Chapter 15: The Outpost and Coming Clean
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"Are you really sure you don't want a bigger weapon?" Evan Lorne asked as Loros loaded his Sig-Sauer P226R, a gift from John. Loros smiled at the concern displayed by his friend as he tucked the pistol into his thigh holster. The Ancient never really went armed, preferring to use his ability to immediately dial Atlantis with just a thought to help them escape. Use of the ability prevents the shield from raising so there's no need to mess around with the IDC.
"I am quite sure Evan. This planet is at the edge of the galaxy and the Wraith are concentrated on its inner areas. We will be fine"
"If you're sure…"
"You worry as much as John does…" Loros chuckled.
"Well it is the Pegasus Galaxy" he said, before conceding to him. "Know what to expect?"
"The outpost in question is where the terraforming technology originated from. It was also looking into other technological advancements that may prove useful in time. It is powered by a ZPM and even after all this time, there should still be some power left inside for at least a day, but that is no longer an issue now that we have a steady supply of them from Aita"
"So it should be a walk in the park" Evan smiled slightly, the first ever before a mission. "I like the sound of that for once. No kidnapping, no Wraith and hopefully no Ancient death machine that will give us funky powers or liquefy us"
"You forget that as a Lantean, I am developing advanced mental abilities"
"Okay so my team won't get funky powers" he corrected as they all walked into the Gateroom.
"Let's hope so Major. I don't think Dr. Beckett would appreciate being baffled by more technology from the Ancients. He claims it's another reason why he doesn't use it" Elizabeth said as she walked over from her office.
"He likes the challenge, ma'am" Evan grinned and she rolled her eyes.
"We will try to contain ourselves, Elizabeth" Loros chuckled warmly.
"Right, you should be alright to dial out. John's met his check in and told us that things were going nice and smooth with the leader of that planet. Worryingly, he did say that the leader's daughter and two sons have not stopped looking at him since he arrived"
"You will tell me if he is chased off of that planet because he refused a marriage proposal?" the Lantean asked with a raised brow.
"Diplomat's honour" she grinned.
"Good, because you know the city will just tell me if you did not"
"I know. Dial the Stargate" Elizabeth ordered Chuck. The address locked on and they were given the all clear to head on through to the planet. Anxious to go off-world for the first time in weeks, it was Loros who stepped through first.
When they emerged, they were met with a sight most beautiful. They valley where the Stargate is was situated near a large clear lake that was in turn surrounded by thick vegetation and flowers that the botanists would more than likely kill for. A near perfect dirt path ran around the lake and up to a mountain that had a rather prominent area sticking out, a large Lantean door built into it.
"A planet like this does not go uninhabited…surely" Loros wondered as they began the walk.
"The Ancients picked quite the place…" Evan said.
"Indeed they did. Fresh water source, plenty of fruit in the trees… A civilisation could flourish under these conditions"
When they reached the doorway, the panel instantly lit up, sensing both the Lantean and Lorne, who possessed a natural gene. With a swipe, the double doors opened revealing a long corridor that was illuminated in an instant by the wall lights that were customary in Ancient architecture. At the end of the corridor was a large door with the same stained glass some of the ones from the city, but other than that, there were no other doors.
"A single room isn't the MO of an outpost is it?"
"No…there is usually a system of corridors that lead to many doors like the city"
The room that lay behind the door was octagonal with pillars at every corner, a console and screen between everyone except for the one directly in front which led to other areas of the outpost. The lights and screens instantly reacted to the presence of Loros and Evan, the former going straight to work on finding out how long they had.
"So long as we do not activate anything else except for lights, we should have enough power to last a day" Loros said, reading the language easily.
"What are you learning now?" Lorne asked.
"This world is what humanity calls Eden. It has everything a society could ever need to prosper into a peaceful utopia and that was the intention. This was one of the first worlds that my ancestors chose to explore when they first arrived in this galaxy and at first it was a barren wasteland. The first thing they did was create the terraform technology and set it on the planet. Over time, this paradise was born and was due for habitation…then the war occurred"
"So the technology works slowly?"
"All of the prototypes were lost and according to these schematics, they look nothing like the ones that are in our possession…"
"So we actually have more advanced variants then?" Evan asked and the other nodded, causing him to grin. "Awesome. So what else was meant to be developed here?" he asked and Loros was looking at one such entry with awe. "If you're amazed then it must be good"
"It was here that the beam weapons that our defence satellites were equipped with were made. The material, the equipment and the instructions are all here…"
"No way…"
"Before the evacuation, they were developing the weapons to be equipped to ships but by the time they had a working prototype ready, the subsequent retreat had already begun and the of course there was the evacuation…"
"Do you think that we would be able to finish it? Equip it to the Daedalus, Orion and Helios?"
"Not to the Daedalus. This weapon was designed with Lantean warships in mind, so as to prevent the Wraith from ever salvaging them. However, I do believe that some of the weapons specialists from the Sanctuarium may be able to get these past the prototype stage and into its completed form within a few weeks…"
"Any other amazing discoveries we need to know about before we do an early check-in?"
"There is reference to another planet in here. Perthos. A planet that houses an outpost for some other advanced civilisation…"
"You know it?"
"I am afraid I do not…"
"Okay…any hidden nasties we should be made aware of?"
"You mean machines that give you strange abilities or turn you into some kind of horrible mutant creature?" he asked with a grin. "My ancestors were rather careless with some of their technology It has to be said"
"Yeah, did you hear about the nanovirus?"
"Nanovirus?"
"The expeditions first year. After one of those violent storms, Rodney and some of the other civilians were exploring a damaged pier and were infected by a nanovirus. It killed nearly half a dozen people before John deactivated it with an EMP"
"That sounds familiar. Not the event, but the virus…"
"Yeah, they were never able to figure out who created it"
"I will have to do some research on it, but I shall keep you informed of what I find" he said, although on the inside, Loros was very concerned indeed. Nanite research was definitely not one of their strong points and had resulted in a disastrous failure. Something was nagging him that they had not heard the last of nanites.
"So are there any hidden nasties?"
"There are several projects that should be looked into. Such as the fact that my kind were looking into unlocking a sixth sense or their attempts to convert Puddle Jumper cloaks to shields that last longer than a few hits without draining power too quickly"
"Were they really working on that? Because that would come in handy"
"They were also working on creating a cloak for our warships"
"This was a defence technology facility…" Lorne realised.
"Yes, with some very viable projects. We need to see about getting some of your people here to work on these projects"
To say the least, they were all surprised that John and his team had still not returned from that planet and that meant two things. One, they had made brilliant progress with the leader and their trade agreement would be generous or two, John was busy making sure he was not married off to the leader's daughter or two sons.
"The silence is disconcerting…" Loros decided when they were in the mess.
"Yeah…" Evan agreed.
"It's almost like it's going a little too well…" Elizabeth said.
"We should not speak so soon. Events have a tendency to change when we least expect them" and as soon as he said it, the Stargate alarm could be heard from the mess hall. "Either my timing is rather accurate or my evolutionary development is beginning…"
"You're what?" Evan asked.
"I shall explain later"
"This is Weir, what's the situation?" Both the Lantean and the XO patched into the channel to listen.
"Colonel Sheppard's IDC. According to Dr. McKay, the Colonel had breathed in some strange powder that was blown in his face by the leader. Symptoms include fever, energy surge and he keeps asking for Loros and Major Lorne"
"Please don't be an aphrodisiac, please don't be an aphrodisiac…" Evan was chanting.
"Is it an aphrodisiac?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well after a lot of ranting at the leader, McKay found out that it just brings out a protective instinct for loved ones. The idea for it was to see if Sheppard would grow possessive over one of his children in the hope of a wedding"
"It's a draw between Evan and Loros then…"
"They weren't run off the planet, ma'am" Chuck reported. "So Major Lorne wins this one as he was exposed to a drug…"
"Yes!" he called triumphantly, before doing a double take. "You said that the drug draws out the protective instinct for loved ones, right?"
"Yes, sir"
"So why me and Loros?"
"That I will also explain later…or rather the latter half of it. As for his request for you, I have not got an idea as to why, but I am intrigued nonetheless…" he said, slightly amused. "Did Rodney find out how long this ridiculous powder lasts?"
"Well the protective instinct dissipates once the one exposed sees his or hers loved one" Rodney chipped in when they arrived at the Gateroom. "The fever stays for a few days and if left untreated a few other little ailments will pop up. As for you two…" Rodney grinned, gesturing to him and Lorne as John stepped through.
"Oh thank god you two are alright…"
"Okay now I am really curious" Loros said as the protectiveness suddenly dissipated and John was taken for a scan. Elizabeth and Lorne were just as curious.
"Can we ever have a normal day?" Elizabeth wondered.
"No…we can't" Rodney sighed. "How'd the outpost search go?"
"I will be briefing you in the conference room" Loros said.
So he went through the explanation of what they found on Eden, as they were officially calling it and Elizabeth said she would relay a request for additional personnel. Loros would get in contact with Aita to send his weapons specialists over to work on the Ancient beam weapons. Now, Loros had to explain two things, one was his evolutionary development, another was his relationship with John and John's odd protective urge towards Lorne. So it was just him, the military commander, his XO and Elizabeth.
"As you know, my kind strove towards the goal of Ascension" he began and they all nodded. "Well my physiology is undergoing a rather large evolutionary jump, so to speak. It's the final stage before Ascension, which I stress is entirely optional and there are no ill side effects of not taking it. I am starting to use more of my brain than the average human or Ancient, and that in turn is allowing me to develop advanced mental abilities"
"Such as?" Elizabeth asked.
"The list is rather long. Healing, advanced sight and hearing, the ability to manipulate lightning, telekinesis, telepathy, psychokinesis and empathic abilites"
"And you're sure you won't ascend?"
"Ascension is a choice. My physiology will stop evolving when it reaches the end of Near Ascension, as we refer to it. Lanteans were the only ones who possessed the choice to Ascend or remain on as a highly evolved being. I will still be me, just with a few little changes…"
"And when were you going to us this?"
"When I knew for sure. The moment I started hearing clearer than ever before was the moment I knew that my body was beginning to change"
"Now to explain why John considers me and you loved ones" Lorne said.
"This is a conversation that is best left for you three…"
Loros looked at John, who was in turn unsure of what to do. Tell the Major and risk his career? Or does he lie and have his XO suspicious of him for an indiscernible amount of time?
TO BE CONTINUED…