Chapter 4: Ripples

Klaxons started going off, first the city's shield went up, then the Stargate's shield went up, as did the Trinium-Neutronium-Naqahdah shield, that no one knew about but me. I winced in pain as the ripples of what had happened were first filtered by the city's AI, then felt by all with the ATA gene, more by those with it naturally or showing strong gene therapy related abilities. I had been in the Operations room, talking with Dr. Carter when it happened and barely stopped from falling to the floor, catching my forehead on the console as I slumped. Dr. Carter was checking on me when her husband (Daniel) came in and being who he was, tried to heal me; what happened was unexpected, not that I wasn't healed; but that in his using me (unintentionally) as an anchor, he fully activated his ATA gene to the level where he would be recognized as a natural Alteran by it. As an added "bonus" all of his natural children's ATA genes were similarly activated to the same level. This was part of the telepathic/telekinetic ability many Alterans had in the final tens of millennia in which the society thrived until the fall 10,000 years ago.

"What just happened." Was all Daniel could say, as he slumped to the floor, I being fully healed. I knelt down and healed him, not needing an anchor and neither would he or Kayla, or anyone with the ATA gene on Auratora from now on.

"Something wonderful." Came the voice from the hologram of Auratora's AI."

The hologram vanished as did the voice. But left all with a new feeling of abilities untapped.

"One thing at a time. What happened to cause the shields to go up and then what happened to make the city's AI do that and what did it mean?" General O'Neill asked, running into the Operations Room, from a day off with his children and wife.

"Dad, I don't know; but don't you feel it?" Jon O'Neill replied to his "dad."

"I can help here. The city's shields all go up when something triggers them; that's no unexpected. But what is unexpected is that this has been felt by all here, the city too, as well as all in Atlantis, which has similarly put up it's shields, and anyone with the ATA gene, anywhere in this universe." I replied.

"Incoming wormhole, Sirs." Lt. Castleman said to Dr. Carter and General O'Neill. "It's Atlantis and the SGC too."

"Put 'em on. Let's see what they might know." The General answered.

"General O'Neill, Dr. Weir, you there?" Came the voice of a shaken General Landry.

"Hank, we're all here; Elizabeth, how are you?" Jack replied to the other two, as their images cleared.

"What the hell just happened here. I was just being debriefed by SG3 on an away mission when everything started to go crazy. I assume from your voices that similar things happened on Atlantis and Auratora?" General Landry stated.

"Yes General; though in addition to the gate shields going up, the city shield as well, anyone seemingly with the ATA gene, reported feeling very odd. Then about 5 minutes ago, the city's AI appeared and said 'Something wonderful has happened', then disappeared." Weir replied.

I stepped into the camera.

"General Landry, Dr. Weir, I don't know if you know who I am; but I can explain in part what has happened." I started.

"The various city shields went up due to an event just occurring that the city and any Alteran or ATA gene carrier will be sensitive too. I haven't fully found out what; but what I do know, it is a universe level impacting event. What I mean is that, unlike other cross dimensional/plain/universe events, say the multi-SG1 incident that lead to the dozens of SG1 variant teams coming to the SGC or Daniel's ascension; this is a big event, that is a universe to universe link that has just been crossed from their's into ours. And likely not one that is small; but large, on the size of Auratora or Atlantis coming through." I finished and waited for all to take in what I said and what that might mean.

As General Landry and Dr. Weir were about to say something both, another entity joined the "call", the AIs of both Atlantis and Auratora. "We, the cities AIs, have detected the 'crossing' in the Andromeda Galaxy, near a gate not of our making."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Carter asked.

"What the AIs mean is that it was a gate that caused this event and that it wasn't an Alteran gate. That's odd, as it is only Ancient gates that could do this, as far as we theorized. Also, we don't know of any other race who makes gates; even the Asgard and Tollan gates are variants of Ancient gates." I answered.

"Auratora, Atlantis, is the gate of Ancient design or if not, do you know who and where it came from?" I continued.

"We know the gate is not Ancient; but we can use it. Where it is from, we do not know; but never have we encountered it. Neither we, nor our last sister, Destiny, have every seen a gate like it. It is young though, only centuries old." The two AIs answered.

It was then that another joined the "call".

"Earth, this is Destiny, are you receiving?" Came Colonel Young's voice.

"Everett, is that you?" General O'Neill said, in wonder.

"Yes, sir." Young replied.

"Everett, it's Elizabeth Weir also and General Landry; how did you get this?"

Before Colonel Young could reply, another voice spoke.

"I am old and slow; but much I have seen and this is new to me. My mission was to seek out the meaning of life and now, I sense conflict arising. Out, out this must go. This event has brought one who cannot stay or all will be lost." The voice of Destiny's AI stopped.

"Okay, before we get too far; Everett, I don't know if this will last, is there anything you need urgently that we have that we could try to send you?" General O'Neill asked.

"Sir, we have a running list of things that we need; I'll have Rush send it through." Colonel Young replied.

"Okay, we'll try you back in 1h with as much as we have for you. If anyone wants to come back or you all do, that will be the time to do it." O'Neill responded.

"Got it." Young responded, then having Rush send through the list of items needed and also readying to tell the crew of Destiny what had happened and what to be prepared for in 1h.