The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (115 page)

These people never gave up… they managed to take down the Ori and the Goa’uld, to beat the odds. And they didn’t fear to take on the Wraith. They valued human life and freedom.

And as he saw the man beside him he knew that he could see that the same fire burned in him as well.

“We are supposed to report to medical for check up.”

Ronon nodded.

“I’ll take you there.”

As they approached the elevator the door automatically opened. Aleksandar paid it no heed but the look on Ronon’s face made him wonder.

“What is it?”

“You probably have the gene.”

Aleksandar scratched his head. He knew that he will get checked but he didn’t expect to have it. According to the reports it was rare only about 4% of the total population on Earth and that thought made him smile. It reminded him of the times his parents told him he was a rare special thing.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

He turned and noticed the smiles on the faces of the other soldiers. He knew that he will have to suffer jokes on his account about this. But that was usual. It was the way it worked in the military.

It took them just moments to reach their destination.

He noticed two doctors that were having some discussion.

“We will need to train the new personal…”

“I know Jennifer but we’ll have time…”

“Doctors…”

The discussion stopped as soon as Ronon spoke. They both turned.

The women smiled as she saw Ronon. It was a friendly smile. The man looked confused for a moment but as soon as he noticed the group of soldier’s he nodded.

“Ah the medical checkup.”

Aleksandar noticed several chuckles behind him. He knew that they came because of the doctor’s Scottish accent. He felt the same urge but he held back.

He noticed the smile on the doctor’s face. It was obvious that he understood the joke.

Ronon turned to Aleksandar.

“I would like to speak with you latter.”

Aleksandar nodded.

Ronon returned the nod. Then he turned to the doctors.

“I will see you later in the mess hall doc’s.”

Then he left.

As he did the woman showed them to their places I the med lab.

“I’m Dr. Keller. This is Dr. Becket.”

“And I’m Scottish as you already know.”

“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.