SGA 22 Legacy 7 Unascended

by Jo Graham

  As they drew closer they saw that was true. The glass doors along the front were blown out, and a few pits in the concrete showed where something heavy had hit, but the roof was intact. They walked over the broken glass, past ticket counters and kiosks with faded signs in a language she didn’t read, a few scattered bundles here and there. Elizabeth knelt and picked one up, shaking off the dust. It was a dark red jacket with white piping, heavy wool undamaged. Someone had dropped their jacket as they ran. A little further on there was a metal lunch pail and a child’s shoe.

  She stood up, biting on her lower lip.

  “Come on,” Margin Bri said. “We’re going to lose the light before long.”

  The Regional Clinic had been ransacked. The building itself was intact, but clearly in the aftermath of the first attack it had been overrun by desperate people. The doors had been forced and the cabinets stood open, empty containers and worthless ones spread on the floor. Even the kitchen had been looted. Of course the kitchen had been looted. Any food was priceless, more valuable to the survivors than the medical supplies.

  Margin Bri didn’t seem disappointed. She looked around thoughtfully. “Most of the big equipment seems fine,” she said. She stopped by a big machine plastered with yellow warning signs. “If we had power we could test it. But it looks good to me.”

  “I’ve got some boxes of sterile dressings in here,” one of the men called from a room down the hall. “Some gloves, some small equipment. Also some bottled cleaning supplies. That’s all worthwhile.”

  Elizabeth went into an examining room. It looked like the ones from her childhood, with a padded table and a scale in the corner… Her childhood? Was she Satedan then? Everything about this was more and more confusing.

  “You OK?” one of the men asked, and she realized she’d just been standing in the middle of the floor looking.

  “Absolutely,” Elizabeth said, and began going through cabinets.

  Elizabeth dreamed, and in her dream she knew she was dreaming. She walked through a city of high white towers, the sound of the ocean mingling with the voice of the wind around each corner. She walked through each light-splashed corridor, stained glass making patterns of color on the floor. She paused by an open window, and as happens in dreams it opened, the balcony doors off the gate room. She stood in the bright sun looking out at city and sea, and she was content.

  “Because you are home,” a voice said beside her.

  Elizabeth turned. It was none of the people she might have expected, whoever they were. It was a woman a head shorter than she was, long straight black hair falling to her waist. Her eyes were pupil-less and wide, her body slight as a child’s. She was alien, and yet strangely familiar. “Do I know you?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I am Ran,” she said. She looked up at Elizabeth, her expressionless face serene. “I helped you Ascend. And it was I who suggested that you be placed on Mazatla when you were punished.”

  Elizabeth blinked. “You put me on Mazatla?”

  Ran nodded slowly. “I put you in the path of good people who were on their way to the Gathering. I wanted to make sure you would come to no harm, and that you would begin your journey.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You could not go somewhere you were known. Surely you understand that I could not do that. But a world with only an orbital gate, a world where no one had ever heard of Elizabeth Weir

  —

  that I could do. And yet I thought you would find your way home.”

  “Is Sateda my home?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Do you think so?”

  “No,” Elizabeth said. “But I don’t know where my home is.”

  “You will be home soon,” Ran said serenely. “It is only a matter of time now. You will remember or you will be recognized now that you are so close. And yet…”

  “Then I should thank you,” Elizabeth said. “For watching over me. For putting me among good people when I was helpless. That’s a big thing.”

  Ran shook her head, and for a moment she looked immeasurably old. “You broke the rules so that there could be peace. We have always sought peace first, you and I. But now it is I who must ask for your help.”

  “For my help?” Elizabeth stepped back from the rail. “How can I possibly help you? You’re an Ascended being.”

  “And as an Ascended being, I am forbidden to interfere in the actions of living creatures. Even in self-defense.”

  Elizabeth frowned. “Self-defense? But what could harm you?” Even as she spoke, she knew there were things. Not devices she’d seen, but something she’d heard of, something in another galaxy…

  “There are such things,” Ran said. “Though there have been none in this galaxy for a very long time. But the information on how to construct them still exists, and there are those who are seeking that information for their own ends.”

  “To kill Ascended beings?”

  “To force them to unascend.” Ran put one long, four fingered hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “And you have done so yourself, and so you would be a valuable prize for them. They seek not the secrets of Ascension, but of the Unascended. So I give you both this warning, and ask for your help. They must not gain the knowledge they seek.”

  Elizabeth squared her shoulders. “OK. Who are they? Where are they?” And yet the dream was already beginning to waver, the sea and sky darkening and blurring to nothing.

  “I must go,” Ran said. “I will return.” For a moment her hand on Elizabeth’s arm almost felt warm, almost entirely real. Then the world twisted.

  SGA-22 Unascended

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Atlantis’ Stargate opened in a flare of blue fire, then subsided to a rippling pool of light inside the circle of naquadah. John lifted his P90 and prepared to walk through, Teyla and Ronon behind him.

  “Oh, no no no!” Rodney came tearing out of one of the side doors, Dr. Jackson following him much more sedately. “You are not going to chase down this lead without me!”

  “Rodney,” John began, acutely aware of the entire gate room staff watching. “You and Jackson were going…”

  “Jackson is right here,” Rodney said. “You are not going to go hunt for Elizabeth on Manaria without me.”

  “We’re checking out a lead,” John said. “That’s all. A place where this other ship is expected to make a port of call. We don’t even know if they’re there.”

  “Which is why you can’t go,” Rodney said triumphantly. “And I can. If this is going to involve sitting around for hours or days waiting for a ship to turn up, you can’t leave Atlantis that long. Who are you going to leave in charge? Zelenka?”

  “Zelenka’s offworld,” John said uncomfortably. It was certainly true that the IOA wouldn’t like for him to be gone from Atlantis for an extended period, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

  “Lorne?” Rodney asked.

  John had the infuriated feeling that Rodney already knew the answer to that. “Lorne’s with Zelenka. They went with Dr. Lynn on a regular trade mission.”

  “Then who’s in charge?” Rodney asked. “Carson? Airman Salawi? Ember? Who do you think is going to pick up the phone if the SGC calls? Who do you think is going to deal with a crisis? And don’t tell me that can’t happen because it happens all the time.”

  Jackson looked up at the ceiling as if suddenly noticing something very interesting up there.

  Rodney poked Sheppard in the chest with a sharp forefinger. “No, you need to stay here, and I need to go.”

  Ronon and Teyla were looking at him, and John suppressed a sigh. Rodney was right that he ought to stay in Atlantis. Something could happen. Something did happen way too often. And even if what happened was a surprise call from General Landry, Landry wouldn’t be happy to find out that this was like that Star Trek joke where the entire crew of the Enterprise D beams down to the planet leaving Wesley in charge. John dropped his voice. “OK, you’ve made your point. I’ll stay and you and Jackson will go. But this is
not your mission, understand?”

  “But I…”

  “Rodney, you’re nuts on the subject of Elizabeth. There are not going to be any stupid risks in this picture. Teyla’s in charge.”

  Teyla’s eyebrows rose but she said nothing.

  “You listen to Teyla. When she says it’s time to leave, it’s time to leave. Got that?” He looked at Ronon, who was watching with a grin on his face. “And you’re backing Teyla up. If you have to carry McKay out kicking and screaming, you will. We are not going to have any unnecessary risks or piss off the Manarians or do any other stupid thing that seems like a good idea at the time. You are going to go, wait for the ship, and talk to the people. If

  —

  and this is a really big if

  —

  you find someone who resembles or claims to be Elizabeth, you will call in. At that point we’ll arrange for Alpha site quarantine.”

  “We’re talking about Elizabeth,” Rodney said. “We don’t need…”

  “Rodney, shut up,” John snapped. “We are talking about a key person who was in the hands of the enemy for months and infected with nanites, even if it is Elizabeth. Surely you, of all people, understand why we’d need quarantine? Or if you don’t, how about you ask Lorne?”

  Rodney turned red, and he did have the good grace to look away. After all, when he’d been compromised by the Wraith he’d led an attack on this very gate room which had cost lives and left Major Lorne seriously injured. Fortunately Lorne had recovered and he didn’t seem to hold a grudge against Rodney, but the reasons why they had to be careful ought to be obvious. “OK, I get it,” Rodney mumbled.

  Enough said. “Teyla, if you get a whiff of trouble or anything that makes you or Ronon think it’s a trap, get the hell out.”

  She nodded sharply. “We will do that. And Rodney will do as I ask.” She gave Rodney a sideways glance full of that Wraithy expression that meant business.

  “We’ll be careful,” Ronon said.

  John took a step back. “Jackson, listen to Teyla.”

  “Absolutely,” Jackson said.

  “Then you’ve got a go,” John said. He watched regretfully as the four of them walked through the Stargate.

  Daniel peered out the viewscreen as Rodney landed the jumper next to the much bigger ship that had to be the Durant. About the best he could say for the other ship was that it was big; with its mismatched nose and stern, and its odd protrusions at various angles, it looked like something cobbled together in a junkyard. Which it probably had been, he reflected, and it was impressive enough that it actually flew.

  “What a piece of junk,” Rodney said.

  Teyla shook her head at him. “They cannot all be Ancient warships.”

  “Who cares,” Ronon said. There was a general hesitation, as if everyone was thinking that once they crossed the field outside to the other ship, they would have an answer to their question whether it turned out to be an answer they liked or not.

  “We have to find out, you know,” Daniel said. “If there’s any chance that it might be Dr. Weir… ”

  “Of course we have to find out,” Rodney said. He still hesitated.

  Ronon was the one who finally stood. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”

  They walked across the landing field, which from the close-cropped grass was probably more usually occupied by sheep. A ladder led up to an open hatch, and Teyla stopped beneath it. “Hello?” she called.

  A teenage girl wearing coveralls eventually stuck her head out the hatch. “You’re never Manarian,” she said.

  “We are from Atlantis,” Teyla said.

  “Right, you can come up, we heard about you,” she said. “Vyk and Annais have gone to trade with the dirtsiders. Locals, I should say, because I’m supposed to be polite. You want to talk to Dekaas, though, he’s the one who talked to the woman with no memory.”

  “She was here?” Teyla said quickly. “A woman who knew nothing of where she came from?”

  “Sure,” the girl said without much interest, backing up to make room for them to ascend the rickety metal stairs. “Probably had all her family killed in some Culling. It happens.”

  “So it does,” Teyla said. She didn’t look dismayed by the girl’s matter-of-fact tone. Probably it was a fact of life here in Pegasus, like natural disasters or fighting in war-torn regions back on Earth.

  “She knew something about medicine, so she was helping Dekaas.”

  Daniel glanced at Teyla, who looked unwilling to commit herself to either hope or disappointment. “Our friend was not a doctor, but she would have known something about medicines, particularly Lantean medicine.”

  “It’s down this way,” the girl said. “Follow the green signs, see? And that’ll take you to the infirmary.”

  “Thank you,” Teyla said gravely.

  “You’d think they’d guard the ship better,” Daniel said.

  Ronon shook his head. “The girl was wearing an energy pistol,” he said. “The Manarians don’t have anything like that. She could cut them down without breaking a sweat.”

  “Besides, the Manarians are hardly likely to anger their trading partners,” Teyla said. “Certainly not when they need the metal they have brought to trade.”

  The infirmary was small, with only three beds, but neat and uncluttered compared to the corridor outside, where coils of wire and crates that smelled of fresh food had been left haphazardly lying. The doctor turned from his workbench where he was sorting pills into smaller bottles, and nodded to them in greeting.

  Daniel couldn’t help staring. He had assumed the name was a coincidence, a common one in the Pegasus galaxy, but now that he was face to face with the man, he knew he’d seen him before. Or, at least, he’d seen his counterpart in the alternate universe he’d visited using the Ouroboros device. He was a Wraith worshipper, the trusted pet of the same Wraith who’d been so interested in finding out what made Daniel tick, even if he had to take him apart to do it.

  This man looked older, though, his hair graying and wrinkles beginning at the corners of his eyes. But then the Wraith could keep their pets artificially youthful, feed them life as well as take it away. “You’re the Lanteans?” he said.

  “We are,” Teyla said. “We are hoping that you can tell us of the woman who has lost her memory.”

  Dekaas nodded. “Elizabeth.”

  Teyla’s breath caught, and Ronon stiffened. Next to them, Rodney looked suddenly very calm, as if he’d worked out an elegant solution to a problem.

  “Elizabeth’s alive,” he said.

  “Is she here?” Teyla asked.

  Dekaas shook his head. “We left her on Lorvine. She said she was going on to Sateda.”

  “If she’s on Sateda, we’ll find her,” Ronon said.

  Teyla held up a hand to quiet him, clearly more reluctant to believe yet. “Her name was Elizabeth Weir?”

  “She couldn’t remember any other name but Elizabeth,” Dekaas said. “She was medium height, a little taller than you and I expect a couple of years older. Fair skin, dark hair, blue eyes. She said she couldn’t remember her home world. I assumed that she was a survivor of a Culling. Possibly of the Culling on Sateda.” His eyes flicked to Ronon.

  Teyla frowned in concern. “She remembers nothing?”

  “It happens,” Daniel said. “When I… went through what we think she went through, I didn’t even remember my own name for a while. It took months for most of my memories to come back.”

  “She remembered a few things,” Dekaas said. “She had some medical knowledge. She read Lantean – it shouldn’t surprise me that she’s one of your people.”

  “You know that she read Lantean?”

  Dekaas reached into one of the metal drawers and held up a packet of sterile bandages, very clearly American military issue. “She could read the writing on this.”

  “How do they have our supplies?” Daniel asked.

  “We gave medical supplies to the Genii,” Te
yla said. “And to various other worlds.”

  “And we pay well for them,” Dekaas said. “But probably not as much as we’d have to pay if we traded directly with you.” He shrugged. “They’re being put to good use.”

  “What else did Elizabeth tell you?” Rodney asked impatiently.

  “She had been involved in a war on her homeworld. Some conflict in which she was not a soldier, but was helping refugees. From what she said, the war was fought with technology far beyond any I have seen used except in fighting the Wraith. She spoke of… ” He reached for a notebook and flipped back through its pages. “The Red Cross, Vietnam, Bosnia. And a man called O’Neill.”

  “That’s Elizabeth,” Rodney said, as if daring anyone to contradict him.

  “It certainly sounds like it,” Daniel said.

  “Come on, it has to be her.”

  “Or someone with her memories. Last time you saw Elizabeth, she was in a Replicator body.”

  “Do you have a photograph of her?” Teyla asked.

  “That won’t tell us whether she’s a Replicator,” Ronon said.

  “Even so.”

  “I didn’t think to take one,” Dekaas said.

  “The Wraith don’t use photographs the way we do,” Daniel said, making the connection.

  Ronon looked at him sharply. “The Wraith?”

  Teyla turned to look at him. “Please explain,” she said, and he was reminded abruptly of Jack O’Neill’s least friendly moods. He was already regretting speaking the thought aloud, but there seemed nothing to do at this point but answer.

  “I know you’ve spent some time living with the Wraith,” Daniel said.

  Dekaas’s face went very still. “I can’t say that I remember you.”

  “You wouldn’t. Dekaas was one of the humans on the hive I visited in the alternate universe,” Daniel said, for the benefit of the rest of the team.

  “That was in an alternate universe,” Teyla said. “We do not know that the same events transpired here.”

  “No, of course we don’t, but… I think I’m right.”

  Dekaas considered them cautiously. “Alternate universe?”