SGA FIC: THE WORLD YOU KNOW 4/10 [PG]
Nov. 15th, 2010 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
x_erikah_xEr, since it's a holiday and the chapters are short, I decided to post two chaps today. xD I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out Chapter 3 first.
Title: The World You Know 4/10
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
x_erikah_x
Word Count: 39,637
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen, Team, Adventure, Crossover
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Samantha Carter, Cameron Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran, Teal'c and other cameos by SG1 secondary characters
Disclaimer: Stargate and related characters are a property of Metro-Goldwin-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of rights intended.
Spoilers: Season 5 of SGA and as far as The Ark of Truth in SG1
Summary: The team finds an Ancient lab and ends up in trouble in some strange place. Or isn't it? Crossover with SG1. Set shortly after season 5 of SGA after they somehow return to Pegasus.
Author Notes: Thanksdrewandian for cheerleading and first reading for me, even though I made you wait one year for the finished version. Thanks so much sherry57 for the beta. This fis is SO much better with your help. *hugs* Thanks so much girls!
I’ll post one chapter every couple of days, maybe one a day depending on my availability. The fic is finished, complete and edited already.
Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
John sat down on the chair in the same small room as he was always taken to talk privately to people. This time though, there was someone already inside, sitting on the chair close to the door. John was cuffed to the wall by a rough guard and glared. When the guard left, John turned his attention to the man sitting opposite of him. He was an older man, with graying hair and glasses.
"Hi, John. My name is Doctor Ronald Wilson. Do you mind answering some questions?"
John resisted the urge to groan. He didn't really like being analyzed. He had grown accustomed to shrinks in his line of work and knew how to deal with them, but in this case John wasn't sure about his best course of action. Wilson was here for just one reason and that was to determine if John's sentence would be taken inside a prison or a mental hospital and, truth be told, John didn't like either option.
"Sure."
Wilson adjusted his glasses and leaned forward slightly. "First, can you tell me your name?" He tilted his head and gave John his full attention.
"Don't you know that already?"
Wilson's smiled. "Just to make sure we are in the same page."
John sighed and decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. "John Sheppard."
Wilson nodded and took the notebook on the table onto his hands. "Okay, what day is today, John?" he said as he opened it.
"Uh," John thought for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure the dates would match in different realities. "November 17th?"
Wilson frowned slightly at John's pause. He took a pencil and held the notebook closer to him. "When did you arrive in LA?"
"Yesterday."
Wilson started scribbling notes. All John wanted was to lean closer and take a peek.
"How did you get here?" He looked up at John from over his glasses while still writing.
Well, that was the real question. John bit his lips, considering his options. Wilson scribbled some more. John chewed the inside of his mouth trying not to appear too curious.
"That's... complicated," John finally answered.
Wilson stopped writing and raised his head. "How so?"
John sighed. He certainly didn't want a one way ticket to a mental hospital.
"Look, normally, one uses an airplane." There. It wasn't a lie.
"Uh-hmm." Wilson nodded skeptically.
John tried to hide an amused smile.
"Is that the way you came here?"
John wanted to cross his arms but the soft clatter of chains reminded him he wouldn't be able to. "Uh, yes." He nodded.
Wilson stopped writing and crossed his arms over the table. "Did you kill Joseph Clayton?"
John shifted. "Is that the man in the store?"
The Doctor nodded.
"No," John answered.
"What is that you are wearing?"
John looked at himself. "My clothes?"
The doctor nodded. "They look like military BDUs."
"They are..." just what I happen to wear when I'm working. "Comfortable."
"Wouldn't jeans and t-shirt be more comfortable?"
John didn't like the way the doctor barely moved at all while staring at him and still managing to look serene. "I'll have to agree with you."
"But last night these seemed more appropriate." The doctor turned his head to indicate John's shirt.
John sighed and leaned closer. "Look, I didn't kill the guy, okay. I know it looks bad and I wish I could explain. But I can't."
"You can try." Wilson tilted his head. "I'm here to listen."
John laughed in his throat. How could he explain to a psychiatrist that he had jumped not only between galaxies, but also between realities without looking crazy?
John bit his lips then sighed. "When I arrived, he was already like that," John started. "I'm sure you'll have people reporting an energy spike. There was a bright light right in front of the shop, an explosion, then everything went black. That's why we went in to investigate."
Wilson nodded.
"The window was shattered and the place was wrecked. We went in to see if there was anyone hurt inside. We found the man under a shelf and a pile of boxes. I checked his pulse and he was dead."
"You mentioned the word 'we'."
There was no reason to deny it." My friends and I. I'm sure they left prints on the fruit loop boxes. We all helped clear the area."
Wilson stared for a moment, his face unreadable. "Where are they now?"
John shrugged. "I don't know."
"Why aren't they here to help you?"
John shook his head. "I don't want them to get into trouble."
Another pause. "Why would they be in trouble?"
"Well," John waved a hand. "I'm in trouble. Aren't I?"
Wilson nodded. "They could witness in your favor."
"Or be held for being accomplices."
"Are they?" Wilson leaned back. "Accomplices?"
"We didn't kill anyone. Didn't the shop have cameras?"
"They blacked out just moments before everything happened."
John nodded, slightly disappointed. Of course, energy spike.
Silence extended for a few moments.
"Do you enjoy flying?"
John raised his head, surprised by the change in subject.
"Can you describe what you feel when you are flying?"
John sighed.
"Why did you join the Air Force?"
John focused on the door behind the doctor. He would have to give him something to make Wilson see that John was neither crazy nor guilty. John looked away, not wanting to go back to things left behind.
It hadn't been simply for flying that John had joined. He had wanted to do more. John had been craving to leave the path his father had intended for him. He had felt suffocated inside those suits, surrounded by businessmen and their smooth talks. He had forced himself into finishing college, but the real world was too much for him. He had barely been able to breathe in that life. Flying had given him freedom. The first time he had climbed inside a cockpit had felt so good he hadn't thought twice before abandoning everything.
But his father hadn't understood. He had thought John was simply being rebellious. That John was leaving him and his dreams of a good son. His father had said bitter words and John and thrown them all back and left. John had tried to show how much he cared for what he was doing, how happy he was, but his dad had seen something else. His father had seen stubbornness to what John was supposed to be for his family.
John swallowed and turned to the doctor. "I wanted to fly and make a difference." He forced himself in keeping eye contact.
"Did that happen?"
John didn't know how similar the life of his double had been in this universe, so everything he said would be a risk. But it would be no use for John to end up in jail. He decided to tell his own truth instead of fabricating a probable one that belonged to another man. It was always much harder to keep a lie.
"Yes."
Still does.
"How?"
John looked away again, biting his lips.
He sighed and finally looked up. "I rescued men. I flied choppers behind enemy lines and took them back home. I brought bodies back so they could be buried, and I also brought lots of men alive. Men that are now happy, living with their families. So, yes, it was worth it. Every minute of it."
"Why did the Air Force declare you KIA?"
John exhaled. "I don't know. I didn't even know about that until the detective showed me the file."
"Where were you this whole time?"
That was the one million dollars question that John wished Wilson hadn't asked. John didn't have an answer.
John shook his head and leaned back. "I can't tell you."
"You can't or you won't?"
*****
"Got it!" Rodney glanced around and saw people immersed in their own computers and laptops while Ronon and Teyla leaned behind him. "They have the same system as in our reality. This shouldn't be hard at all," he whispered. "I'm accessing the personnel file."
A huge list of names appeared in alphabetical order. Rodney hit search and looked for his own name, not surprised to find nothing.
"All right. What about..."
He typed in 'Find: Samantha Carter' and grinned broadly when he found her name next to a 'Lt. Col.' rank.
"Aha!"
He clicked to open her file, but it was protected by another level of security. He started typing commands and override codes, his clattering of keys joining the others in the room.
Several minutes later, he was finally able to read her file.
"Okay, let's see here." He pressed a finger on the screen and began reading softly to his teammates. "Samantha Carter, US Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel in charge of SG-1. Huh, really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, height, weight. Hah, I knew it!" He smirked as he scanned further below. "PhDs, astrophysicist, temporal mechanics, quantum physics, gate operations, wormhole specialist, a few honorable mentions, a few world savings... What? Married?" He paused. "To Senator Jonathan J. O'Neill. Huh, that's weird."
"Can we contact her?" Teyla asked.
"Hmm, no. It doesn't say."
Rodney frowned as he tried to think. He made another search in the personnel file.
'Find: General'. That would give him who was in charge of the base. A few seconds later a name appeared: 'General Charles Kawalsky'.
"Huh, I have no idea who that is."
"Rodney?" Ronon tapped his shoulder.
Rodney turned and saw Ronon tilting his head to the entrance. "What?"
"Seven o'clock."
Rodney shook his head in confusion.
Ronon tilted his head again pointing at the entrance.
"Oh," Rodney turned his head. "Uh-oh."
Two Air force officers were in the cafe, talking to the green haired boy. He then pointed towards Rodney's direction and the officers turned.
"Okay, they figured me out way faster than I expected."
"You should come with us," Samantha Carter said as she stopped before the three of them.
Rodney smiled. "Sure. If you insist."
*****
Rodney crossed his arms as he turned to face Sam. "Seriously, the bathroom?" Rodney asked while he looked around.
"It's private enough," she said in a serious tone. She glanced at Mitchell after he finished looking inside both stalls. He gave her one nod in response. "So." She folded her hands in front of her. "Who are you and why did you hack into our servers?"
Rodney fidgeted with his hands. "I'm Doctor Rodney McKay and I need your help."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "My help?"
"Yes!" Rodney pointed a finger at her. "You are Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter of SG-1 and you are Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell." He pointed at him. "You," Rodney went back at Sam. "You happen to be a genius. Of course, not as much as me, but still enough to be considered one."
Her eyebrow rose even more.
"Aren't you wondering how I know your names?" Rodney asked.
"You were looking at our files," Mitchell observed while walking to stand next to Sam.
"Right. How were you able to find me so fast?"
"Maybe you aren't that much of a genius." Mitchell responded.
Rodney crossed his arms bitterly. "I passed through all three levels of defense and the additional three once inside the server. I even broke the encrypted data with a 448-bit key symmetric algorithm."
Mitchell glanced at Sam, clearly at loss.
"You forgot the fourth barrier." She smiled.
"What?" Rodney uncrossed his arms. "There isn't a fourth barrier!"
"Apparently there is," she said, her smile fading. "Now, do you mind telling me why?"
"I already told you. We need your help." Rodney broke the facade he was wearing so far. "We are from an alternate universe. We ended up here by accident from a planet called M4G-789 in the Pegasus Galaxy. My team and I work from our base of operations in Atlantis and were investigating an Ancient laboratory. There was an overload which shifted us, not only through space, but also to a different reality." Rodney waved his hands around pointing out directions and distances with his fingers. "It directed us right to a street in the suburbs of LA and destroyed a store, killing its owner inside. Our team leader, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard was arrested close to the scene and accused of murder and desertion since he's apparently dead in this universe."
After Rodney finished, there was a long silence. Sam's eyebrows remained up throughout the explanation and still hadn't come back down to their original position.
"Why should we believe you?" Mitchell chipped in.
"Because... it's the truth."
"Don't you think this story is a little... ridiculous?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Seriously?" He stared at them. "My bet, you already know it's true." He crossed his arms.
"Well, maybe you just watch too much sci-fi."
Sam smiled slightly. "Cam, I know a better way." She stepped forward. "What's the minimum unit of any physical entity involved in an interaction?"
Rodney grinned. "A quantum."
"And what's quantum coherence?"
"Coherence is a property of waves that enables stationary interference. More generally, coherence describes all properties of the electronic correlation between physical quantities of a wave."
"What's the maximum amount of time an artificially generated wormhole can remain open in non-relativistic conditions?"
"Thirty-eight minutes."
Sam nodded and tried to hide a smile.
"I guess we found the source of that energy wave." Mitchell finally said.
*****
John stared outside through the only window in the row of cells, eyes half closed. It was small and he was barely able to see the tiny patch of sky from his horizontal position on the bed, but it was a better sight then the inside provided. He wasn’t able to see any stars, but the moon was still full and illuminated the room slightly. The lamps outside blinked on and off, its mesmerizing light finally taking him to slumber.
As usual, a random shout from somewhere brought him back awake, kicks and punches to the bars getting louder until a guard came in, cursing and yelling. John sighed wondering if he would even catch any sleep while in that jail. He rubbed his face and pressed his sandy eyes, jerking up when a hand grabbed his arm and tried to force him out of the bed.
"Get out of my place!" a small man shouted angrily while still pushing John out.
John resisted the hands. "I was here first."
He wasn’t sure his tone worked the exact way he wanted, but confirmation soon came when the man yanked him out with a surge of strength that sent John crashing to the floor.
John rolled his eyes as he sat up and forced himself not to rub the sore spot on his arm.
"Well, if you wanted the bed so much, you just had to ask nicely."
John shook his head at the lack of response and got up, sighing when he saw the other bunk bed occupied.
*****
Sam stared at Doctor McKay, her mind working on the equations necessary to transport four people to another reality. As crazy as it sounded, she had trusted McKay as soon as he started babbling about his story. Even with his annoying grins and the inappropriate glances, he seemed to be genuine about everything he said. Still, she had needed to check out his so called brilliance.
On the previous night, Sam had been contacted by the Phoenix in orbit, reporting about a strange energy wave that had swept a neighborhood of Los Angeles and that had a very peculiar signature. Then, in the next afternoon, she had received an e-mail telling a story and containing some odd information that could indicate a leak in the SGC and then, when she was told by General Kawalsky that someone had infiltrated their secret server, she had known there had to be something to all of it.
Now, it all makes sense.
"What kind of experiment were the Ancients doing in that laboratory?" she asked.
McKay started to move his hands again, showing that they were never still for too long. "It had to do with harvesting power from other realities in order to concentrate it in one buffer, but I don't know the details of the process because it overloaded the second I turned on the interface in order to access their results." McKay barely stopped to breathe and it reminded her of herself. "My guess is that the Ancients shut the whole thing down in the middle of an overload and didn't fix the power regulator and didn't turn off the feedback into the buffer."
"So, the second you turned it on, the process continued from where it had stopped," she finished.
McKay brought a finger up. "Exactly!"
"But how does it lock onto the universes? Does it know the realities in which it's safe to harvest power?"
"I don't know! It wasn't supposed to happen. I had analyzed the preliminary data we got from our downloads from the lab's database, but it didn't have a lot of detail."
She bit her lips. "Yeah, they weren't very good in keeping records..."
McKay nodded. "Yeah. There's an understatement."
"Okay, guys," Cam interrupted. "Why don't we continue this under the mountain? I don't think you want to discuss interdimentional mechanics inside a bathroom."
McKay threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Yeah, but we first need to get Colonel Sheppard out of prison."
*****
John was honestly beginning to get tired of walking around in cuffs. He had already memorized every step of the way between his cell and the talking room and right now could follow it blind folded. This time, however, when he entered he was met with a face he didn't expect.
"Colonel?" John asked as he stared at Samantha Carter.
He looked at her uniform and noticed that she was not a full bird in this reality. Rodney was beside her, a grin on his face.
"That's right." She extended her hand. "I guess you know me in your reality, too."
John went to shake her hand, but the guard stood in his way and glared.
The Colonel smiled at the officer. "That won't be necessary," she said as she took John's hand and shook it. "You can uncuff him and then you are dismissed," she told the guard.
The guard stared at John and then at Carter before uncuffing him.
"So, I guess you found her," he glanced at Rodney and rounded the table to sit down.
She sat. "Yes. Kind of... Anyway, he told me your story."
"Can you help us?" John leaned forward in his chair.
She folded her hands on the desk. "I wanted to talk about your reality and how to get you back."
John nodded. "We need to get to Pegasus."
Carter thinned her lips. "That could be a problem."
"Problem? How'd that be a problem?" Rodney stuttered.
She eyed both of them in turn. "Well," she said as she leaned closer. "The address we found was incomplete."
"That's not a problem, we can give you the address." John waved his hand.
"All, right. Let’s slow down a little," Colonel Carter said placating their enthusiasm. "I know you want to get back, but it won’t be that easy."
John nodded. It would be difficult getting their whole story confirmed and then getting the authorization and the necessary resources to make everything work. John sat back and sighed.
"For one, even if we confirm your story and even if we manage to get authorization to send you where you need to go, there is the issue of power. My superiors won’t go easily for the idea of using the power we have to send you guys to a non-charted zone."
"What do you mean?" Rodney asked offended. "Confirm? I though you believed us."
She sighed. "That’s not the point."
"She’s right, Rodney. There are proper procedures, a whole chain of command this needs to travel through."
"This is…" He slumped back. "We can’t be stuck here."
"I know," she started calmly. "And I’ll do what I can to help you."
"So you believe us?" John wanted it clarified.
"I’ve seen some evidence to corroborate your story."
John knew she believed in them. She may not know him, but he knew Samantha Carter and this version seemed to be a lot like her. She was trying to look a bit harder to sell and her act would have worked for anyone else, but not for them. She’d do what she could to try to help them.
"So," she started. "I’d need to know the very basics about your mission in Pegasus before I sell your story to the general."
*****
Ronon paced, ignoring the exasperated sigh that came from Teyla. He glared at all the passing people, especially at those that almost bumped against him. They usually stared for a few seconds, looking him up and down then continued on their way, rushing through the crowd on the street.
He stopped by the wall of the police station and leaned against it, looking far into the horizon. There was a thin gray smoke covering the city which reminded him of Sateda. Ronon remembered Melina complaining about the respiratory problems the pollution caused and almost smiled if it wasn't for the tightness that grew with the memory.
Ronon always had a strange twinge in his chest every time he was on Earth. It was similar to Sateda in many aspects but its people so different. Satedans had grown up under the shadow of the threat the wraith had always provided and from an early age they had learned how to fight. They were proud, powerful warriors, not failing in science either. The Satedan capital was no different to the many cities Earth had. Every time Ronon looked at Earth's tall buildings, its sky, its people, Ronon saw Sateda how it should have been if the wraith had never destroyed it. That was why the uneasiness was a hard feeling to shake while walking around these civilian earthlings. They had no idea how lucky they were.
"You okay?"
Ronon glanced down and saw Mitchell standing next to him, leaning on the same wall. Had Sheppard been the one asking, Ronon would know how to answer.
"Yeah."
Mitchell nodded, his smile fading. "McKay said you're from Pegasus."
That hadn't been a question. Ronon didn't know what to do with it so he just continued to stare.
Mitchell squinted under the sunlight, picking on a plant he was holding. "What's the name of your planet?"
Ronon looked at Mitchell and only saw curiosity. It was just a name. It didn’t mean anything to these people. "Sateda."
Mitchell nodded again. "What is it like?"
Mitchell was trying to make conversation, but at the same time picking for information about them. Trying to see if they are real. Ronon got that. He looked up. "It’s gone. Destroyed by the Wraith."
Mitchell nodded. "I'm sorry. Must be tough."
There were several seconds of silence.
"These wraith," Mitchel started. "They're the bad guys in Pegasus?"
Ronon didn't look down. "Yep."
"Do they enslave people? Destroy their homes? I mean--" Mitchell quickly added, "Do we have anything to worry about if we go there?"
Ronon looked down and saw Mitchell's face looking up at him. "If they also exist here, then yes. You have to worry."
"How bad are they?"
"Bad."
Mitchell waved a hand. "Care to elaborate on that?"
Ronon sighed loudly. He didn’t want to talk with someone he barely knew. It wasn’t the same Mitchell Ronon knew. That one was a nice guy he had chatted with several times during his stays in the SGC. This one seemed like a nice guy too, but he wouldn’t take things for granted in this reality.
Silence settled between them until McKay came out of the precinct. Carter nodded and tilted her head, prompting Mitchell to follow her to some distance away. Ronon watched them walk then stepped closer to McKay.
"Is she gonna help?" Ronon asked.
McKay clapped his hands together and began rubbing one against the other. "If I know Samantha Carter, and I do, then yes. She didn’t say it though. Just that she has to talk to the brass to see how they'll take the whole thing." He began waving his hands around. "If her word counts as much here as it does in our reality, then we'll probably get home. If circumstances help."
"And John?" Teyla asked.
"Yes, the Air Force will set him free and drop the charges if our intel proves good." McKay nodded. "I don't know if they will, it will all depend on how similar both universes are, so... let's hope luck is on our side this time."
"How long till we know?" Ronon asked.
Rodney looked around and seemed to notice Carter and Mitchell were gone. "Well, I don't know, it could take hours. I told her where to find us." He pointed a finger up. "Oh, and she gave us money." He grinned. "We can eat real food."
*****
Chapter 5
Title: The World You Know 4/10
Author:
x_erikah_xWord Count: 39,637
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen, Team, Adventure, Crossover
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Samantha Carter, Cameron Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran, Teal'c and other cameos by SG1 secondary characters
Disclaimer: Stargate and related characters are a property of Metro-Goldwin-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of rights intended.
Spoilers: Season 5 of SGA and as far as The Ark of Truth in SG1
Summary: The team finds an Ancient lab and ends up in trouble in some strange place. Or isn't it? Crossover with SG1. Set shortly after season 5 of SGA after they somehow return to Pegasus.
Author Notes: Thanks
drewandian for cheerleading and first reading for me, even though I made you wait one year for the finished version. Thanks so much sherry57 for the beta. This fis is SO much better with your help. *hugs* Thanks so much girls!I’ll post one chapter every couple of days, maybe one a day depending on my availability. The fic is finished, complete and edited already.
Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
John sat down on the chair in the same small room as he was always taken to talk privately to people. This time though, there was someone already inside, sitting on the chair close to the door. John was cuffed to the wall by a rough guard and glared. When the guard left, John turned his attention to the man sitting opposite of him. He was an older man, with graying hair and glasses.
"Hi, John. My name is Doctor Ronald Wilson. Do you mind answering some questions?"
John resisted the urge to groan. He didn't really like being analyzed. He had grown accustomed to shrinks in his line of work and knew how to deal with them, but in this case John wasn't sure about his best course of action. Wilson was here for just one reason and that was to determine if John's sentence would be taken inside a prison or a mental hospital and, truth be told, John didn't like either option.
"Sure."
Wilson adjusted his glasses and leaned forward slightly. "First, can you tell me your name?" He tilted his head and gave John his full attention.
"Don't you know that already?"
Wilson's smiled. "Just to make sure we are in the same page."
John sighed and decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. "John Sheppard."
Wilson nodded and took the notebook on the table onto his hands. "Okay, what day is today, John?" he said as he opened it.
"Uh," John thought for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure the dates would match in different realities. "November 17th?"
Wilson frowned slightly at John's pause. He took a pencil and held the notebook closer to him. "When did you arrive in LA?"
"Yesterday."
Wilson started scribbling notes. All John wanted was to lean closer and take a peek.
"How did you get here?" He looked up at John from over his glasses while still writing.
Well, that was the real question. John bit his lips, considering his options. Wilson scribbled some more. John chewed the inside of his mouth trying not to appear too curious.
"That's... complicated," John finally answered.
Wilson stopped writing and raised his head. "How so?"
John sighed. He certainly didn't want a one way ticket to a mental hospital.
"Look, normally, one uses an airplane." There. It wasn't a lie.
"Uh-hmm." Wilson nodded skeptically.
John tried to hide an amused smile.
"Is that the way you came here?"
John wanted to cross his arms but the soft clatter of chains reminded him he wouldn't be able to. "Uh, yes." He nodded.
Wilson stopped writing and crossed his arms over the table. "Did you kill Joseph Clayton?"
John shifted. "Is that the man in the store?"
The Doctor nodded.
"No," John answered.
"What is that you are wearing?"
John looked at himself. "My clothes?"
The doctor nodded. "They look like military BDUs."
"They are..." just what I happen to wear when I'm working. "Comfortable."
"Wouldn't jeans and t-shirt be more comfortable?"
John didn't like the way the doctor barely moved at all while staring at him and still managing to look serene. "I'll have to agree with you."
"But last night these seemed more appropriate." The doctor turned his head to indicate John's shirt.
John sighed and leaned closer. "Look, I didn't kill the guy, okay. I know it looks bad and I wish I could explain. But I can't."
"You can try." Wilson tilted his head. "I'm here to listen."
John laughed in his throat. How could he explain to a psychiatrist that he had jumped not only between galaxies, but also between realities without looking crazy?
John bit his lips then sighed. "When I arrived, he was already like that," John started. "I'm sure you'll have people reporting an energy spike. There was a bright light right in front of the shop, an explosion, then everything went black. That's why we went in to investigate."
Wilson nodded.
"The window was shattered and the place was wrecked. We went in to see if there was anyone hurt inside. We found the man under a shelf and a pile of boxes. I checked his pulse and he was dead."
"You mentioned the word 'we'."
There was no reason to deny it." My friends and I. I'm sure they left prints on the fruit loop boxes. We all helped clear the area."
Wilson stared for a moment, his face unreadable. "Where are they now?"
John shrugged. "I don't know."
"Why aren't they here to help you?"
John shook his head. "I don't want them to get into trouble."
Another pause. "Why would they be in trouble?"
"Well," John waved a hand. "I'm in trouble. Aren't I?"
Wilson nodded. "They could witness in your favor."
"Or be held for being accomplices."
"Are they?" Wilson leaned back. "Accomplices?"
"We didn't kill anyone. Didn't the shop have cameras?"
"They blacked out just moments before everything happened."
John nodded, slightly disappointed. Of course, energy spike.
Silence extended for a few moments.
"Do you enjoy flying?"
John raised his head, surprised by the change in subject.
"Can you describe what you feel when you are flying?"
John sighed.
"Why did you join the Air Force?"
John focused on the door behind the doctor. He would have to give him something to make Wilson see that John was neither crazy nor guilty. John looked away, not wanting to go back to things left behind.
It hadn't been simply for flying that John had joined. He had wanted to do more. John had been craving to leave the path his father had intended for him. He had felt suffocated inside those suits, surrounded by businessmen and their smooth talks. He had forced himself into finishing college, but the real world was too much for him. He had barely been able to breathe in that life. Flying had given him freedom. The first time he had climbed inside a cockpit had felt so good he hadn't thought twice before abandoning everything.
But his father hadn't understood. He had thought John was simply being rebellious. That John was leaving him and his dreams of a good son. His father had said bitter words and John and thrown them all back and left. John had tried to show how much he cared for what he was doing, how happy he was, but his dad had seen something else. His father had seen stubbornness to what John was supposed to be for his family.
John swallowed and turned to the doctor. "I wanted to fly and make a difference." He forced himself in keeping eye contact.
"Did that happen?"
John didn't know how similar the life of his double had been in this universe, so everything he said would be a risk. But it would be no use for John to end up in jail. He decided to tell his own truth instead of fabricating a probable one that belonged to another man. It was always much harder to keep a lie.
"Yes."
Still does.
"How?"
John looked away again, biting his lips.
He sighed and finally looked up. "I rescued men. I flied choppers behind enemy lines and took them back home. I brought bodies back so they could be buried, and I also brought lots of men alive. Men that are now happy, living with their families. So, yes, it was worth it. Every minute of it."
"Why did the Air Force declare you KIA?"
John exhaled. "I don't know. I didn't even know about that until the detective showed me the file."
"Where were you this whole time?"
That was the one million dollars question that John wished Wilson hadn't asked. John didn't have an answer.
John shook his head and leaned back. "I can't tell you."
"You can't or you won't?"
"Got it!" Rodney glanced around and saw people immersed in their own computers and laptops while Ronon and Teyla leaned behind him. "They have the same system as in our reality. This shouldn't be hard at all," he whispered. "I'm accessing the personnel file."
A huge list of names appeared in alphabetical order. Rodney hit search and looked for his own name, not surprised to find nothing.
"All right. What about..."
He typed in 'Find: Samantha Carter' and grinned broadly when he found her name next to a 'Lt. Col.' rank.
"Aha!"
He clicked to open her file, but it was protected by another level of security. He started typing commands and override codes, his clattering of keys joining the others in the room.
Several minutes later, he was finally able to read her file.
"Okay, let's see here." He pressed a finger on the screen and began reading softly to his teammates. "Samantha Carter, US Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel in charge of SG-1. Huh, really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, height, weight. Hah, I knew it!" He smirked as he scanned further below. "PhDs, astrophysicist, temporal mechanics, quantum physics, gate operations, wormhole specialist, a few honorable mentions, a few world savings... What? Married?" He paused. "To Senator Jonathan J. O'Neill. Huh, that's weird."
"Can we contact her?" Teyla asked.
"Hmm, no. It doesn't say."
Rodney frowned as he tried to think. He made another search in the personnel file.
'Find: General'. That would give him who was in charge of the base. A few seconds later a name appeared: 'General Charles Kawalsky'.
"Huh, I have no idea who that is."
"Rodney?" Ronon tapped his shoulder.
Rodney turned and saw Ronon tilting his head to the entrance. "What?"
"Seven o'clock."
Rodney shook his head in confusion.
Ronon tilted his head again pointing at the entrance.
"Oh," Rodney turned his head. "Uh-oh."
Two Air force officers were in the cafe, talking to the green haired boy. He then pointed towards Rodney's direction and the officers turned.
"Okay, they figured me out way faster than I expected."
"You should come with us," Samantha Carter said as she stopped before the three of them.
Rodney smiled. "Sure. If you insist."
Rodney crossed his arms as he turned to face Sam. "Seriously, the bathroom?" Rodney asked while he looked around.
"It's private enough," she said in a serious tone. She glanced at Mitchell after he finished looking inside both stalls. He gave her one nod in response. "So." She folded her hands in front of her. "Who are you and why did you hack into our servers?"
Rodney fidgeted with his hands. "I'm Doctor Rodney McKay and I need your help."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "My help?"
"Yes!" Rodney pointed a finger at her. "You are Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter of SG-1 and you are Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell." He pointed at him. "You," Rodney went back at Sam. "You happen to be a genius. Of course, not as much as me, but still enough to be considered one."
Her eyebrow rose even more.
"Aren't you wondering how I know your names?" Rodney asked.
"You were looking at our files," Mitchell observed while walking to stand next to Sam.
"Right. How were you able to find me so fast?"
"Maybe you aren't that much of a genius." Mitchell responded.
Rodney crossed his arms bitterly. "I passed through all three levels of defense and the additional three once inside the server. I even broke the encrypted data with a 448-bit key symmetric algorithm."
Mitchell glanced at Sam, clearly at loss.
"You forgot the fourth barrier." She smiled.
"What?" Rodney uncrossed his arms. "There isn't a fourth barrier!"
"Apparently there is," she said, her smile fading. "Now, do you mind telling me why?"
"I already told you. We need your help." Rodney broke the facade he was wearing so far. "We are from an alternate universe. We ended up here by accident from a planet called M4G-789 in the Pegasus Galaxy. My team and I work from our base of operations in Atlantis and were investigating an Ancient laboratory. There was an overload which shifted us, not only through space, but also to a different reality." Rodney waved his hands around pointing out directions and distances with his fingers. "It directed us right to a street in the suburbs of LA and destroyed a store, killing its owner inside. Our team leader, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard was arrested close to the scene and accused of murder and desertion since he's apparently dead in this universe."
After Rodney finished, there was a long silence. Sam's eyebrows remained up throughout the explanation and still hadn't come back down to their original position.
"Why should we believe you?" Mitchell chipped in.
"Because... it's the truth."
"Don't you think this story is a little... ridiculous?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Seriously?" He stared at them. "My bet, you already know it's true." He crossed his arms.
"Well, maybe you just watch too much sci-fi."
Sam smiled slightly. "Cam, I know a better way." She stepped forward. "What's the minimum unit of any physical entity involved in an interaction?"
Rodney grinned. "A quantum."
"And what's quantum coherence?"
"Coherence is a property of waves that enables stationary interference. More generally, coherence describes all properties of the electronic correlation between physical quantities of a wave."
"What's the maximum amount of time an artificially generated wormhole can remain open in non-relativistic conditions?"
"Thirty-eight minutes."
Sam nodded and tried to hide a smile.
"I guess we found the source of that energy wave." Mitchell finally said.
John stared outside through the only window in the row of cells, eyes half closed. It was small and he was barely able to see the tiny patch of sky from his horizontal position on the bed, but it was a better sight then the inside provided. He wasn’t able to see any stars, but the moon was still full and illuminated the room slightly. The lamps outside blinked on and off, its mesmerizing light finally taking him to slumber.
As usual, a random shout from somewhere brought him back awake, kicks and punches to the bars getting louder until a guard came in, cursing and yelling. John sighed wondering if he would even catch any sleep while in that jail. He rubbed his face and pressed his sandy eyes, jerking up when a hand grabbed his arm and tried to force him out of the bed.
"Get out of my place!" a small man shouted angrily while still pushing John out.
John resisted the hands. "I was here first."
He wasn’t sure his tone worked the exact way he wanted, but confirmation soon came when the man yanked him out with a surge of strength that sent John crashing to the floor.
John rolled his eyes as he sat up and forced himself not to rub the sore spot on his arm.
"Well, if you wanted the bed so much, you just had to ask nicely."
John shook his head at the lack of response and got up, sighing when he saw the other bunk bed occupied.
Sam stared at Doctor McKay, her mind working on the equations necessary to transport four people to another reality. As crazy as it sounded, she had trusted McKay as soon as he started babbling about his story. Even with his annoying grins and the inappropriate glances, he seemed to be genuine about everything he said. Still, she had needed to check out his so called brilliance.
On the previous night, Sam had been contacted by the Phoenix in orbit, reporting about a strange energy wave that had swept a neighborhood of Los Angeles and that had a very peculiar signature. Then, in the next afternoon, she had received an e-mail telling a story and containing some odd information that could indicate a leak in the SGC and then, when she was told by General Kawalsky that someone had infiltrated their secret server, she had known there had to be something to all of it.
Now, it all makes sense.
"What kind of experiment were the Ancients doing in that laboratory?" she asked.
McKay started to move his hands again, showing that they were never still for too long. "It had to do with harvesting power from other realities in order to concentrate it in one buffer, but I don't know the details of the process because it overloaded the second I turned on the interface in order to access their results." McKay barely stopped to breathe and it reminded her of herself. "My guess is that the Ancients shut the whole thing down in the middle of an overload and didn't fix the power regulator and didn't turn off the feedback into the buffer."
"So, the second you turned it on, the process continued from where it had stopped," she finished.
McKay brought a finger up. "Exactly!"
"But how does it lock onto the universes? Does it know the realities in which it's safe to harvest power?"
"I don't know! It wasn't supposed to happen. I had analyzed the preliminary data we got from our downloads from the lab's database, but it didn't have a lot of detail."
She bit her lips. "Yeah, they weren't very good in keeping records..."
McKay nodded. "Yeah. There's an understatement."
"Okay, guys," Cam interrupted. "Why don't we continue this under the mountain? I don't think you want to discuss interdimentional mechanics inside a bathroom."
McKay threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Yeah, but we first need to get Colonel Sheppard out of prison."
John was honestly beginning to get tired of walking around in cuffs. He had already memorized every step of the way between his cell and the talking room and right now could follow it blind folded. This time, however, when he entered he was met with a face he didn't expect.
"Colonel?" John asked as he stared at Samantha Carter.
He looked at her uniform and noticed that she was not a full bird in this reality. Rodney was beside her, a grin on his face.
"That's right." She extended her hand. "I guess you know me in your reality, too."
John went to shake her hand, but the guard stood in his way and glared.
The Colonel smiled at the officer. "That won't be necessary," she said as she took John's hand and shook it. "You can uncuff him and then you are dismissed," she told the guard.
The guard stared at John and then at Carter before uncuffing him.
"So, I guess you found her," he glanced at Rodney and rounded the table to sit down.
She sat. "Yes. Kind of... Anyway, he told me your story."
"Can you help us?" John leaned forward in his chair.
She folded her hands on the desk. "I wanted to talk about your reality and how to get you back."
John nodded. "We need to get to Pegasus."
Carter thinned her lips. "That could be a problem."
"Problem? How'd that be a problem?" Rodney stuttered.
She eyed both of them in turn. "Well," she said as she leaned closer. "The address we found was incomplete."
"That's not a problem, we can give you the address." John waved his hand.
"All, right. Let’s slow down a little," Colonel Carter said placating their enthusiasm. "I know you want to get back, but it won’t be that easy."
John nodded. It would be difficult getting their whole story confirmed and then getting the authorization and the necessary resources to make everything work. John sat back and sighed.
"For one, even if we confirm your story and even if we manage to get authorization to send you where you need to go, there is the issue of power. My superiors won’t go easily for the idea of using the power we have to send you guys to a non-charted zone."
"What do you mean?" Rodney asked offended. "Confirm? I though you believed us."
She sighed. "That’s not the point."
"She’s right, Rodney. There are proper procedures, a whole chain of command this needs to travel through."
"This is…" He slumped back. "We can’t be stuck here."
"I know," she started calmly. "And I’ll do what I can to help you."
"So you believe us?" John wanted it clarified.
"I’ve seen some evidence to corroborate your story."
John knew she believed in them. She may not know him, but he knew Samantha Carter and this version seemed to be a lot like her. She was trying to look a bit harder to sell and her act would have worked for anyone else, but not for them. She’d do what she could to try to help them.
"So," she started. "I’d need to know the very basics about your mission in Pegasus before I sell your story to the general."
Ronon paced, ignoring the exasperated sigh that came from Teyla. He glared at all the passing people, especially at those that almost bumped against him. They usually stared for a few seconds, looking him up and down then continued on their way, rushing through the crowd on the street.
He stopped by the wall of the police station and leaned against it, looking far into the horizon. There was a thin gray smoke covering the city which reminded him of Sateda. Ronon remembered Melina complaining about the respiratory problems the pollution caused and almost smiled if it wasn't for the tightness that grew with the memory.
Ronon always had a strange twinge in his chest every time he was on Earth. It was similar to Sateda in many aspects but its people so different. Satedans had grown up under the shadow of the threat the wraith had always provided and from an early age they had learned how to fight. They were proud, powerful warriors, not failing in science either. The Satedan capital was no different to the many cities Earth had. Every time Ronon looked at Earth's tall buildings, its sky, its people, Ronon saw Sateda how it should have been if the wraith had never destroyed it. That was why the uneasiness was a hard feeling to shake while walking around these civilian earthlings. They had no idea how lucky they were.
"You okay?"
Ronon glanced down and saw Mitchell standing next to him, leaning on the same wall. Had Sheppard been the one asking, Ronon would know how to answer.
"Yeah."
Mitchell nodded, his smile fading. "McKay said you're from Pegasus."
That hadn't been a question. Ronon didn't know what to do with it so he just continued to stare.
Mitchell squinted under the sunlight, picking on a plant he was holding. "What's the name of your planet?"
Ronon looked at Mitchell and only saw curiosity. It was just a name. It didn’t mean anything to these people. "Sateda."
Mitchell nodded again. "What is it like?"
Mitchell was trying to make conversation, but at the same time picking for information about them. Trying to see if they are real. Ronon got that. He looked up. "It’s gone. Destroyed by the Wraith."
Mitchell nodded. "I'm sorry. Must be tough."
There were several seconds of silence.
"These wraith," Mitchel started. "They're the bad guys in Pegasus?"
Ronon didn't look down. "Yep."
"Do they enslave people? Destroy their homes? I mean--" Mitchell quickly added, "Do we have anything to worry about if we go there?"
Ronon looked down and saw Mitchell's face looking up at him. "If they also exist here, then yes. You have to worry."
"How bad are they?"
"Bad."
Mitchell waved a hand. "Care to elaborate on that?"
Ronon sighed loudly. He didn’t want to talk with someone he barely knew. It wasn’t the same Mitchell Ronon knew. That one was a nice guy he had chatted with several times during his stays in the SGC. This one seemed like a nice guy too, but he wouldn’t take things for granted in this reality.
Silence settled between them until McKay came out of the precinct. Carter nodded and tilted her head, prompting Mitchell to follow her to some distance away. Ronon watched them walk then stepped closer to McKay.
"Is she gonna help?" Ronon asked.
McKay clapped his hands together and began rubbing one against the other. "If I know Samantha Carter, and I do, then yes. She didn’t say it though. Just that she has to talk to the brass to see how they'll take the whole thing." He began waving his hands around. "If her word counts as much here as it does in our reality, then we'll probably get home. If circumstances help."
"And John?" Teyla asked.
"Yes, the Air Force will set him free and drop the charges if our intel proves good." McKay nodded. "I don't know if they will, it will all depend on how similar both universes are, so... let's hope luck is on our side this time."
"How long till we know?" Ronon asked.
Rodney looked around and seemed to notice Carter and Mitchell were gone. "Well, I don't know, it could take hours. I told her where to find us." He pointed a finger up. "Oh, and she gave us money." He grinned. "We can eat real food."
Chapter 5
