CHAPTER 131

EPISODE………………SEASON FOUR FINALE, THE LAST MAN

A few days later, they got a small lead that though seemed farfetched or more likely a trap of sorts, Sheppard felt it a good idea to go check it out anyway. So he and Major Lorne's team went to another planet to talk to a Genii. Lorne's team stayed by the gate as Sheppard went off to talk.

The planet was very nice, not much in the way of development for the people that did live on the planet, but enough they knew of the gate and its function. The gate was in the middle of a clearing with spares trees nearby and forest around it. Thankfully no one came either from the people nearby or through the gate as Lorne and his team waited for Sheppard to return. Hearing someone approaching, they were glad to see it was only John.

"So, how did it go sir?" Lorne asked.

"It didn't. The Genii contact never showed." Sheppard stated.

"Can't say I am surprised to hear that." Lorne said with a shrug.

"What are you saying Major? That the Genii are far from trustworthy?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, they did try to kill you and McKay, plus the General, along with that little girl." Lorne said.

"Very true and normally, I would take that very personally. However, Ladon claims that he didn't order the hit and he is trying to get on our good side." Sheppard stated.

"Do you really think they know anything about Teyla and Michael as to their location?" Lorne asked not really believing what he had heard.

"Well, they got solid intel and we are following every lead we get, no matter how thin it is." Sheppard said.

"Okay, so what do you want to do sir?" Lorne asked.

"Well, I'm going back to Atlantis. You can stay here and keep watch in hope that he comes. Once he does, just call and I'll be right back." Sheppard said.

"Yes sir. Glad the weather is good instead of something worse." Lorne said as Sheppard dialed home.

"Yes, it could be raining, or worse, snowing." Sheppard said.

Using a two finger salute, he walked into the ring backwards after he sent through his GDO signal. Exiting the gate, he was really surprised to find he was back in Atlantis, but that everything looked seriously run down and old. The room had a red tint to it, which he figured was the reason why the room was so hot. Nothing seemed to be functioning or on at all. The windows to the balcony were broken letting hot dry air from outside in.

"Who turned up the heat? God it is hot in here." Sheppard said wiping his brow as he glanced around. "Hey, is anyone here?! If this is a surprise party, you're all way off from my birthday!"

He heard little and saw even less as he walked up the stairs to the control room. Still seeing and hearing nothing he touched his earpiece.

"This is Colonel Sheppard, anyone read?" Sheppard asked. Waiting a moment, he tried again. "This is Sheppard, anyone on this channel or receiving me?"

Not getting anything again, he walked up to the door leading outside and was surprised when it didn't open. Waving his hand didn't get it to move so he forced it open, making the metal door groan as the metal rubbed against itself. Going out, he was shocked to see a vast endless desert and a hot sun burning above. Instead of seeing the vast buildings of the city around the main tower, he saw what was left of them standing out of the sand that covered most of the city at the pier level.

"Well, this certainly is, different." Sheppard muttered as he looked over the balcony. "And since I don't see or hear the General or his T.A.R.D.I.S., that must mean I am either in the past. No, that can't be the case since the city was under water, so I must be in the future. And very far into the future if he and his ship are already gone. Unless I jumped to another universe in which case I am in serious trouble."

Going back in, he went into the command center and waved his hands over the various consoles in hopes that something lit up. Nothing did however to his dissatisfaction.

"Okay, this is either a very big joke or I am in more than just serious trouble. Alright, think happy thoughts John. Something went wrong with the gate and now we have no idea where we are. Someone is bound to show up though and I'll be able to go home soon." Sheppard said as his com started acting up with static. "See John we aren't alone. This is Colonel Sheppard, who's on this frequency."

"Sheppard, is that really you?" Rodney asked.

"McKay, thank god. What the hell is going on here?" Sheppard asked with relief and anger.

"Wow, I can't believe this actually work." Rodney said.

"McKay, what are you talking about? If this is some sort of joke, I'm not happy or laughing. And if you are behind this, I will personally see to it that the General gives you latrine duty for a week." Sheppard exclaimed.

"Oh, that's right. It's only been like five minutes for you. No wonder you are confused and angry." Rodney said.

"Rodney!" Sheppard shouted loudly.

"Okay, calm down. First off, tell me exactly what you are seeing and where you are." Rodney asked.

"I'm in the control room and everything is dead. No one is here and for some reason, you're the only one on the com line." Sheppard said.

"Yeah, I'll get to that in a minute. Is there any power?" Rodney asked.

"No, as I said, everything is dead. Nothing is turning on at all." Sheppard said waving his hand over another console. "Oh, and the ocean is gone and replaced by a huge desert."

"Sorry, say again?" Rodney asked.

"You know, the big blue thing, lots of water and the scary whale you think eats you every night in your nightmares. Oh, and it's like a 120 degrees in here!" Sheppard yelled as he opened his shirt.

"Oh, I guess the planet must have underwent some serious climate changes." Rodney said.

"McKay, if you don't start giving me some serious answers here, I am going to have the General make that latrine duty for a year. That will include personnel toilets as well!" Sheppard yelled. "And only using a toothbrush!"

"I understand you're a little confused, but I can explain everything. Go to the hologram room." Rodney said.

"What for?" Sheppard asked.

"Just humor me. I can explain everything better when you get here." Rodney said.

"You better." Sheppard stated as he ran out.

It was rather shocking to go through the hallways and other corridors finding nothing on and most of the doors open and the place totally deserted. He had to use the light in his P-90 to find his way there as areas he went through had no light or only glimmers from the sun outside. The door to the hologram room was thankfully open so he didn't have to work at moving it as well. Going in, he found no one and the room dead like everything else, angering and bothering him as well.

"I'm here Rodney, now where the hell are you at?" Sheppard yelled.

"Activate the hologram projector." Rodney said.

"What the hell for?" Sheppard exclaimed.

"Just do it." Rodney said tiredly.

"There's no power anywhere." Sheppard shouted as his patience began to wear thin.

"The system is hooked up to a independent power source, just activate it please." Rodney's aggravated voice said.

He waved his hand over the panel and a light appeared behind him.

"Hey there John." Rodney said.

He quickly turned around with his weapon ready and was really shocked to see McKay standing before him. But he was wearing some green slacks, brown loafers, a blue grayish sweater and a green knitted shirt with pockets. Plus, he was very old with silver hair.

"Rodney…" Sheppard exclaimed in confusion.

"God, it is so good to see you again." Rodney said with a smile.

"You're a hologram?" Sheppard asked.

"No…" Rodney said looking at his hands before walking off the platform with a chuckle as John stepped back. "Of course I am. I've tapped into the cities internal cameras and speakers. They are basically my eyes and ears. You look good."

"And you look…" Sheppard said waving his hand through the hologram. "Very different."

"That's only because you remember me from the way I you last saw me." Rodney said.

"What, you mean like earlier today?" Sheppard said making a gesture.

"You know, it's funny actually. I spent the last 25 years of my life trying to figure out how to make this work and I never did figure out what I was going to say to you when you got here." Rodney said.

"You can start by telling me what the hell is going on here." Sheppard said in a stern voice.

"Right, right. Okay, um…" Rodney said while pacing around. "Do you remember that mission report about SG-1 stepping through the gate during a solar flare that ended up sending them back to 1969? This was well before Ford joined the SGC."

"Yeah, I remember. Wait, are you saying I have traveled through time?" Sheppard asked.

"Yes. Into the very far future to be specific. And it was a bit hard to figure out how far exactly, considering the solar flare and…" Rodney said.

"Rodney! How far please?!" Sheppard exclaimed.

"About 48,000 years, give or take an eon perhaps." Rodney said shifting his hands back and forth.

"This has to be the biggest joke in history!" Sheppard yelled.

"No, it's a freak accident. Sorry John." Rodney said solemnly.

"You're saying I just traveled 48,000 years into the future because of a solar flare?! And in ten seconds?!" Sheppard yelled.

"Yeah, and it is rather cool if you think about it." Rodney said with a smile.

"Surfing a thirty foot wave in Waimea is cool! Dating a supermodel is cool! This situation is not in any way cool!" Sheppard shouted in his face.

"All right, calm down. Yelling at me isn't going to do any good. If might if I was here with you physically…" Rodney said with a small smile.

"Wait, if you're a hologram and I'm in the future…" Sheppard said as reality hit him.

"Yes John, I'm dead, and so is a lot of other people. Everyone you knew is all gone and buried and turned to dust. Neither of us have any idea if the human civilization even exist anymore or what the state of it could be." Rodney said curious and yet saddened by what he said.

"Wait, what about the General? He even had counterparts that were Immortal. They should still be around somewhere." Sheppard said.

"Possibly, but they aren't here and we have no way to contact them if we could." Rodney stated.

"There has to be a way to contact our Ford. He said on many occasions that the T.A.R.D.I.S. would probably live for over a million years or more." Sheppard said.

"True, but he and his ship died a long time ago." Rodney said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Sheppard asked rather surprised, more shocked actually.

"There was an explosion that took out him and the rest of the Carter family. The shield was down or something like that, at the wrong moment and it all went up in a massive big bang. Entire solar system and somewhat beyond that were completely destroyed. Luckily this planet is and still is even in this time, out of range of the massive black hole that is slowly eating up this galaxy. But I can tell you about all that later." Rodney said.

"Why not now?" Sheppard asked.

"Because I didn't create this program to talk to you and give stories of what happened after you left, even though I can. I set up this program to see about getting you back home in the time you belong in." Rodney said in an exasperated voice.

"Can we dial Earth and get help?" Sheppard asked.

"No. I doubt the space bridge with Midway even exist anymore. Besides that, we don't even have enough power to dial Earth and with no M.A.L.P.'s, going to other planets, even if they still exist, would be a bad idea since we can't ascertain their conditions. All things considered, it is more than likely probable, you are the last human alive." Rodney said.

"Thanks McKay, but you're really sucking at trying to cheer me up here. I thought I had a chance with getting home by the General, but that idea was lost a long time ago." Sheppard said exasperated.

"Sorry." Rodney said with remorse.

"Well, you obviously had some sort of plan because I'm talking to you right now." Sheppard said.

"True, very true. I'm impressed to say the least. When I started this idea, I had no idea if this would even work. The power obviously lasted a long time since I'm here talking to you too, there also seems to be some of the solar panels we installed on the city still functioning. Anyway, a long time ago, I reprogrammed the hologram system. I am everything the great Doctor Rodney McKay was and looked like at the time this was finished. I can move anywhere in the city and interact with just about anything as well. My core program is hooked up to the main system and to a secret and very hidden spot in one of the other buildings, which has several key components along with a couple Mark 12 Naquada generators, keeping my program running so I can help get you back home." Rodney said impressed with himself. "Plus the solar panel system."

"Great. Let's get started." Sheppard said.

"Come then." Rodney said.

"Where we headed?" Sheppard asked as they left.

"Stasis chamber." Rodney said.

"Why there?" Sheppard asked.

"To buy us some time." Rodney stated.

As they walked through the city, the lights came on and then turned off behind them as they walked.

"Great, that explains everything." Sheppard said.

"Listen, using the gate, the right address and a solar flare, I can send you back so you end up in Atlantis where you should be. All this will fade away and time will be set right as it should be. The only problem is we are waiting…" Rodney said.

"For the right set of circumstances, I get that. How long are we talking here?" Sheppard asked.

"Couple hundred years to a thousand tops." Rodney said.

"Whoa, I just traveled farther in time than any other human or alien possibly has, within our universe." Sheppard said making a circle with his finger. "And you want to put me in that freezer for another thousand years?!"

"Tops. If I don't send you back at the right time, within a two month window of when you left, you'll never get there at all or end up somewhere in the far past and never get home ever. Plus, it will be too late." Rodney said sadly.

"Too late? For what? What the hell aren't you telling me?" Sheppard demanded.

"Things went down hill after you never showed up. Ford, Sam, K-9 and I all checked things out when you never arrived and found there was nothing we could do. Going back in time and stopping you from going in the gate at that moment would cause a paradox problem. Ford went into the future, at least a dozen or more times, but after awhile, he just gave up because we couldn't figure out exactly how far it really was. I eventually had a good idea of how far much later, but by then, he and his ship were gone so it was too late." Rodney said.

"Did Sam have her child?" Sheppard asked.
"No. She ended up miscarrying because of stress and other problems that came later. It put a strain on their relationship, but they never parted and still loved each other very much. I ended up having that sort of love later in life as well." Rodney said with a fond smile.

"You…" Sheppard began with some surprise.

"Please John, even I had a chance at love as much as you did. It just took a few more years for me than most people." Rodney said offended.

"I guess even you do have a chance. Any one I know?" Sheppard asked.

"Yes actually. Jennifer." Rodney said with a smile.

"Wait, you mean Doctor Keller?!" Sheppard asked in shock. "I knew she was hot, but I didn't think of her beyond that. Wow McKay, that really surprising to hear."

"She saw something in me that no one else did." Rodney said shrugging.

"So, what happened after I never came back?" Sheppard asked.

"Like I said, things never really went very well. We kept searching for Teyla and both Carters spent a lot of time going from planet to planet, almost causing space and time ruptures along with a lot of other problems as they continued to skirt the edge of the limit searching for her in the past. Michael must have had a spy or something that we never figured out, because every time Ford got close, he did that Dart thing and jumped into hyperspace. Ford got onto the Wraith Cruiser twice, but even after searching the entire ship, no Michael and no Teyla. There was signs on one but he never found anything conclusive. Even with the T.A.R.D.I.S. providing pretty much all the resources we'd ever need to keep Atlantis running and everyone feed, clothed and just about everything else, we just didn't have the man power to search everywhere we wanted. Both of them left one day too and came back hours later, saying they had been gone for two months." Rodney said.

"You eventually found her, right?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, it took just over two months after you were gone, Ford spending most of the time as the new team leader if he wasn't off in the T.A.R.D.I.S. or somewhere else. Unfortunately, Teyla was dead when we got there and had been for a few days. Because he had been running around in time so much, he was unable to go back in time and save her. Was the only time I saw him cry, other than when the two lost their child. Everyone on Atlantis grieved, and then it turned into rage for many real quickly. Especially for Ronan and Ford. SG-1 came a few times to help, but even then, it was before we found Teyla. The worst part was that Michael took the baby with him, and we figure, he had no use for Teyla and just killed her right there." Rodney said sadly.

"That is all beyond tragic." Sheppard said shaking his head.

"Yes, it was. But, since we know the address where she is, was, or in your case, will be, once you go back to your time, you can go there and save her. Ford had a plan that we talked about once, where we could send a bomb through the gate before going to the planet. In my spare time, I continued to try and work on an idea to find and bring you back. Which is why I am here now talking to you. When you get back, send a bomb to blow up the gate, or at least disable it enough to keep any Darts from leaving. Then go with however many people it takes in the T.A.R.D.I.S., or a few Puddle Jumpers before hand before blowing the gate, and get her back before Michael kills her." Rodney said.

"Good plan. I can remember all of that. So, why did he want her baby anyway?" Sheppard asked as they moved through various corridors.

"Her child was the key turning point that made things go from worse to, um…who said it best? I think it was General O'Neill, or Ford. Maybe it was one and the other agreed. One of them said FUBAR, double time. Point is, that child allowed him to perfect his research and complete his hybrids. After that, he really kicked things into high gear. Like Ford's car was." Rodney said.

"How so?" Sheppard asked.

"With the Hoffan drug perfected, he started administrating it to all the planets he could in the Pegasus Galaxy. Jennifer did everything she could think of to help those infected and keep the mortality rate down. In the end, it was a loosing battle. We never found a cure or really effective means to fight it. Those infected either lived and was immune to the Wraith feeding on them or died." Rodney said sadly again.

"I'll remember to let everyone know when I get back." Sheppard said.

"Good. So, since most of the people left alive in the Pegasus Galaxy were immune and they had no idea who or who wasn't going to be their last meal, the Wraith began fighting against each other even more. Michael waited till they were tearing each others throats out, some quite literally, and then he moved in with his hybrids, taking over the ships that survived very quickly. It didn't take him long to break up their ranks and get into their internal divisions. In less than a year, he had the remaining Wraith on their knees, literally." Rodney said.

"Not to bad sounding, considering it meant the Wraith were gone. But still bad for us." Sheppard said.

"Yes. Being feed on could have been better than what happened next. With most if not all of the Wraith dying, fighting with each other and being killed off, leaving them in serious disarray, Michael returned to the humans that he infected with the Hoffan drug. He quickly selected the strongest and healthiest survivors and converted them into hybrids. The rest he exterminated to ensure no uprising and no allies for us to have to help fight back with or to learn anything from." Rodney said with remorse and anger. "The death toll was so incredibly high….."

"So, by saving Teyla and her child, we can ensure none of this happens?" Sheppard asked as Rodney nodded during the question.

"Correct. All I have to do is get you to the stasis chamber and then recalibrate the cities sensors…" Rodney said trailing off.

They both looked down the hallway seeing their destination was blocked by a massive pile of sand that came in from some breach above.

"Oh, that's going to be a serious problem." Rodney stated.

"No, we can just find a way around it." Sheppard said.

"No, we can't. There is no other way. The sand has penetrated the lower levels." Rodney stated with worry.

"You know, even after 48,00 years, you still have that annoying habit of stating the obvious." Sheppard said as they walked up the sand. "So, what do we do?"

"I don't know." Rodney said.

"You don't know?! Come on McKay, that isn't part of your vocabulary." Sheppard stated.

"Really, I have no clue. I was not programmed for this variable." Rodney said trying to think and yet not finding anything despite being able to think fast since his brain was a computer now.

"You said you spent 25 years working on this plan!" Sheppard exclaimed.

"Yeah, and Doctor McKay programmed in many different scenarios, one of which included if the city was under water again. Sand breaching and filled the lower levels, not one of them he thought of." Rodney said waving a hand.

"All right, if I remember correctly, I can go up two levels, turn right, go out an outer door and walk half of a quarter mile across to the plaza." Sheppard said walking away.

"You can't do that." Rodney exclaimed.

"Why not?" Sheppard asked.

"Because in the last half hour the temperature has been climbing, the barometric pressure has decreased and the winds have changed drastically. It's a massive sand storm out there. Have you ever been in one of those?" Rodney asked.

"As a matter of fact I have." Sheppard stated.

"Oh. Okay, so you know what to expect." Rodney said as he expected to have to explain what the storm was.

"Right, besides, I have no other options, unless you have some brilliant plan." Sheppard said.

Rodney took a moment to process the information he had and found he couldn't come up with anything, so he shook his head.

"See, got no choice." Sheppard said running off.

Remembering his directions correctly, Sheppard came around a corner to the door in question and shook his head as he heard the wind blowing outside and he didn't even have the door open yet. Rodney came around the corner as Sheppard put his ear on the door to listen closer and then tossed his gun aside.

"Sounds very nasty out there." Sheppard said.

"No kidding. The winds are in excess of fifty miles an hour right now and increasing. With so much open vastness out there, it could reach over a hundred quickly. Considering the damage to the rest of the city, it's likely these sandstorms have been the cause for so much of the damage over the years." Rodney said.

"Yeah, I saw most of it when I looked out on the balcony before you started speaking to me when I arrived." Sheppard said.

"You're not really going to go out there are you? There is no way in hell you can see where you are going." Rodney said in hopes Sheppard would listen.

"Any idea how long this will last?" Sheppard asked.

"Couple of hours possibly. Not really sure." Rodney said shrugging.

"I'll wait for awhile and see if it dies down." Sheppard said sitting against the wall.

"Are you hungry? Did you bring anything with you?" Rodney asked.

"No. It was suppose to be a simple trip to get intel from the Genii and go home." Sheppard said.

"Oh, right. Sorry, there is nothing here even though Ford, Sam and I did managed to finally create a matter replication system in the mess hall since the two spent a lot of time trying to help find Teyla instead of him working in the kitchen a lot like he usually did." Rodney said.

"I really could go for his cooking again." Sheppard said with a sigh. "How about continuing the story to past the time. You told me about Teyla and the Carters. What about everyone else?"

"Well, since the I.O.A. and the rest of the military didn't feel like giving more troops and resources to help save the people in the Pegasus Galaxy, both Ford and Carter managed to get them to give Atlantis a ship of their own. Half the Asguard systems weren't working and the other half barely worked if you were lucky. She did just come off the assembly line too. It was, for the most part, in serious need of being finished to help in the fight, but her engines functioned. The Phoenix was the perfect name since, in many ways, Atlantis and what we stood for basically meant what the name meant. After our losses, rising from the flames to fight back seemed like the perfect analogy for our situation at the time. Both Ford and Sam, other than helping finish the ship with a lot of their time, managed to make a perfectly working link from the Phoenix and the T.A.R.D.I.S giving her tremendous power. Ford spent like two years in the T.A.R.D.I.S. to create many of those energy crystals for the weapon systems we had on the piers and main tower. Several more of those weapon platforms were made for the city, so we could easy fight off any attacks if the T.A.R.D.I.S. was gone. Twelve were put on various areas of the Phoenix which would use either the crystals he made or power directly from the T.A.R.D.I.S. itself. There was nowhere that ship could not fire its weapon systems." Rodney said. "It was the ultimate badass ship us humans had."

"I might suggest that to him when I get back." Sheppard said impressed.

"It was a powerful ship. Pissed the I.O.A. off very fiercely, but there was little they could do since the ship was in the Pegasus Galaxy, plus most if not all of Atlantis was behind the Carters one hundred percent and refused to let the ship be taken back to Earth in exchange for the Daedalus or Apollo. It took almost a month getting her fully ready for combat. Having the T.A.R.D.I.S. to go to sleep in when we all got tired so we could come back to work within a minute made getting the job done much quicker. Once she was done, Major Lorne was put in charge of the city as they took the ship to go after Michael and his vast armada. I stayed behind on Atlantis with Ronan and the others, helping to keep the city safe and such. One thing I can remember clearly, was Sam gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek, thanking me for everything. Shortly after that, they left." Rodney said.

"Was you with Jennifer at the time?" Sheppard asked.

"Sort of. Everyone had little time for any romance, much less those two. It was obvious to everyone that they spent their free time with Sally, what little they had. The flare they had when they saw each other wasn't there like it was once before." Rodney said sadly. "His brownies were never the same either…."

"Okay. I only asked you about your relationship status, not theirs." Sheppard said.

"Seeing them not as happy as they used to be dealt a pretty big blow to moral, just like when you were announced K.I.A. Same thing when Teyla was found dead." Rodney said.

"I get it. So…" Sheppard said rolling his hand.

"They started a major series of hit and run attacks. Guerrilla style. We got reports from them pretty often, since we had a cell phone to contact them and them us. Their ship never took any damage, but they dished it out gang busters. For a long while they were doing major damage to his fleets. Even when the odds looked against them, such as going after five or more ships at one time, they blew through them easily. Even blew up a planet that had many of Michaels hybrids being created, but that was with a plant nuke they beamed down. Moral climbed with each call they did telling us of their victory." Rodney said with a small smile that turned to sadness seconds later.

"This must be the part where you tell me how they died?" Sheppard said.

"Yeah. That the ill fated day came when no one ever expected it. Michael leaked some deliberate intel about attacking a heavily human populated world. I want to say it was the world that Ford was trying to get to turn into his Star Trek idea, but I'm not sure. I don't remember if that planet got destroyed or left out of everything. Maybe it was a fall back position for Atlantis to go to in the event we had to leave the planet since Earth was so far away." Rodney said while thinking.

"Moving on…" Sheppard said with a roll of his hand.

"Right. So, they went to the planet in question. There was almost a good dozen ships there. They were no match for the Phoenix and I guess both Carters figured that Michael thought he could take them out with enough numbers, but that was not the case though. Michael wanted that ship and those two taken out, badly. He had lost 2 fourths of his fleets to them and wanted serious pay back. From what we understand during the conversation we heard over the cell phone, Michael had some sort of bomb on the planet, or in it I guess. The planet exploded and they were really close to it as they were fighting the Wraith ships." Rodney said.

"That shouldn't have done anything. They were there when the Replicator planet blew, it did nothing then. What was different this time?" Sheppard asked with wonder.

"From what we could gather, blowing the planet up must have caused problems with their scanning abilities. Best guess, shortly after the planet exploded, so did the solar systems sun. We still have no idea how Michael did that, but the combined forces of both of those must have been more than the T.A.R.D.I.S. could take. All that we found later was a massive black hole that engulfed most of the solar system and was growing slowly. Ford said if the T.A.R.D.I.S. ever exploded, more than likely a black hole would be in that area since that was the power source of the T.A.R.D.I.S. to being with. Or at least one of the major ones." Rodney said.

"I never thought that someone would ever succeed in blowing that ship up." Sheppard said amazed.

"Neither did we or they. Which turned out to be their downfall I'm afraid to say. Remember to tell them that when you get back." Rodney said.

"Forgetting that tale will be very hard even after getting back home and seeing them still alive." Sheppard said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Burying your and Teyla's empty casket was hard enough. Burying theirs was even worst for a lot of people. So many lives lost." Rodney said sadly. "Our best weapon and greatest defense was gone. Even those in the I.O.A. and the different ones on the hill that hated Ford, even they broke down when they got the news. SG-1 took the news hardest of all."

"I can imagine." Sheppard said sadly at the thought.

"Broke the team up permanently. For what little I have on file, SG-1 all quit, moved to different parts of the world and never got back together. The mansion eventually fell apart from no one doing anything to fix it and being left alone for so many years, entropy won." Rodney said.

Rodney left for awhile, saying he had to check on a few things. Sheppard sat there contemplating things and tried to ignore the feelings of regret and loss knowing everyone was gone. Most of the trouble being because he wasn't there to help. Rodney came back later when he was lightly hitting the door as he continued to hear the raging storm outside.

"I was wondering when you where going to come back. What took so long?" Sheppard asked.

"This and that. Mostly I was inputting the new requirements dealing with the solar flare for the long range sensors. While doing so, I found out what happened to the ocean." Rodney said.

"And?" Sheppard asked as Rodney paused a bit too long. "Are you going to make me guess or keep it a secret to yourself, come on?"

"The sun in this system is dying. It's running out of fuel." Rodney said with the typical fear that the real Rodney had. "It's expanding and turning into a red giant."

"That figures. There's always some new obstacle in the way of our plans. Now that we know the problem, let's move on to figuring out how to fix it." Sheppard said.

"You don't get it. The sun is dying which means this planet is going to get hotter and hotter until the atmosphere burns off this planet and then everything else will eventually too. We only have a one shot chance of getting you home and when that window passes, you don't go home and die here in this dismal and bleak future." Rodney said.

"Okay. Sounds very familiar like a lot of other plans we've had. We have one chance so let's do it while we can. I have no choice anyway so either this works and I go home, fixing everything or I die. So, how long until the sun changes?" Sheppard asked.

"It's impossible to say, but I estimate around five hundred years." Rodney said.

"But you said I'd have to be in there for at least seven hundred!" Sheppard yelled.

"Yeah, and the moment you leave the stasis chamber, assuming the city survives that long, you'll be killed." Rodney stated.

"Okay, we need to find a solar flare before hand. What do we do because of this situation?" Sheppard asked.

"I don't know….." Rodney began.

"Yeah, I get it, another variable problem." Sheppard said pacing as he rubbed his chin. "Hey, can that Mark 12 generator sustain the shields?"

"Theoretically. But if we do that, there won't be enough power left to sustain my program, much less the cities systems or anything else, and don't even think of trying to even activate the gate." Rodney said.

"Wait, the city has solar power generators right? And you said some of the panels still functioned. I know that Ford tinkered with them, making them better at helping conserve power since the city spent most of time in the sun no matter what season it was." Sheppard said.

"True. It did take a few percentage points off the ZPM usage. Wasn't a big number, but he stated every little bit helped even if it gave a few minutes extra instead of a few seconds. But for what we want to do, it isn't going to work." Rodney said shaking his head.

"But you said the sun is turning into a red giant, which means more solar power, right? The worse it gets the more solar power we will have." Sheppard said.

"Oh my god, you're right. That could work. We could use the shields to protect the atmosphere, or at least enough around the city. It wouldn't work indefinitely, but it could buy us a hundred years or so." Rodney said as Sheppard pulled something from inside his vest.

"Alright, get ready to open the door." Sheppard said tying a black hanky around his neck that would also cover his nose and mouth.

"But the storm is still going on." Rodney stated.

"Yeah, and it has been going on for seven hours now. It could go on for several days. If I am going to do this, I need to do it now. Besides, all I have to do is walk in a straight line and I'll get there." Sheppard said.

"But it is going to be dark soon! You can barely see right now as it is, once the sun sets, you won't see anything!" Rodney exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I haven't eaten and I was looking forward to whatever Ford had when I got back to Atlantis. The longer I wait the weaker I am going to get." Sheppard said rolling down the shirt he had bunched up on his arms.

"Alright. But I can't go outside so I'll only be able to keep in contact with you over the radio." Rodney said as Sheppard put his sun glasses on as the door opened and he went out. "Just walk in a straight line as you said! You'll run into the building eventually and then you just need to feel for the door! I'll be waiting there when you come back in!"

Rodney appeared outside the door on the other side and looked at the door with worry.

"Sheppard you there?" Rodney asked.

"Yeah!" Sheppard yelled.

"How are you doing so far?" Rodney asked.

"Never better! Reminds me of the last time I walked through one of these!" Sheppard said.

"Sorry I can't help." Rodney said.

"Yeah, no big deal! Hey, tell me about Ronan!" Sheppard said.

"What, right now?" Rodney asked.

"Yes now! Tell me so I can keep a better focus on what I'm walking in this god forsake storm for!" Sheppard yelled.

"Okay, um, let's see. After what happened to you and Teyla, he didn't feel very comfortable on the base anymore. Sam allowed him to go off world and create a strike force. Even gave him a good quantity of supplies and weapons to help. By that time though, Michaels agenda to wipe out Wraith and human alike was spread across the galaxy and things were doing really bad for everyone. He managed to get together a bunch of people, many simple living civilians, but he managed to train them in many forms of combat. With the weapons and supplies he was given, he managed to put together a very effective combat force. They managed to run some very successful ops against several of Michaels ground facilities. Then their luck took a turn for the worse when they got a key piece of intel. Michael managed to take over a former Wraith lab and was using it to create more of his hybrids. They decided it was worth every effort to take it out. They ended up meeting someone they never expected." Rodney said.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say it was probably Todd." Sheppard said.

"Good guess. He was there to blow up the facility as well. Ronan told the others to leave since a cruiser landed with reinforcements as their stealth attack was blown. His forces got away, but he and Todd weren't able to get out in and time blew themselves up with the facility." Rodney said.

He heard what could have been a sob or maybe a cry, but he wasn't sure.

"Sorry John. I wish I had a happy story for you, but there really isn't any." Rodney said.

Not hearing a reply back after a short pause, he tried again to call for him. A few more times got no answer and then he turned as the door opened. Sheppard stumbled in and dropped to the floor as Rodney closed the door. Yelling a few times in an attempt to get him to wake failed as his scans showed Sheppard was unconscious shortly after he hit the floor.

Sheppard groaned as he woke up and then rolled over, feeling horrible.

"Oh thank god. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up." Rodney said with relief as Sheppard moved to sit with his back against the wall.

"How long was I out?" Sheppard asked tiredly.

"All night. You don't look so good." Rodney said worried.

"No duh." Sheppard groaned.

"We need to get you into the stasis chamber while we still can." Rodney said.

"Good idea." Sheppard said removing his glasses and putting the hanky back into his vest.

Entering the stasis room, Sheppard breathed a sigh of relief as he was glad to stop walking.

"I've already prepped the solar panels. You're good to go." Rodney said.

"I wish I would wake up feeling better." Sheppard muttered rubbing his face.

"Sorry, can't help you there." Rodney said as a panel opened near the chamber. "Take this control crystal. I loaded all the intel we got on Michael after your disappearance including the address of where we found Teyla."

Sheppard took it out and tumbled it over his fingers before pocketing it.

"You know, I still have yet to hear what happened you, I mean in the past. Especially the part about you and Jennifer getting together." Sheppard asked more than curious about his best friend.

"Yeah, it's not important." Rodney said with a shrug and small wave of his hand.

"It is to me. I'd like to know. You survived while everyone else pretty much died fighting." Sheppard said.

"Oh, very well. I lived mostly because I gave up and quit." Rodney said.

"You? You never quit though." Sheppard said surprised.

"I gave up everything to do with the SGC. New management was one of the factors. Woolsey took over and because of the I.O.A., a lot of rule changes took place. Instead of being able to give humanitarian aide to people in need on other planets, we were ordered to stop and only concentrate on the needs of Atlantis. The Daedalus stayed in orbit most of the time, keeping watch amongst other things. All personnel off world were brought back and gate travel to other planets were pretty much restricted to only when necessary. Even though we could make supplies to survive, because Michael somehow found Midway by accessing it from another gate on some planet, we lost it. With no intergalactic bridge and only the Daedalus to go back and forth to Earth, the I.O.A. felt that staying on Atlantis and keeping it safe was more important than anything else. Jennifer could stand not being able to help those in need anymore and not being able to find a cure for the Hoffan drug, she quit and went back to Earth. The more I thought about it when she said she was leaving, the more I agreed with her, so I left as well. We had three weeks together on the Daedalus, so most of the time we were together talking. A lot of it was about what we could have done different. The what ifs and such. By the time we got back to Earth, we became more than just friends and people who worked together. There was few people on the Daedalus to talk to anyway that we knew to begin with so." Rodney said.

"Well, even though it is still surprising to hear, I am glad for ya buddy." Sheppard said patting his arm only to go through Rodney's body as he forgot the guy wasn't there physically. "Sorry…"

"We had some good years together. I only regret that it didn't last as long as I wished." Rodney said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, I was able to get a high paying job with a aerospace engineering firm and she got a job opening her own practice. I think she even hired Doctor Frasier to help, and her daughter too, can't recall her name though. We got married and things were going really great. Then the unfortunate happened. We ended back up at the SGC less than a year after leaving and found out that she had gotten the illness done by the Hoffan drug. Helping all those people with it finally got to her, and there still was no cure. It was way to overwhelming for me." Rodney said.

"Wait, what about Vala and healing hand thing?" Sheppard asked.

"She died, not sure how or why since I wasn't programmed with that knowledge." Rodney said. "I just know she was not on Earth when it happened."

"Oh, sorry. Go on." Sheppard said.

"After everything that happened and lost, that event was too much for me to handle. I almost broke down and gave up. Then, I suddenly had the idea of the century. I was going to change the timeline. Ford wrote a book about time travel and some of the basics of how to actually do it, but not enough of the plans to allow anyone but the most brightest of people to understand what to put in for the missing pieces, which I did but couldn't put into actual practice. It helped me figure out what I needed which leads us to this point in order to get you home however. Jennifer didn't want me to do it, but I knew that Ford would have moved the very universe itself to fix the timeline if he was still around. She made me promise not to go through my plan, which I said yes to. Once she was gone, I spent most of the rest of my life doing it anyway, which like I said, leads to this point right now. Jeannie came by and, after seeing I wasn't going to stop no matter what, she pitched in and helped. I even was able to make a K-9 unit of my own that helped me out greatly. Sad to say I called him Spot since I never really had a pet before, other than my cat, and couldn't come up with anything better." Rodney said as Sheppard laughed. "Eventually she gave up and went back to her family and I continued on as the rest of the world continued their lives. Twenty five years later, I finished it."

"Leading us to this point." Sheppard said.

"Yeah. I went to the SGC in hopes of getting someone to help me get back to Atlantis so I could put this program into the system. Mitchell was now in command of the SGC since he was to old to work in the field anymore, after his wife died and he was begged to take over. I don't recall what happened to Doctor Jackson though. Teal'c died of old age, when I'm not sure. When I talked to Mitchell of my plan, he got that sparkle in his eye and smile he used to have back when Ford and Sam were still around and he enjoyed his job. I was off to Atlantis rather quickly after that with his blessing and promise to fix this hell hole of a timeline. He lost his job because other people were upset for what I was planning to do but no one stopped me or tried to even after I came back. I guess they figured it wouldn't work anyway, but Mitchell was confident that it would work out and so was I. The rest you already know." Rodney said.

"Well, we'll find out pretty soon if it did." Sheppard said tossing his coat and vest aside and then stepped into the open chamber.

"I'll be waiting right here when you wake up." Rodney said.

"What if this doesn't work?" Sheppard asked.

"You'll never wake and that's about it really." Rodney said.

"Okay. Hey, in all that time, did you ever find out who won the super bowl?" Sheppard asked.

"No, not really." Rodney said chuckling.

"Stanley Cup perhaps? World Series maybe?" Sheppard asked with humor, even though he wanted the answer.

"No. I was like Ford, never really into sport at all." Rodney said.

"And yet, you played golf with me." Sheppard stated.

"That's because all we did was knock balls into the ocean and not have to walk a mile or more chasing balls or going from green to green." Rodney said.

"I'll remember that and tell you that when I get back you know." Sheppard said.

Rodney shrugged indifferently.

"Well, good luck John." Rodney said.

"I'm pretty confident this will work out. See you in several hundred years." Sheppard said.

Rodney smiled and then turned the chamber on. Once he was in stasis, he shut down his program and the rest of the city like before, waiting until the time was up to get him out again.

"Unscheduled off world activation!" Chuck yelled.

"Who is it?" Carter asked coming out of her office.

"Receiving IDC. It's Colonel Sheppard's." Mark's said in surprise.

"Lower the shield." Carter said running out with Rodney and Ford.

Going down to the gate, several guards aimed their weapons along with Ford and Sam who drew their pistols, just in case. Sheppard came through and stopped quickly at the amount of guns pointed at him as the gate shut off.

"John." Carter said lowering her gun as Ford did. "It is you."

"Rolling in the sand much Colonel?" Ford asked half serious and half jokingly.

"Oh thank god it worked!" Sheppard cried with a sigh of relief. "Let me tell you, being trapped 48,000 years in the future is no picnic. And I am starving!"

"I guess my estimates were correct." Rodney said as the weapons were lowered and put away.

"What happened John?" Carter asked.

"How long have I been gone?" Sheppard asked quickly. "A month, two?"

"No. Just 12 days." Carter said.

"Okay 12 days is good. She hasn't had her baby yet. I know this is going to sound weird but we're on the clock." Sheppard said.

"That doesn't surprise me." Ford said. "How did you get back anyway? You had to have help to use another solar flare to get home. Was it me?"

"Unfortunately no. You were dead. T.A.R.D.I.S. got destroyed in a super nova. I can explain later, but basically Rodney made some program that took 25 years and activated in the future to help me get home." Sheppard said reaching into his pocket and pulling out the crystal. "This has information about Michael and the location of where Teyla is. We need to get there and stop him from taking her baby which he plans to use to make his hybrids to take over the galaxy."

"Ambitious bastard." Carter muttered as she took the crystal. "You know we'll have to have you checked out to see if you are who you are?"

"Yeah, let's try to make it quick if possible. I could really use something to eat too. I haven't ate in over a day or so. Being stuck in stasis for over six hundred years plus traveling through time didn't help matters either." Sheppard said.

"We do know he is telling the truth about the solar flare. We did find that after checking the DHD at that planet. Do you know the exact date or number of years you were in the future?" Carter asked.

"Rodney didn't say other than it was 48,000." Sheppard said.

"Well, I did try looking, but only found the city in ruins in a vast desert. Guess I should have went into the city and talked to Rodney's program instead of just popping in at different time periods and doing scans." Ford said. "I was an idiot."

"We'll check out this crystal while you go see Jennifer and get something to eat." Carter said.

"Great." Sheppard said happily as he clapped his hands together.

"One moment." Ford said pulling his Sonic Screwdriver out and waving it over him for a moment. "Wow, according to this he was 48,134 years in the future. And that his body was in suspended animation for 647 years. He's telling the truth alright. You can't fake these results. I wouldn't want to try either."

"Just in case, I want a security detail with you." Carter said. "Besides, you don't look too good anyway."

"Fine by me. I'm just looking forward to eating and then heading to that planet as quickly as possible." Sheppard said.

"I'll let you get a good nights rest first…." Ford began.

"No, we have little time. We need to…" Sheppard began back.

"You are an idiot Colonel, but I'll let it slide because of your recent experience, which I really should rag you on. Time machine. If you are going to go help with this, you are going to get some peaceful rest." Ford said.

"And that is an order." Carter said.

"I can do that. I didn't think that far ahead…" Sheppard said with dry humor as Carter rolled her eyes and Ford only snorted at the lame time joke as he shook his head.

An hour later, about half a day later for John, the team was ready to go along with Major Lorne's team and another that was going to be by the gate to knock it down if Michael tried sending Darts to go through it. Four Puddle Jumpers were standing ready to go through and to be cloaked, to help in an attack on the cruiser if it was there and tried to leave. Ford was in the Jumper Sheppards team was in along with Lorne's, and he would be calling the T.A.R.D.I.S. and land on that ship before it could take off if he was lucky since Sheppard told him what Rodney suggested in the future.

"Hey, I got one question I'd like to know before we go do this. About the future we're trying to avoid." Rodney said.

"Yeah?" Sheppard asked.

"Do I still have hair?" Rodney asked.

Ford cracked up badly as Sheppard smiled and shook his head.

"I'd really like to say no McKay, but really, even when it turned gray later, it looked like you had more hair." Sheppard said.

"Really?" Rodney asked as he wasn't sure if Sheppard was lying or not.

"I was going to say you were totally bald, but yeah, really." Sheppard said.

"Hmm." Rodney said.

"Probably less stress, such as his life in danger that made him grow more." Ford said as Rodney groaned making the others laugh.

"Let's get this over with quickly." Sheppard said flying the Jumper through the gate.

They came out finding no one on the planet but did get energy readings that showed evidence that the old factory building where the future Rodney said Teyla was, was another lab for Michael. Two Jumpers went into space and stayed cloaked to keep watched and to shoot the engines out when the ship arrived and hopefully landed on the surface first. The other Jumper landed nearby the gate and stayed cloaked as well to keep watch and blow the gate over if any Darts where sent to it. Sheppards team landed outside behind a smaller building that was some old shed that was just big enough for them to park in and stay hidden enough for them not to need to cloak it. Shutting the power down to avoid detection, they all left the Jumper and went inside to investigate further.

"I'm getting similar readings to the lab we were in before." Ford said while following the direction his Sonic Screwdriver indicated. "I don't detect any signs of more hybrids being created however."

"That's good. Better that we have less to deal with if a fight breaks out." Sheppard said.

They quickly stormed in looking around as they detected no life signs. As Sheppards team went one directions checking things out, Ford went with Rodney and Major Lorne's team since it seemed to be the direction that he was getting the energy readings.

"You guys find anything?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, give us a moment to check it out." Rodney said as they entered a room that had a office type door. "Looks like there is some sort of data terminal in here. Give me a moment and I should be able to power it up and hack in."

"God, I've never seen so many wires, hoses and mismatched parts on a machine in my life." Ford said as he looked at it and then moved to look at the computer screen nearby. Running his Sonic Screwdriver over it, it brought up a screen of info. "Looks like I might get somewhere."

"I haven't even powered this up yet." Rodney said.

"We're entering the area where I was told we'd find Teyla." Sheppard said as he and Ronan moved in.

"Hey, check this out." Ronan said lifting some cleaver like blade.

"We've got something here. Looks like some twisted version of a maternity ward. This is definitely the place Michael intends to use for taking her child when he's born." Sheppard said over the com.

"We've got something better on this end." Ford said as Rodney managed to get the power up and running.

"There is gate addresses, various codes and his research into the hybrids here." Rodney exclaimed.

"We might even find the cure or at least some way to counter act the Hoffan drug he's spreading around in here if we are lucky." Ford said putting his Sonic Screwdriver away.

"With this, we'll have everything we need to take Michael out Sheppard. He will have no where to run." Rodney said.

"That's great news. Download it or whatever so we can get out of here and keep a watch until he comes." Sheppard said.

"Already on it." Rodney said pulling his tablet off his back. "Maybe we'll even get that drug needed to help Beckett."

"We can hope." Ford said.

"Hey, the screen has changed guys." Lorne pointed out.

Ford and Rodney looked at it and saw a single character on the screen that changed after a second with a beep accompanying it.

"It's a countdown." Rodney said fearfully.

"Colonel, this place is booby trapped, we need to get out of here, now!" Lorne yelled as the building began to shake.

Ford pushed the two into the larger room and pulled his dog tags out quickly calling the T.A.R.D.I.S. as everything around them started to fall apart. Ronan and Sheppard barely avoided a large pipe falling on them before heading out of the doorway. The T.A.R.D.I.S arrived and before Ford could put the key into the door, the bottom level of the building exploded bring everything down on them all. The people in space and those at the gate saw on the scanners what happened to the building. Those on the ground got out and watched as the two large and tall smoke stacks fell over away from the building as it fell in on itself. The Jumpers in space came back down as the guys near the gate called Atlantis quickly to apprise them of what happened.

Carter had tried calling Ford's cell phone when the T.A.R.D.I.S. left suddenly without warning, but kept getting his voice mail. It worried her greatly and relief flooded her as the gate activated and she was told what happened. It was only minutes after not seeing the T.A.R.D.I.S. arrive and hearing that the Jumpers were getting life signs in the rubble plus the energy signature they knew to look for concerning the T.A.R.D.I.S. that she realized the ship was buried and quite possibly that no one made it inside since no one was calling Atlantis from the phone inside. She was sort of thankful that no one was in the T.A.R.D.I.S. at the moment, even though it would have helped out a lot, because if someone was in there like her mother or Sally and they opened the door, there was no telling what sort of possible gruesome sight could be waiting.

Getting a rescue party together quickly along with a couple other Jumpers, they headed out fast with hope and prayers in their hearts.