Chapter 4 – Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch
The Gate tech forwarded the response to the IDC code sent by Teyla, and the others in the Gate Room waited for the SGA-1 to return home. One among them was getting anxious to see his wife again. I think I have everything ready. Candles, wine, soft music, clean sheets on our bed. Radek Zelenka smiled softly to himself and waited for his wife to come through the Gate.
But the wormhole fizzled out, leaving everyone staring at the stained glass wall behind the Gate. "What the hell?" The tech was busily punching codes into his laptop, hoping it would tell him what had just happened.
Radek moved over to another laptop, quickly set up diagnostics, and then hovered over the tech's shoulder to read his screen.
"What happened?" Elizabeth Weir strode out of her office to find a baffled Gate Room crew.
"We had an off-world activation, we received Teyla's IDC, and then the wormhole just fizzled out." Radek explained to their leader. "I am running a diagnostic on the Gate and the DHD, just in case it was on our end."
"Try and redial them on the Korzoi homeworld." Elizabeth hoped her team was okay. No one thought that the Korzoi would give them any trouble.
The tech pressed the symbols on the DHD that corresponded to the Korzoi homeworld P5A-62Z, and the wormhole kawooshed as the link was established.
Elizabeth pressed the small communicator attached to her left ear. "Colonel Sheppard, do you read me?" She waited a moment. "Teyla, Rodney, do you hear me?" She cast a worried glance over at Radek.
Radek's face mirrored the worry on Elizabeth's. "Melody, are you there? Can you hear me?" He was suddenly very scared of what could have happened.
Elizabeth tapped on her communicator again. "Major Lorne, please report with you team to the Gate Room."
"May I ask why, Doctor Weir?" Lorne's voice was tinny in her ear.
"Colonel Sheppard's team established a wormhole, sent their IDC, and then never came through the Gate."
"We're on our way. Lorne out."
Two hours later….
"The locals told us that Colonel Sheppard's team dialed us, and went through the gate." Major Lorne was back at Atlantis, looking both frustrated and scared.
"Radek, have you found anything yet in the diagnostics?" Elizabeth called up to the balcony.
Radek looked down at Elizabeth and Lorne, but not without closing his eyes briefly to try to contain the emotions that wanted to spill out. "I have found nothing out of the ordinary on the diagnostics."
"Any ideas?" Elizabeth looked around the Gate Room at the other scientists and technicians.
"Was there any solar flare activity? I vaguely recalled SG-1 was sent back to 1969 by a solar flare." Elizabeth wasn't sure of the young woman's name since she was practically just off the space ship Daedalus.
"None on our sun, and I will have to check if the Korzoi's sun was active at that moment." Radek turned to begin inputting his data into the laptop in front of him.
Elizabeth and Lorne climbed the stairs to join Radek on the balcony overlooking the Gate, and as they reached the top, Radek began to swear softly in Czech.
"What is it, Radek?" Elizabeth asked quietly.
"It seems that the Korzoi's sun had the mother of all solar flares at the precise moment our people would have entered the gate."
Elizabeth hung her head a moment to both collect her thoughts and control her emotions. "Any idea where they wound up?"
Radek whirled his seat around, and the look on his face was serious. "I will have to pull some other data and make calculations, but I honestly have no idea. From the past experiences of SG-1, it would be a safe assumption that they went backward in time. But then, SG-1 did use another solar flare to try and return home."
"Didn't they overshoot our time and wind up way in the future?" Carson Beckett joined the party on the balcony.
"Technically yes, but they did get home eventually."
"Any ideas on how to get our people back?" Elizabeth again looked around the room at her people here on Atlantis.
"My team will need some time to study all the data and make calculations," Radek answered. Time that we cannot waste.
"Where can I help, Radek?" Carson squeezed his friend's shoulder before taking the chair next to him.
Radek looked over at him with unshed tears shimmering in his eyes. "Just being here and understanding my lack of patience. I haven't told Elizabeth anything yet about our trying for another child." He kept his voice low so that Elizabeth wouldn't overhear him now.
"She would consider it an honor if you did tell her."
"Tell me what?" Elizabeth moved to occupy the chair on the other side of Radek.
Radek blushed. "Melody and I were trying for another child."
"That's great news!"
Radek looked up into Elizabeth's eyes. "We are missing our window of opportunity." He looked close to crying again.
"That means…oh. I am so sorry Radek." Elizabeth touched him on the shoulder and left her hand there for comfort.
"I knew because they enlisted my advice in planning this baby, and we had done a full genetic workup beforehand so we could rule out an inherited component to Isabelle's problems," Carson told their leader and friend.
"So is there anything to worry about?"
"No. Isabelle's death was just a tragedy. Carson says that we are both healthy and should have a healthy child." Radek took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"We had just gotten done with all the testing last week, and Melody's cycle means that they should be able try right now." Carson cast a worried glance over to Elizabeth.
"She has a few days leeway?"
Carson nodded. "She should have about six days or so left to conceive."
"But we need to get her back to Atlantis first." Radek jammed his glasses back on and started tapping away at his laptop.
"And I will leave you to your work." Elizabeth slid quietly out of the seat while silently motioning Carson to stay beside their friend.