The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3)

by Kocho Trajchevski

  “Wonder if he has a kilt.”

  Aleksandar turned his stern look at Kiril. The man lowered his head and the chuckles stopped.

  “I don’t mind the jokes Major.”

  After he took a blood sample from Aleksandar he turned and looked back at Kiril.

  “As a matter of fact I do have a kilt. I can borrow it to you if you like. I’m sure it will look good on you.”

  That joke brought several chuckles among the other soldiers. Now they were on Kiril’s account.

  Aleksandar thought for a second.

  “Ronon told me that I might have the ATA gene.”

  As soon as he said it he noticed that every doctor in the room turned to him.

  “Doors opening, elevators, lights, stuff like that?”

  Aleksandar thought about it for a second. He knew that the elevator doors opened and that the door to his room did the same.

  “Yes. At least I think so. Just arrived here so can’t say for sure.”

  “I’ll make sure to make a complete scan of your sample. Hope you have to gene, the more gene carriers we have the better. That will make your job easier Carson. ”

  Aleksandar looked at the doctor.

  “You have the gene?”

  The doctor looked at him and smiled.

  “Yes I do but if you really want to know about it look for Colonel Sheppard. He has a strong gene. Him and general O’Neal.”

  Aleksandar nodded.

  After they retrieved the blood samples and did several basic checks they were free to go.

  Carson and Keller watched them go.

  They were all young. Carson already read their files. So did Keller. They knew about the experience Aleksandar had with the Wraith.

  “Did you notice him? The way he looks.”

  “Yes. He smiles but his eyes. They remind me of Ronon. He has that same hunted look Ronon has Carson.”

  “And Sheppard, Lorne and every other man who lost soldiers. They all have that hunted look Jennifer.”

  He looked at her. She was young but she was already experienced enough. He knew that she was the chief medical officer of the Atlantis expedition after his death. It was still a strange feeling to know that he isn’t the real Carson Becket. Even though he was accepted by everyone from the expedition, and he knew that he is Carson in every possible way…it was still weird. He remembered a younger Jennifer, the one that was always smiling, even fearful hiding her talent. Now she was something else. She was a brave young woman who faced every challenge that came at her, a colleague.

  They were all different people from the first day they stepped through that gate.

  “I fear that before this war we will all have that look. But the price we pay is nothing compared to what we will gain dear.”

  Jennifer had no answer to his last words. She just nodded. She had seen firsthand the terror and the destruction the Wraith brought to the Pegasus. She knew the threat they represented, and from what was happening here in the last month it was obvious that the people who made the decisions knew it as well. There were huge pressures in the last few months about the city and that it was supposed to stay here on Earth.

  The IOA was trying with all its power to take control of it. Their main argument was that with the destruction of the chair at area 51 it was essential to the defense of the planet. She had to admit that it was a valid argument.

  Several days before Rodney mentioned that the Hammond was on a mission that will solve that problem and she wondered what it was.

  She just hopped that whatever it was it would be good enough to allow the Atlantis expedition to return to Pegasus. She knew that every member of it shared those feelings. They all wanted to go back.

  As she looked at Carson she knew…

  They had to go back.

  Samantha Carter looked at Teal’c. Her old friend and one of the leaders of the Jaffa Nation joined her on this mission. A mission that was she knew vital about the plan that Jack and Landry had, the plan to open the window for Atlantis to go back where she belongs.

  Teal’c looked calm just like he always did. He smiled as he noticed her looking.

  “Everything will be fine Colonel Carter.”

  Sam smiled as he said her title. He respected protocol. He was one of her closest friends, a man that was with her through the hardest moments in her life. But here, today he respected her command. He agreed to join her on this mission after Jack and Daniel made a thorough search of the Atlantis database about the Ancient outposts here in the Milky Way.

  Teal’c knew well the hellish world around which the Hammond orbited. It was the world that gave them the first real clue to Atlantis. The world that in a way helped to save Earth and a world that she hopped would give them one last, one final gift.

  The chances were slim. But they were chances that were better than none. She knew that there was one more option, the option to take the chair from Tria, the ancient Battleship that still drifted in the Void between the Milky Way and the Pegasus. But this was their first choice. She and Homeworld Command had different plans about Tria.

  She noticed Kusanagi and Radek looking at her. They were waiting for the final report from the scans. She could see the excitement on their faces.

  She felt it as well.

  She looked at the officer manning the sensor console.

  “Major Lawrence? Do you have the results?”

  “The scan should be finished in a second ma’am.”

  She nodded. A minute later Lawrence looked at her.

  “The results are here ma’am.”

  “Put them on the screen.”

  A moment later on the screen she could see the outpost. Or what was left of it. It was obvious that it has caved in after the shield collapsed. But the sensors showed that it was still holding and that the lava hasn’t flooded in. A smile appeared on her face.

  As she turned she noticed the other scientists smiling. Even Teal’c had that smug smile on his face.

  She turned to Radek.

  “Dr. Zelenka I believe your mission is a go.”

  The Czech scientists smiled nervously.

  “Thank you Sa.. Colonel Carter.”

  She smiled as he almost called her by her name. So did the others on the bridge.

  She noticed that the tension was still here but they were relaxing. It was not over yet but it was a good start. She just hopped that the hope wouldn’t be false.

  Ten minutes later she received the report that the team was ready.

  She knew the plan well.

  The team will beam inside the outpost and will try to connect three advanced Naquadah reactors. From the calculation she and Rodney did they should provide enough power to reactivate the shield. Not to its full potential. But enough that it would allow them to be able to complete their mission and take the Chair. And also download any useful information from the database.

  “Ma’am should we proceed?”

  The question came from Samantha Summers. The young blonde officer was responsible for the navigation as well as weapons. She also controlled the transportation commands.

  “Yes proceed.”

  A moment later, several hundred kilometers bellow them deep under the raging fiery surface of Praclarush ten people appeared out of thin air. Together with them the Hammond deposited several crates of equipment and three naquadah reactors.

  They wasted no time and the scientists immediately started working on connecting the reactors with the power grid.

  The room was filled with debris several of them were on and around the chair. They could feel the ground shaking. The outpost was still holding together but they knew that it may fall any moment. The ancients built tough from strong materials but even they had their limits. It was a wonder that the outpost managed to stay like this for so long even after the shield collapsed.

  “Ok Miko we are ready you can try to activate it now.”

  The Japanese scientist looked at Radek and a moment later she pressed the command
interface. She knew the ancient commands well from the five years she spent on Atlantis. She also had the ancient gene and it was obvious that the equipment could sense that as it started activating almost immediately. As soon as she activated the command she screens lit up and moments later she could read the information that showed that the shield is up. It was far smaller than the one that the ZPM would have powered up but it was enough.

  “The protective field is active.”

  She could notice the smiles on everyone’s faces. But she could also see the worried faces as they saw how much damage the station had. It was obvious that it suffered a caving and several large pieces of stones covered the chair.

  She exchanged looks with Zelenka.

  “Well time for work.”

  “Hammond if you can read us we activated the protection field but we need help here. We had a caving and we may need a little help to clear some debris out.”

  “Roger that Dr. Zelenka.”

  Carter looked at Major Stevens. The Major just nodded and left the bridge.

  “If you don’t mind Colonel Carter I would like to join them as well.”

  She smiled as she noticed the excitement on her friends face. It was a welcomed sight.

  She nodded.

  “Permission granted Teal’c. Go get ready.”

  Teal’c nodded and left the bridge. He was an adventurer at heart and she knew that this place held some memories for him. She knew that Jack wanted to be here as well. But his new position didn’t give him many options to do things like this. And as he always said he was getting to old for this. She turned and saw the faces of the crew of the Hammond.

  She could see several familiar faces, people she knew from her joining of the SG program but most were young. And yet they already had experience. She could see it in their eyes. They faced the Goa’uld, the Ori, some even the Wraith. The youngest saw action against the Lucian Alliance.

  As she watched them she felt old as well.

  “Maybe we are old. And Jack is right. They are the future.”

  Her thoughts returned to the present as her first officer reported that the marines and Teal’c used the ring system to get down on the planet.

  As Teal’c stepped out of the ring platform he looked at the familiar site. Memories flooded his mind as he remembered Jack walking to the chair and activating the ZPM and then extracting it. He remembered the adrenalin, the rush and even the fear he felt then. This place was their last hope, a mad crazy gamble to look for a lost treasure of humanity, a lost past. And it proved to be true. He remembered the humans when he first saw them on Chulak. They were a brave race, and he felt it then. And he could see it now. They were the race that was the future of this galaxy and he could only hope that the Jaffa will be able to follow them.

  He nodded as Major Evans called him and went to help with removing the stone fragments from the chair. They were big but he still had strength, strength that excided the one that the normal humans had. He was old but not that old yet.

  It took them almost half an hour to clear the fragments and open enough space that the scientists could check the Chair and start the operation of removing it.

  “Wow. We have a jack pot here.”

  The call came from Ovens one of the scientists that were checking for any useful information.

  “What do you mean?”

  Radek looked at his younger colleague.

  “This outpost never used its drones Radek. There are thousands down there.”

  It took just a second for everyone to digest the information. As soon as they did they all smiled.

  Teal’c remembered the magnificent view of the drones when O’Neal activated the Antarctica outpost. He remembered the destruction of Anubis’s fleet. It was the day that he truly started to believe in the impossible, the day that he realized that the dream might become a reality.

  “Hammond if you copy we have coordinates for you to beam something.”

  Radek heard Sam answering.

  “What do you have Radek?”

  “Sam this outpost has a full load of drones, enough to replenish both the Antarctica base and Atlantis.”

  Sam looked at the faces of the bridge crew as they heard the words of Zelenka. Humanity now had powerful defenses and weapons thanks most of all to the Asgard but as well to their other allies but the drones were the ultimate weapon.

  They were weapons designed by the Ancients, weapons that could go through any shield and armor and destroy any ship that could threaten mankind.

  They had a right to smile. Even if the chair was not operable this still meant that this mission was a success.

  She looked at Lt. Summers.

  “Lieutenant I want you to transport them to the cargo bays and every storage room as soon as they disconnect the chair.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Radek looked at Miko and at Lieutenant Jamison. They were the only people who had the natural gene in the team. It was time to test if the chair was working. He wished he had Sheppard here. He knew that with a gene like his it would have been easy to see if the chair was operational.

  The marine was the first one to try. He followed the instructions but he didn’t manage to activate it. After several unsuccessful attempts Miko took his place. Her gene was strong not as strong as the one present in Sheppard or O’Neal but he hoped that it would be good enough.

  It took just a second after she sat down for the chair to activate.

  As soon as it did he exhaled realizing the breath he was holding back.

  “The chair is operational.”

  “Yes. Hell Yes.”

  He looked startled at Miko. It was strange to see her like this.

  She returned his look. He could see through her visor that she was smiling.

  “What?”

  He was caught unprepared by her question.

  “Nothing… nothing just not used to seeing you like this.”

  She smiled again.

  “Now I have a story to tell. And maybe even a chance at using the Atlantis chair.”

  Radek smiled at that. That chair was a dream for every member of the expedition.

  He smiled as he remembered Dr. Becket.

  “Well almost everyone. There was always a black sheep in the family.”

  He smiled at the thought and at the guilt in his consciousness. It was not fair to call Carson that. But it was funny.

  “Well time to get back to work. We need to remove the chair. You all know what to do.”

  It took just a moment and he was replaced by the team that started working on the chair. They did the same job in Antarctica and were intimately acquainted with the procedure.

  He knew they had a lot of work before them so he moved to the scans and the downloading of the information that was contained in the memory core of the base. He could notice that there was a lot of damage and that probably they would not get much, but even a small bit of information was welcomed.

  Three hours later they all smiled as a sign of relief.

  “Sam the job is done you can remove it.”

  Carter just nodded at her officer and a moment later the Chair appeared in a special room next to the bridge. Moments later Lt. Summers started transporting the drones.

  Six hours later the USS George Hammond broke orbit and started its voyage for Earth.

  On the bridge Carter exchanged smiles with the rest of the team that knew the real reason for the mission. In a way it was the final nail in the coffin of the IOA.

  Atlantis would go where it should. And now no one would be able to stop it.

  IMORTALITY

  From the Dawn of Time we came,

  Moving silently down through the centuries.

  Living many secret lives.

  Struggling to reach the Time of the Gathering,

  when the few who remain will battle to the last.

  No one has ever known we were among you...

  until now.

  James and his partner Diane moved
slowly towards the empty clearing in the woods just outside of Washington. He turned towards his younger partner and signaled her to watch his back as he rushed forward towards the place where their target went. His name was Michael Koran or at least it was supposed to be like that considering that the baby that had that name and that birth date was dead just couple of minutes after arriving on this world.

  James was part of the FBI for more than twenty years, a veteran among the many, much younger colleagues among them Diane included. He was fifty three years old, a former marine who joined the FBI right after leaving the marine core. His black hair was now showing signs of gray a clear sign that he was getting old. He still had a rock solid body a legacy of the long service and physical workout but he could feel the years and his age getting to him from the aches in his joints. As he watched his target rushing forward the far younger man with false identity moving fast he shacked his head.

  “I’m getting too old for this. It might be time for a desk job.”

  He thought for a long time about getting reassigned to an office and a desk but there was always something new some new case that would get him drawn. And this was just one of those. The false name wasn’t the only reason he was drawn to this case. False names were not something uncommon in today’s world. But decapitations and sword fights were. Four decapitated bodies found in four different parts of USA and Canada in the last eight months. All four had several things in common. All of the people that were killed had false identities, and Michael Koran was sighted in all four towns at the days of the murder. All were done by decapitations and several slices on the victims, all were done on remote locations and more importantly everywhere there were signs of electrical discharges or something similar. On one location several homeless people actually exclaimed that they saw lightning and huge explosions, strange mist and people fighting with swords. And that was the part that was strangest of all. They were really fighting. Fighting…with swords.

  In this era of modern technology that was more than strange. It was insane.

  And one of the scenes revealed a dead biro agent who tried to stop the murderer. He wasn’t on duty both he and his wife were just passing by when the murder happened and they both lost their lives. The agent’s name was Bob Sullivan and he was a personal friend of James. A former partner and a man with a family who didn’t deserve to get his heart pierced by a sword. The merciful thing about his and the death of his wife was that it was quick. Bob fired the gun at his attacker. He fired six shots before going down. It was strange that the suspect wasn’t hit not once. The only explanation was that he must be wearing some kind of protective vest.