Ace In The Hole
Chapter 38
"You are sure about this?" Alex asks Elizabeth with a nervous smile.
"Yes..." Elizabeth smiles back "I'm Ready" Alex reluctantly activates the control and watches as Elizabeth suddenly clutches the sides of her head, her face contorted in obvious pain.
"Breath... deep and slow... it will pass" Alex rubs gently on her back all the time keeping his voice low and calm "It will pass" Slowly her face begins to relax and she lets out a ragged sigh "The bond is complete"
"That looked bad" Sheppard grimaces coming to take his place by her side.
"I'm fine... it just took me by surprise... I... I feel like I'm suddenly everywhere... is this what it's always like" She looks at Alex in wonder, who just smiles and nod's almost imperceptibly.
"What's it like?" McKaye asks the scientist in him desperate to know.
"I feel like I'm split into a thousand pieces all at once... my mind racing in every direction... but I'm whole at the same time... it's incredible" Elizabeth goes quiet "I can sense the connection to the gate... I can hear voices like a crowd in the distance..."
"Concentrate on one... listen for his voice... like I explained... do this one task and we know the bond is complete"
"Couldn't she just fire a drone?" Rodney gripes but he looks slightly abashed when Alex glares at him.
"This is a function only City ships could do... Accessing the gate network takes deep concentration on a level that is only possible if the bond has worked... the gate network is so vast... and to connect to Earth this way will require..." Alex pauses when she sees Elizabeth's smile...
"Supreme Commander of the Tauri?" Elizabeth's unable to stop the grin "I bet he hated that"
"I believe he stopped speaking to Doctor Jackson for a few weeks because of it" Sheppard grins.
"They will be gating in... a few days from now" Elizabeth nods knowing full well she had passed the final test.
"Miss Donavan" O'Neill holds his hand out with a smile, but the reporter looks at him annoyance flaring upon her face.
"I've been waiting almost an hour... Is anyone going to bother telling me why I've been summoned!" She glances at O'Neill's uniform and sighs "Are you even in charge?"
"T'wood seem..." O'Neill looks at the women warily he hates making nice with anyone especially reporters, but he has his orders and getting the press onside is his top priority.
"Well?" She asks sighing in frustration.
"A while ago you came across a top secret airforce program called Prometheus" O'Neill notes the attempt to look surprised and smiles "That was merely the tip of a much bigger ice berg I am afraid Miss Donavan"
"Are we talking you know?... invasion?" She asks suddenly nervous.
"No... at least not as I know of..." O'Neill ponders for a moment making Donavan roll her eyes.
"You've known that the truth is out there... so it were... but you've managed to keep your mouth shut... you could have made things difficult but you didn't... so here is your first reward" O'Neill hands her an official looking document.
"What's this?" She glances inside and her eyes go wide in surprise "Is this for real?"
"Signed, sealed and completely binding..." O'Neill shrugs.
"You'll understand if I get confirmation first..." She jumps up... and looks at his name badge "O'Neill?" he nods "As in General O'Neill?"
"Ah... those were the days..." he says whimsically before nodding to her "Go... headlines to grab" a small smile is tugging at the corner of his lips.
Donavan nods and bolts out of his office... the game was afoot.
"We have just had confirmation... the motion was passed by congress a couple of months ago... on the quiet" Paul Dodds says with a confused smile.
"Why?... this is something that's going to change the world? Why keep it quiet?" Julia who was almost bouncing with excitement moments ago is suddenly more interested in the secrecy.
"What is it with you and secrets?"
"Nato has been disbanded and a new alliance has been set up with no big fanfare to the fact that over 50 countries have signed up to it... including all of the G20?" She looks at him incredulous.
"So?"
"So... Russia... China... India... Pakistan... not normally known for their team playing" She says ticking them off.
"So?... maybe they've realised that war's not the way forward?" Paul shrugs.
"You don't think its even slightly strange?"
"What that government's are finally listening to their people?... no one really wants war... Russia and the U.S. may have had their rivalries in the past but a major war is in no ones interests"
"I don't know... something bigger is coming Paul... I can feel it."
"Julia... just break the damn story before Fox or the BBC or some other station beats us to it!" Paul Dodds just turns and walks away in a hurry.
"Supreme Commander O'Neill" Sheppard grins snapping to attention as do all the military personnel assembled.
"Funny" O'Neill roles his eyes and glares at Daniel who is stood beside him. "This is all your fault"
"Sir... welcome to Avalon" Elizabeth smiles offering her hand to O'Neill.
"Daniel... another one after your crown I see..." O'Neill shakes her hand smiling at the confused Elizabeth "Coming back from the grave" he shrugs causing Elizabeth to finally nod in understanding.
"It's good to have you back Elizabeth" Daniel says with a smile.
"Thank you Doctor... or is it councillor now?"
"How about Daniel?" Elizabeth smiles and nods.
"So... Sheppard... how go the preparations?" O'Neill asks glancing around the gate room. Sheppard just coughs to clear his throat and gain O'Neill's attention before he just nods towards Elizabeth.
"I am ready thank you Sir" Elizabeth smiles when he sees O'Neill nod in understanding.
"Sorry" he shrugs before indicating for her to continue.
"I have a full compliment of jumpers, the armoury is full, both the Asgard and Lantian database has been copied from Atlantis to Avalon, all I have left is a pit stop on P119 HJT and we are set"
"What... why?" Sheppard asks surprise and confusion evident on not only his face but the faces of everyone else assembled also.
"To pick up this cities Inferus Aqua Duco Pulpitum of course" Elizabeth says with a smirk.
"You mean... like?" Sheppard almost stammers.
"Nautilus?... yes" Elizabeth nods.
"You telling me every city had one?" McKaye asks suddenly coming out of no where.
"Yes Rodney... each city had one"
"Why didn't Alex tell us?"
"You never asked him" Elizabeth chuckles, O'Neill snaps out of his surprise and steps forward with a big smile.
"Elizabeth... it's good to have you back"
The news of Earth's sudden political union had sent shock waves around the planet in less than a few days many of the nations not included were publicly petitioning for membership.
The very idea that nations that had once been mortal enemies had quietly without any fuss or drama made it illegal to go to war with one and other had stunned everyone.
A wave of optimism for what the the future may hold was sweeping the planet, politicians for once were being universally applauded on their brave leap forward, even in countries once considered deeply unjust and intolerant sweeping changes had been pushed through swiftly and quietly.
Freedom, Tolerance, Equality, Justice and Unity were the new watch words, membership to the alliance came at a price it seemed, no longer could hate filled preachers spout their bile, no longer could the rich minority exploit the poor, no longer would the strong be allowed to prey upon the weak.
People were waking up to new changes on a daily basis as governments jostled to position themselves in the new world order, head lines becoming more and more surprising.
"So were are we up to today?" Carter says to Mitchell with a smile as she walks into the Hammond's mess hall.
"Israel and Palestine" Mitchell says looking totally bored.
"Cam... its taken months of negotiations and planning" Sam says sipping her coffee, Cam just stares at her open mouthed before she grins.
"O'Neill told them to grow up and sort out their dispute once and for all" Sam nods still smiling.
"I believe they told him to go to hell" Sam says with a small shrug.
"He then had both the Israeli and Palestinian delegations beamed to the SGC and proceeded to put them in a room with a hungry Wraith..." Mitchell says shaking his head.
"The Wraith was restrained" Sam grins "It certainly got them talking that's for sure" Sam lets out a chuckle.
"Don't you think this is happening a bit quick?"
"It's supposed to be like that... change after change bigger and bigger... something about desensitizing the general public... they become accustomed to change... expect it even"
"No matter how they do it its still gonna be huge... proof of Alien life... no... not only that... proof we were put here by said Alien life" Mitchell says with a flourish.
"The Ancients were technically human and seeded life here"
"Ain't what my grandma taught me!" Mitchell shakes his head "Technology apart... wars and conflicts apart when you get right down to it... this is going to challenge every belief on the planet and all this religious tolerance crap is gonna bite us in the ass... trust me you wait and see."
"Well stage one is in full swing... so far so good I'm told" O'Neill grins.
"It seems that way at the moment" Daniel says cautious as ever.
"And how goes it in Pegasus?" O'Neill asks raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"Good... the task force successfully defeated a sizeable Wraith fleet and because they handled themselves so well we have once more begun deploying Sentinels" Sheppard says glancing to Rodney beside him.
"We have also figured a way to give each planet a way to tap into their particular Sentinel satellite in orbit thus enabling them a way to detect Wraith approaching... should give them about an hours warning... Teyla and Ronon are leading teams to deploy these" Rodney waves a copy of the pad Ford had leant him.
"However" Sheppard says "We need a favour" O'Neill merely raises his eyebrows "Not from Earth"
"From the Tok'ra" Elizabeth says causing both O'Neill and Daniel to frown. "We need to build underground bunkers so the people of these worlds can hide in relative safety until the Wraith of gone"
"Tok'ra tunnelling crystals could do that... they could provide every world with a bolt hole within days" McKaye says passionately.
"The Wraith have been fighting between themselves ever since... we... well I woke them up... food is scarce... if we can make it even more scarce... harder to come by they might turn on each other even more" Sheppard says confidently.
"Use of Tok'ra tunnelling crystals is tightly controlled" Daniel says with a sigh.
"But they have allowed their use before" Elizabeth says with a small smile.
"True but this is way outside of our original agreement" Daniel says shaking his head "They won't be swayed easily"
"Do you think a clone of their queen might sway em?" Sheppard grins at seeing the surprise on Daniels face.
"Is that even possible?"
"Please" Elizabeth just points to herself.
"That was different... your DNA was on file and your consciousness was in a replicator that was relativity simple" Daniel says smiling at Elizabeth
"Goa'uld have genetic memory Daniel... if they kept a sample... we can bring her back" Elizabeth smiles.