Sorry for the wait, midterms and the like. Bleh…anyway, there was more to this, but I really wanted to post something, and since I didn't finish the next part, I figured I turn it into chapter four.

I hope you like it and don't think I'm boring and dragging things out. I think having so many people to make sure I account for his driving me crazy…thankfully…I have something in mind for later on that should hopefully make that easier….(snickers) Also Chinese isn't a language I think McKay speaks, at least that's what I'm going with.

Enjoy.

--

Chapter Three: Ain't Possible

"Listen," John started to say, he had to explain to these people that he and his team weren't the bad guys. And while his gun, as well as Teyla and Ronan's could be aimed and ready to fire in a second, these guys didn't seem to know what was going on, or even where they are – which, John though, was understandable given they'd just fallen out of space. Which left John with another question: what planet were they from and how come they hadn't met before. Not even the Genii had space ships; these people could be real allies. The three standing before him stared at him and his team, "If we could all sit down and talk and be…peaceable…" he repeated Mal's earlier word, it sounded strange in his mouth.

"Colonel?" for some reason John got the feeling like the title had meaning to the man, that he knew what it was…but that wasn't possible, "You Alliance?"

"They don't look it Sir." Zoë said, eyeing them all cautiously. John figured she was probably trying to see if they'd concealed any weapons on their person.

"Uh…no, United States Air Force…well I mean, I am, they're not."

"And where's that? I didn't see any settlements. And also, where they from then?"

"Well your plane did crash, didn't it? I doubt you were looking vary hard." McKay said, his arms crossed over his chest. A sideways glance and raised eyebrows from John told him this wasn't the time to be cocky, they were after all, trying to make nice. Rodney looked back at the ship's captain, "But of course you're….right. There are no settlements. No one lives here."

"Well, he's from Canada, and apparently Canadians have problems knowing when to keep their mouth shut." John said, again glaring toward to man on his right.

"Oh, me? Who's the one that ran out here, yelling 'we come in peace, we come in peace'. This isn't some move Colonel, what if they'd shot us down, hmm? Then what? Where would Atlantis be without us, and especially me? I tell you, the bottom-"

"ENOUGH." Mal's eyes went from the ranting McKay back to John, "You always let him on like that? Don't seem very leaderly, letting a man go on such as that. Likely to get you all killed."

"Colonel Sheppard is a good man, and an excellent leader, I would not have joined his people were it otherwise." Teyla said. Mal stared at the only woman standing in the line before him. She was strong no doubt, reminded him of Zoë. Strong, level headed, loyal to a fault. And he trusted her, something in her dark eyes told him she wasn't lying.

"Jayne go fetch Kaylee, bring her on down to the common area, Wash too."

"Mal, you just gonna bring onboard?"

"Ain't gonna tell ya twice Jayne." The goateed man walked away, squinting back at the four odd dressed people at the foot of the ramp, mumbling to his self. The dark, curly haired woman, walked up to Mal, and stood just slightly in front and to the side of him, her back to the group.

"He ain't wrong Sir."

"Well Zoë, we're crashed somewhere we ain't never been before. I reckon these folk can help, 'les you got a better idea, I don't see no other choice than to find out what these people know."

"Just sayin' is all."

"And you know I appreciate that, but like I said-" he keep eyein' the four people before him, he knew Zoë wasn't one to trust easy and he couldn't convince her otherwise about these people, he just had to hope his instincts wasn't far off and they would be of help.

"No other choice. Understood, but I still don't trust them." She glanced back over her shoulder at their new "friends", whatever the Captain was seeing, she was missin'.

"Make sure the Doc and his sister is outta sight." Mal whispered to her. Looks could be deceivin', and he wasn't about to let them two be seen, not til he knew for certain. She nodded and headed into the ship's interior. "Now, you can follow me and we can sort this mess out like civil men, or you can turn tail and leave, ain't got need of friends don't trust me."

"Well, actually, it'd probably be better if you came-"

"Ain't following you anywhere 'til I know what's the what on this here planet. Also, that ain't one the options I gave you so, Colonel, if you don't mind, I do have some repairs to see to."

John stood for a moment, and just looked at the man before him, the man he'd given the upper hand. He didn't feel the particular need to go inside, but if that's the way it had to be…he couldn't just leave. These people were the first for the Atlantis expedition to meet that actually had a spacecraft, and while it was definitely not up to Ancient standards, they could still be an asset against the Wratih. So, he nodded his head, "Ok."

"What! We're going in there? What if they just want to make us comfortable before they butcher us?" McKay shouted, never one to hide what he's thinking, and he thought John was being an ass.

"Well you can see plain as day we ain't Reavers, plus how you gonna help me fix up my ship if you're dead?" Mal smiled at him, "Though you will be leaving your weapons. Dong ma?"

"What's a-" McKay started to ask, but Mal was in no mood for games.

"This here offerin' a'mine; it's limited."

McKay's eyes shot back from Mal to John, surely John would never agree to that? But when Rodney saw John unlatching his P-90 and realized that the silent command had been given, he looked to Teyla, hoping she'd hold out against such absurd commands. But of course, Teyla tended to trust, and she'd do what John asked of her. Strangely enough it was with Ronan that McKay found himself aligned. Ronan who stood, silently, arms crossed, begging someone to try and take his weapons from him. The dread-locked man's eyes roamed over the ship, taking in every detail. He took in the stairs, the seemingly grated walls, the various walkways, the light from the door at the far end, and even the cargo that was tied down and the…the four-wheeler?

Well, Rodney thought, not something you see everyday in the Pegasus galaxy. Clearly there was something about this ship, the things and people on it that wasn't right. And Sheppard was obviously too blinded by stupidity to notice it. He would have to figure it out. He unclipped his holster and slowly removed his gun.

"You too." Mal said, indicating Ronan. When McKay looked over again, he was still standing as he had before, defiantly, but now he was staring down Mal.

"Ronan, I'm sure they don't bite." John said. He shot Mal a nervous smile and moved over to Ronan's side. He half whispered to him, "Let's go."

"I'm not unarming myself. And I can't believe you have. We don't know these people, do you have any idea what you're doing? Is this what they train you in back on your world Sheppard?" Ronan had fully turned to fix his disbelief on John.

"No, but I have a feeling. And besides, we didn't always know each other." John replied.

"Which is why I shot, unarmed, and then tied you up." He practically spit the events of their first meeting back in his face. He'd taken out both Sheppard and Teyla before they knew what was happening.

"But then we got to know each other and everything worked out great." Ronan's dark eyes burned into John's hazel ones. The man was stubborn, and not dropping his weapon. "Fine, stay here, just…don't do anything stupid." He turned and started up the ramp, McKay and Teyla at his heels.

"Like walk, unarmed into an opening, waving my arms around while three armed men take aim?"

John turned back to look at Ronan, and sent him a glare, playful, but a glare none-the-less, and said, "And try not to touch anything."

The three followed Mal into his ship as Ronan walked to a nearby tree and sat down, shaking his head.

--

Zoë was just about to pass though the door to the infirmary when Jayne came down the stairs with Wash, Kaylee and River behind him.

"Kaylee," she said, "Get River to her room, Captain's bringin' some folk on board, don't look to be Alliance, but we ain't sure."

"Oh…ok." Kaylee's cheerful eyes quickly glazed over with concern. They all knew what'd happen to River should the Alliance get a'hold of her, and Simon's fate wouldn't be much finer. Kaylee reached back to River and took her hand, leading her away from the common area and back to her and Simon's rooms.

"Mal's bringin' Alliance on?" Wash asked, "Even possible Alliance, what's he playin' at?"

"Ain't sure myself, but the don't look the part, and they say no one lives on this rock, so they're lookin' to be our best chance to get back in the air." She told him before walking into the infirmary, where the ever careful Simon was given Book the once over.

Book was trying to push Simon's hands away from him head, trying to get the boy to listen, but if wounds was involved it was best to sit back and let him go, faster for ya to get back with the way of things. "Captain wants you in back with you sister. Precautions, all."

His eyes too glazed over, though his was less concern and more fear, not for himself neither, for his sister. Boy possessed love for her like none other…'cept maybe Kaylee, but gorram if he could get the words out.

"Don't worry Doc, they say they're…United States Air Force or such."

A kind of curious look over took the young mans face, like he wanted to remember something, but it just wouldn't come. "Uh, yes, of course. I'll…go to my room…" he walked over to the door, followed by two sets of very curious eyes, "I'll want to, uh, to look at that again…to make sure…" and he walked away.

"That seem a mite odd to you?" Book asked.

"Everything's seemin' a mite odd these days Shepherd."

--

When John, Teyla and Rodney entered what Mal kept referring to as the common room, they were greeted by the semi-familiar faces of Zoë and Jayne, and also sitting in one of the seats was a brown haired girl, John could only assume was Kaylee, wearing a smudged greenish brown jumper smiled widely at him and his team. There was a blonde haired man in a loud Hawaiian style t-shirt, and older looking black man, who, by the looks of it, had suffered some minor injury and he was being supported by a very beautiful, dark haired woman. Rodney and Teyla took of the space remaining on the couch; John took the chair next to that.

"That there is Wash, my pilot." Mal nodded to the blonde man, who offered a wave. "Kaylee, the best gorram mechanic in the verse." He smiled at her, and she beamed at him, "And Shepherd Book, and Inara." The elder man was sitting on the other side of the couch, flanked by Jayne and the woman who simply smiled at them.

"Ok…" John started, looked like it was his turn. "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," he pointed at himself, "this is Teyla, and Dr. Rodney McKay."

As if to clear up any confusion McKay added, "Of astrophysics." The last thing he needed was for these people to ask to be patched up. Flying around in a spaceship in this deteriorating condition one would think they'd know enough to have an actual physician aboard.

There was a long silence between the two groups as they each sought to determine what the other was up to, and if they were to be trusted.

"So…maybe there should be some talking going on. You sure they ain't… " The blonde haired man, Wash, finally said, as he indicated the area behind him with his eyes.

"Well…don't seem to know us." Mal said.

"Oh, well of course then, it's settled. They don't know us." He gave the captain a very pointed look and continued on, now talking to the three before him. "I hear you folk ain't from this planet. Where are you from then?"

John opened his mouth to reply but someone answered for him, "Earth-that-was.", although he didn't know what the "that-was" part of it meant. He wasn't sure what bothered him more; the look of panic to run across all their faces or the fact someone knew his home-world. From behind Wash, a young, dark haired man spoke. His crystal blue eyes met John's, and John could tell the boy was in a state of total disbelief.

"Simon…" Zoë practically hissed at him.

"It was the United States Air Force that made me think of it."

"Can we go there?"

If John thought that panic had rushed across their faces earlier, then he wasn't sure what to call what he'd just witnessed. Every head, every set of eyes was instantly glued to the dark haired girl to the boys left.

"Mei-mei, I…it's not. It can't be true." John wasn't sure what was going on, or who would name their kid 'mei-mei', but she said something he didn't believe, and she stared at him like she couldn't fathom why he'd think she was lying. He maneuvered her to a seat, almost but not completely out of sight and whispered to her before rejoining the group.

Mal and the rest took a bit of ease in the fact no one had made a dash for Simon, or River. Maybe these people wasn't Alliance after all…but Earth-that-was? Impossible. Simon brought around a smallish black case, inside a piece of his world, that more advanced world that was the Central Planets. After tapping on it a few times he spoke into it, "United States Air Force."

A computerized voice started to ramble off dates and events, names and ranks and even a few things John recalled having heard rumors of, but he knew to be classified to the public. The three of them sat there, listening. John imagined his face looked much like Rodney's, scrunched up, eyes moving back and forth processing the information offered. And Teyla…she may not understand some of the things said, but she knew the fact that these people had such knowledge of the expedition's world was wrong, terribly wrong. John needed to forget being friends for the moment, and get these people back to Atlantis with him; they had to know how they knew what they did.

John stood up. "Stop, stop." He looked around at the nine strangers, and surprisingly, they regarded him with the same look he was sure he was giving off. "Where are you getting all that information from?"

"It's history." Simon looked at them, "All of it, I mean, no one's lived on Earth-that-was for a few hundred years."

"So they's liars? Let's shoot 'em." Jayne smiled as his hand took hold of the gun strapped to his side.

John might have felt bad for the boy, the looks he got from his team mates, but he was busy trying to figure out just what was going on. He rubbed his hand through his mess of a hair style and looked to McKay, "Well we sure as hell didn't travel through time."

"No, I-we…it's-" McKay, who would have ended up speechless anyway, was interrupted.

"I'm sorry time travel? That ain't possible."

"I don't know Mal," Wash said, leaning heavily onto a wall, "We got psychics, why not time travel?"

Mal turned on his pilot, "'Cause time travel ain't possible." There was a look in his eye that dared Wash to defy him. He turned to John, "Time travel ain't possible."

It wasn't a question per se, but it was. He wanted John to confirm that the younger man, Simon, was clearly out of his mind. And once upon a time, John might have been able to give the man the confirmation that he wanted, had he been just an ordinary solider. He and his colleagues were anything but ordinary; Atlantis, stargates, Wraith, and even time travel (not that he recalled having ever traveled in time, though he had it on good authority that he once had – and he died at the bottom of the ocean when the Ancient time machine was shot out of the sky).

"Come back with us." Ordering Mal around would get them no where, and he knew that, "Come back to Atlantis and we'll figure this out, we may even be able to help fix up your ship, get you…back." He finished lamely, and looked over at the best genius in the galaxy.

"I don't…it'll take time. Lots of it. I mean I don't even know where to start, the old Elizabeth said they destroyed everything, or that the Ancient who built it took all his notes with him. They must have used the gate somehow – uh, the only thing I can think of is solar flares."

"But we, we wasn't by nothin' that can flare. Was we?" Kaylee asked Wash.

"No. It was a moon, and a black rock at that."

"Black rock?" John asked. His day was getting stranger by the minute.

Mal tore his eyes from Wash and came to stand not three feet from John, and he stared him down. "Uninhabitable. Now, you mean to tell me we traveled through ruttin' time?"

"Of course you did. The 'Gate didn't establish a wormhole until the eighth chevron, that requires an incredible about of energy. Whenever you came from, wherever it was, you're not there anymore. Eight chevrons indicate another galaxy. You won't get back without us; you need to come to Atlantis."

"Captain don't take kindly to strangers given' orders on his boat." Zoë said, walking toward McKay, who pushed himself further into the couch.

"He didn't mean it as an order Zoë." Kaylee came to his defense, "Right?" she asked him, he shook his head at her, but Zoë didn't move back, she just stared him down. John shook his head, what was with these people and staring? Kaylee spoke again, "They're sayin' they can help Serenity Cap'n." she gave him a look, and John figured she must be connected to him somehow.

Mal walked over to her, offered her his hand, and pulled her from her seat. He called Zoë over as he corralled the mechanic and pilot into a corner, and started to whisper.

John shifted his weight from foot to foot while he watched. Inara was speaking quietly with Shepherd, Jayne was glaring at anything and everyone, his hand still on his gun, and Simon had knelt down in front of the only person John hadn't heard called by name.

"Tell me straight little Kaylee, are we to be needin' their help?"

"Like I said she's pretty bad off Cap'n. Burnt out in some places, broke in others, some a'her ceramic parts is just pieces now. I could maybe fix her up myself, but…'sides they're nice enough…the Lieutenant Colonels kinda cute." She smiled.

"Well now, what about the doctor?"

"Oh, he's still swai, figure maybe I can make him jealous too…" Mal smiled at her, he knew she liked Simon more and more with each passing day, and he did like to see the boy squirm.

The conversation swung over to Wash, "We're down and blind Mal. Navigation, the Cortex, all of it, and we don't have any power, not even secondary." He paused, "Right now I couldn't fly us out of a paper bag." That hung over the foursome like a very dark and stormy cloud. Wash was the best at what he did, could fly anything, in any condition, through any weather, and if he couldn't do it, then choices were few.

"Zoë?"

"Seems we ain't got a choice Sir." She moved over to console her husband, she placed her hand on the back of his loud Hawaiian shirt as a comfort. Knowing he couldn't get Serenity off the ground had to be killin' him.

"Alright." Mal turned around, "Jayne, Kaylee you're with me, rest'a you stay here."

Teyla stood and for the first time since they'd boarded, spoke, "You should all return with us."

"Teyla, this planet's uninhabited." John said. The Wraith wouldn't waste time searching a planet they knew to have nothing for them.

"The Wraith grow more desperate by the day, they are too many and they know it, Colonel. Soon they will begin to scout planets they haven't visited in centuries." She locked on to his eyes. She always did this when she knew she needed him to make a call, of course she was right. There weren't nearly enough humans in Pegasus to sustain the numbers the Wraith had for long. He wished he saw more than just her fierce determination…he shook his head, now was not the time to wish for Teyla to feel as he did.

He looked at Mal, "She's right, they could show up here." Mal started to speak, "Just trust me ok, they're bad. And if they show up you're going to want to be somewhere else."

"Am I?"

"Yes!" McKay shouted, getting to his feet as well, "If they catch you, they'll" he held his hand up, making a claw shape and waving it in the air, "they'll suck the life right out of you! And they'll…you'll die, slowly."

"Reavers?" Jayne said, hell he didn't know what a Wraith was.

"I don't know what a Reaver is. Listen we can talk about this back on Atlantis." He looked around at the people before him…some didn't seem to belong on the ship, they looked to clean. But none of them deserved to be left for the Wraith, not if they were dead in the water…dirt. "Please."

--

A great line of thirteen people wound back and round trees as they made their way through the last of the forest and into the open field where the Stargate stood, Elizabeth would not be happy when that same line of thirteen emerged on the other side of the wormhole McKay was in the process of establishing.

John, McKay, Mal and Jayne headed the line, Teyla, Zoë, and Ronan brought up the rear with the rest in the middle. It had been Mal's idea to split them that way, he'd said that he was getting a strange feeling from Jayne, some kind of tension between him and Ronan – which John supposed was as it should be, they were the two most suspicious people on either team.

The 'gate sprang to life, "Cap;n…" Kaylee said coming up behind the two men.

"Well, ain't that peculiar."

John was about to ask what they meant by that, but Jayne was quicker. "What is it?"

To everyone's surprise it wasn't Rodney who answered, it was the dark haired girl they'd learned was named River, not mei-mei, and she was the Simon's sister. "Wormhole, connects to points in space by folding space. Very powerful…dematerializes the body to send it…materializes on the other side. Wont take but a moment." She looked around, not at people's faces, but her surrounding, and then to her brother, "Cold."

John was stunned, he wasn't sure why, but he was. Maybe it was the faces of the people that knew her, and the fact that her brother was shrugging his shoulder, letting his Captain know he didn't know what was going on.

Jayne spoke up again, "Well…I don't like the sound'a that."

"It's perfectly harmless, we've been through the stargate dozens of times and we're all fine." McKay said, he wanted to get back to his lab, he wanted to get to work on this new development.

"Seems to me it's done affected your brains, you go on-"

"Jayne."

"Mal he was talkin' ta me like I was an idget."

"Maybe if you didn't say so many stupid things, now get to walkin'."

"I ain't goin' firs'." Jayne said crossing his arms.

McKay, followed by Teyla and Kaylee, an angry Jayne, a married couple, siblings, Inara and Shepherd Book, and finally Ronan, John and Mal all entered the 'gate only to reemerge seconds later on the other side.

"Kinda cold comin' that way." Kaylee said rubbing her arms. The coldness of the group seemed to fade away as awareness of their new surroundings set in. They gasped at the silver paneled, back lit walls of the ancient city, at the multicolored window behind the 'gate. "Shiny."

"Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiou sai-jin wuh duh pee-goo…you can say that again…" Wash said, amazement clear in his voice.

"Colonel!" a voice shouted down from the top of the steps, "What's this?"

Dr. Weir, have we got a story for you." John said as he made his way through the crowd of people he'd brought back with him. When he reached the bottom of the steps, she was already there; he smiled his best innocent smile at her. She wasn't amused, bringing people back to the city meant more people knew it was still there…if they Wraith caught someone who knew that, they'd be back.

--

R and R please…they make me happy when skies are gray, you'll never…oh right, right. Erm...please review!

Chinese in order: Understand?

Little Sister

Handsome

All the planets in space flushed into my butt (gotta love Wash)