The Other City von T L Kay
Kate sat in the briefing room after being cleared by the doctors. She looked around at the others settling in. There were her fellow Atlanteans, Elizabeth, Rodney, John; and then there was SG-1, including Jack O’Neill, who had been retired for several months. When they had all settled in they turned to Kate. She was slightly uncomfortable, she had no idea how much SG-1 knew about what had happened on M5R-279. She took a deep breath and leaned forward.
“I’ll try and make this as short and to the point as possible, so I’ll just get down to it. When the Alterans left this galaxy we originally assumed they all went to Pegasus, but this is not the case. There was a division among the Ancients about where to go. Many wanted to explore the Pegasus galaxy, but as many wanted to explore Andromeda, so they separated. As many Ancients as went in Atlantis took their other city, the space station Praesidium, and went to Andromeda. After the war with the Wraith started Praesidium became a kind of haven. Many scientists worked there to try and develop a weapon. Adrianus and his crew were on their way from Andromeda to Atlantis when their ship was struck down. They were carrying a message, that unfortunately was damaged in the crash. But it’s likely that any useful information about the Wraith would still be there.”
Daniel leaned forward, intrigued. “What can you tell us about the Goa’uld?”
Kate sighed, digging into the memories in her head that weren’t hers. “Adrianus was one of several Ancients who returned to this galaxy thousands of years before the others. They were interested to see how life had evolved since they had left. During one of his adventures Adrianus discovered the Goa’uld home world. This was well before they had begun to take hosts, in fact,” she paused, a little unsure about revealing the next little detail. She took a deep breath. “It’s their fault,” she finally said.
“What was whose fault?” asked Jack.
“The knowledge of blending, it’s the Ancients’ fault.”
“Did they ever think before they did stuff?” asked Jack.
Kate smiled weakly.
“So what happened?” Daniel asked, trying to steer the conversation back.
“Adrianus discovered a way to communicate with the Goa’uld and learned what his potential could be if he blended with one, so he did. The symbiote he took wasn’t evil, nor was it necessarily good. It gained its sense of moral code from Adrianus.”
“That’s fascinating,” started Daniel.
“Not really,” said Jack. “So this Ancient dude willingly put a snake in his head and then, what, went back to Andromeda?”
“Yes. He hoped that together they could find a way to defeat the Wraith.”
“And did they?”
“We have to go there to find out.”
“You don’t know? Shouldn’t you have all of his memories?” Jack asked skeptically.
Kate shrugged. “I haven’t gotten everything at once. And I don’t get to pick and choose what I remember. I’m hoping that going to Praesidium will trigger more memories.”
“Then that’s what we’re going to do,” said General Landry.
“What?” said Jack.
“I already discussed this with the President and with the IOA. It was their decision that if the information was credible we should begin to plan an expedition.”
“But Hank,” said Jack. “Are we really sure this info is credible? No offense Dr. Sheppard.”
“None taken,” said Kate. “All I can say to that is that you have to trust me. From all your experience with the Goa’uld you have to know that I know he was good.”
“Jack she’s right,” said Sam. “There’s no way the symbiote would be able to hide if from her if he was evil.”
“Why not, they’ve been able to hide stuff from their hosts before, just look at Jolinar.”
“But not whether they’re good or evil. That can’t be hidden.”
“Oh all right,” said Jack, giving in. “So, any thought to who’s going on this crazy adventure?”
“Well, the IOA did have some suggestions but in the end the decision is mine and the President’s.”
“And?” asked Daniel.
“You’re not going Dr. Jackson.” Daniel’s face fell. “Neither are you Dr. McKay,” Landry added at the look on Rodney’s face. “I think it would be best if we took a break. I need to talk to the President again, then we’ll see about assigning this mission.”
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