Chapter Two

Earlier that day…

The gate room in Atlantis was awash with excitement. The last few weeks had proved exceedingly fruitful as far as the scientific teams were concerned. Several ZPMs had been discovered on planets with communities more than willing to trade them, and a newly found device in an outlying lab in the city had given McKay's team something new to work on in the lull between crises. Like many of the city's computers, the device hadn't divulged its secrets willingly. However, Rodney inevitably figured out the machine's purpose, and it was with an air of unmistakable glee that he burst into Elizabeth Weir's office just as she was settling down with a cup of coffee and a list of mission reports to be reviewed and filed.

"Elizabeth! You remember that machine that Lorne found in the new lab in the east wing?" He nearly skidded into her desk and caught himself on the edge of it, leaning toward her with feverishly bright eyes.

She took in his disheveled appearance and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but it's a little early for scientific advancements, isn't it?"

"I never got to bed, just had to finish working through the last of the program." He raked a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Weir noted his bloodshot eyes and made a mental note to see if he'd kept Zelenka and the others up all night, too. "Elizabeth, it's an Ancient workaround for intergalactic wormhole power consumption. Granted, it's a work in progress and there are a still a lot of bugs and incomplete code, and it could be a few days before I can get it working properly, but they already tested it and—"

"Rodney, hold on. What is it, in laymen's terms? What does it do?"

"It's a way to dial gates in other galaxies without using as much power. It's flawed in that you have to have slightly different program for every address; you can't just plug in any location and go. And if the programming is wrong, the results could be…bad. There are a couple of addresses in the system already, though, and I am this close to having them ready to be checked out."

"Wait, we have addresses to other galaxies? Are there names for them? Information?"

"Come with me, I'll show you."

Mission reports long forgotten, Elizabeth had rushed to the lab with him and spent the better part of the day peering over his shoulder, along with a growing number of interested Atlantis personnel as the hours wore on. Even Sheppard had dropped by a few times, wondering how soon the device would be ready to open a gate to a new galaxy.

"Soon," McKay promised.

At that, the intrepid Lieutenant Colonel had immediately turned to Elizabeth with hopeful eyes.

"No," she said firmly before he could say a word.

"You're not exactly stopping him," Sheppard pointed out in protest, glancing sideways at the oblivious McKay.

"Let's talk," Weir said diplomatically, ushering him out of the crowded lab and down the hall.

Sheppard started talking as soon as they were out of earshot of the lab's occupants. "Look, Elizabeth, I'm sure I don't have to convince you of the…the scientific value of intergalactic travel. And just think of the allies we could make!"

"Or enemies," she pointed out. "There is always the possibility that something even worse than the Wraith is waiting at those addresses. Why do you think the project never got completed?"

"I don't know, maybe they got sidetracked by the problems they were having in this galaxy? And what kind of pessimistic thinking is that, anyway? If you were worried about traveling to another galaxy, you never would have come here in the first place." His voice was rising in frustration.

"John, don't." Her sharp look quelled his temper. "You know the danger as well as I do. We can't just go running into a new galaxy without thinking of the consequences!"

"I know." He sighed. "Can we at least try sending a MALP through, just to see if there's anything on the other side? For all we know, those addresses could be space gates, or underwater."

Weir considered, her pace slowing as they approached the mess hall. "All right," she conceded, "one MALP for the first address that Rodney can ensure we'll be able to contact safely."

"And then a team, if it's safe?" Sheppard asked eagerly.

"We'll see."

He practically bounced into the dining hall as though she'd actually said yes. "Let's get them something to eat. McKay always thinks better on a full stomach."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and followed him in.

-----

That evening saw a triumphant, if bloodshot-eyed, McKay as he wrapped up the final lines of code and stood up triumphantly from where he'd been sitting at the console. "I've done it! It's ready! We may now venture into…" he paused to consult the screen, "ah, a yet unnamed galaxy safely and with only twice the usual amount of power used to dial a stargate, thanks to the brilliant yet modest Rodney McKay!"

Zelenka cleared his throat from the corner where he had been working.

"And with minor contributions from Radek Zelenka," Rodney added quickly.

"Great work, Rodney." Elizabeth beamed at him.

"So, are we going, or what?" Rodney asked, clasping his hands together expectantly. All eyes turned to Weir.

She cleared her throat and ignored Sheppard, who looked ready to dash out of the lab and suit up for combat at a moment's notice. "We have decided to send a MALP through the gate first, in the event that something… happens," her gaze shifted briefly to McKay, "or that the environment on the other side is hostile. We'll decide after it comes back what is to be done. We still don't have much information on these addresses, so it's best that we play it as safe as possible for now."

Excited chatter immediately filled the small lab when she finished speaking. A few of the scientists hurried out to prepare the MALP while Rodney bent over the device to connect it to the stargate's power source—"through a protected circuit," he informed Elizabeth, "just in case there's a surge or some other anomaly, to keep it from damaging anything important."

Satisfied he had the device under control, Weir left him with Zelenka and the others and started toward the gateroom. Sheppard fell into step beside her, hands in his pockets and a bounce in his step. She glanced at him and couldn't hide a tiny smile at his poorly masked enthusiasm. "Yes, John?"

"Oh, nothing," he said quickly, raising his eyebrows innocently. "I just like walking next to you, that's all." A brief pause. Elizabeth waited. "Do you think we should get ready… just in case?"

"John, we don't even know if this thing is going to work. And if it does… are you sure you want to be responsible for whatever's waiting on the other side?"

His grin was brief and wry. "Hey, we've dealt with Wraith, replicators, and the Genii. How bad could it be?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered as they entered the gateroom and climbed the stairs. The MALP was already in position before the iris, a team of Marines arranged at the edges of the room. McKay arrived at the control center a few minutes later, laptop in hand. "Everything's ready," he informed Elizabeth cheerfully.

She inhaled deeply and nodded to the control technician at the DHD. "Dial the gate."

-----

Forty-five minutes later…

Elizabeth clenched the balcony railing, knuckles turning white with the pressure. The team had been gone for ten minutes, the gate shut down after their departure and the gateroom's occupants tense with vicarious excitement. The MALP had returned with surprisingly boring footage: a large, empty, metal-walled room with two sets of wide airlock doors. Confident the area was livable and secure, Weir had given Sheppard's team permission to depart soon after the MALP returned safely. They hadn't been sure how long they would be gone, but Elizabeth could acutely sense every second pass and silently prayed for their quick and safe return. She wasn't sure why the uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach had only grown worse since the gate had closed on Teyla's heels. Usually she trusted the more-than-capable team to handle itself in an emergency…

She jumped visibly as the warning alarm resounded around them. "Incoming wormhole. Colonel Sheppard's IDC," the tech announced.

"Let them through!" Weir called, hurrying down the stairs.

The gate established with the familiar sploosh, but no one stepped through. The Marines bristled at the edge of the room. Seconds passed even slower; she tapped her earpiece and crossed her arms. "Sheppard? Please respond."

Silence.

Two minutes passed with only the stargate's tranquil blue glow to reassure her that anything was on the other side of the gate. She turned to move back up the staircase and found Lorne coming down to meet her, already having anticipated her command.

"Dr. Weir?"

"Assemble a team," she said brusquely.

But she had barely reached the bottom of the stairs again when Teyla darted through the gate, swiftly followed by Ronon, McKay—Sheppard—and another woman half ran, half fell through the gate after him, then another woman and a man, both of whom hit the floor painfully as though they had vaulted rather than ran through the gate. The wormhole closed of its own accord on their heels and the Marines closed in around the group, Sheppard in the midst of the three newcomers.

"What happened?" Weir demanded, swiftly closing the distance between herself and the team.

"It was apparently an underwater facility," Teyla volunteered. "The room started to collapse as we were about to return through the stargate."

Sheppard climbed to his feet and helped the dark-haired woman stand up. The other two rose as well and stared around in surprise at the gateroom, whose bright lights and furnishings stood in stark contrast to the dank station a galaxy away.

"Where are we?" the man, auburn-haired with the look of a soldier about him, wondered aloud.

"You can lower your weapons," the brunette woman commented icily.

"It's a precaution, Bastila," the one at Sheppard's side admonished. She seemed to remember herself and surveyed the silent crowd around them, eyes finally landing on John. "You aren't with Malak, are you? What is this place?"

Weir stepped forward as Sheppard nodded at the Marines to relax their stance. "This is the city of Atlantis, in the Pegasus galaxy." Bastila gasped sharply. "It was built by the Ancients, if that's…familiar to you, at all. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the leader of the expedition."

The black-haired woman blinked in comprehension. "The Pegasus…galaxy? We aren't on Manaan anymore?"

"Manaan? Is that your home?" Teyla asked.

"No, just one of many destinations. We were searching for a Star Map in the Hrakert Rift." She paused, raked her fingers back through her hair in bewilderment, then shook her head slightly and offered Elizabeth a small smile. "I apologize. You must want to know who we are. I am Anitra Vallya, and this is Bastila Shan and Carth Onasi. Carth is a Republic pilot, and Bastila and I are both members of the Jedi Order."