Fic: Chase the Morning {14/37}
Chapter Two: Encounter
Date: December 13, 2006
Location: Atlantis Base, Pegasus Galaxy (Alternate Reality)
It had been nearly three weeks since Jess and Anora had arrived to this mirror universe, and had so far managed to gain some trust from the Lanteans here. They still had a guard, but were allowed to roam freely, save for the Science Labs and ‘Gate Room. This meant that they spent quite a bit of time wandering the halls of Atlantis, their guard shadowing them a few paces behind at all times. Unsure what to do, they had been going through the small library of books that had been accrued, though it was always odd to find subtle differences in the literature of this reality and their own.
They were sitting alone in the Mess Hall, idly eating their lunch as they read, not really paying attention to their surroundings. When someone gently cleared their throat, Jess looked up from the pages of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which had never been written in her reality. She froze, her eyes going wide.
Oh, God. She thought, taking in the sight of the man in front of her. So far she’d been able to avoid seeing this reality’s version of Radek, but not anymore.
‘May I sit here?’ he asked, indicating the seat across from Jess.
‘I- Um, sure.’ She stammered, and he gave her a thankful smile and sat down.
‘Are you alright? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.’ Radek- No, Jess thought. Zelenka. Much better. Safer, too. - asked, looking concerned.
‘I’m fine.’ Jess replied quickly, giving him a small smile. ‘It’s just that no one’s asked to sit with me before. I’m Jess, by the way. Jess Connor.’
Zelenka nodded. ‘I know; I was one of the people who found you. I believe Rodney said that you are a Tok’ra?’
‘Yes, I am.’ She said. ‘Tell me, what are the Tok’ra like in this universe? Do they live amongst the peoples of Earth?’
Zelenka shook his head. ‘No, they do not. They have their own planet back in the Milky Way. We only found out about them eight years ago, and by all accounts, the SGC got off to a rocky start. Now we’re good allies, but there’s still a bit of hesitance on both sides. What about you?’
‘The Tok’ra have always lived among the Tau’ri.’ Anora said, coming to the fore after Jess had closed her eyes briefly to hide the eye-flash. ‘Our Queen, Egeria- may her rest be eternal- wrested power from Ra and banished him from ever coming to Earth again. The Chappa'ai was buried in Egypt and forbidden to ever be used again. It soon passed into legend and was forgotten about. At least, until 1928, when a group of archaeologists found it in Giza. The United States government received stewardship of it in 1969, and it’s been in use since 1997.’
Zelenka looked thoughtful. ‘That’s almost how it happened with us, though in our case there was a rebellion on Earth by the Ancient Egyptians who ousted Ra. They buried the ‘Gate and, well, the rest is the same. You’re Anora, right?’
‘Yes,’ Anora said, nodding.
‘When I came up, Jess seemed startled. Do you know why?’
Anora paused, biting at her lip. ‘I do, but it is personal for the both of us. Now, we have prevented you from eating your lunch. Please, feel free to eat.’
Zelenka laughed. ‘I should think I’m the one stopping you from eating. Are you enjoying that book?’
‘Yes. We only had up to Prisoner of Azkaban published when the Wraith came.’ Anora told him, glancing down at the book. ‘It is interesting to see how the series might have continued had the Wraith never arrived.’
‘It gets better with each book,’ Zelenka assured her, starting to eat his lunch. ‘I think we have the next two somewhere.’
‘Well, once we finish this one, we’ll definitely try to-’ Anora began, but was cut off when an excited scientist came rushing up to their table.
‘Doctor Zelenka!’ he said, looking as though he might fall over from sheer excitement.
‘What, Dominic?’ Zelenka replied, looking amused by the man’s enthusiasm.
‘You’ve got to come down to the Engineering Lab!’ Dominic babbled. ‘We just got a visual message from an alternate universe!’
‘What?!’ Jess snapped, quickly coming to the fore and standing up.
‘What did it say?’ Zelenka asked, getting up as well and heading off with Dominic. Jess made to follow them, but her guard stopped her.
‘But-!’ she protested, watching as the two men disappeared from view.
‘You can’t go to the Science Labs, ma’am.’ Her guard said, a frown on her face. ‘Either stay here or go to your quarters.’
Jess narrowed her eyes at the guard and then bolted, sprinting towards the transporter. She made it just before the guard, the doors closing in the other woman’s face.
Hah! She said in satisfaction to Anora. They found us!
Maybe. Anora replied as they quickly left the transporter and hurried towards the Labs. Let’s hope we can get there without being caught.
They made their way down the hall, trying their best to blend in with the other scientists. They had just made it to the Labs and had gotten inside when their guard appeared, accompanied by two other Marines. Jess darted around a knot of scientists and made it to the Main Engineering Labs. She had to hold back a sob of relief when she heard the accented voice of Radek speaking, his words rushed and frantic.
Oh, thank God! They found us!
Yes, but- Look out! Anora warned, seeing movement on the edge of their vision.
Jess turned just as the stunner blast hit her, making her crumple to the floor, Radek’s voice fading out as the world snapped to black.