"I have only one question," I warned immediately, the moment I crossed the threshold of the spacious room filled with various consoles. As for the number of monitors—both built-in and suspended—I'm almost afraid to say.
"Only one?" Jensen smirked, following behind.
Chaya and Teyla exchanged a glance.
"I am listening," the Ancient said.
"Do you have any other clothes besides that dress?" I inquired, stepping closer to the girl.
"And do you have anything besides a Lantean military uniform?" Chaya asked, looking at me reproachfully.
Well, the icebreaker didn't land.
"One-one," I admitted, unbuttoning my tunic collar. I tried not to look away from the beautiful Ancient's piercing gaze.
A still from the series.
"Wait," Alvar intervened in our visual standoff. "Are you telling me that this," he poked at my snow-white outfit, "is a military uniform?"
"She would know better," I nodded toward Chaya. "I had choices—either naked, or..."
"An acceptable alternative," Teyla interjected hastily.
"I'm starting to doubt the wisdom of the Ancestors," the former Runner said skeptically. "How can one build all of this," he gestured around the lab, "but not know about camouflage?"
"We had cloaking devices," Chaya redirected her attention.
"For people too?" he clarified.
The girl thought for a moment and gave a barely perceptible shrug.
"I think you both should listen to Chaya," Teyla took the floor. "She has a very interesting proposal."
"That's why we're here," I assured them. "So?"
"Here," Chaya pointed to schematics appearing on one of the thin screens. "This is a multi-functional scout drone. I found several in storage. Heavily damaged, but I think I can repair a few."
Ancient scout drone. The concept comes from its use by the Pegasus Replicators, the Asurans, in the series.
"And why do we need it?" Jensen asked.
Quick guy. Only a few days on the team, and it's already "we." Then again, Teyla had adjusted just as quickly. It wasn't about any natural naivety—people in Pegasus generally trust each other when they share a common trouble. Enemies can become friends for a time, part ways peacefully, only to leap at each other's throats again with renewed vigor later.
"There are only four of us," oh, it's heartening that the Ancient doesn't look at me alone as a simpleton.
"Twice as many as you used to be," the former Runner flashed his erudition.
"If necessary, my people will come to our aid," Teyla assured us. Then, with some embarrassment, she added: "If they have weapons."
No, it wasn't blackmail. She was simply stating the fact that without the promised firearms, the Athosians could at most use sticks and stakes. Otherwise, they were up for any venture except feeding the Wraith.
"That is exactly what I thought when I came across them," Chaya said. "We promised your people weapons. Alvar said his planet suffered total destruction during a Wraith raid. He was hunted by a very specific Hive. And in orbit of the planet Sudaria, Mikhail and Alvar saw two Hive ships and three cruisers."
"But the second one vanished afterward," I reminded her. "It could have been destroyed in battle."
"Or it simply fled," Jensen suggested. "The Wraith do not fight to the last man. If they're pinned down and there's a chance to slip away, they'll clear out. Then they'll sit in some dark corner, cook up a revenge plan, and start all over."
"One way or another, I decided that since the Atlantis database is ten thousand years out of date, we will have to visit planets to understand if there are useful resources there," Chaya explained. "So far, I haven't been able to bypass or rewrite the simultaneous shuttle charging program, so it's best to minimize their use. At least in cases where they are not essential."
"Reasonable," I agreed. "But I'm not catching the point yet."
"Oh," Chaya made "scary eyes." If she'd been in that combat suit, with a blaster in hand, it would have been truly frightening. But like this... a lovely girl with coffee-colored skin, pleasant looks, and in a turquoise dress to boot... what was there to fear? "So I am not the only one who doesn't quite understand where others are leading."
A subtle hint at unsubtle circumstances.
"Excuse me?" Teyla spoke up. "What are you talking about?"
Chaya looked into my eyes, and I into hers. I had to assume she thought I was about to start sharing my knowledge of the future right then and there.
Easy for her to say—the Ancients are used to everything. But tell the locals that I'm from another universe and know what will happen in Pegasus five years from now, and you'll definitely have nothing but trouble.
Some (read: almost all) secrets should be revealed carefully and at the right time. Now was not the time for candidness.
But Chaya, it seemed, had decided otherwise.
Likely she still felt betrayed by the Ancients and undeservedly denied Ascension because of a man who could find help from the Ancients and knew much that even she didn't suspect.
"Maybe we should step out and let you two bill and coo?" Alvar suggested.
"Joke's out of place," I looked at him with a sour smile. "Believe me, I can identify these things by smell now."
"Smell, that's for sure," the former Runner chuckled. "You should wash up, or something."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I was taken aback, glancing at Emmagan. It seemed only the diplomatic Athosian was on my side today. Or at least neutral.
"How to put this gently..." Teyla wrinkled her nose.
"You smell of sweat and a dirty body," Jensen blurted out the raw truth.
"First of all, that sounded hurtful," I admitted. "A little patience with the boss's failings wouldn't hurt. Second, my apartment has some issues with the shower—it doesn't work."
"Did you press the blue pattern on the wall?" the man who looked like a piranha asked.
"Why? Chaya said it turns on automatically, and if not, the whole system is shot and needs a week to fix..." toward the end of the sentence, I realized what was happening. "Joke of the minute, right?"
The lady in turquoise smiled sweetly, revealing pearl-white teeth.
"Teyla and Alvar asked me about everything in their rooms by the end of the day they moved in," it was obvious the dark-skinned girl was barely holding back laughter. "I was waiting for you to find the courage..."
"And he only found the stench!" Alvar exploded with laughter, covering his mouth with his palm and stepping back a couple of meters.
Teyla blushed in embarrassment, barely suppressing a smile.
Chaya turned away, pretending she was intensely interested in a far corner of her own lab. But from her shaking shoulders, I could tell she'd soon be having convulsions from laughter.
"Ha. Ha. Ha," I clapped. "Good for you, laughing at the one who decided to pull you out of trouble."
"For the record," Chaya didn't turn around, but raised an index finger above her head. "My troubles started exactly with you."
Jensen was already laughing hysterically, throwing his head back and not even trying to hide his grin.
Teyla's expression remained unchanged. Well, at least someone didn't find this funny. Besides me, of course.
"Are we here to laugh or what?" I clarified.
"Right," Chaya turned to us, wiping away the involuntary tears from her eyes. "I wanted to ask you something..."
"Don't worry, the other apartment functions work," I assured her.
"I'll bet the wrinkled uniform speaks to a lack of knowledge about the washing machine's location," Jensen chuckled, his laughter winding down.
For God's sake... there are washing machines here too?
Looking closely at the Runner, I realized that although he was indeed wearing what I'd first seen him in, the dirt stains had vanished and the clothes didn't look wrinkled. I see... so Chaya is showing concern for our smaller brothers, but telling me wasn't in the cards.
"You wanted to ask something," I reminded the Ancient.
"Yes," she smiled, but I fundamentally didn't like her smile. "When we spoke of the Aurora, you said you had an unverified way to help the crew."
"True," I admitted. "I said that, yes."
"And you asked me to find Atlantis's last surviving combat satellite," the Ancient continued.
"Exactly."
"I also asked you how short-range stationary weapons and a starship at the edge of the Pegasus Galaxy were connected," Chaya continued recounting our dialogue. "And you replied: 'Find it first, then we'll talk.' All correct, I'm not mixing anything up?"
"Absolutely. So, did you find it?"
"I did," all the amusement vanished from Chaya's voice as she brought up another image on the monitor. "According to the city's database records, this is a 'Satellite' class combat satellite. One of many the Lanteans built in the final stage of the war for defense against the Wraith. The last line of defense for the Lantean system. And," she shook her head, "the first one too. Simply put—the only one, besides Atlantis itself."
"And... you didn't find any others?" I asked hopefully.
"If anything is left of them, it's too small for the long-range sensors to detect," the girl said, bringing up data on the satellite. "It is completely alone out there. It has been at the point of equalized gravitational and moving forces for ten thousand years."
Lantean combat satellite. I called it a "Satellite" type, as that's what it's called on foreign sites.
"At what point?" I didn't understand. And I wasn't the only one, by the way!
Chaya seemed to realize this too.
"Everyone knows what gravity is, right?" she asked.
"At moments like this, I almost regret the Wraith didn't chew through all the Ancients," I admitted, looking at Teyla and Alvar. "Imagine what it'll be like when there are a hundred or two of these smart-alecks."
"I doubt she meant to insult us," Teyla said. "Chaya simply doesn't know the level of our knowledge."
"Everyone knows what gravity is," Jensen said hastily. "And that stars, planets, moons, even large asteroids also have gravity—everyone knows that too."
"They do now," Emmagan arched an eyebrow. "Chaya, please continue."
"In the star system where Lantea is located—the planet on whose ocean floor we are now talking—there is one star and two planets," Chaya explained. "Lantea has one moon; the second, as I understand it, has been shattered into fragments. But that is not the point. In the Lantean system, there are points equidistant from the star and the planets such that the gravitational pull of the star, the planets, and so on, is equal to the speed of movement of these celestial bodies in their orbits around the star. External natural forces have no influence there. Consequently, an object left there will never leave its position—certainly not without external help."
Digging through my memory, I flashed my erudition.
"Lagrange point."
"I suspect the second word is the name of some scientist connected with the discovery of this phenomenon in your world."
"That seems to be the case. Но к чему ты ведешь?"
"I tried to establish a subspace link with the satellite, but nothing happened," Chaya admitted. "Right now, it is just a piece of scrap metal at rest. Whether it is combat-capable, what state its generator is in, and whether we can repair it—is unknown. However," Chaya shot me an angry look, "I discovered something on the surface of the second planet..."
Now I'd definitely have to answer for my actions.
"Such as?" Alvar asked.
"A subspace distress signal from a Wraith ship," Chaya said, looking into my eyes.
"There are Wraith in the system?" Teyla grew alert.
"If they land in the city, I'm going to need weapons," Alvar grew worried. "The few magazines I have left for the rifle are enough for a small skirmish. But that definitely won't be the case here."
"The Wraith cannot reach Atlantis right now except through the gate," Chaya said. "Or with an Ancient ship to pass through the shield. And no, the signal is too weak for a functioning ship. I think it was shot down during the war between the Ancients and the Wraith. The energy signature is so weak there is no doubt the ship is non-operational. It likely suffered a brutal shipwreck and was abandoned by the crew."
"If that's the case, it's easier," the Runner exhaled. "Only... if the Wraith knew one of their ships was shot down, why didn't they rescue anyone? I heard they used to be much closer. Now they're ready to cut each other's throats over anything. Though they only have one concern—where to find more people."
"And I have another concern," Chaya said in the same tone, looking at me. "To understand how the Ancients in stasis are connected to a non-functioning Ancient satellite and a Wraith distress signal from a ship that died ten thousand years ago on a planet where survival is impossible. Care to share information?"
"Let's just say I have an opinion that this will help us," I said. "Specifically, what triggered the distress signal."
"And what is that?" the Ancient persisted.
"You know the source of my information," I hissed through my teeth.
And she was the only one of the three who understood that the only place I could draw knowledge unknown to her was information from another universe. The future, damn it, which is unlikely to remain the same if I blab about it to every native I meet.
But she was deliberately pushing for me to share this secret.
Furthermore, interest was already evident on the faces of Teyla and Alvar.
I was sure that if I told them now about how I arrived at Atlantis, flew to the satellite, and discovered on that dead planet something that could help (I thought) the Lanteans in stasis not to die when transitioning to their new time, Chaya would do everything to highlight the inconsistency with my "legend."
"It seems you have some personal problems," Teyla concluded. "Alvar and I had better go."
"Actually, no, I'd stay," the man blurted out. But the Athosian had already nudged him lightly under the ribs with her elbow, after which she caught him by the arm and pulled him toward the lab exit. "Ah, that's right, I completely forgot Teyla promised to show me some wrestling moves..."
"Oh, just go already," I snapped.
As soon as the door closed behind them, I inquired: "What are you after?"
"For you to tell me everything you know," she said that very second. "Everything about the laboratories, everything about the galaxy, Ancient technologies—everything you know because of your origin and past."
"And why should I do that?" I asked.
"Because we depend on each other," she said. "I help you, you help me."
"Is that not how it is now?" I asked.
"Sort of, but not exactly," the girl said, bringing a list of points from her computer onto the monitor. At first, I thought it was the same one she'd had when we met. But I dismissed that almost immediately.
Because the list was in my native language. Furthermore, every word written there was familiar to me.
"You hacked my handheld," the statement of fact didn't trigger a single emotion in the girl. Well, naturally, everyone does that.
"And I do not like what is written here," she said. "When were you planning to tell me!?"
"Why should I share my plans with you at all?"
And that wasn't the question that should be ringing out here. Но спрашивать: «О чем именно?» было глупо. It was clear that something on my to-do list (and it was there that I'd listed all the "goodies" I remembered from the series) had specifically angered her. So much so that she was ready to blurt out our little secret to a couple of locals. And it was unlikely that Alvar and Teyla, hearing that I knew about coming events for the next five years or so, wouldn't want to ask how to change the worst of them. Especially those connected to the Athosians.
"To avoid getting into much bigger problems than the Ancients did!" Chaya burst out. "'Reactivate the nanites from the lab and direct them to restoration work on Atlantis'? 'Use the Wraith from the transport ship to revive the Aurora crew through reverse feeding'? 'Find a way to subjugate the Asuran Replicators'? 'Take the Queen from the ocean floor hostage and torture her until she tells all her secrets'? 'Help the Genii with the atomic bomb, wake the Wraith, disable the gates in the galaxy, activate the Attero device'? And what is this 'Project Spartan'?"
"Do you essentially read one sentence out of ten, or is this some kind of special discipline for the Special Olympics?" I inquired.
"What else are you hiding from me?" she asked demandingly. "The Asurans survived? The Wraith are capable of extending human life? An atomic bomb? You know where the Attero device is?"
"And Teyla has the Wraith gene," I added.
"What?" Chaya was taken aback.
"On the floor of the Lantean ocean, there is a mobile drilling platform capable of providing us with geothermal energy," I continued listing things Chaya couldn't know. Because I hadn't specified them in my notes.
And the notes themselves were nothing more than a draft—I was recording my craziest thoughts simply so as not to lose them. Even the most idiotic idea is an idea that can be "sanded down" into something worthwhile. It's just that I hadn't gone past the Aurora crew situation yet.
Simply because to realize the rest, I needed more information. And working hands.
"I have heard of it, but I did not think it was still intact," the girl said distractedly. "I thought of something similar... but the database states it is lost: a Wraith cruiser crashed into the ocean, an explosion occurred in immediate proximity to the platform. The rock in that area is thin, proximity to magma... in short, it is destroyed. That's what's written..."
Chaya fell silent, shooting me a quick look. It seemed someone had guessed that I hadn't started this conversation for no reason.
"But, perhaps, it is not," she added.
"Perhaps," I agreed. "And also, again, just 'perhaps,' you'll stop pointing fingers at me and saying I'm the most secretive one here. I'm only trying to make things good for all of us here. And at the same time, not flush the order of things that, by the way, gives us an advantage! Imagine the chaos if we wake the Wraith, help create a cure they'll die from, expose ourselves to the Genii, reveal our location to the Wraith, and so on!? It will be exactly what I want to avoid! Chaos and playing catch-up! We have an advantage in knowledge! And I want to use it!"
"You do not realize what you are saying!" Chaya exclaimed. "The Attero device can neither be rebuilt nor optimized. The best minds worked on it—and nothing! Just as you cannot simply turn off all the gates in the galaxy during the device's activation so they do not explode! There are fundamental basics of higher physics you don't even suspect! There are things that cannot be fixed!"
"Oh, but surely a code for subjugation, non-aggression, and following orders can be written for nano-machines!? That's basic programming!"
"It isn't even about whether it's possible! The nano-machine code was only created by the Ancients, but they themselves rewrote it! One cannot simply shove something of one's own into the middle of millions of lines of code! It doesn't work that way! At all!"
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I was acquainted with the team that created them!" Chaya shouted. "The nano-machines were their signature! They knew everything about them! And the fact that the creators made a mistake and allowed such a thing only proves—this is not technology that should exist and interact with us!"
"Is that why you fried those nanites in the lab with an EMP generator?" I asked.
"Yes! How can you not understand... if the Asuran nanites actually survived and developed into a society, getting involved with them is a very bad idea," the girl in turquoise shook her head. "They will not help us. We are not the ones they fear and will obey. Ten thousand years ago they were ready for dialogue, but now... I cannot even imagine how much they have changed and become more dangerous after..."
"After the Ancients tried to destroy them?" I clarified. "After they created nano-machines programmed to kill any living creature without the Ancient gene—including the people of the Pegasus Galaxy—after which they realized their mistake, but it was too late!? That's what you wanted to say. Or tell me that another Ancient experiment in weapon creation resulted in a simple nano-weapon evolving into an independent, albeit artificial, species that refused to kill? And for that, the Ancients sent starships to their home world and blew everything to hell? Clarify, please, exactly what you didn't tell me. Since we've started digging into my secrets, perhaps it's time to share yours too?"
"I do not understand what you mean," Chaya said.
But she looked away, afraid she might give herself away.
"When we were discussing negotiations with the Athosians, I told you that on the planet there is a city where it seemed Ancient buildings could be traced," I reminded her. "And you scanned everything you could while we were there. And you found something. Because despite me telling you: I know that in the events I know, the Athosians will eventually return to Athos and live there happily ever after, you decided to give them a proper scare. To evict them from the planet."
"But you saw the supervolcano yourself!"
"And I know that unless you start drilling there, detonating Tsar Bombs or something else, nothing will happen," I replied. "You see, when you show undeveloped races data from your scanner, it's best to consider that one of them might actually remember the marking symbols in Lantean and then translate them."
"And what did you translate?" the girl flinched.
"The thickness of the 'plug' in the supervolcano is at least a kilometer of ultra-dense rock," I answered. "In itself, it is calm and not preparing to erupt. The 'plug' is intact. Everywhere, except one place. At first, I wondered for a long time what that 'generator' in the magma chamber was. And then I remembered something... and connected one to the other: my knowledge of similar situations, and your words about how you'd already thought about geothermal energy."
Chaya looked at me, her lips slightly pursed.
"In the ruined city on Athos, there were Ancient buildings. In the supervolcano's magma chamber, there is an ancient generator, and we both know who put it there," I voiced my guesses. "You wanted to drive the Athosians from their home planet to start up an ancient geothermal power station!"
"Yes."
To her credit, Chaya didn't try to deny it. Actually, there wasn't a hint of regret for what she'd done on her face.
"And for what?" I asked. "To set up a Jumper charging station there? Or what goals were you pursuing?"
"That ruined city is called Emeg," Chaya said. "I read about it in the Atlantis database. Athosians lived in it many thousands of years ago. They were advanced enough for the Lanteans to establish an outpost there and enter into direct contact with them. However, when the war with the Wraith began, the Lanteans left. But the outpost remained. And all the equipment in it. Besides the generator and the barracks for the outpost garrison, there was also a shield generator powered by geothermal energy."
"Very interesting and promising," I agreed. "But let's get to the point. So far, I haven't seen any downsides."
"Their planet is open to Wraith attacks," Chaya threw up her hands. "They live on a supervolcano. A kilometer of rock, two, five—a good bombardment from orbit will simply destroy that place and the planet will become uninhabitable. Technologies that are important to Atlantis will be lost."
"We have a shield, we have a ZPM..."
"And we could have had parts for the shield generator, parts for other systems, resources for processing and creating the hull plating elements we need!" Chaya said firmly. "Not to mention terminals, crystals, wiring, and much else that is there. But most importantly—it's the geothermal reactor. I have only heard of this Lantean—and exclusively Lantean—technology. This generator could provide us with energy on a household level! Power all the city's corridors, all the labs, all secondary systems! Exactly what we talked about—freeing the ZPM from external consumers!"
"Actually, we were trying to reduce the number of consumers," I reminded her. "And you wanted to do the opposite, turn everything on here."
"Because no matter how much I try to minimize consumption, I barely succeed," she explained. "The city's airtightness was compromised a long time ago. Many sections are damaged and flooded. There is already mold and fungus in the corridors and compartment piers. Turning off the life support systems there won't make things better. On the contrary, much worse. Damp, dark, low-power energy flows... Before we can fix Atlantis, it will fall to pieces! And that is only the simplest of problems! I cannot cover all the city's problems, but I do know we aren't using even one percent of its functions. We repaired one lower hangar, but there are two. I have no idea what is in the second—there is no communication with that part of the city. We have a power break and a short circuit in the power sections on the north pier, but again, I do not have the wiring to fix it!"
"You told me about the problems," I reminded her. "And we discussed ways to solve them. But why hide such a thing from me?"
"And what would you have said to me?"
"I would have told you the rig survived; in my memory it was started and even provided energy to the city," I said.
"And what about the Wraith cruiser crash? What about the thin-walled crust at the point of collision? The explosion, after all?"
"I'm sure every single bit of that was there. But I'm speaking for what I know—the rig survived and, most likely, didn't even suffer much. In the known events, it worked. But," seeing how Chaya had lit up, I shook a finger at her. "No matter how much we need that rig, we are not going to poke our noses into it while there are only four of us and no one to help us in case of failure."
"But what about the extra energy!?"
"And what about the Wraith Queen on board the cruiser, who will blow it up if we don't let her off the planet?" I inquired.
"What?" Chaya was struck with a doomed horror and, stepping back a couple of paces, collapsed into a chair. "There are living Wraith on that planet!?"
"As much as I'd like to say 'no,' it's 'yes,'" I admitted. "And a small note. That is not just a Queen—it is the Queen of the entire Wraith union, who led them to war against the Ancients..."
A deathly pallor appeared on Chaya's dark face. It seemed the Ancient was so terrified she was starting to lose the pigment responsible for skin color—melanin.
I noticed the girl's hands had begun to tremble... she was staring at one point, but she was unlikely to be seeing anything there.
"Chaya?" I called out to her. "Are you alright?"
"No," she replied in a whisper. "We are on the same planet as the Queen of Death. We're done for..."