A dog barked.
"Shut it, Diego," a voice said. The man patted the scruffy gray dog, grabbed a socket wrench from the top garage shelf, and turned up the volume on the radio. Humming under his breath to Johnny Cash, he returned to the hood of a beat-up red sports car and reached inside with two calloused, ringless hands.
The Pueblo sun was glaring, making him swipe at his sweaty forehead every few seconds, but here he felt right at home outside his small, gray-bricked house with nothing to disturb him but his cars, his music, and his mutt curled up in the garage.
That is, until he heard the sound of a car pulling up alongside the gravel road. He ignored it at first, but when a woman got out and tentatively walked up the driveway, he straightened up. She wore an iridescent violet bodice and jeans, with long caramel-colored hair and skin to match.
"Teyla," he said blankly, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands on. "What are you doing here?"
He hid his shock well.
She smiled encouragingly as she approached. "Cannot an old friend simply come to visit?"
"Not out of the blue after two years without calling first."
"Three years," She corrected.
Sheppard shook his head. "Three," he sighed and tossed the rag into the garage behind him. It landed on the large, bedraggled-looking dog, who awakened immediately and bounded over to greet their new guest.
"That's Diego," he said as Teyla knelt to pet the dog rubbing affectionately against her leg. "Not actually mine. I just can't get it to leave me alone."
"Diego?" Teyla said with a small smile. "John, this dog is a female."
"I know," he shrugged. "I named her before I checked."
She laughed as Diego rolled over to be petted on her soft, white belly. "She is very sweet."
John watched silently, taking in the melodious laughter that echoed against the cement garage floor. Suppressing the pang of nostalgia that surfaced, he set his toolbox on the garage shelf loudly. "Teyla," he said curtly, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what exactly do you want? I ignore my phone calls for a reason."
Before she could speak, he cut her off.
"I'm not going back."
Teyla smiled sadly, as if she had been expecting this reaction, and glanced back down at Diego with watery eyes. "Then let us at least talk for a while. It has been so long."
He exhaled heavily and let his head drop as if reluctant, but she could see the slightest smile he was hiding.
…
48 Hours Earlier
"No way," cried a dark-haired woman as she spooned a chunk of blue gelatin into her mouth. "The blue Jell-O is so much better than red." She crossed her legs over the lap of the man next to her. "Don't you agree, Muscles?"
The Jaffa raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "On the contrary, Vala Mal Doran. I have always preferred green."
"Green?" scoffed Dr. McKay between mouthfuls of his meal. "We never have green."
"But if you had to pick," Vala said, twirling her spoon between her sinuous fingers. "Blue or red?"
Teal'c frowned, pausing in thought. "Red."
"Ha!" Rodney cried triumphantly. "Score one for Dr. Rodney McKay." He smiled saccharinely at Vala. "Don't worry, I won't say I told you so."
She pouted, rolling her eyes dramatically as she tossed her empty Jell-O container into the trash can a janitor pushed along the mess hall aisle. "If Sam were here, she'd agree with me."
The sounding of an alarm interrupted their conversation. "Unauthorized off-world activation!" a familiar voice announced over the loudspeaker.
Exchanging glances, the trio stood and left their plates, heading for the control room.
…
"Chevron seven locked," said Chief Harriman as the back wall of the gate room was lit by a faint blue light. "Wormhole established."
"Who is it?" Ronon asked, tying back his mane of dreadlocks as he hopped up the steps to join the small crowd in the control room.
"I'm not receiving an IDC," Walter said, hands running across the keyboard. "But there is an audio and video transmission coming through. Initializing now."
As the computer screen beside him flickered to life, a smirking face appeared – one with mottled green skin, ragged white hair, and black markings about one eye. "Hello, friends of Earth," the wraith announced in a gravelly, sinister voice.
"Get General Mitchell," Walter ordered to no one in particular. "Now."
Vala reentered the control room seconds later, dragging Mitchell behind her. His eyes widened in recognition. "Don't tell me that's who I think it is," he warned. "Todd?"
"Yes," said the wraith on the video screen. "I'm so pleased to see you all haven't forgotten me. After all, it's been so many years since I've had the pleasure."
"Yeah, yeah, we missed you too," Mitchell snapped sarcastically. "What is it?"
"Very well. Straight to the point." Todd cleared his throat. "I have heard your people speak of a race of beings you defeated whose followers were… well… exceptionally passionate. The Ori." He paused for a moment, as if for dramatic effect. "I have contacted you as a warning. This image was taken from the very planet my ship is currently orbiting." Todd stepped aside, revealing a satellite image projected on the wall behind him. A crowd of people, thousands at least, was gathered around a small but very noticeable blue light.
"That's a Prior," Vala whispered. "In the Pegasus galaxy?"
"Yes, my dear," said Todd, still off-screen. "The Ori are back."
…
24 Hours Later
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Davis turned the lights back on with a touch of the remote, leaving the projector screen paused on the end of Todd's transmission. He straightened the ornaments on his dress uniform sleeve and glanced out at the small audience gathered in the Stargate Command conference room. As a tentative hand raised in the back of the room, Davis pointed to the young scientist. "Go ahead."
"Pardon me, sir," she said, "but how do we know we can trust this… um… Todd? He is a wraith, after all."
Teyla spoke up. "Todd is unlike others of his kind, Dr. Cornyn," she explained. "While he is a wraith, yes, and it cannot be said that he has never double-crossed us in the past, Todd has never acted in a way that would bring us to harm without some good coming from the situation. The Atlantis expedition saw many successful missions thanks to his assistance."
Davis nodded, adding, "We believe he's desperate. He's never tried to contact us before, and it's been nearly three years since we left Atlantis. Todd will be watched carefully, but we have no reason to believe his intentions are malicious. Additionally, we've made contact with a few other friendly societies in the Pegasus galaxy. They corroborate Todd's story. Are there any other questions, while we're at it?"
A male doctor raised a hand after no one else spoke. "Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but what's the problem with Origin? Why do we need to destroy it so badly?"
Davis gestured to Daniel, who sat in the front row. "Dr. Jackson, would you care to explain? You are our resident expert."
"It isn't the religion that's the problem," Daniel said, running a hand over his sandy, close-cropped hair. "In and of itself, Origin's teachings are full of wisdom and righteousness. The Book of Origin is strikingly similar to most of Earth's religious texts. But the Ori's greed for power ultimately led to the Priors, the Ori's priests, abusing their power as well. Somehow they've been brainwashed to think that anyone who doesn't believe must be killed."
"And that misinterpretation nearly led to the destruction of the entire galaxy," Colonel Davis finished for him. "We're all here to make sure that doesn't happen again."
After a short silence, a Marine standing in the back of the room asked, "How do we plan to destroy the Ori again, sir?"
"Excellent question." The projector switched to an image of an old wooden chest with a metal design inlaid on the lid. "The device known as the Ark of Truth, which was used six years ago to disconnect the Priors from their obsession with the Ori, has been destroyed. After study at Area 51, an attempt to manipulate it for other uses resulted in the, er, mental incapacitation of all who tampered with it. It was agreed that the device was too powerful, and it was incinerated. That option," he shrugged remorsefully, "is no longer available. However, the President has reviewed our situation and sanctioned a mission with the purpose of stopping the Priors again." He touched the remote and the image on the screen changed again. "A mission to Atlantis."
It was as if one giant collective gasp lifted smiles onto the faces on the room.
"I am so there," Ronon grunted.
General Mitchell, sitting next to Davis at the front of the room, grinned enthusiastically. "On behalf of the Pentagon, Colonel Davis has been working with me to prepare a preliminary list of who we'd like on the mission. Keep in mind that the list can be changed – anyone who is not on the list is still eligible to go, provided we approve, and you can certainly be removed if you see fit."
"I'm on it, right?" Ronon asked quickly.
Mitchell threw him a wry glance. "Read on, Colonel."
Taking out a crisp sheet of paper, Davis began to read the list. "Dr. Rodney McKay, to head up Science and Research. We'd like you to test your new ZPM power regeneration system. You're free to pick your team of scientists."
Rodney nodded gruffly. "Right. I'm going to need Dr. Lee, uh, Hodges and Sullivan, Escobedo, and anyone who's had a fair amount of work with Ori technology."
"Done."
Once he thought the attention was elsewhere, Rodney grinned and pumped his fist.
Davis continued. "Colonel Albert Reynolds, Major Evan Lorne, Ronon Dex –"
Ronon punched Rodney in the shoulder and laughed gleefully. "We're going back to Atlantis!"
Davis smiled appreciatively and continued. "Teal'c."
"As much as I would be honored to see the great city of Atlantis once more, Colonel Davis," Teal'c said in response, "I have recently received word that Master Bra'tac has fallen gravely ill. He was not only a mentor, but also a father to me, and so I wish to be at his side during his final days. And so I must respectfully decline."
"Of course," Mitchell nodded. "Send Bra'tac our best."
Teal'c bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you, General Mitchell."
Davis continued on the list. "Dr. Daniel Jackson."
"If I may, while I'm there I'd like to expand my research on what I believe was a failed attempt at ascension by the Ancients," Daniel put forward.
"Very well. Russian representative–"
"Whoa, hang on a minute," Vala interrupted. "If Daniel's going, I want to go too! I know just as much about the Ori as he does. Well…" She corrected herself, "Maybe not quite as much."
"Very well," Davis nodded, suppressing a grin and adding her name to the list. "Vala Mal Doran. Russian representative Dmitriy Kolenkhov. All Marines called here today have been chosen to lead a team of four. We expect your choices by Friday at the latest. We have yet to decide who our chief physician will be and, as per the IOA's request, they will be selecting one member to accompany you." The audience exchanged skeptical glances, and a few groans were heard. "And finally… Where's Colonel Sheppard?"
Teyla looked questioningly at Mitchell, who cringed and waved her out as Davis drew a circle around Sheppard's name on the list.
…
"The hive is charging weapons," said the wraith technician who stood at the veined, knobby control panel. "It seems that those on the planet have yet to detect our presence. Even if their mechanisms could sense us, we are running on minimal power."
Todd shook his head, watching on the screen as another hive ship approached and prepared to fire on the planet below. "And the ship?"
"They are unaware as well."
He nodded approvingly, a gnarled hand stroking his white beard. "Very good."
The ship he watched fired upon the planet, but it took only a few seconds for the enemy to defend itself.
On the planet below, a robed Prior with pale skin and cloudy eyes looked sharply up, then held up his staff and tapped it once on the dusty ground. Energy bursts erupted from the tip, firing back at the attacking hive.
The charges hit the hull's critical centers; it was defeated in seconds.
Todd let out a disapproving grunt. "Get us out of here."
…
Present
The cement corridors of Stargate Command looked the same as they always had. The people in them, however, were a little disconcerting: Sheppard barely recognized half of them. He glanced down at his t-shirt and jeans, feeling uncomfortably out of place in the sea of BDUs.
It was only when Sergeant Siler, carrying a large wrench, nodded in greeting and said, "Morning, Colonel Sheppard," as if nothing had changed that Sheppard began to feel more at ease.
As he stepped into the elevator, he was welcomed by another friendly face. "Dr. Keller! It's good to see you again."
She squeezed his shoulder with lithe fingers, a smile brightening her round face. "You too, Colonel Sheppard. But actually, it's Dr. McKay now."
He blinked. "You're kidding."
"Nope," she said, cheeks dusted pink, as the elevator doors closed.
"You two got married?"
"Going on two years now."
"Wow. Congratulations, I guess," he said, folding his hands behind his back and frowning at the elevator wall. "Any kids?"
"No, not yet, but we're hoping." She paused, pushing a stray bang out of her face and looking him up and down. "You know, we wanted to invite you to the wedding, but no one could figure out where you lived."
"Yeah, I…" He stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly and cleared his throat. "I drifted for a while. I went back home to the northeast, spent some time in Texas. They have great fishing down there, by the way, and the barbeque is amazing. But I've been fixing cars in Pueblo for a while now."
"Pueblo – that's nearby, isn't it? Couldn't tear yourself away forever, could you?" she teased.
He shrugged. "What about you? Have you been here all this time?"
"No, I've been running a private practice in Colorado Springs. When Rodney told me they hadn't decided on a chief physician for the expedition… well, here I am!" She laughed, "I've been dabbling in wraith physiology on the side, so I don't think I'm too rusty."
Muffled through the elevator doors, they could just hear the words "Unauthorized off-world activation!"
The doors opened again at level 28. Sheppard frowned as he exited the elevator. Drawing closer to the control room, he could make out a few sentences. "…The first real clash involving the wraith that I'm aware of. The attacking ship was destroyed almost instantly. Clearly they understand our technology." The voice was that of a wraith.
As Sheppard entered the control room, he caught a glimpse of Todd's face on the screen and the others gathered around to listen. "What the hell is this?"
"Ah," Todd chuckled. "John Sheppard. I wondered when I'd be seeing you again…"
A/N: I found this story on an old computer COMPLETELY FINISHED from 2010 that I had forgotten about! After rereading it, I'm really proud of how well the story arc and character voices match the "real" Atlantis.
To my recollection, the general canon is correct. However, I didn't watch past the second episode of Universe, so there may be some differences.
Stay tuned for more chapters as we get the gang back together!
