AR1 followed Isaac and Emily down a gray corridor with no apparent doors but there were markings engraved on the stones at regular intervals. John also noted that the door to the Portal room had sealed seamlessly behind them.
After several minutes Emily opened touched one of the markings and an arch appeared. Beyond was an Alteran puddle-jumper with the hatch open. Padded seats lined the walls of the cargo compartment. The door to the cockpit was open and there was already someone seated in the pilot's seat. John felt the ship acknowledge his presence.
"Uh, Colonel White?" the pilot called. "You might want to put a body guard on Major Sheppard here when we get down."
"Oh?"
"You know Dilby and his boffins keep talking about capturing an Alteran, don't you?"
Isaac swore. "And the Major is…?"
"The ship loves him, sir."
Isaac pulled what looked to be a small square mirror from his pocket. "Prime Minister Granger," he said aloud.
A woman's face appeared in the mirror. "Yes, Colonel?"
"We're leaving Portal station and have AR1 with us. They have not been briefed and it looks like Major Sheppard is a child of the Alterans, and you know how Dilby is."
"Merlin's hairy balls", the woman in the mirror swore. Then: "Bring them straight to my office as soon as you're down. Granger out." The image in the mirror became a normal reflection.
"Um, we need to check in with our people," John said. He tried to keep from sounding nervous but he didn't have his weapons and had no idea where in Pegasus they were and these Magi had Alteran tech. "They get nervous when we're late," he added.
He watched Isaac pinch the bridge of his nose as if getting a headache. "Ewan, let coms know we need to patch through a signal to Atlantis, ASAP."
Elizabeth Weir was worried. AR1 was late for their check in. That wasn't normally too concerning since AR1 could handle themselves well in most situations. What did concern her was the fact that Atlantis had been unable to connect to Theros, the planet AR1 had gated to that morning. Teyla and Ronan had both visited Theros during the Grand Market before and both had expressed high hopes for finding additional trade partners among the vendors they would find at the Grand Market.
Then the stargate activated. "No IDC," Chuck reported.
A long unused Alteran speaker somewhere turned on.
"Hello Atlantis Expedition," a man's voice said. "This is Colonel Isaac White of the Magi Department of First Contact. Wanted to let you know there was a little problem with wraith on Theros but your team evacuated with my team and are all fine."
"Thank you, Colonel," Elizabeth said. "I appreciate you helping my people. Is Major Sheppard available?"
"Right here." She recognized John's voice.
"What happened?"
"They detected incoming wraith, initiated an emergency evac and took us along with them."
"When do you expect to get back home?"
Colonel White answered. "Tomorrow, I expect. We have quite number of people who want to meet the famous AR1 team. Plus today is a major holiday for my people.
"Holy…" Rodney's voice came over the speaker. "It looks just like Earth… It really does. There's Vancouver Island and the Grand Canyon… This shouldn't be… It's terraformed, right? You guys have terraforming?"
"Uh, sorry, no," Isaac was heard saying.
"Rodney, stop drooling," John ordered.
"Doctor Weir, we'll have your team call you tomorrow. Out."
The wormhole collapsed. The connection was lost.
"Please tell me we have the address that dialed us," Elizabeth asked, looking back at Chuck.
The board operator shook his head. "According to this, the stargate never activated."
"Then how does it look so much like a planet in a whole different galaxy?" Rodney demanded.
"Because beings who do have that ability decided we needed a planet just like Earth and so made one, or found one, and brought us here from a different version of Earth than you know," Isaac explained.
"Why? Why did they bring you here?" John asked.
"I'll let Prime Minister Granger explain that," Isaac said. He opened a storage compartment and pulled out four black rings and four green rings. He handed a black ring and a green ring to each member of AR1. "In the meantime, wear these rings. The green one protects your mind. The black is cold iron. Don't eat or drink anything this night unless you've tested it against cold iron."
"And what's so special about this night?" Rodney demanded.
"It's Samhain," Emily said. "The fae are deceptive, dangerous beings and tonight they come out to test us."
"I do not know of these fae," Teyla said.
"Fairy folk and magical creatures from children's stories," Rodney explained, his voice quiet for once. "The older the story, the more blood thirsty and diabolical they are. And iron is reputed to be deadly to them. I always thought the stories were about steel making better weapons than bronze. Then casting the bronze using losers as the bad guys." He looked over at Teyla and Ronan. "If your people don't have any stories of the fairy folk, be glad. The old stories are the stuff of nightmares and the new stories don't want to let the kiddies know there might really be things that go bump in the night."
"My people had stories about them," Ronan said. "Creatures that would steal children out of their beds and leave monsters in their place and monsters that looked human but would steal your soul."
"And we're down," Ewan stated. John hadn't even felt the landing. The back hatch swung down to make the exit ramp. The sky was darkening and John guessed sunset but the landing area was well-lit. Beyond the marked landing area John saw an old fashioned horse drawn carriage, but what was in the traces wasn't a horse, more like a nightmare rendering of a horse. Black, skeletally thin, head like an iguana and great bat-like wings.
"What the heck is that?" John asked. He'd been raised around horses but these animals just looked dangerous.
"A thestral," Rodney said. "I thought they were made up. I mean, dragons can't really breath fire and snakes can't talk… It's make believe."
"Can you all see them?" Emily asked. The members of AR1 all nodded.
"They are warriors living and fighting in a dangerous place," Isaac explained. "They have seen death and know its reality in their souls."
"But they're…" Alexander started. Isaac cut him off.
"Don't say it. Don't even think it! They can see thestrals and until you can see them, you're not entitled to an opinion."
"But…"
"We fought three wars over that bullshit. We lost a full quarter of the population of our islands during the Cleansing or were you asleep during your history classes?"
"I got Os on my history tests," Alexander protested.
"And you're still ready to spout racial superiority nonsense in front of four of the most brilliant people in this galaxy and two of them children of the Alterans? Doctor McKay knows more about Alteran technology than anyone alive in two galaxies! We've had years and we're lucky we can get a shuttle to respond." Isaac stopped and a look of horror crossed his face. "And Granger is going to kill me." He waved everyone to get into the carriage. "Government House," he instructed the driver.
The thestrals flapped their wings and the carriage took to the air. "I guess this is like riding in Santa's sleigh," John murmured. He turned to Rodney. "By the way, how did you know about thestrals? I don't remember them being a D&D monster."
"When I was a kid we had a neighbor who was a retired school teacher from Scotland. Jeannie thought she was weird. I thought she was great. I loved hanging out with her. She knew all sorts of old, old folktales, the ones from before Disney white washed them, stories where Cinderella had her evil stepsisters tortured to death at her wedding ball and the prince and his parents were okay with it. She grew most of her own food, had bees and chickens in the backyard. She made the best hot chocolate, from scratch. No marshmallows but loads of real whipped cream. The last Christmas before she moved back to Scotland, she gave me a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I loved that book. I knew it was imaginary, that those beasts couldn't exist in the real world but I didn't care. Then my father found it and burned it. Claimed it was the work of the devil." Rodney paused. John knew that Rodney's relationship with his parents hadn't been a good one. But declaring a child's favorite book demonic and burning it bordered on abuse. The look on Rodney's face as he remembered indicated that it hadn't just bordered on abuse.
"When I finally got away from home I looked for a copy of it," Rodney said after a time. "Couldn't find one anywhere. It was like it had never been published."
John caught the glance Emily shot at Isaac and the thoughtful look on Isaac's face. "You know the book he's talking about."
"The fifteenth edition just came out," Emily said.
The thestrals and carriage landed outside a high stone wall pierced with a wide ornate iron gate. The gate opened and John felt a tingle across his skin as the carriage passed through.
Although no light showed above the wall from the outside, inside the wall the grounds were well lit, revealing a wide stone paved road, wide lawns, island gardens and what looked to be orchards. Ahead was a stone building that looked a little like Buckingham Palace.
The carriage stopped in front of a large arched entrance and Isaac waved everyone out. He led them up the wide steps to the iron bound doors.
"Colonel Isaac Immanuel White and guests," Isaac announced. John felt the tingle on his skin again. The doors swung open, seemingly on their own.
Isaac led the way inside. Based on the building's resemblance to a British palace, John had expected them to enter a grand hall with lots of gilt and ornate trappings. Instead they'd entered a large reception area with marble floors and modern seating. Instead of grand art, there were portraits hanging on the walls. Directly opposite the entrance doors was a wide marble topped reception desk with a middle aged woman seated behind it.
"Welcome to Government House," the woman said with a friendly smile. "Colonel, the Prime Minister is waiting for you." she waved to a side door where a young man in a green robe was standing.
"Pardon me, ma'am," John said politely. "But what planet are we on?"
She gave Isaac a sharp look of disappointment before turning back to John. "Solus three, Domus Novae, and this is the government seat for the territory of Greater New Britain."
"So, you don't have a world government?" John asked.
"Not yet," the woman answered with a chuckle. "But we're working on it… peaceably. Plus we control the Portal since nobody else wanted to which puts us in charge of planetary security and off-world trade."
"Now Granger's going to kill you, too," Isaac commented.
"Don't be so dramatic," the woman said with another chuckle. "You know perfectly well I went to school with Hermione and she knows I can beat her in a fair fight any day of the week."
"Since when have you ever fought fair?"
"Never, and neither does she." She glanced at John. "Being forced to be a child soldier in a war the adults refused to admit to does that to the best of people." She turned back to Isaac. "Hermione's waiting for you."
They followed the young man through the side door, down a short corridor to another side door which opened into an empty room about the size of a freight elevator. "Prime Minister's quarters," their guide said, closing the door and placing his hand on a silver symbol etched into the wall. There was a momentary sense of vertigo almost but not quite like the transporter booths on Atlantis.
This time the door opened onto a hallway with silver gray walls and push navy blue carpet. Modern looking wall sconces provided the light.
Their guide led them to a set of double doors at the end of the hallway. A quick rap on one of the doors and they opened. Isaac ushered his team and his guests through, the doors closing behind them.
The large room beyond had more silver gray walls and plush navy blue carpet. It looked to be an open great-room style floor plan. There were floor to ceiling white oak bookcases with glass doors and the kitchen cabinets were also in white oak with dark counter tops. The proportions of the cabinets felt American. Overall the furniture looked like Scandinavian modern, wood and leather with elegant yet simple lines.
Opposite the entrance door, on the far side of the room, were wide glass doors opening onto a balcony. On the remaining wall was a set of double doors leading to what John assumed were the sleeping quarters and private offices.
There were four humans present, at least John assumed they were as human as Isaac was, a petite middle-aged woman with frizzy brown hair streaked with gray, a woman with white blonde hair and silver gray eyes, a middle-aged man with long dark-brown hair streaked with more than a little gray and a tall black man who might have been older than the other three but it was hard to tell.
John assumed the brown-haired woman was Prime Minster Granger since hers had been the face in Isaac's communication device.
She introduced her companions as Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, head of the Department of Education, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, head of the Department of Law Enforcement. All four of them wore robes similar to the ones Isaac and his team were wearing only with richer fabric and more ornamentation.
"We've been looking forward to meeting you and your team, Major Sheppard," Hermione started seating herself at the head of the dining/conference table. Her companions seated themselves to either side of her. Isaac slid in next to Luna while his subordinates settled into chairs near the library. There was a tea set on the table, a coffee carafe with cups and plates of finger foods. The cookies, muffins, and potato cakes looked and smelled like what John remembered his mother making for Halloween when he was little.
Hermione gestured for John and his team to sit at the table while she poured herself a cup of tea.
"I do have one quick question before we begin," Rodney said. "How long have your people been on this planet?"
"Today is the celebration of the tenth anniversary of our arrival," Hermione answered. "Why?"
"It's just, if you've been in Pegasus that long, why is today the first time we've heard about you? Teyla's said she's attended the Grand market on behalf of Athos for years. She never mentioned there was another high tech civilization out there. Neither has Ronan and he's really good at picking up on things like that."
"I believe we were asked not to," Teyla said. She sounded troubled. "It wasn't time for you to meet them."
"Lady Magic wanted us to be well established before meeting the Taur'i and getting involved with them," Luna said softly. She smiled and looked over at Harry but John wasn't sure if she was actually seeing him. "She knew we wouldn't be able to not help."
Harry chuckled. "Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor. Chivalry, courage, determination with little strategy and few brains."
Hermione cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "We need to get a few details out of the way before discussing trade. Domus Novae will not accept refugees. The temptation to mistreat them would be too great for too many of our people. We know what we are like and we know how easily we can fall into xenophobic patterns. It's not pretty."
"Earthers are generally a pretty xenophobic lot," Rodney stated. "We're terrified of what is different, even if it's the guy across the street." He glanced over at Teyla. "Societies that evolved using stargates tend to be less so. You need all those different people to survive, but face it, even your people fear the stranger."
"It is better to be too cautious than too trusting," Teyla responded.
"Exactly," Kingsley agreed.
Hermione took a deep breath as though collecting her thoughts. "I know what we have to offer the Taur'i on Atlantis. Your supply chain from Earth is vulnerable to power issues and the vagaries of politics. So you need food, ammunition for your projectile weapons, and replacement parts for your other Earth manufactured equipment. I suspect you also need people with some familiarity with high tech to help you do repairs and finish activating all of Atlantis' systems."
"Your intel is really good," John commented. "But we also need more power than we have to finish activating her systems."
"And then we have to hope the Alterans didn't leave more unprotected labs with dangerous stuff laying around," Rodney groused.
"So, you've identified what we need to trade for," John said, getting back on track. "But what do we have that you need to trade for?"
"Military training and know-how," Harry said. "After our last civil war, our people were forbidden to join any of Earth's militaries. We weren't allowed to have positions in any government, at any level except in our own enclaves. In return we handled our own law enforcement and our own governance. Cooperation between enclaves was frowned on. Now we have a planet to defend. We have governments to build, constitutions to write. We need to write treaties and we don't really know how. I mean the people at Gringott's are really good with business contracts, but we need to be able to write actual treaties."
"And here I thought maybe we were going to have to sell our bodies," John joked.
Hermione chuckled. "I don't think it will come to that. But you do have skills that have the potential of being worth a lot to us. And we have skills that you might find valuable."
"Such as?" Rodney asked.
Suddenly a 'stick' appeared in Hermione's hand. "Lumos." The end of the stick began to glow. "Remember, any technology that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic."
"Is the wand your focus or is it actually tech?" Rodney asked.
"Focus," Harry said. "A tuned focus I guess you'd call it."
"Telepathy and telekinesis," Rodney stated. John noted that the scientist didn't sound at all surprised.
"It's all energy and matter manipulation," Rodney went on. "The Alterans gained it when they manipulated their biology to hurry Ascension along. These people have the ability, but it's not tied to Ascension so I'm betting it's a rare but biologically based ability. We know there are intelligent species that live out of phase of our material dimensions and there are species that appear to be pure energy but they don't manipulate matter as far as we know…"
"Rodney, are you all right?" John asked carefully. "They just said they have real wand waving magic and you're assuming they're not lying."
"John, the wraith can steal memories from people's heads, they can make people see things that aren't there, and they eat souls! The Alterans ascended into glowy octopus creatures but before they did they created tech with the ability to wipe out all life in a galaxy. And what the Ori can do we may as well call magic because we can't explain it any better than that. Yet."
Rodney paused. "They have thestrals. Animals that can't exist according to our understanding of biology. Maybe they have dragons, too. And maybe, the fae aren't just children's tales… Wait, why would there be magical animals unless… Are the fae an older race? Older than modern humans?"
The magicals, except for Luna, stared at him. Finally Luna said "Yes, they are very very old."
"And if they didn't evolve on Earth, then they're not going to admit they came from someplace else and brought with them animals that don't fit in to Earth's natural ecological systems. They're also not going to admit they took humans and did what conquerors usually do, bred with them. Probably didn't expect there'd be offspring who would survive and could pass on the ability to manipulate energy.
"If they brought animals with them, did they bring slaves? Merpeople, hobgobins, sprites?"
"Yes," Luna said with a nod.
"You just assume those people were slaves," Harry pointed out.
Rodney nodded to Luna. "She said yes. And I suspect it's a fair assumption that any race that assumes they have the right to do whatever they want with the natives just because they can, would be just fine with having slaves and bringing the most useful ones with them."
"Do you have slaves?" Ronan asked. It sounded like a simple question but John knew how much Ronan hated the idea of slavery.
"There are no native humans on this planet to be enslaved. We don't know if they never evolved, if they died out naturally or the beings that wanted this planet for us made sure they didn't survive," Hermione said softly.
"There is a race we call 'house elves'," she continued. "They were abandoned to their fate by the Seelie fae when they cut off ties to our world. We live in a symbiotic relationship with the house elves. They can't handle energy directly from the planet the way humans and goblins can. They need it to be 'tempered'. So they bond with human magic users and places with high concentrations of magic and use that magic to help them access their own. In turn, they act as servants, which is what they were made for. And I mean that literally. They were made to serve. They were programmed to follow orders even if those orders were reprehensible." Hermione looked like she was ready to burst into tears.
"We have laws to protect the house elves," Kingsley added. "They can leave their current situations and find new humans to bond to, or find places with enough magical power to support them. The law forbids giving them orders to do something illegal and there is a tax on estates that employ house elves to provide funds for finding them new homes in the event their old ones are no longer suitable. It's also against the law for a human to break the bond without making sure the elf in question is in a safe situation. That's for the benefit of both parties. There have been situations where an elf's bond was broken in anger by a human and the elf went mad and killed everyone in the house, including the other house elves."
"Ouch," John murmured. "Okay, getting back to trade… We have to run everything past Doctor Weir, but Teyla has a lot of experience hammering out trade agreements and she's done a great job working with us. I also know we have some marines who are really good trainers who might want a break from baby sitting mad scientists, and Ronan and Teyla have excellent skills in hand to hand, knife, and staff fighting. For officer training I think we'll need somebody with a lot more experience than I do to set that up. And I'm not sure how the powers that be back on Earth are going to react to a request like that. Everything else I believe we can handle without getting them involved."
"You don't trust your government?" Kingsley asked. He sounded bemused.
"No offense Mister Shacklebolt, Madam Prime Minister, but I don't trust politicians," John said. "In fact, I don't trust anybody who actually wants to be in authority. It usually means they want to be bossy, not that they want the responsibility of being the boss. I prefer bosses that do their job because it needs to be done and they do it efficiently so they can get back to fishing."
"I wasn't aware that Elizabeth liked fishing," Teyla responded with a smirk.
"General O'Neill likes fishing," Rodney explained. "Although evidence suggests his lake still doesn't have any fish in it."
Harry made a show of checking his watch. "Hate to break this up but it's Samhain and the wife is in charge of the circle at Hogwarts this year so I get to do the stuff with the grandkids. I suggest we get a reasonable start in the morning after the Major has consulted with Doctor Weir."
"And what we are calling a reasonable starting time?" Hermione asked.
"Noon," Kingsley suggested.
"Nine," Isaac stated. "Time to do some site seeing this evening in Hogsmeade and time in the morning for a nice breakfast. I'm assuming somebody let The Three Broomsticks know we're looking at a party of seven or so for dinner and a couple of rooms for the night?"
"I let them know when we got your call," Luna said. "We must put our best foot forward for our new allies, don't we?"