Disclaimer: The characters of Stargate belong to MGM. The universe of Doctor Who belongs to BBC.
'Not all Time Lords perished into the Time Wars. One escaped into another universe.'
The Destiny's Time Lord
Everett looked up and saw the growing red dot on Doctor Stealth's side. The man saved his life and now lay dying in his arm. Stealth smiled wide.
"It is not over, Everett," – He said with fading voice. "It is just the beginning."
Everett looked up. Rush, Chloe, Matt, Grier and TJ had just come in.
"Oh my god," – TJ said and rushed to him but he pushed her back.
"You can't do anything, TJ," – He said barely. "But it is not necessary either."
Suddenly his face and hands started to glow in an odd yellowish light.
"It has begun." – His voice became coarse and he stood up pushing himself away from Everett. "Prepare yourselves to be amazed."
The yellowish light suddenly flared up in intensity. The result was astonishing...
Chapter 3
We're catching up...
Previously:
The crew of Destiny wakes up after three in stasis. Everything seems ok until Dr. Rush finds a deletion point in the logs of the last day of Eli's two week deadline to fix the last stasis pod. When confronted Eli denies knowing anything about it. Rush and Everett are concerned. The day ends with the strange appearance of a man through the event horizon of the gate.
The next day, Destiny drops out of FTL and on one of the worlds Eli retrieves a mysterious package. Later in the day, Dr. Stealth (the strange man from the event horizon), enlists Eli into taking over the ship. The ship then reappears into the previous galaxy and comes face to face with an old foe – a Drone ship.
Dr. Stealth boards the drone ship and disables it after taking a few million nanomites then set a new course for Destiny. Meanwhile Rush and Everett are trying to get access to the bridge. Eli slows them down as he plants C4 explosives into the control room. As the ship resumes course Eli and Stealth surrender.
Unable to alter course, Everett demands the information out of Dr. Stealth who promptly refuses. He briefly retakes the ship then releases everyone. Midnight come he meets with Everett and reveals to him he outranks him and has a mission to complete but does not give any details.
Later on Destiny drops out of FTL to receive a mysterious update. Dr. Rush tracks it and discovers Destiny's main frame has already deleted the information. But he also discovers the name of the transmission's source – the Guardian. The ship resumes course for the new destination input by Dr. Stealth, somewhere near planet Novas.
The next day, Destiny drops out again and gives gates to explore. Everett, TJ, Matt, Volker and Chloe go to explore. The Stargate on the planet is destroyed stranding them. Shortly after that Destiny comes under attack and Dr. Rush jumps the ship back to FTL. Eli pleads Stealth to help but he refuses. Eli follows Stealth's activities during the day only to discover he's collecting different items. It appears he is building something though what remains a mystery. Eli knows his personal destiny is at stake as four days remain until he meets his fate.
And now:
The morning was by far chillier than the day before as the five stranded members of the crew of Destiny discovered. Even their thermo blankets did not manage to shield them from the cold.
Matt and Everett were the first to stir. They inhaled the cold air and stood up promptly. Matt got to look for more wood to make a fire while Everett used the time to scout the area around their camp. He checked his radio calling out for Destiny but got no response.
Of course, they were not back for them but Everett had to try. The immediate area was as they saw the day before – mostly prairie type. The closest forest was probably a click away. It was the very something he had to explore. Perhaps the forest will provide them with better shelter. Staying in the open was certainly not the best idea.
He reached the forest in under an hour. It was dense. Movement proved difficult though not impossible. Sadly the trees were normal size, not very thick. Trees with larger trunks could provide some shelter but he had no luck finding such though he walked for over an hour deeper into the forest.
He made his way back to the edge of the forest. In the distance opposite of their camp he noticed rising grounds. It was difficult to tell though as the area was submerged into dense fog.
He pressed the button on the radio and called. "Lieutenant Scott, come in!"
"Sir?" – Matt's voice replied.
"I think there maybe mountains four five clicks south of the camp. I'm going to check them out."
"Sir, you should not wander alone. I will accompany you."
"No, you stay with the camp."
"Then I shall send TJ."
"Very well, I'm one click away at the edge of forest."
"Understood. Scott out!"
Tamara reached his position.
"I heard you found mountains." – She said.
"Over there!" – Everett pointed at the direction of the fog.
"Well, let's check it out."
The upland however was further than Everett had estimated. It took them nearly six hours before they were at the foot of it.
"Scott, come in!"
"Yes, sir?"
"We've reached the mountain. Well it is more of a hill really but it does climb up. We are going to look for something. I don't know caves or else. I'll call back in an hour! Young, out!"
"Understood."
"Well then, let's go!" – Everett said and they started climbing.
Back at the camp, Matt helped Volker to bring in more wood. He then went to look for something that could potentially be called vegetables or fruit. Chloe came along. She did not want to stay behind. At about an hour later, Matt sent her back.
"Matt!"
"Chloe, no one should stay alone. I can handle myself." – Matt said. "Please!"
"Alright. Keep in contact."
"I will!"
The ground was firm and hard, Matt noticed. It reminded him of his basic survival training at the academy. He had a mean superior. She was pushing them a lot and the gender thing kept standing in the way (women – Matt sighed – inadequacies and such, and blah, blah). But, there were so many examples of serving women who were better than men.
Matt shook head. Memories are a funny thing sometimes. They take you to weird places and it is either the guilt trip and, or the epiphany. His first mission on the other side of the universe was a guilt trip but it bore fruit. He found water or the thingy to make the air to better, whatever.
Now, this place which may as well become his new home brought other memories – basic survival training. Never in it would he have imagined he would be one day in a desolate region of the universe, on a planet such as this trying to find a way to survive. But then he remembered he and his team has already done that, sort of. On the planet Novas, they had built a whole society and yet he had never been there, at the beginning anyway. It was a very strange experience. But now there was a good chance he could go through it again though this time there are only five of them here.
He snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the environment before his eyes and as far as his eyes could see this terrain continued for miles, on and beyond the horizon. There were no forests, no nothing but flat land. There were no lakes either. But he continued walking nonetheless.
An hour or so later, he stopped to rest. The terrain though it had no changed even in the slightest appeared to be going upwards. And wherever there is upland there is a mountain. So, he sucked it up and increased his pace.
Some hour or two later, the terrain visibly changed. Matt stopped and looked back. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead. Something in here was making no sense. It was like the whole view of this area was an illusion, a mirage. But then he relaxed as such appearance is not uncommon for flat terrains. It was something to do with air pressures and things though he never really paid attention of those in class.
The terrain was visibly going upwards and scattered formations of trees appeared here and there. He even found tracks. They were definitely not human and definitely animal like. The chance for a barbeque started to grow roots in his mind though TJ would have to test them first to be sure it is something they can actually eat and not die.
A smile appeared on his face. If Ron were here he would have rejoiced at the opportunity for hot meat, toasted and so on. Ron, his friend and all the others, but no, they were on Destiny travelling at high speed away. He was certain they had not forgotten about them but with Destiny's navigation system rigged they could not come back for them anyway. Damn that guy, Stealth and his game, whatever it is.
Soon the mountain face grew in size and Matt could see cliffs and high rock peaks, and ledges and everything one would expect to see in a mountain. He of course was looking for a cave or cave system as it would be delightfully useful to their little group at least for the winter period that according to Volker was not too long away.
He soon spotted an opening that certainly qualified as a cave entrance. He informed the camp and then ventured in. The cave walls were a strange mix of amber and crystal formations. He thought at first of quartz but it was definitely more crystalline form than quartz.
The cave path dived downwards and Matt followed it. The path was winded resembling more and more wide stairs. He reached the bottom and almost fell down to the ground of shock and surprise.
"Lieutenant?" – Everett said turning to him as though what he was seeing was straight forward impossible.
Matt had to blink several times just to be sure that what he was seeing was real. And even then it seemed surreal. Everett and TJ looked more like ghosts than their fleshy selves. He thrust vigorously his head but the view had not changed.
Everett and TJ were standing in the middle of an amber and crystal formation that could easily be described as a gateway. Actually, they were looking through one. Before the gateway, there was a rising of oblong transparent crystals each protruding in different height (and as crazy as it would seem this reminded him of the Fortress of Solitude). But that was fiction, a story written almost eighty years ago. Was it possible it was not a story after all? They, in the SG program, have seen many crazy and outright impossible things. Could this be one of them too?
But whether a story or not, it was standing right in front of him. It looked exactly the same or more or less the same way. He walked to it and stood before the gateway. On the other side behind Everett and Tamara there was a similar console of crystals.
"Sir?"
"Lieutenant where are you?"
"I found this mountain after four five hours walks in direction opposite of the one you took." – Matt replied. "Where…how did you find this…whatever it is?"
"We found the caves and then there were a few openings that we explored." – Everett answered. "And then one of them we found this and until you showed we weren't certain what we were seeing exactly."
"We still are not certain, Colonel!" – Tamara corrected him.
"Well," – Matt said. "It is kind of obvious. It is some kind of gateway."
"Perhaps," – Everett said.
"Maybe we should get Dr. Volker to have a look." – Matt suggested.
"Yes, call Chloe and Volker and tell them exactly how to reach your position. In the meantime, I will look up the animal tracks I found. I don't want any surprises."
"I found animal tracks too." – Matt informed.
"Oh! Well, secure the area and got meet them."
"Yes, sir,"
Everett disappeared out of sight while Tamara was moving around though he could still see her. Matt took on the radio but it did not seem to work this much underground. He was certain to return when he decided to touch a crystal. The effect was immediate.
The view of the other cave where Tamara and the colonel were vanished and it were replaced by an almost identical one but without them in it. Matt frowned. He touched another crystal and the view changed completely. It showed a misty environment and a rain forest then it went to yet another view of a desert. But in all views one thing was constant – the crystal console. This sudden change spoke for itself though Matt was not entirely sure what exactly. It appeared that the gateway was on many other worlds much like the Stargates. He was tempted to go through but then he knew he might not be able to return.
He climbed quickly up the winded path and back into the cave. He ventured out and tried his radio again but it did not work again. He hurried down the hill and soon reached the flat lands. His radio thankfully worked.
"Chloe, come in!" – He called.
"Matt, where the devils have you been? You got me worried sick!"
"Chloe, I have been out of contact for just about an hour."
There was a pause on the other side. "Are you feeling ok?"
"Why?"
"Matt, you have been out of contact for more than twelve hours."
"WHAT? BUT THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"
"Well, I do have here Dale. We haven't gone crazy yet."
"Oh, wow! Ah, ok, I need you and Volker to pack everything that you can carry and come my way."
"Why?"
"We found something interesting."
"Matt? We?"
"Yes, I just spoke with Colonel Young and TJ."
"Really?"
"Why?"
"They have been out of contact for roughly the same time."
"I'll explain everything when you come to me."
"And to you is where?"
"Ok, you remember where you left when we were together?"
"Yes,"
"Ok, from there, you will walk in a straight line without deviating for about five hours. The terrain will then start to climb. An hour and half, afterwards, you will see the mountain."
"Ah, Matt, when I was there, the terrain was nothing but flat land."
"I know it is a bit off but trust me it is just as I say."
"Alright, we are packing and coming to you."
"Good, call me every one hour."
"Sure, see you there."
Dr. Rush was in a lab two levels beneath the bridge working on the mysterious update that Destiny received and wiped out. He could use some help with it especially from Mandy. He regretted now the time he chose to be with her in the virtual environment. No, Rush thrust head, he did not regret the moments but his actions led to Dr. Perry's and Gin, Eli's girlfriend from the Lucian Alliance to be guaranteed in the board computer.
He had already gone through thousands of logs hoping to find more deletion points but stayed rather disappointed. Destiny had superb job covering its tracks. It was very frustrating as he had of course other work to do but he believed strongly that this could be of vital importance.
He had the notion that a backup vessel could be of immense use. It can continue the mission. Yes, the mission of this ship was very important. But there was always the nagging question – did the Ancients really anticipate it would survive this long. They certainly launched with such hope but anyone with realistic thinking would reach a different conclusion. It was impossible to predict all along such a long path. They must have figured they would eventually come aboard. But they never did. They decided to ascend and explore otherwise.
Rush stopped thinking in that direction. There were too many cons against its continuous survival and very little pros. The mission was important but when there is no one to appreciate it was really not worth it. What were they thinking? They would last forever – nothing lasts forever, a large chunk of history – gone, wasted efforts of countless generations that had devoted their life's work on building this wonder.
He often wondered how long it took them to build it. How many countless and sleepless hours they had until they made it work? Did they succeed in the first attempt or did it take longer? And why on Earth did they never leave any records of that? This last was the most frustrating part about this race – no records.
Yes, there were many questions and almost no answers. At times it seemed like chasing a ghost, no, like chasing wind and trying to catch it (or as the saying goes nail smoke to the wall). But hope is what sustained him. It was hope that they can actually make sense of their lives, of everything surrounding them. Is there order in the universe or not? Is everything random? Of course random is something he discovered doesn't exist. Everything they do every day contributes to a shared point somewhere in the future. Of course that particular subject could decades of debate, philosophical debate.
For now, his focus was on the current mystery – the other ship – The Guardian. The Ancients had no mention of another ship. When he first checked the database with a bit more free time there was really no mention of it. It is like the thing never existed. But then even on Atlantis they would have found another address, another code, but there was nothing.
Rush sighed. Lately, it hasn't been his days. The most recent event was the loss of Colonel Young, TJ, Lieutenant Scott, Dr. Volker and Chloe. They were stranded on a planet with no means of return. The gate on the planet had been destroyed by the drone ships and without it any hope of anything. The last it happened, Eli was with the group and he managed to send a message but it was clear now nothing had survived of the gate as there was no signal. He knew Chloe would figure how to send one but there was nothing and they could not risk returning or they could lose the entire ship. They had no choice but go forward.
The crew was taking it hard. Their two leaders, Young and Scott, were gone. Eli and Chloe were also favorites among the crew, and of course Dr. Volker was a valuable member. Camille Wray had assumed command. She was happy and unhappy at the same time. An irritating part was the lack of communication with Earth. The stones for some reason were not working.
In the beginning Rush would have been delighted to get rid of Young but now not so much. He was a valuable ally, no, they were all valuable. Destiny was now their home and they were going to help it complete its mission.
However as irony would have it they were back in the galaxy they were trying to avoid while staying in stasis for three years. For this they had to thank the mysterious Dr. Stealth. Ah, Stealth, he was indeed as mysterious as the ship itself. Some parts were easily readable but others – huh. And Eli's connection to him was just as much a mystery.
The two weeks period Eli had to fix the last stasis pod obviously had not gone according to plan. Something had happened but both Eli and Stealth were keeping it a secret. What possible event could have taken place to justify the silence? Rush had no idea. He sighed again. Whatever was meant to happen will happen for now it was best to return his focus back on his work.
"Dr. Rush, come in, Nicolas, are you there?"
Rush pushed himself away from his thoughts. This was Camille's voice.
"Yes, I'm here."
"Mr. Broody wants to see you."
"Not now, I'm busy."
"He says it is urgent."
Rush sighed frustrated. "Alright, I'll be there in a moment."
He left the laboratory and headed to the control room where he found Broody drooling over the galactic display.
"What was it so urgent that it couldn't wait?" – Rush asked as he entered.
"Ah, Dr. Rush, Destiny is...um…showing a new, the new course. I think there will be two stops before…um…reaching the final destination, whatever it is. But the main thing is…ah…these worlds have no gates."
"What? This can't be right!" – Rush sighed again frustrated. Most of the time these people were so far out behind him and were acting like children. Rush moved to the console and examined the claim which happened to be valid. Destiny had noted two stops before reaching its course destination as set by Dr. Stealth. There were no gates registered.
Rush wondered why Destiny would choose to drop there. He had told the computer of their little problem with the stranded crew members. Was it possible Destiny had found a solution?
"Ah, Dr. Stealth, you are the man, I've been looking for." – Broody said.
Dr. Stealth had entered into the control room and looked like he is in a hurry. He pushed Broody aside and began pushing buttons very rapidly checking display after display and flow of information.
"Yeah, well, keep looking!" – Stealth replied after he had finished looking at the display and bolted out of the control room.
"Where does he go every time?" – Broody asked aloud though he was directing the question at anyone in particular.
"Didn't Eli try to find out?" – Rush asked looking up.
"He did but he hit a dead end. Stealth managed to dodge the kinos."
"He's a crafty one."
"I have reports that he takes some old metals, trinkets and wires, and things. But what he does is beyond anyone."
"Huh!" – Rush became pensive. What was really Stealth doing? He went to Broody's console and took a peak at the displays Stealth had accessed. He frowned. Stealth had accessed the computer core to calculate very sophisticated equations.
Rush put the equations on the bigger display and started studying them. He soon reached the conclusion they had to with propulsion and some engineering he has never seen before. There were also equations for robotic related subjects and bodily functions. There was also wide variety of sensor input, shields, displays, automatic systems, remote control and many others that related to movement, bending, jumping. It was staggering.
What the hell was he doing? Was he building something? But then the question was what was he building? And why was he in such a hurry?
Rush thrust his head as he was going to have a headache of so much questions with no answers. But perhaps it was time he discovered what Stealth was doing.
Truth be said, Stealth was indeed in a hurry. Time was against him although for him that was rather relative and still the key events were fast approaching. And the crew of Destiny had no idea and worst he couldn't tell them. Time was short. And on top of all some of the key players were now missing, stranded on a planet. Stealth returned to the storage room and vanished into a crate.
Eli had changed tactics and had started following Stealth around. But every time he was losing sight of him. It was rather frustrating as it seemed like Dr. Stealth knew the schematics of the ship better than anyone, all the ways in and out, the shortcuts.
The strain of losing people, important people was visible on anyone. Eli wished there was something they could do but Rush was right too they couldn't risk the ship. But maybe they didn't have to. And then again there was nothing to be done either as the navigation system was still fused to Stealth's coordinates. Eli also wished he could tell the others of the upcoming event but Stealth was rather adamant.
Eli closed eyes and returned to the past. He had just put Colonel Young into the last working stasis pod and moved to the observation room to admire the view. It was a beautiful view of stars passing by in lines, and the ship piercing the subspace like a jet through the air. It was a Star Wars moment.
The first day was uneventful. The manual on the stasis pod was rather extensive and he was already feeling the pressure of time. He managed to read about three hundred pages before his head started hurting. He paused to get something to eat. After that he took a walk through the ship to clear the food and his head. And in all of the empty places he would imagine the people, the crew of Destiny having a chat or performing some duty. And then he would remember it was only the first day he was totally alone on the ship.
The second day he woke up early and started reading again. He covered another three hundred pages before it became too much. If it was some light reading he could have read it even faster but it was hardly that. The day had almost reached its end. He ate and took a walk once more, and then to bed.
The third and fourth day he managed to cover the last five hundred pages. But the problem was most of the things he read he did not remember. It seemed he was reading them just for the sake of reading and not understanding. And so he had to start all over again.
The fifth and the sixth day, it become clear that reading just for the sake of reading had its perks. Rereading the manual helped with the understanding of the principles of the stasis pods, their inner workings and schematics.
And on the seventh day, Eli came to the understanding that the problem with the last pod was not that of physical damage but software. And the only way to fix it is basically to rewrite the software. There was however one hiccup, one major hiccup. To make changes to the pod's software he had to take all of them offline and this was the one thing he could not do otherwise the clever idea he had come up with would not work. And the next time, Destiny stops the crew would have to fight a Drone ship again.
On the eight day, he realized that the previous day he was wrong. There was physical damage and software damage but only to that pod. The software patch he tried to create did not work as at least one other pod had to be taken offline and that would take from his overall time left of life support. And it was not an easy decision. He knew of course Colonel Young would gladly risk it with him but he did not want to.
On the ninth day, he found a way to fix the physical damage but to apply the software change he had to make a decision. If he did nothing on the fourteenth day he would have to die for the benefit of the rest of the crew. And if he chose to do something he would have to pick up a person. But he couldn't pick up any of his favorite people.
The decision was not an easy one. He walked through Camille's file on every person onboard the ship. The civilians deserved more until he fell on the file of Dr. Ian Stealth. He has had military rank before he quit the Air Force though Camille in her notes did not believe so (paranoia, Eli had thought).
The tenth day came and it was time for Eli to make decision and then faith made the decision for him. The ship suddenly dropped out of FTL and the gate activated. Eli did the only thing he could do he sealed the doors around the gate room, and put a kino in it to see who was coming.
The event horizon was stilled. A few boxes flew across the event horizon and landed with a splashing thud. Then a ball of light crossed through and then another and another, and a few more. And then they came – humanoids and worst of all he recognized the clan tattoos. It was the Lucian Alliance.
The balls of light however took form too and they looked pretty human too. And it hit him, they were the Ancients. But it was not over more things came through and some of them looked very scary with long silver hair and faces carved by nightmares. And then more came through, Chloe's aliens…and suddenly Eli woke up in his bed sweating and breathing hard.
He darted to the gate room. The gate was not active and the ship was still in FTL. What the hell, he asked himself. Is it Destiny again playing tricks with his mind? Or was it a warning that he was losing his mind in this desperate fight for survival? It seemed dying was not as easy. His body, his living flesh and subconscious mind was fighting him, telling him to do more and never give up.
On the eleventh day, things got a lot worse. He was starting to day dream every other hour. And his dreams were all grim. This time he saw his mother and the drones, the spider bug in the caves of that world he got stranded with Matt, Ron and Chloe. They were all nightmares and he did not know how to shake them. At some point he even hoped he was already in the pod and this was all but a dream. But he was still out with three days to go.
"Eli, come in!" – Rush's voice took him off his thoughts about past times.
"Yes, I'm here."
"I need you in the control room."
"Sure, I'll be right there."
Eli thrust head. The trip to memory lane was over for now. He had to bring his focus back to the present and its troubles.
Chloe and Volker saw in the distance Matt and hurried to him. This planet they were on was really weird. Just an hour ago, it did not seem like there was any elevation of any kind for miles and miles.
"Oh, good, you're here." – Matt greeted them. "Come on!"
He led them up the path and into the caves then took them down the winded wide path resembling stairs till they reached the bottom. The large space there had an amber and crystal forming a gateway and a pile of protruding crystals like a DHD in front of it. It was still stuck onto the desert world so it attracted the attention.
"What…Matt was is that?" – Chloe asked as she laid her eyes onto the portal.
"I was hoping Dr. Volker could shed some light into it." – Matt replied. "I think it might be a portal that leads to other places."
"Leads to other places – how?"
"Look!" – Matt touched one of the crystals and the view on the other side of the portal changed at once. It showed a green meadow and even the aroma of fresh herbs flew through it.
"Wow!" – Volker exclaimed. He moved the crystal's formation. Touching the crystals they changed scenery again. "This is amazing."
"Can you…I don't figure out if it could be of some use to us?" – Matt said. "I think it is safe to cross through."
"Cross through?" – Chloe exclaimed concerned. "And how do you plan to come back?"
"Well, the control crystals exist on the other side too."
"Oh, I don't think it is that simple." – Volker shook head.
"You said you talked to Colonel Young and TJ?" – Chloe reminded.
"Yeah," – Matt nodded. "They were on other side of one of these portals. We just need to find it again."
"Slow down!" – Volker exclaimed. "You're saying there is another portal on the same planet?"
"Well, yeah, why?"
"Well this complicates things." – Volker replied. "I mean if it works on the principle of the gates then two portals can't really exist on…"
"Look, I spoke to Colonel Young. He was standing on the other side. He was the one who suggested you come to me. Look, he and TJ went in the opposite direction and found the other portal."
"Could these portals, gateways be connected one to the other?" – Chloe asked.
"Well, if they saw each other the obvious is they are connected." – Volker replied. "The question is: are they used as gateways or simply as ways of communication?"
"We won't know for sure until we send a probe through." – Matt said.
"A kino, of course," – Volker slapped himself on the head. "But before that we have to make sure it is how it works."
"Meaning?"
"Their functionality may be different from that of the stargates. We have to understand how it works first then conduct experiments."
"So what do you do first?"
"First, we find them then we will see."
Of course finding the colonel and Tamara proved to be rather difficult and close to impossible. Volker spent nearly six hours trying to locate the other portal with no success. Figuring out how the whole shebang worked proved as equally difficult as they had no mode of comparison. The crystal technology was probably a thousand if not more years more advanced than anything they had come across including the stargates.
The console was made only of crystals. There were no panels on the back or the sides that could indicate some elementary circuitry of any kind crystal or otherwise. Volker felt almost the same way as he did on the planet Eden. The obelisk there was also as seamless as the crystals formation here. But then again somehow, something made this whole thing thick so there had to be a way of making heads and tales out of it.
He attached the connection wires to the crystals and linked them to his pad. A connection was made though the problem was the language which he totally did not understand. Chloe came to see if she could help out with something.
Of course touching things at random could be of some use it was not advisable. They could not know what they could be doing. For all they all know they could be setting off the self destruct.
Matt spent the time looking for alternative supplies such plants and animals though to a point it was rather pointless as Tamara was not there to test them (more or less). He got himself thinking that whoever created these gateways had been smart enough to make them useable otherwise their existence was rather pointless. He was convinced they are portals otherwise why put the crystal console everywhere.
A thought crawled into his mind. What happens if you disconnect the portal on one side but leave open on the other? Does it shut down like with the Stargates or does it not? And if that would be the case then the portal on Young's side should still be running.
The thought he was having linked the whole portal thing to something Volker said. He thought it could be a way of communication. And if this was case then these things resemble awfully a telephone. He darted back to the caves.
"Stop what you're doing!" – He yelled on the way down at hearing range. When he arrived at the bottom the other two were looking at him.
"Matt, what is it? Is the Colonel and TJ? Did you meet them?"
"No!" – Matt shook head. "I just had a thought, a crazy but a thought."
"Ok!"
"Dr. Volker, you said these things could be a way communication, right?"
"Yes," – Volker confirmed.
"And at the same time on all views, other views we see the console of crystals like a DHD, right?"
"Yes," – Volker replied slightly frowning trying to guess where the lieutenant was going with this.
"So they can be also portals as well, right?"
"I suppose it is possible. Why?"
"Now, suppose they are both – a way to communicate and a gateway."
"Matt, where are you going with this?" – Chloe asked.
"Bear with me!" – Matt said slowing down to catch his breath. "When you dial a telephone and you talk with the other side the connection is live, right?"
"Yes," – Volker nodded.
"Now, if I disconnect but you don't and you try to dial me back what do you get?"
"I get busy signal."
"Why?"
"Well, because the connection on your side has not been severed yet!"
"Right! Now imagine, I flipped a crystal and switched the view but Colonel Young and TJ haven't done that because they don't know how it works so the connection between them and us still exists. In other words their connection to our portal is still active. But we can't find them because of…"
"Of course we can." – Volker had finally had an epiphany.
"What do you mean?" – Chloe was still not following.
"This is brilliant but how do you restore it?"
"This part is eluding me!" – Matt confessed.
"Would someone let me in?" – Chloe insisted.
"What he meant is that in the previous situation when you close and try to dial you can't get through because the connection on the other side is still active. But his point is slightly different." – Volker elaborated all lit up.
"I don't understand."
"Chloe, what happens if I call you on the cell and then Volker calls you?" – Matt asked.
"You have the option of putting him on hold so you can to talk to me and then resume talking to Lieutenant Scott."
"Oh, I get it!" – Chloe finally understood. "But if that is the case, supposedly, how do we get them back?"
"I don't know yet." – Volker admitted.
"Why not simply the way we do it with cells?" – Matt suggested.
"Well, you touched the crystal and switched to another view." – Volker said.
"Alright, let's take to basics." – Matt said. His enthusiasm was still very much active. "The crystal console acts as the DHD or the number on the pad of the cell, right, so obviously we can't touch them."
"So we need to find to touch something else but we need to find the right thing to touch, hah!" – Volker reasoned.
"Supposedly!" – Chloe intervened.
"What?"
"You're making an awful a lot of assumption here."
"Well, actually, no." – Volker disagreed. "Lieutenant Scott has a point. It is a logical construct. If they were gates, I would agree with you but these things are different and it makes perfect sense."
"So what we look for a symbol – a little green handle as opposed to a little red one?" – Chloe suggested sarcastically.
Matt's interest was caught by this display of sarcasm. Ironically, Chloe had hit the jackpot. The portal was made of two different, visible materials – crystal and amber.
"Maybe you're not as wrong Chloe."
"I'm not?" – She looked up.
"Well, there is some irony."
"Matt?"
"Well, this gateway is made of two distinct materials – crystal and amber."
"Matt, it is pure speculation and it is way too obvious."
"Exactly, if you want to hide something you do not put it in a vault you hide it in plain sight. And everyone would have the same reaction it is way too obvious."
"He's right. Of course, now the question beckons which is which?"
"Well, we have fifty-fifty chances of finding that out." – Matt replied.
"When you came were any of the two…I don't know glowing or something different about them when you switched to another view?" – Volker asked.
"Not that I can recall."
"I guess there is one way of finding out." – Volker said and moved to the console. He touched another one and looked carefully at the gateway and for a moment he could swear seeing the amber flicker. "Did you see that?"
"I did but this still doesn't answer our question!"
"Maybe it does."
"How so?"
"Well, if they made it obvious then anyone would assume the amber release you back to last established connection therefore…"
"We do the opposite!"
"Exactly! Chloe, would you do the honors?"
Chloe sighed but moved to the gateway.
"Anywhere in particular I should touch it?"
"Oh just do!"
"Alright, but on your heads be it!" – Chloe said and touched the gateway. Then she jumped backwards as she had moved too close to the threshold and on the other side in close profile she was Everett's face.
"Chloe!" – Everett called.
"Colonel! Ha! We did it!"
"You did what?" – Everett asked feeling left out of the loop so Matt stepped in and explained the whole thing. "Oh! Have you tried sending something through?"
"Not yet, sir but I guess this is as good a time as any." – Matt replied.
Volker already got the kino and approached the gateway. He let it float and commanded it to go through the threshold. For a moment it seemed it won't work but then in the next the kino crossed and appeared next to Everett.
"Oh, what do you know? It worked." – Chloe exclaimed.
"Colonel, could you now return it to us?" – Volker asked. He had the sneaky feeling these portals operated both ways at all times.
"Shouldn't we make another connection?"
"No, just push through!"
"Alright," – Everett shrugged and did. Volker was having his fingers crossed. His prayer was answered when the kino came back through. "Wow!"
"I suspected as much. These portals work both ways." – Volker exclaimed excitedly. "TJ, could you send something biological through – I don't know vegetables and staff?"
"Sure," – Tamara said. She grabbed the lunchbox filled with the last of the so-called vegetables and shoved them through. They arrived intact.
"Alright, I think it is time you join us, sir!" – Matt said.
"Are you sure it is safe?" – Chloe asked. "Just because vegetables passed doesn't necessarily imply they could?"
"Well, we have to try at some point otherwise they would have to come to us and then we will be faced with the same problem." – Volker elaborated.
"Alright, stop your bickering, children." – Everett put an end to the discussion. "I'm coming through."
"But sir?" – Matt said.
"If it doesn't work we will know and then you'll have to figure something else out." – Everett said. "The decision is final." He added to put their protests to rest. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stepped through the threshold.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of a very happy Matt, Chloe and Dr. Volker. It had worked without a hitch.
"TJ, get yourself here!" – He turned around and ordered her.
Tamara grabbed the rest of their gear and pushed it through then she came too.
"Alright, now what?"
"Now, I was thinking." – Volker replied. "If these portals lead to other places it is possible one of them…"
"We could catch up, sir, with Destiny!" – Matt completed Volker's thought.
"Yes, but how do we know we are going in the right direction?" – Chloe voiced the logical concern. "I mean we tried that last time it didn't quite work."
"Well, true, there is some risk involved." – Volker replied. "But we have to try. We do know more or less the area Destiny is going to be. And if they are there it will show on the pad. I know it is a huge risk. I mean for we know these things are not confined to this galaxy."
"Oh!"
"But there is a good chance they are."
"Dr. Volker is right. We have to take the risk." – Everett said.
"And if Destiny comes back looking for us?" – Chloe asked.
"If they could, Chloe, they would have done so already!" – Matt said.
"But they can't." – Volker interjected. "Dr. Stealth locked the coordinates to wherever the ship is going so no; they can't come back even if they wanted to."
"Then we take the risk." – Everett decided.
"Yes, we do." – Volker agreed. "But first we cycle through until we see something promising."
"I agree!" – Everett said. "Let's get on with it!"
Camille was in her quarters contemplating on the last events. Barely out of the stasis and they were back where they started led by the mysterious Dr. Stealth, and now they were lost five prominent members of the crew, probably for good. And everyone was expecting her to lead in Young's stead. And though she did not mind being the leader again she would have preferred Young had stayed in command. The IOA would be very proud if she could ever contact them and tell them. People were taking turns on the stones but so far nada. They were cut off of Earth.
Dr. Rush's efforts to restore control over the ship's navigational system were a continuous failure though now he was preoccupied with other matters. He had apparently given up trying to alter course (for better or worse, Camille was not sure).
With TJ missing at the infirmary, Sergeant James had taken over. She was of course way over her head. Hopefully, there was no need for any medical services so far but this is Destiny, anything can happen at any given time.
Sergeant Grier had been even more isolated than before. He was missing his command officer and friend Lieutenant Scott. But now Camille made him senior officer. He had the most experience. He had no choice but to lead whenever they stop again if ever.
A knock on the door brought her back to the reality she was contemplating.
"Yes, come in!"
The door opened and Rush waltzed in. It was very unusual for him to be coming, willingly, to her. But over the times, he had also gone through some changes (much like everyone else onboard).
"Destiny will soon drop out of FTL." – Rush announced.
"Are there any gates in range?"
"No."
"What do you mean no gates?"
"Destiny has designed two stops before it reaches its final destination wherever that is. Neither of the two has gates."
"But then why stop?"
"It is a rather interesting question and I wish I had an answer for you but I do not."
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning around six!"
"Are there any planets in range or just empty space?"
"There are planets yes but only the second stop would be within range I think. We will know more once we drop."
"Very well, keep informed."
Rush however did not leave right away.
"Is there something else?" – Camille asked.
"Yes, there is." – Rush sighed. It appeared difficult for him Camille could tell. "I don't mean to pride but it would be better for you to be among the crew. They need some encouragement and reassurance."
Camille started in stupor at him. It was unusually out of character for him to give her leadership advice (not the mention the nature of the advice). She had forgotten the crew has needs too.
"Of course," – Camille said.
"Right!" – Rush barely nodded and left.
Camille was still staring at the spot where Rush used to be just a moment ago. It was indeed very unusual and at the same time it was quite an improvement. He has come a long way from Mr. Utterly Grumpy to someone even the crew could start to like.
Camille sighed. It was not the time for her to linger in the shadows of her quarters. She was their leader and as such needed to be around the people so she left her quarters. She made the tour of the ship stopping at places to talk with the members of the crew and then move on to another area of the ship.
She stopped at the hydroponic where the plants were growing like crazy. Dr. Park had no explanation for this. But everyone was excited soon there would be salad, tomatoes (after a fashion as Mr. Wallace would say) but still. Growing their food was by far preferable to be left on the chance they may or may not find some on their next stop.
Speaking of the next stop, Camille wondered who was going to pilot the shuttle. Sergeant Grier knew how to fire the weapons but piloting it was a different story. Perhaps Mr. Broody would take the opportunity. He did manage to fix one so he should be able to fly one. And of course, Dr. Rush could pilot it too but somehow she knew he wouldn't. His arguments would be that someone needs to stay onboard and read the flow of data and so on and so forth.
Of course no one would deny him that privilege. He was the most qualified person to read it and Eli too though lately Eli has been distant too. She had the feeling the moment they were out of the stasis pods that Eli was somehow different. Perhaps the unnamed events he experienced during the two weeks had changed him.
It was unsettling not knowing but Eli, well no, Stealth was insistent no one asks for whatever reason they had to abide. She could not remember a situation when some science doctor had such authority in everything he does. Even Young backed off and let him have it his way. She often wondered why. His file was not hiding anything in particular but obviously there was something more than met the eye.
Camille finished her tour and went to the mess hall for dinner. Then she returned at her quarters and awaited patiently the day to come where perhaps the mystery would unfold itself.
Dr. Stealth was working round the clock to complete the only trickery he could think of to cheat fate. It was the only way to save Eli's life. If they only knew who was coming for dinner they would be flipping mad and hopping out of excitement. But hey that's what makes life intriguing.
Dr. Volker continued cycling through the different views but there was really nothing promising. True he knew the general area of where Destiny would be but he never really paid attention to the star configurations. He never thought it would be useful. Lieutenant Scott was helping out. Hopefully, he would see something familiar.
At some point, Everett took over the cycling. It was a staggering piece of technology and in many ways far more intriguing than the stargates and more advanced. He wondered if it is the same race as the one on Eden.
Of course no one said that the Ancients were the only advanced race in the universe. They were simply the only ones they knew before coming onboard Destiny. And what an adventure it has been despite the difficulties. The people on Earth can say what they want but ironically Rush happened to be right it was worth every sweat, every drop of blood, being here on the edge of knowledge. It was a feeling like no other.
Everett of course did not find anything even remotely promising. The worlds the gateways were cycling through were all intriguing but they were not helping him understand the right direction.
Tamara was having the same thought too. She knew that only by some miracle they would fall onto the right planet. Or maybe there was another way. It was logical to assume that the race that created the gateways had put more thought into its design than just the blunt shift between worlds.
Perhaps the answer was different than the logical one or the obvious one. She moved to relieve Everett. He needed his rest. She took over and started to wonder. How did these aliens really moved between the different worlds? There had to be some order.
And the moment she touched the console of crystals, the energy flowed through her. Flashes and images crossed through her mind with incredible speed. The crystal felt warm while some of the others felt cold and even colder.
She sighed relieved. There was some logic after all. Her mind dwelled on Eden and then the view shifted to a world. She looked through the threshold and saw the same constellation that Destiny used when she was dreaming of herself being on Eden with her sweet daughter Carmen. The constellation was in a slightly different position but she got the message loud and clear.
She focused her mind to Novas and the view changed. It appeared to be an ice world but the stars appeared to be close enough. She focused again but this time on Destiny and its crew though she did not think that the system would be this intuitive to show her the current location of the ship.
But when feelings streamed through her like a waterfall the view changed only twice. It showed her two worlds. And then she understood how it worked. It was even more amazing than Volker and the others could believe.
"Guys, get ready!" – Tamara called waking them up. "We are leaving."
"We are?" – Matt asked still sleepy.
"TJ?" – Everett looked at her.
"I figured it out."
"Figured what out?"
"How the system works."
"What?"
"How?" – Volker asked.
"It is rather simple and yet unbelievable. I thought there had to be some logic onto how the aliens would find the location they were looking for. I mean if they were simply exploring that's one thing but if you were looking for something in particular you're not going to cycle every single world, would you?"
"No, you're right it makes no sense."
"Irony, Dale, irony in your very answer,"
"Huh?" – Volker grunted perplexed.
"This system is navigated by feeling, by instinct. It has no addresses like on a gate so how does one find the destination, the world he desires, by the only way possible pure natural instinct. This is how animals operate. They don't use maps or GPS like us to find direction. They use instinct, pure, untainted, natural instinct."
"TJ, this is genius, no, it is brilliant reasoning."
Everett, Matt and Chloe were staggered. Chloe of course was not inclined to believe that it could be this simple. But then again, she had been proven wrong on other occasions. This day TJ and Matt were simply brilliant.
"Well then where to?" – Everett asked moving to TJ.
"I saw two worlds in sequence." – Tamara replied. "This one was first."
"Alright, gather the gear and let's go!"
They gathered their gear and crossed through the threshold. On the other side was a world of old mossy trees and great humidity.
Dale Volker checked the pad only to notice it flickered for a moment and then went dark. He shared this with the others. They were all happy. They were very close but most importantly they were on the right track. And though they had missed Destiny by a thread they were close.
Tamara focused on the second world while Everett turned to the others and said.
"We are catching up…"
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