"What the fuck…"
It wasn't really a curse, it was more of a confused statement, and McKay took the book away again.
"This is impossible. How did a book by Daniel Jackson wind up in an Ancient city that he's never been to?"
"I left it here," Ian said, taking the book back.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, not here," Ian corrected. "In a different room, and in a different reality."
"Excuse me?" McKay repeated.
Ian scowled, looking at the book again, shaking his head.
"I've been here before. I told you that."
"So you brought reading material?"
Ian snorted.
"I didn't plan on going in the first place. I was on my way to the Alpha site and instead ended up on another planet – with people from a different reality. They took me to Atlantis – this same city. Only not in this reality."
"What?"
"They hijacked my wormhole, McKay," Ian explained. "Just like I think they did when we came here – which is why SG-4 isn't here."
"The Ancients kidnapped you?"
Ian nodded.
"Why would they do that?"
"It's complicated. But when I was in their Atlantis, I left Daniel's book. This book."
"But-"
"They must have brought it here for a reason," Ian said, opening the book, confused. "I just can't understand what they're trying to…"
"What is it?" Rodney asked, seeing the odd expression on the lieutenant's face.
Ian looked over at the gate, and then down at the book, and he suddenly seemed excited. Or more animated, anyways.
"Look at that…"
He turned the book so McKay could see what he was looking at, and it was McKay's turn to look over at the Stargate.
"Did you write that?"
"No. It wasn't there when I had the book last."
"You're certain?"
"Yeah."
"Then it must be a message…"
"That's what I'm thinking."
McKay looked down at the book again. Written neatly on the first page of the book was a Stargate symbol. One that wasn't on the gate back home – along with several others that Ian hadn't seen before – but which was on the Atlantis Stargate.
"That's amazing…"
"And probably our point of origin," Ian agreed. "Come on. We've got to get going."
OOOOOOOOOOO
Emmett Bregman shook his head in dumb amazement.
"Are you cure this plan is going to work?"
Hammond shrugged.
"Off the record? Aside from trying nukes against Anubis – something we're certain won't work with the shielding that he has – it's the only plan we have."
"And on the record?"
"It's the only plan we have."
Bregman shook his head again.
"You realize that this is all on the off hope that Ian has any idea what he's talking about?"
"That's not the part that worries me, frankly," Hammond said.
"What is?"
"When SG-1 – minus Ian – return here, they're going to be drilling a hole in a glacier using some kind of high powered device. A device that Anubis is certain to pick up on once it's activated. We're concerned that he's going to try and shoot them down while they're vulnerable."
"They'll be cloaked still, though, right?"
Hammond shook his head.
"We're not sure. Some of the scientists here that we asked think that they'll need to turn off the cloak to use the other device – most of them think that, actually."
"So what are you going to do? Can you warn them?"
"We have to assume they've already considered that," Hammond said. "If we try to contact them, we'll give them away even sooner – which will put them in that much more danger. So we're going to try and give them as much air cover as we can while they're drilling by scrambling fighters as soon as our own sensors pick up what they're doing – or when they contact us and let us know they're in position to start. We have several military bases from several different countries already on alert."
Like they weren't already.
"But isn't Anubis listening in on our transmissions?" Bregman asked. "He probably already knows your plan?"
"He would if we'd radioed the orders in," Hammond said. "We used the internet. As much traffic as there is on the web right now, we figured it would be the most secure way of getting our people into position."
"Oh."
"We're as ready as we can be…" Hammond told him. "Short of having the Asgard come swooping in – en masse – we're probably on our own on this."
Bregman was silent for a long moment as he thought all the things through that he'd been told. It was a lot more than he really wanted to know, but Hammond had been sincere when he'd promised full disclosure.
"I'm almost sorry I asked…" he admitted, finally. "It was almost less scary knowing as little as I did."
The general nodded.
"Now you know how we feel all the time."
"Yeah."
OOOOOOOOOO
"My Lord…"
"Yes?"
"Why do we not just attack them? The Asgard are not coming. If they were, they would be here by now…"
The Jaffa said this diffidently, as if he expected to be chastised for the question, but he was Anubis' First Prime, and he was impatient to take out the Tau'ri home world.
"The Tau'ri do not have advanced signaling capabilities," Anubis replied after a moment's hesitation when he debated silently with himself whether to kill the Jaffa for questioning him. "The Asgard will come – if for no other reason than to discover the fate of their missing battle cruiser. And I will be ready for them."
"What if there are too many, My Lord?"
Anubis flung his hand out, and a bolt of energy shot out from his palm, striking the Jaffa and knocking him off his feet. He landed in a smoking heap several yards away, and the would-be system lord gestured for the other Jaffa to remove him from the room. He couldn't help but have the last word, however.
"The Asgard will not defeat me. I have surpassed them."
OOOOOOOOOOO
A/N Will someone from the forum link this, please?