Stargate SG-1 & Atlantis - Far Horizons

by Sally Malcolm

  “You can take it apart later,” Jinto said. “But right now let’s go.”

  “I do not like being underwater,” Radek said.

  “All we’re going to do is take the puddlejumper from one docking port to another,” Lt. Draper said. “That way we don’t have to go through the halls or use the transport chambers. Just from one pier to another.”

  “Ah. Well. If that is all.”

  Jinto grinned. “Think of it as a glass bottomed boat tour, Dr. Z.”

  “You have spent too much time on Earth,” Radek said.

  It wasn’t far to the puddlejumper, docked at what was clearly an airlock meant for it. “I suppose the Ancients also used them to explore the seas,” he said thoughtfully as Dr. Chandrapura opened the rear hatch.

  “Or just for general transport,” Jinto said. “Remember, Atlantis wasn’t the only installation that was submerged.”

  “Jinto,” T.J. said warningly.

  “Right.” Jinto shook his head. “It’s hard to keep track of what you already know and what you don’t. I was here for all of this, but I don’t recall exactly what happened which year, just before and after certain important things. But I guess memory is always that way.”

  “I think so,” Radek said. His life was divided into periods by main events, before the Velvet Revolution and after, graduate school in Britain, his time at the SGC, and then Atlantis. He could not tell you, ‘Oh, this happened in 98 rather than 97!‘ Memory did not work that way. No wonder that Jinto was always on the verge of saying something he should not.

  Dr. Chandrapura and Lt. Draper entered the puddlejumper and he followed, frowning. Right in the middle of the back cargo bay was a strange device. Bulbous and smooth, the size of a medium crate, it looked Ancient. Other than that…

  “What does it do?” Radek asked.

  Draper and Jinto exchanged a glance. “It causes the jumper to travel in time,” Draper said reluctantly. “That’s how we got here. Don’t ask us how it works. And don’t touch it.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Radek said. “I am not Rodney. I do not have to just crack it open and see what makes it tick.”

  “That’s why he’s…” Jinto stopped abruptly.

  Radek looked up. “Dead?”

  “Noooo,” Jinto said. “That’s not…”

  “Jinto!” T.J. snapped. “Stop! Just stop telling him things. You can’t tell him who’s alive or dead in 2029. Or anything else!”

  “I didn’t want him to think Rodney was dead,” Jinto said.

  “So now you’ve told him Rodney’s alive.” T.J. shook his head. “Which is just as bad.”

  “Am I alive?”

  “If you weren’t you couldn’t have told us…” Jinto began.

  “Jinto!”

  Jinto looked around sheepishly at the other three members of his team. “Ok. Fine.”

  “Not another word,” Lt. Draper said. “I mean it. Jinto, you have to refrain.”

  “I will.”

  “Then why don’t you come up and sit with me and Saroj and let T.J. sit with Dr. Zelenka?”

  “I see how it is,” Jinto said. “Fine.” He went forward and sat in the passenger seat next to Dr. Chandrapura while Lt. Draper sat in the seat behind him. Radek sat down on one of the back benches, T.J. across from him.

  The back gate rose, and there were the soft and familiar sounds of the jumper’s systems coming online. T.J. was very quiet. Possibly the better part of not saying anything wrong was to say nothing. Or maybe, like Teyla, he wasn’t a chatterbox. Radek had always appreciated that about Teyla. She was a very restful friend to have.

  The jumper slowly detached from the dock, moving forward through the blue waters cautiously, schools of fish parting in front of it without alarm.

  “It’s just over there,” Draper said, pointing at something Radek couldn’t see.

  “I know,” Dr. Chandrapura replied.

  “Under that strut.”

  “I know,” she said again. “Jillian, you don’t have to backseat drive.”

  “Sorry.” Draper took a deep breath and sat back against the seat.

  “Wishing we had Frankie along?” Jinto asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Dr. Chandrapura glanced over at him. “She’s got more jumper hours but she’d be blowing the place up.”

  T.J. snorted, and Radek asked quietly, “Someone you are not fond of?”

  “My little sister,” T.J. said.

  “T.J!” Lt. Draper snapped. “What did I say about not telling him things?”

  “I’m not the one who brought up Frankie,” T.J. observed.

  “Your sister’s name is Frankie?” Radek asked.

  “Frances Tegan.”

  “T.J!”

  “Ok. Got it. Don’t say anything. Though I don’t know what deep, dark secret my sister’s name is. I think you’re being a little bit paranoid.”

  Lt. Draper turned around in her seat. “Look, we like our future. It’s good. So let’s try to keep it, all right? Don’t tell anyone anything that isn’t strictly necessary. Everyone, let’s focus on the mission.”

  Radek started laughing.

  Draper stared at him. “Why is that funny?”

  “Because obviously nothing has changed,” Radek said. “I have heard the gate team bicker like this so many times!”

  “We never said we were a gate team,” Dr. Chandrapura said from the pilot’s chair.

  “It is obvious,” Radek said. “Along with some other things. Like that the command team in Atlantis is more international. Dr. Chandrapura’s English is perfect, but her accent is not British, so I do not think she’s a British citizen.”

  “I’m Indian,” Dr. Chandrapura said. “After the Asoka…” She stopped. “Sorry. I can’t confirm or deny anything. Dr. Zelenka, you must know how it is.”

  “I do,” he said. “But also be aware that I can draw my own conclusions from what you do not say and from who you are.” And that was a heady power. An hour ago Radek had been certain they were all going to die. It was only a matter of time before the Wraith overwhelmed the defenders and it was too late. He might be killed in the corridors. He might be killed in the final defense. If he was lucky, he might be killed a few days from now, hunted out of the city’s ventilation system like a rat from a sewer. Now he knew he would live. They would survive, many of his friends who were becoming family, and they would build something beautiful and unique. The joy of it was almost overwhelming.

  “But I will not tell,” he said quietly. “I will not tell anyone what has happened.”

  “Except General Carter,” Jinto said. “You’ll tell her.”

  “And us when the time comes,” Lt. Draper said.

  It was only a minute before the jumper turned carefully, backing into a different docking port on the South Pier. It was not far from the Chair room, Radek thought. Mainly it was a good many levels down. Stairs, so many stairs.

  Dr. Chandrapura looked at T.J. as they slid into the dock. “Clear?”

  He nodded, an abstracted expression on his face. “In the immediate area.”

  “How far away are they?” Lt. Draper asked.

  “There are two Wraith several levels up and further down the pier,” T.J. said. “They’re not anywhere they can hear or see us dock. So we should be clear for now.”

  “Moving or stationary?”

  T.J. closed his eyes. “Moving slowly, I think. We can probably go around them.”

  “What about human parties?” Draper asked.

  Dr. Chandrapura pulled out the life signs detector, wincing at what she saw. “Two parties of five each nearby. All human.”

  “Athosian?” Jinto asked.

  Dr. Chandrapura gave him a look. “How would I know
that?”

  “They’re probably Colonel Everett’s Marine patrols,” Radek said. “Which is an excellent thing, as I can join them and they will escort me to the Chair room, and your mission will be done!” It was all very neat and tidy.

  Lt. Draper shook her head. “We don’t know that. We don’t know that the Wraith won’t ambush them. We need to take you to the Chair room. Then we’ll be sure you get there.”

  Jinto frowned. “I think Saroj should stay with the jumper.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s a lot of different parties running around. If one of them finds the jumper, either our people or the Wraith, it’s going to be a big problem for the timeline. If you stay, you can cast off and cloak if any of the parties get too close and then duck back to pick us up after we’ve taken Dr. Zelenka to the Chair room,” he replied.

  “He has a point,” T.J. said.

  “Who’s going to use the life signs detector if she stays?” Lt. Draper asked.

  “I can sense the Wraith. And surely we can dodge the human parties.”

  Dr. Chandrapura nodded slowly. “That makes sense. And I’m the only one who can fly the jumper. So if somebody’s staying it has to be me.” She gave Lt. Draper a firm smile. “Ok. I’m staying. Good luck, everyone.”

  They let the gate down and exited carefully into another darkened corridor, this one quite small and confined with only one door at the far end.

  “Nice trap,” Lt. Draper said.

  “I was just thinking it was really defensible,” Jinto said.

  “The Chair room?” Radek prompted.

  Lt. Draper put one hand on the door release. “Clear?” she asked T.J.

  “Clear,” he said.

  She punched it. Nothing happened. She punched it again.

  “The power must be out,” Radek said. “The city has taken multiple hits from Darts and there has been a firefight in and out of the buildings. We haven’t even had time to check for damage in uninhabited parts of the city.”

  “Fantastic,” Lt. Draper said.

  Radek pushed past her. “I can probably open it manually. Let me get to the panel.” He knelt down beside the door, reaching for the ever-present multitool in his pocket.

  “You’re the best, doc,” Jinto said. He grinned at Lt. Draper. “Always has been.”

  “Yes, well. Thank me when I have opened it.”

  Fortunately it was a standard door, the kind that seemed most prevalent throughout the city, though there were at least eight designs in use in different areas. As of course one might expect of a city rather than a military installation. There were different kinds of doors and different kinds of locks for public and private areas, and they seemed to have been installed over a long period of time, with old ones only being replaced when they malfunctioned. This was an ordinary one used for public areas that weren’t high security. It only took a few minutes to release the lock manually.

  “There,” Radek said. “Now put your shoulder to it and it should open.”

  T.J. did just that, and the door slid jerkily open wide enough for them to pass through.

  “Excellent,” Lt. Draper said. “Jinto, which way?”

  “Down to the left,” Jinto said. “And then when we reach the first stairwell we need to go up two levels.”

  They hurried along the corridor, Jinto in front followed by Lt. Draper, then Radek and T.J. bringing up the rear. The stairwell was right before them, and they started up, Radek more slowly than the ones in front of him.

  He was one turning behind them when he heard a familiar voice above. “Halt! Who are you?”

  T.J. grabbed his arm, pulling him back into the shadow of the flight above. They could hear but not be seen yet. T.J’s mouth was at his ear as he whispered, “Who?”

  “Lt. Ford,” Radek whispered back.

  He could hear Ford on the stairs above, the footsteps of the Marine team. “Who are you?”

  “Usten of Athos,” Jinto said. “We got separated from our party who were hunting Wraith. You know Dr. Draper, of course?”

  Radek held his breath. Ford had never seen Jillian Draper before in his life. But would he admit that? Or would he think she was one of the scientists he’d never paid any attention to?”

  “Right,” Ford said. “Ok, you guys had better come with us. There are Wraith in this sector.”

  “We just came up from the lowest level,” Jinto said. “And we didn’t see anything. I’m glad we ran into you, Lieutenant.”

  “Cool. Just stick with us.” Ford raised his voice a little. “Ok, people. Let’s head up the pier on this level and see if we can get this Wraith between us and Major Sheppard’s unit.” The sounds of their footsteps receded into the distance.

  “This is not good,” Radek said.

  “Jinto will talk his way around,” T.J. replied. “Remember, he was already here in this period. He knows everybody. The only problem will be if he runs into other Athosians, because they’ll know there’s no such person as Usten. We’ll go on to the Chair room. If they don’t get loose after I’ve dropped you off, I’ll go find them. But I expect Jinto and Jillian can figure out how to get separated. We just have to do our jobs and trust them to do theirs.”

  Radek smiled.

  “What?” T.J. asked.

  “You sound like your mother, is all.” Radek shook his head. “I will truly see you for the first time four years from now as a newborn baby?”

  “You will,” T.J. said. “And you’ll insist that you don’t like children and you won’t watch me for any money. And then you will.”

  Radek looked at him, a young man like and unlike his friend, familiar and strange at once, dark eyes on a level with his own. “I expect I will,” he said.

  They waited in silence until the last sounds of Lt. Ford’s patrol were gone and then waited two minutes more for good measure.

  “Up two levels,” Radek said. “That was what Jinto said. And then down the pier?”

  “Which should be a left, I think,” T.J. replied quietly. “If we find a window I can orient us to the rest of the city.”

  “I think we are still several levels below the windows,” Radek said. “This is still substructure lighting rather than living area lighting. As well as we can tell, these levels were storage and manufacturing when the Ancients lived here. The areas that people lived in, and spent time in for pleasure, were above sea level and incorporated natural light.”

  “Makes sense,” T.J. said.

  “The Chair room is on the first level below the surface,” Radek said. “So I think we need to go a little further. I do not see any useful markings on the walls. Sometimes the Ancients had signs just as we do, especially in public areas, and some of them have survived.”

  “You mean like how it says ‘Welcome to Atlantis Watch Your Step’ in the gateroom?” T.J. asked with a small smile.

  “Like that,” Radek said. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if the young man read Ancient, but he might have grown up in the city. And that was a new thought — Atlantis not as a distant military outpost, but as a city again, a place where people were born and grew up and went to school. “Have you lived here your whole life?” Radek asked instead.

  “Mostly. Here and Athos. I’ve never lived on Earth, if that’s what you mean, though I’ve visited a few times.” T.J. was scanning the walls as they went along, a slightly distracted expression on his face as though he were also listening to another conversation somewhere else.

  “There.” Radek pointed at a group of symbols at a corridor conjunction. “That says exit. So the way we are going will take us up onto the pier. We want the cross corridor then.”

  “There’s a Wraith that way,” T.J. said. “He’s far down, but he’s coming this way. We could backtrack and go upstairs and t
ry to cross above him.”

  “And run into Lt. Ford?”

  T.J. winced. “Ok. We could get into a room somewhere ahead and wait for him to go by.”

  “I am with you on that,” Radek said. “And I can jam the doors from the inside since the power is out. Even if he wanted to check a room he would not be able to.”

  “Sounds good. Let’s go.”

  There were a number of rooms off the corridor. Radek glanced up and down, considering. The power was still out in this section, and most of them were sealed shut with heavier duty locks. He swore to himself. He should have thought of that. There was one that was only a palm lock, probably a storage closet or something. He could crack that one fairly quickly.

  “You’d better hurry,” T.J. said. “He’s getting closer.”

  “I shall,” Radek said, making himself not hurry at all. The surest way to make mistakes that would take twice as much time would be to hurry.

  “Dr. Zelenka,” T.J. said more urgently.

  “Almost.” With a twist, he released the wire that engaged the locking mechanism. “There.” He got to his feet. “It’s probably a storage closet…” he began as they shoved the door back.

  It wasn’t. It was an equipment closet full of some part of the city’s HVAC system, probably a dehumidifier. Given that these passages were below sea level and couldn’t be vented, it was entirely logical. It also took up nearly the entire closet. There was room for one person if he squeezed.

  “That is not good,” Radek said.

  “Get in,” T.J. said. “He’s nearly here.”

  “But…”

  “Get in!” He shoved Radek into the tiny space and put his shoulder to the door, nearly closing it with one push.

  The Wraith came around the corner. Through the two inch gap between the door and frame, Radek saw him stop and smile, his teeth showing in a feral grin.

  T.J. stood in the middle of the corridor, his hands at his side, perfectly placid and calm for all that he had no weapon except a knife at his belt. But then the Wraith was unarmed too. If he’d had a stunner, it was gone. He would not need it, Radek thought. Not against one man. He had the advantage of strength and he would simply close and feed.