THE NIGHT OF THE TIME TRAVEL PORTAL

By Andamogirl

CHAPTER TWO

Later in the Wanderer

Rodney entered the parlor car and looked around him, amazed. "Whoa! That's beautiful! It's the luxury version of the old West trains."

Stepping into the room in his turn, John looked at Jim. "You live here?"

Jim closed the door behind him. "Yes, it's our home, Artie and I. Artie, that's short for Artemus, is my partner and best friend. The train called the Wanderer belongs to the Government, and we use it to travel throughout the country on our assignments, and sometimes President Grant uses it too to travel throughout the country. He has his own compartment, the state room."

Rodney frowned. "Who?"

John nodded. "President Grant, Ulysses S. Grant, former General of the Union during the Civil War and then President of the US. His face is on the 50 dollars bill."

Rodney nodded. "Oh! That one."

Suddenly the door of the galley opened and Artemus Gordon entered the room in his turn, holding a cup of steaming coffee. "Ah! Jim you're back already – Ladyless… But you brought some male guests. Good evening gentlemen. Welcome to the Wanderer."

Rodney smiled. "It's a beautiful train."

Intrigued, Artemus did a rapid but complete survey of the two men and adding his observations to his deductions, he finally concluded. "You are time travellers."

Rodney and John exchanged a very surprised look. Jim chuckled softly, knowing Artemus's powers of observation and deduction, but was still amazed each time he did that trick. "Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my companion, Artemus Gordon."

Stunned, McKay looked at Artie from head to foot. "How did you know?"

Artie smiled. "Well, it was easy. You don't look like men from here – I mean from our time period, this century, that's simple. For example, I've never seen the watch you're wearing on your wrists, such a firearm, or such strange uniforms and such shoes…"

Sheppard reached out. The two men shook hands. "My name is John Sheppard, Mr. Gordon. And my best friend here is Rodney McKay."

Artie smiled again. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, sirs."

Smiling too John added, "We are pleased to meet you too. And you're right; we're not from this time period, but from the 21st century. A time travel device sent us here by accident. Of course the things Rodney and I have said, and will say, will have to stay confidential."

Limping towards the table, Artie gestured to a couple of chairs. "Of course, I understand, and they will stay confidential. It could affect this time period technological, scientific, political and cultural development, amongst other things. Take a seat, gentlemen, please. Welcome on board – and welcome to the 19th century." Then wincing, he stifled a groan and slowly sat on the nearest seat.

Rodney sat beside Artie as John sat beside Jim.

McKay pointed at the crutches Artemus had leant against the table. "Were you injured on a mission?"

Artie nodded. "Yes, I badly sprained my ankle pursuing counterfeiters. One of them jumped on me and I fell off my horse and ended up at the bottom of a small ravine. But that's nothing. I've had worse." His chocolate eyes sparkling with intense curiosity he asked, "What happened? How did you get here?"

Sheppard looked at Rodney, blasé. "The usual, we found a very-very old device, Rodney re-activated it and everything went bad after that. It happens to us all the time."

Rodney frowned, upset. "Hey! That wasn't my fault, now-full-blown Colonel. I couldn't predict what would happen. I'm a genius, not a seer! It was an accident, like you said."

Surprised, Artie lifted an eyebrow. "Colonel? You're military then?"

John nodded. "Yes, I'm an officer of the US Air Force – the USAF is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces."

Both Jim and Artie exchanged a long look, and then Jim said, "My partner here is a visionary, Colonel. He predicted that men in the future will use airships and aerial bombs – thus that we will have aerial warfare - to destroy submarines and their deadly torpedoes."

Sheppard was astonished. "We don't use airships but planes, and a certain type of them does have torpedoes than can sink enemy submarines, yes."

Immensely pleased to have been right, Artemus grinned. "I was right."

Rodney narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Yes you were... that's a remarkable prediction. Are you sure you're not from the future too?" he asked the older agent.

Jim shook his head. "No, he's not. I met his mother, Helen. Artie has predicted too that his new automatic rifle will revolutionize warfare."

Artie waved his hand modestly. "I'm still working on the schematics."

The Colonel was very interested. "An automatic rifle?"

Rodney rolled his eyes in mocking exaggeration. "The Colonel here loves guns, any type. He even sleeps with his gun on his bedside table."

Proud of his brilliant partner, Jim added, "You see Colonel, Artie is a brilliant engineer and chemist. He has, for example, amongst many other inventions, invented various explosive devices, like smoke bombs, impact-flares, gas grenades, etc. Oh and he invented an explosive billiard ball too."

Artie blushed with both pleasure and pride.

John smirked. "Oh, Rodney loves to make things explode too – for example he completely destroyed a planet and even a solar system – or almost, three quarters of a solar system, to be precise." He ignored his best friend's patented glare and seeing that the two agents were more than astonished he added, "You didn't hear anything, okay? Way too much information."

Eyes still wide opened, Artemus breathed, "That means that… that you went into space? Then you have… how do you call them? Space ships? Did you go to the moon?"

Rodney began to be very interested in Artemus, the engineer and chemist. A man of science. "Yes, we do have spaceships, small ones, big ones. And yes, we went to the moon. It was in 1969. So, you're a scientist. I am a scientist too. The best of my time. I'd like to see some of your work, Mr. Gordon."

Back on Earth, Artie smiled. "With pleasure, and please, call me Artemus." He stood up and said, "Please, follow me to my lab."

Rodney was very surprised. "You have a lab? Here?"

As the two scientists left the parlor car Jim smiled and said, "Your team mate and my partner seem to get along, Colonel. They will be buddies before the end of the night. Speaking of night – Artie and I, we offer you hospitality on board the Wanderer. There's a bed in the State room. But as the President is not here, you can both sleep in his bed. It's not large, but comfortable. And there's a portable bunk if you don't want to share a bed with your team mate."

John smiled too. "Thank you very much, we accept. It's was an incredible chance to meet you in that street – or that was destiny, who knows? We are perhaps destined to do things together – and coming here was part of it, was the beginning."

Jim nodded. "That's possible. Let me show you the rest of the train."

WWW

Later, in the State room

Rodney pulled himself into a sitting position, struck a match and then lit the petrol lamp placed on the bedside table. Leaning against the headboard, he looked at his best friend lying on the bed beside him, eyes closed, hands joined resting on his chest. "John, are you sleeping?"

Sighing, John opened his eyes. "I was trying to," he said. "What is it?"

The scientist rested his back against the headboard and pulled his knees up to his chest. "I spent a good part of the night with Artemus, in his lab, a nice lab, well-equipped and functional, but archaic – for a man of my time period."

"And?" John asked, curious.

Rodney continued, "And we talked a lot. He told me things about his job and his inventions and about himself too, and I did the same thing in return. Don't worry, I didn't say anything important regarding what we do, I just gave him some inklings. He's a very intelligent man, no, he's brilliant! So I'm sure that he'll be able to deduce many things."

John smiled. "And you're buddies now?" he asked.

Rodney smiled too. "No, but I think that we bonded. I really like him a lot. That man is a genius – for the 19th century, of course. He is an exception in that barbaric time period. He was an actor when he was younger, then he was an officer in the cavalry during the Civil War, a Captain, then a spy. He's now a secret agent and uses disguises in his missions with Jim, and he can do any voice and any accent! He did mine! He's a musician, speaks six foreign languages fluently, he's a brilliant engineer and chemist. He loves mathematics and he's a brilliant inventor. The schematics of his automatic firearm are stunning! John, you should see them! He almost invented a P-90! He drew models of torpedoes and he's even drawn airships armed with machine guns and bombs! That's incredible. He's way ahead of his time! I repeat, he's a genius! That's why he and I, we immediately bonded. James West is a lucky man to have him as his partner and best friend."

John smiled and patted Rodney's arm with brotherly affection. "Yes, like I'm lucky to have you in my team and as a best friend, Rodney. Now, I'd like to sleep, because I'm tired, okay?"

Rodney nodded. He blew on the flame and the light went out. "Okay. Goodnight John." Then he moved onto his stomach.

Sheppard rolled onto his side, his back to Rodney. "Goodnight Rodney."

WWW

At the same time

Jim knocked at the door of his partner's compartment, heard "come in" and opened the door – finding Artie, dressed in his short black underwear sitting on his bunk, unwrapping the tight bandage enveloping his ankle and foot. "Are you okay Artie? I was in the corridor when I heard you cry out in pain."

The older man nodded. "I'm fine. I just have had awful cramps. Could you give me the terracotta pot on the table please?"

Jim complied. "What's that?"

Artie opened the lid and immediately a rich scent of camphor reached their nostrils. "It's a massage salve I made myself." He took a dollop of salve with his fingers and started to massage his injured foot with it, grimacing. "So, tell me about Colonel Sheppard."

Jim sat on the chair. "He's not like the colonels we know – and I'm not talking about Colonel Richmond who's a good man. He's less rigid, he's not thick-headed and harsh and cold, no, he's warm, friendly, open-minded, but he's also a strong man, dedicated to his work. He has been pretty evasive on the subject – but that is understandable. He's dedicated to his team, which he considers as his own family. He didn't say anything about it, though, except that McKay is part of it. And that he loves the man like he was his own brother. He loves guns and has an extensive knowledge of the 'old firearms of the West'. What about you and McKay?"

Artemus re-wrapped his injured ankle and foot, wincing. "We talked a lot. He told me things about his job and his work and about himself too, and I did the same thing in return. He's a genius, Jim. He was accepted at university when he was twelve. He's an engineer – and according to him, can build anything he wants - and he's an astrophysicist and a member of Sheppard's team for five years now. He didn't tell me a lot about his team or their missions, just that they are four in the team: Sheppard, a man called Ronan, and a woman called Teyla, both 'not from our planet' and he…. "

Stunned Jim blinked twice. "What? They're 'not from our planet'?"

The other man chuckled. "I was as stunned as you are now, Jim. He didn't tell me anything more about them, but as they have spaceships, they travel in space, so they visit other worlds, meet different people… people not from our planet, 'extra-terrestrials'. We're not alone in the universe, Jim. I always thought so, but now it's confirmed. He told me too that their missions are very dangerous and they're facing enemies that could destroy the whole planet if they didn't protect it – enemies from space, Jim. But none of them are threatening us. We're safe. Only good people travel in our galaxy." He placed a pillow at the end of his bunk, lay down on the mattress and rested his injured limb on it, slowly, gently. He continued, "I'd love to travel in space in spaceships and discover new worlds, new civilizations, meet strange people …"

Jim chuckled. "You? You want to fly in spaceships? Did you forget the one we saw in the sky in the middle of the night after you were turned green?" He smirked. "If I remember correctly, you were a bit scared Artie. And you're not anymore? Why?"

Piqued, Artie furrowed his brow and said, "I wasn't scared, Jim, I was just a bit apprehensive, that's all. And I'm not 'scared' anymore because I know that there are no bad 'extra-terrestrials' travelling amongst our stars and planets." He waved his finger at Jim and went on. "Speaking of our encounter with those faux girls from space, I got a little bone I want to pick with you, Jim."

Jim lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Me?"

Artie nodded. "Yes! You told me that that green chemical dye giving me the Venusian complexion would last three days top, and I stayed green for a whole week! I had to stay in the Wanderer so you went on a solo mission - and I completely forgot to be angry with you. I am now."

The younger man giggled. "Well, maybe you were given an overdose Artie, or your skin reacted differently, or both. I'm sorry, okay?" He patted his partner's arm. "I'd love to go with you on board spaceships and be at your side to discover new worlds, new civilizations, meet strange people, but it won't happen, buddy. They won't bring us with them when they go back to their time."

Artie nodded sadly.

Tbc