formed against the trinium gate. There were a few intense moments before there was a crashing sound as something hit the metal, followed a few seconds later by another crash. Then the gate disengaged.
Jordan looked over at Mottè. "Who could that have been?"
Mottè looked back gravely. "Them." He then walked off.