“Here, let me help you with that, ma’am,” came a voice behind them. Kimberly turned to see Ioan lifting the heavy backpack and helping Miko settle it on her shoulders. The poor girl nearly sagged under its weight, but with some minor adjustments from Ioan, she was soon on her feet and stable.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Miko said shyly.

She waited for her turn and smiled gratefully when Ioan directed his attention to her. “Thanks, Lieutenant. Appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. These things can be tricky at times, and with how much you ladies have packed in them, it doesn’t help,” he teased. “And please, call me Ioan,” he admonished gently. “You, too, doc.”

Kimberly shot back, “Like yours is any lighter.”

“Hai! Then you must call me Miko,” Kusanagi added almost in tandem with Kimberly.

Kimberly stifled a chuckle at the obvious pleasure on Ioan’s face. She knew from Miko that Ioan had been in the mountain for a while now, just like his brother, even if she herself had only met him a week ago. Miko wasn’t one to easily get to know, or to get on a first name basis with, so it said a lot about Ioan that she’d granted him the use of hers.

A movement behind Miko caught her attention and her eye fell on Carson as he tried to push his way past a couple of soldiers. The look on his face was equal parts longing and she thought some jealousy, too. As he walked by them, she offered him an apologetic smile, earning a wan one in return. She knew Carson was smitten with Miko – it was an open secret to anyone who paid attention.

She sighed. There were times that she thought it might be a good idea to forcibly smack her friends’ heads together in order for them to get closer already. Seriously, sometimes both Miko and Carson were far too shy for their own good. Though in Carson’s case, it was part shyness, and part him being too much of a gentleman to force his company on anyone.

Catching Ioan’s questioning look, she gently shook her head, hoping he’d catch the hint and not ask. Thankfully, with another scrutinizing glance, he nodded and excused himself. “Gotta go get in place. We’re one of the first ones out if the gate connects,” he said, already making his way to the gateroom.

“See you later!” Kimberly called after him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If John were completely honest, he was feeling a little intimidated. Okay, a lot intimidated. The whole mountain – or at the very least, the level they were on – seemed to be crawling with people, most of whom would be walking through the stargate with him.

To another galaxy.

And wasn’t that a trip and a half he really rather wouldn’t focus on right then, because John wasn’t at all sure his nerves could handle it. Everything had gone so fast, and there’d been so little time, all things considered, that they hadn’t managed to send John through the gate even once in order to get him used to the idea. The very thought that he would be going to another planet in another galaxy boggled his mind, though he worked very hard to keep an outward calm.

Things would be difficult enough on this mission without giving anyone ammunition to use against him because they felt he wasn’t up for it. Sumner already believed him to be less than honorable or brave. No need to add fuel to that fire.

And yet, when Sumner approached him just as the gate started to dial out, reminding him who was giving the orders, John simply couldn’t help himself. “That’d be Dr. Weir, right?”

The look Sumner sent him was pure ice and venom. John could’ve kicked himself for opening his big mouth, but then he’d always been a bit of a smartass and it tended to bite him in the rear, so why would this time be any different, really.

John turned his gaze over the crowd around him until he noticed the large window above them. He nodded and smiled when he noticed General O’Neill watching them. The general’s lips quirked as he nodded a greeting in return. John felt he wouldn’t have minded being under his command at all. From what he’d been able to tell the few times he’d interacted with the man back in Antarctica, they shared a similar sense of humor, and he seemed to John to be someone you’d want to be at your back when things went south.

John’s smile widened when he caught sight of Rodney leaning over one of the technicians. The sound of the wormhole engaging made John jump and he turned on his heel with wide eyes as he took in the phenomenon. Never in his life had he imagined anything like this, but it was real, and happening, and he was going to have to step through that thing any minute now.

His throat suddenly dry, John swallowed, and as the M.A.L.P. got sent through the event horizon, he purposely turned his attention back to Rodney, who was leaning closer to the screen. The sudden grin flashing on the other man’s face made John’s stomach flip. He couldn’t tell if it was due to nerves or something else, but right in that moment, he didn’t care. The look on Rodney’s face meant one thing and one thing only: they were actually going to Atlantis.

He lost sight of Rodney for a second as he disappeared out of the room, soon followed by Elizabeth. Sumner was barking orders, telling everyone to stay put until he and his team had cleared the immediate area. Elizabeth’s contradiction that she go with them had John suppressing a smirk. Yeah, this was going to be interesting, he was sure.

As soon as the all clear came through, John started up the ramp. He honestly had no idea what to expect. He’d promised himself he would go with the flow, but as he was faced with the shimmering surface he had to know. Turning to the lieutenant next to him, he asked, “What’s it feel like?”

The man’s expression grew dead serious. “It hurts like hell, sir.” For three seconds, John couldn’t breathe, then the young man’s lips morphed into a full blown grin as he cried out, “Woohoooo!” and leapt backwards through the gate.

John stood for a moment, unsure what had just happened. Rallying himself, he muttered, “Right. Piece of cake, John. Isn’t that what McKay said? Just take a step and walk on through. Next thing you know, you’re on Atlantis.” So, taking a deep breath and screwing his eyes closed tight, that was exactly what he did.

The instant John stepped foot on the city, he felt it. There was something here. A sense of ‘home’ washed over him in such a profound way that John couldn’t recall ever feeling it before in his life. The place had minimal light, almost as if it were in sleep-mode. Casting his flashlight around, he was in awe. There wasn’t much he could see yet, but he could feel it – whatever ‘it’ was. Glancing around, he couldn’t tell whether anyone else had experienced the same as he had, but he didn’t think so.

“Secure the immediate area,” Sumner ordered, indicating who he expected to go where.

Slowly moving toward the steps opposite the gate, John noticed people going off to check out the corridors that branched from the room. Everything was still as dimly lit as when they’d arrived, until John took his first step on the stairs. It lit up, as did each subsequent one, with panels along the walls coming to life as well. John had the uncanny feeling it had something to do with him.

“Huh.”

John glanced over his shoulder at the sound and smiled when he saw that Rodney was right behind him. “The lights are coming on by themselves,” John murmured. Continuing forward, more and more lights switched on and not just where John was, either. He could see the areas come to life around a few of the others he’d been told had the gene, too.

Rodney peered down and then nodded, first to himself, then to John, who barely caught the whispered, “Stupid genes.”

John paced along the edge of the room, always keeping the gate in his sights, while Rodney rummaged around behind him, clearing the consoles. John couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer amount of stuff that came through the gate. Several pallets had already come through, and still they kept coming. So did the people. The room was filling up rapidly, and from John’s estimation they were nowhere near done. He had his orders, though. As much as he would have liked to go down to help, he’d been told to secure this area after all.

Finally, after a good half hour, the steady stream of goods and people dwindled, and once the last person was through, Elizabeth contacted the SGC and told them to cut power to the gate, which they did, but not before General O’Neill sent through a large bottle of champagne. John could definitely appreciate the sentiment behind that.

John shared a look with Elizabeth, who nodded in understanding. They were well and truly on their own now, no turning back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They stepped through the gate side-by-side a full ten-count after the major had gone through. Ioan’s eyes widened as he stepped onto the city. “Do you-?” he asked Evan without stopping the sweep he’d already begun.

Clearing his throat, Evan nodded. “Yeah, it’s… weird, but… not. Isn’t it?”

The brothers shared a glance that spoke volumes, both of them aware that there was something about this place that neither could understand. Yet they each knew in their bones that they’d made the right call in joining the expedition.

“You two, help sort everyone as they come through the gate and clear the immediate area,” Sumner ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Ioan and Evan echoed, turning to do as ordered. Ioan tried to pay close attention to the faces of his fellow expedition members, and he thought he could tell who had the gene and who didn’t by their reactions alone. Some had a more visceral response than others, he noticed. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was about Atlantis that affected everyone so – what it all meant.

“I don’t know, Ioan,” Evan said as if reading his mind. “But I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”

When Kimberly and Miko stepped through, pushing a large cart in front of them, Ioan asked quietly, “Do either of you feel anything?”

Kimberly shook her head, but Miko’s eyes widened even further than they already were as she nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “Yes. I sense something. Not sure what, but… I have not felt peace like this in many years.”

Peace. That seemed as apt a description as Ioan could think of. They didn’t have a chance to talk more as additional people came through the gate who needed his attention, so he firmly pushed any further thoughts on the matter aside as he focused on the task at hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rodney felt like a lifetime of Christmases had arrived all at once as he slowly worked his way through figuring out what was what in what he had dubbed the control room. He made sure to keep his com open, so he had a steady stream of reports coming in from all over Atlantis – or at least as far as they’d been able to get to. The city was huge! And the things that were being reported made Rodney’s blood rush. Spaceships. Various labs. Tech he didn’t even have a name for yet! Oh, but he was itching to get his hands on it all. To discover Atlantis’ innermost secrets.

He finally managed to hook up his laptop to a console and had just called up some stats when Carson called him to tell him about the holo-room he’d discovered. “You have to see this, Rodney. It appears to be the history of the Ancients,” came Carson’s voice in his earpiece.

“I’ll be there as soon as I get Dr. Weir. I’m sure she’d like to see it, too.” Closing the com-line to Carson, Rodney took one last glance at his screen, frowning. “Huh, interesting.” Shaking his head, he went to find Elizabeth.

Spotting his quarry, Rodney called out, “Colonel, Dr. Weir-”

“We’re underwater,” John said, awed.

“Yes, I, uh, I was just coming to tell you. Fortunately there’s some sort of a forcefield holding back the…” Rodney looked up as he came level with the major and paused, stunned. “The water,” he finished lamely. “Boy that is impressive, isn’t it?” he muttered, gazing out into the vast ocean.

John nodded, and for a moment they all simply stood in quiet contemplation. After a minute, Rodney shook himself. “Err… Dr. Beckett has found something you should see.”

Rodney almost wished they could have remained at the window a while longer, but there was so much to see, so much to discover. When they arrived at the holo-room, Carson was already playing the recording. They watched the thing play out and Rodney felt a little queasy. He had a sinking feeling that these Wraith were no joke if they sent the Ancients running with their tail between their legs.

Carson had just started a third run through of the recording when Grodin entered the room and whispered in Rodney’s ear. “Power levels are dropping rapidly. Part of the shield’s just collapsed and sensors are picking up several areas with flooding.”

Crap, that was decidedly not good news.

 

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