Chapter 11 - The Ancient Communicator

Infirmary
Level 21
SGC

Mitchell sat on the infirmary bed with his back against a pillow and waited patiently for Dr Lam to make an appearance.

The discovery of the treasure had made him forget all about his aches and pains while they all had dived happily into browsing through the trinkets, books and alien gadgets for the next few hours. The Prometheus had made things easier by sending a team down to start inventorying the hoard.

Jackson made them start by conducting a full-body search on Mal Doran who had about one-twentieth of the treasure already hidden inside her clothes by then. So, it was a good call on Jackson's part.

It had been really fun too, listening to Jackson reading an account about the Ancients, or the Alterans, as they now knew them, and learning how they had migrated to the milky way galaxy.

Where they had proceeded to fill the planets with Stargates, among other fascinating things.

It had been even more fun to discover a strange new Alteran piece of tech that made them forget all about the gold for a moment.

It had been around that time Mitchell had finally collapsed from the exhaustion and pain from his injuries he had been firmly ignoring until then.

What had decidedly not been fun was his transfer to the infirmary aboard the Prometheus, followed by beaming into Dr Lam's territory back at the SGC.

He had been forced to spend the first four hours since his return, being poked, prodded and scanned by everything Lam had in her possession. He was fine. He had no serious injuries. After she had released him from all the tests, he had slept for about seven hours straight and woken up only an hour ago, starving. Now, he just had to get his meds and get out of this place so he could grab a shower and get something to eat.

Then he really wanted to head to Dr Lee's lab and find out exactly what the machine they found, did.

He had already showered, shaved and brushed his teeth, changed out of the scrubs and into his BDUs. All that was left now, was for Lam to show up and let him out.

When the curtain around his bed finally opened, it was not by Dr Lam as he expected, but Sheppard.

The man was fresh out of a shower as well, his hair still wet, and back again in black BDUs he had somehow charmed the quartermaster to issue just for him. There was even a hint of his expensive aftershave whose name Mitchell could never remember but had loved to steal whenever he got the chance back in the old days.

The smell wafting from the steaming coffee mugs he had in his hands was even better.

"Hey, you're up."

"Good morning."

They both said to each other at the same time. Sheppard let out a snort and shook his head.

"Heard you got into trouble," he said, handing him a coffee which Mitchell grabbed with both hands, grinning happily. "You were already out when I dropped by to see you yesterday night."

The fact that Sheppard had come by to see him once already made something flutter in Mitchell's gut that had nothing to do with him being hungry. The coffee went down his parched throat like a liquid gift from heaven, made exactly the way he loved it. The flutter in his gut flapped its little wings and danced a merry dance.

His eyes closed on their own accord and an embarrassing moan made its way out of his throat. It was so good.

"Marry me, Sheppard." he blurted without thinking.

Sheppard, thankfully, sipped his coffee and ignored his faux pas.

"What happened?" he raised an inquiring eyebrow and waited.

"I got my ass kicked by a hologram," Mitchell grinned. "That was just after I almost got crushed by a ceiling–"

The eyebrow went a little higher. That was the only reaction of curiosity he got from the man. He remembered then that Sheppard had always been rather good at poker. "Sounds like an eventful day."

Mitchell scooted to the side, careful not to spill his coffee and patted the vacated space next to him. "Sit down so I can tell you all about it."

Sheppard did. Mitchell launched into his story, telling him about everything they had to go through to finally get to the treasure that had been amassed for years. Sheppard sat there, drinking his coffee, listening intently to the entire story without a single interruption.

Once he was done, Sheppard had only one question. "So, was it worth it?'

"Damn right," Mitchell said, placing the now empty mug on his bedside table. "The stuff is going to be catalogued, inventoried and moved to storage at Area 51, but they brought the Ancient artefact back to SGC. It's in Lee's lab right now."

"The thing that looks like a weird black, umbrella-shaped gadget with a blue crystal on top? Yeah. I saw it on my way here. He's still running tests."

"That's the one," Mitchell said. "I'm waiting for the doc to spring me. I want to be there when they figure out what it does. When did you get back?"

"Yesterday evening," Sheppard stifled a yawn and rubbed at his face. "Today, I'm not going anywhere."

"Why?"

"Evaluations."

The one word explained a lot of things, mainly why Sheppard looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

Mitchell remembered how it had been after his crash and subsequent recovery - the endless surgeries, healing sessions, ever-present agony and days and hours spent lost in a drug-induced haze. There had been times when he had been lucid enough to feel guilty, a lot of it, for the people he had lost - his navigator, his wingman…

Almost the entire wing had been eviscerated during that combat and he had been one of the lucky ones.

Broken, in excruciating pain, boiling in his impotent anger and guilt-ridden as hell - and they had called him lucky.

It had taken a lot of time for him to climb out of that depressing pit of dark emotions.

While recovering and then slowly easing into rehabilitation, he had learned to let the anger fade and grieve for the ones he had lost. During that time, as hard as it had been, he had also learned to forgive himself a little too.

Then he had poured all his energy into recovery, into his only goal at the time, which was to get back in the field.

He had undergone what felt like hundreds of physical and psychological evaluations, each and every time a panicked, scared mess, fearing that he wouldn't make it. He hadn't managed to ace them all, there had been ups and downs, good, bad and worse days, but none of them had been terrible enough to make him quit.

That was how he got here.

Looking at Sheppard, sitting next to him hunched over his coffee, Mitchell didn't even know where to begin imagining what his ordeal had been like. Not that he wanted to even try if he were honest. What little he knew about Jaffa and their methods of torture was enough to make him shy away from the thoughts of this man facing all of it by himself, not knowing if he was going to make it. If it was that hard for Mitchell to even imagine, there weren't any doubts that it must have been horrendous for Sheppard to experience.

There were no records to speak of exactly what had happened to Sheppard at the hands of the defeated Jaffa, except for the notion that he had been close to death when he had been found.

Mitchell figured that the lack of information spoke for itself.

Even after two and a half months with Tok'ra and their advanced healing, he knew Sheppard wasn't back to one hundred percent yet. He could see it in the way how thin he still was, and how tired he looked, even when Sheppard tried to hide it. His eyes, that beautiful shade of hazel Mitchell adored and was too chicken shit to admit, were now much darker, guarded and hid things that Mitchell wouldn't find out for a long time, if ever. And the dark circle around them spoke of sleepless nights, probably filled with nightmares.

Nightmares. Now, Mitchell did know something about those because he was also an unwilling daily subscriber to those.

But, even after all of that, the point was, Sheppard was here as well. He was alive, still in control of his faculties and he was home, among people he could trust and the people who cared about him, who gave a damn.

John Sheppard, whom Mitchell knew, was not one to give up and quit, not easily. If the man was here, that was because he wanted to be and Mitchell knew he was going to do his damndest to stay here.

And, if Sheppard was going to have to go through a few struggles to get back on his feet, it was fine because even though he didn't look like he knew it, Sheppard had all the help and support he would ever need.

Mitchell also knew that convincing the man of the fact was going to be a battle in itself.

It was all going to take time, but it was all going to get better. That was what Mitchell believed and he knew he was going to be there by Sheppard's side to make him see that too.

"Oh, you'll do," was all he said, after a long moment of silence. He knew Sheppard wasn't big on talking about himself, so Mitchell patted him on the shoulder consolingly, trying to convey his support. The way Sheppard shrugged and averted his gaze only confirmed that not talking about things was the right choice.

For the moment. At least.

So Mitchell changed the subject. "How was your tour at the Outpost?"

That earned him a slow, sideways grin. "You're right. They are crazy. I'm going there again in two days," he said. "Apparently, I'm now on a dual roster combining the Outpost and R&D in Area 51."

"Got the Chair working, did you?"

"And then some," he shrugged again like it was nothing.

It was Mitchell's turn to shake his head at the man's naiveté. "Let me tell you, Shep, these geek types work fast when they find a target," he said, pointing a finger and everything just to stress his point. "Before long, you won't even remember what this place looks like. They'll just bury you under all that Ancient junk, man."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sheppard nodded, his expression serious but his eyes gleaming in amusement.

Dr Lam opened his privacy curtain all the way and stuck her head in then. There was no smile on her face. Mitchell figured he was in for a lecture. She seemed wholly unconcerned that he had a visitor.

"Colonels." She said, checking his chart.

"Doc, can I go now?" he asked with his most charming smile.

Sheppard got off from his perch next to him and walked around to stand by the railing at the foot of his bed, giving the doctor some space.

"Yes," Lam said, jotting down something on his chart and placing it on a tray next to her. Then she pulled a small container from her pocket and handed it to him. "Here. You know the rules, take them after meals, and finish the course–"

Mitchell nodded and clutched it close to his heart, trying to convey with his body language that he would treat the pills the way they deserved.

Lam did smile then, but not in a way that made him feel any better or safer. Sheppard hung his head, trying to hide a smirk, in his periphery.

"And the next time you forget to report your injuries to the infirmary, I'm going to ground you for a week." The threat was delivered in such a no-nonsense tone, Mitchell immediately believed it.

"I said I'm sorry," he mumbled, suitably chastised. "It's not like I did on purpose."

"Deep bruises like yours could have easily been caused by internal injuries," Lam lectured. "You were lucky, Colonel. Don't do that again."

"What?" Mitchell let his eyes go wide and blinked. "You mean, don't get lucky?"

Lam didn't consider his attempt at humour worth indulging. She just aimed him a level look and pointed to the door.

"Just, go."

Mitchell didn't need to be told twice. He left the infirmary quickly before the doctor could change her mind, with Sheppard following him with a grin all the way to the mess hall.

SGC Corridor

Mitchell ran into Daniel, Vala and General Landry as he parted ways with Sheppard and went towards the elevator intending on heading to the lab. Jackson was in the middle of one of his rants. Landry had a long-suffering look on his face and Vala was hanging onto every word, just in case he mentioned anything about more treasure.

"...my point is that we haven't met a single living Ancient who was willing to share their knowledge freely with us, and there could be an entire advanced civilization of them out there somewhere in another galaxy! I mean, isn't that why we're doing this, all of this? The Stargate program, the budget? Isn't it so we can go out and meet new races? Gather advanced technology? Possibly learn about ourselves in the process?"

"Oh, come on," Vala baited him with a sly leer. "You do it to meet women."

"She has a point, sir," Mitchell said to Landry, just to fuck with Jackson.

They reached the elevator and everyone got in. Landry pressed 27. It seemed that they were all going to his office level before heading towards the lab.

"I've been thinking I need to get out on an off-world mission or two," Landry said, perfectly nonchalant.

"Yeah," Mitchell nodded seriously. "Just to get the feel for it."

"Always do everything you ask of those you command."

"Patton."

"Very good."

Mitchell wasn't expecting a compliment. It took him a moment to find his voice. "Good movie."

Jackson couldn't be deterred by the banter. But he was irritated that his expert theory was being ignored. "Laugh if you want to, but I believe finding these Alterans and where they came from should be our top priority from this point forward. They are 'the Gate Builders.'"

"Nobody's laughing, Dr Jackson," Landry said as they exited the elevator. "The universe is a big place. Tell me where they are and how to get there, and I'll order you to go."

It was obvious from the shock on Jackson's face, it was not what he was expecting. Mitchell wasn't. He had stopped trying to guess the General since his first meeting with the man.

"I'm not saying this is going to be easy. I mean, if they're from a distant galaxy, our network of Stargates might not even connect. And even if it does, we know the massive power requirements necessary to dial Pegasus, and they're relatively close, in intergalactic terms," Jackson went on a tangent again. Excited at the prospect of discovering yet another galaxy. "But on the bright side, according to the text we found in the Glastonbury cavern, the Ancient device we discovered may be capable of intergalactic communication–"

Landry came to a stop at his office. "Thank you, Doctor Jackson. I'm sure you'll keep me posted. Colonel." With a nod to Mitchell, he went inside the office, closing the door behind him, and leaving them there to stare at each other.

"I think he has no idea what you just said," Mitchell said softly. He didn't even have time to regret his words before Landry opened his door again and stuck his head out. His narrow-eyed gaze found Jackson first. "Also, does someone want to tell me why she's still on my base?" he asked, jerking his head at Vala who smiled innocently.

Then he pinned Mitchell with a look. "And, uh, yes, I did."

With that, the door banged closed. Mitchell hoped that one of these days, he would be on the same wavelength as his Commanding Officer. Until such time, he was going to have to go through these… awkward situations.

"Well, I think it's incredible." Vala declared when nobody else said a word.

"Let's go see what Dr Lee has for us," Mitchell said, leading them back towards the elevator. At least, the Ancient gadget might reveal a way for them to make contact with this new piece of real estate in the universe Jackson seemed to think they had unlocked.

Science Lab
SGC

They found Dr Bill Lee bent over the device he had set up on one of his worktables. It was connected to a plethora of scientific equipment. Several monitors seemed to be running programmes that meant nothing to Mitchell.

"I have been around the galaxy long enough to know that knowledge is power," Vala said, walking around the table to peer at the dome-shaped artefact. "And understanding the technology that was left behind by the Ancients is the most powerful knowledge around."

Jackson wasn't having it. Understandably, he has more pressing problems. He held out his wrist with the bracelet around it and glared. "And if you think I'm going to stay linked with you for the rest of my natural—

"Focus!" Mitchell broke in before the argument escalated. He had a feeling that breaking up fights was going to become a part of his daily routine. "Maybe we should focus on the task at hand." he nodded at the gadget sitting on the table innocently while Lee poked and prodded.

"Yeah, well, the device obviously has a power source," Lee declared, finally realising there were three expectant gazes aimed at him. "And, uh, I don't think it's been depleted–"

"Okay, when I read this was a communication device, I realised that the shape of these recessed spaces looked familiar–" Jackson held up a small black stone. "These stones are actually an Ancient form of communication device that links the users psychically, allowing them to see through each other's eyes. It appears that they're actually meant to be used in conjunction with this terminal."

"So, what happens when you attach the stones?" Mitchell wanted to know.

"We're going to find out," Jackson muttered, already distracted as he studied the little slots around the device.

"These stones were originally set for General O'Neill and one Joe Spencer," Lee explained to Mitchell and Vala.

"Barber from Indiana," Jackson added.

Mitchell knew who they were talking about. "Yeah, weird guy. I read the file."

"Well, anyway, after a lot of tedious, although, I must say, ultimately very brilliant work if I do say so myself–" Jackson brought the man back from a tangent by placing a hand on his shoulder. "...er, I was able to reset it," Lee said, looking around proudly.

Mitchell studied the black pebbles. "Don't they have to be activated by someone with the Ancient gene?"

"Well, that's what we thought at first," Lee started again, enthusiastically. "But no, like a lot of Ancient technology, the stones actually just need to be initialised–"

"By someone with the gene?" Mitchell interjected, his voice level. "That's a guess."

"No, you're right," Lee nodded, walking around, petting the device like a proud father. "Which these obviously have been."

Okay. Too bad. Not good enough an excuse to drag Sheppard in then. "So, any one of us can take the pony ride?" he asked instead, thinking about the pros and cons of volunteering to become a guinea pig.

"Yeah, and I figured that was going to be me," Jackson said hurriedly, his jaw set in determination. "I mean, I did miss the Daedalus for this, so–"

Mitchell sighed. "You're going to dine out on that for a while?"

Jackson was, at least, honest enough to admit the fact with a nod. "Yeah, yeah. Like you wouldn't believe."

"Well, no one's going to make an argument against that," Mitchell allowed graciously, "You are the world's foremost expert on the Ancients. But we got two stones," he pointed out.

"Yes, and this one's mine," Vala swooped in and grabbed the identical small stone out of the counter before either of them got a word in. "Thank you."

"How do you figure that?" Mitchell frowned, irritated.

"Well, Daniel and I are linked–"

"If I could just point out, for the record, we don't have to be–" Jackson interjected.

"He's only guessing that this device is for communication," Vala continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "What if it's a transporter of some kind, and he gets whisked away and can't get back?"

Jackson muttered under his breath while Lee piped up. "Actually, we have done a fair bit of research on this device, and I can say with absolute–relative…certainty…" his confidence took a dip before the three serious gazes. He shook his head, squared his shoulders and continued. "Oh for… Look, we have studied devices like this for years, and at some point ultimately you just have to turn it on."

"I'm going to give it a try," Jackson declared, stubbornly moving closer to the device.

"Where he goes, I go," Vala added, taking a step to stand next to him.

"I'm not going anywhere–"

"So he thinks."

"It's a communication device–"

Lee got tired of the back and forth very quickly and headed out to the observation room, saying he was going to watch from there. Mitchell followed, admitting that was an excellent idea.

Making up their minds after more arguing, Jackson and Vala placed the stones in random slots of the device at the same time. They both kind of stiffened for a second, expecting something to happen. Nothing did… for about ten seconds. Then the blue crystal at the top flared a bright blue and the entire device lit up, waking up from its slumber.

Vala and Daniel passed out and dropped straight to the floor.

Mitchell called for a med team to the lab and ran out of the Observation Room to check on the duo, hoping that he hadn't just been instrumental in killing one of their most valued experts.