Chapter Fifty-Nine: There But For The Grace Of God

Tuesday, 15th August 2000.

Aurora looked around the room as the group integrated into place. But her attention was immediately drawn away from the decor when she noticed a long black metal tube being pointed at her face by a man in a mottled green outfit.

"Stand down!" O'Neill shouted, stepping forward. "Stand down."

The men surrounding them stepped back and her brain got past the immediate shock of having an M16 pointed at her face. Having not been part of the infamous training mission, she had not seen such devices up close before. But as a muggleborn, she was definitely familiar with guns from her youth, thanks to their prevalence in pop culture.

She took the reprieve to look around and saw the room Harry had once described to her. The bare concrete walls. The slanted metal ramp leading up to the circular stargate. Large metal boxes spaced around the walls with unknown electronics contained within. All lit by harsh but even fluorescent lighting.

The sound of a heavy door opening and rushing footsteps drew her attention to the left side of the room, where several figures were entering as a final bright cloud released Harry into the room. He had beamed them all down first before finding somewhere convenient to beam the matter from the small ship into the base they were now inside.

"Easy, boys," O'Neill said again, as the guards seemed a bit twitchy to have people just appearing inside of their secret base.

The newcomers stopped in front of them and the newly arrived male with hair spoke. "You ok?" He asked.

"Fine, actually. Thanks to these folks." O'Neill replied, focusing on the bald man before them. "General Hammond, allow me to introduce the Aetherial. This is Harry, Luna, Hermione, Carson, Aurora, Neville, and Natalie." O'Neill explained, managing to introduce them all in the same order Harry had done so on the ship. Whether that was intentional or not, she couldn't be sure. She hadn't yet gotten a grasp on the man herself.

"Where is Dobby?" Teal'c asked, noticing that the house-elf had not attended with them.

"He chose to stay on Cervus for the moment. If the Colonel's reaction to him was anything to go by, we didn't want anyone accidentally shooting at him." Harry explained with a smirk that earned him a gentle prod from his girlfriend. He then turned to O'Neill. "I've placed the materials in a mostly empty space with a large doorway on the twenty-third floor. Hope that is alright."

"Ah, sure," O'Neill replied. "What's left of the 301 is on level twenty-three, General."

"What's left of it?" The blonde woman asked with more than a hint of disbelief.

"Its ballistic trajectory and uncontrollable nature prevented the ship which rescued us from safely altering course," Teal'c explained simply.

"So they blew it up and collected the pieces," O'Neill added.

"They blew it up?" The woman asked in disbelief, but the brown-haired man was staring at Harry oddly.

"Jack?" He asked, and the Colonel noticed his gaze. "Is that?"

"Seems to be."

"You can understand them."

"Indeed," Teal'c replied.

"Yes, Daniel," O'Neill said, cutting off the other man's next words. "That's fascinating and all, but if we don't mind, I've been sitting, and sweating, in a cramped, cold cockpit for the past several hours. Permission to go clean up for a debriefing, sir?" O'Neill asked, directing the question at the bald general.

"Permission granted. We'll convene in the conference room in twenty minutes." The general replied.

"Very good, sir," O'Neill replied, heading for the doorway as the three newcomers watched their group closely.

"Given Jack forgot the other side of the introductions, my name is Daniel Jackson. This is General Hammond, he runs this facility. And that is Major Samantha Carter. She was heavily involved in the X-301's creation." Daniel explained.

Aurora now understood why she seemed so upset at the news that Harry had destroyed the craft. But she definitely agreed with him that the retrofitted design was a poor idea. Who knew what other surprises might have been hidden away in its systems? Hence why they had all agreed to dissemble both the one they had recovered and the remains of the second one stored at Groom Lake. To prevent them from brute-forcing themselves back into the same situation.

"A pleasure to meet you," Luna said, giving them all a wide smile as was her usual manner.

A quick glance at those around them, however, highlighted a problem. Only Daniel seemed to have any idea what she had said.

"I think she said hello." He explained to the confused-looking General beside him. "If you will follow me, I'll take you to the conference room."

Jackson began to walk towards the same door through which they had entered the large room. They all followed in silence as they walked into the much smaller room that they had been able to see through the wide windows in the concrete wall facing the gate. Several stunned technicians were watching them as Daniel guided them towards a staircase leading up.

Aurora noticed that Harry was looking at several things in here specifically, while the others were taking in the room as a whole. She wondered just what it was about those particular points that drew his attention, but she would ask him about it later.

As they passed, a single man stood out amongst the technicians, given his pale blue shirt compared to the deep blue jumpsuits most were wearing. Daniel paused beside him.

"This is Major Davis. He works with our government and was here as a liaison during the X-301 tests. He'll be sitting in on the debriefing." He said simply, before turning to the general with a questioning look.

The general nodded, and Daniel turned back to them smiling. After a moment that seemed to drag in the silence, he once more headed towards the stairs and the group ascended into the large conference room.

It looked like a strange combination. Spartan and yet comfortable, with the same bare concrete walls and floors as below. A bank of screens sat on the wall above the stairs, with another at the right-hand side of the large room behind a small simple desk. Bright fluorescent lighting poured down from rectangular banks tucked into the odd square-latticed roof. Another staircase, this one spiralled, was tucked into the far right corner of the room, beside a large glass window that peered down into the gateroom below.

She couldn't help but smirk at the centrepiece of the room though. It was a large wooden table surrounded by comfortable-looking leather chairs. And it reminded her greatly of the conference tables they themselves used in Aether, Aedis and Atlantis.

There was an immediate problem that she noticed though. There were only eight chairs situated around the table. And they alone tallied seven. Add in who knew how many members of the SGC into this conversation and they were immediately out of seating.

"We'll, ah… fetch some more chairs," Daniel said, seemingly coming to the same conclusion quite quickly.

Aurora noted a look of mischief on the faces of Hermione and Luna as the two glanced at one another before tapping on their respective remotes. A moment later, a flare of white light spread along the wall by the window. Aurora suppressed a chuckle as a large lounge appeared along the wall, facing the table. Harry also turned to look at the girls, but they both just smiled at him and he shook his head in amusement.

"Right," Daniel said, obviously taken aback by the appearance of the item. "Make yourselves comfortable, I guess. I'll be back in a moment. There is some water over by the office. We shouldn't be long."

The man quickly ducked out through a doorway to the left of the small side table he had indicated. General Hammond passed quickly through the door to the right and closed it behind him, though he was still visible through the large window into the small room that was covered with circles and lines that Aurora certainly didn't recognize. He picked up a red phone and she turned away, not wanting to infringe on the man's privacy.

"So…" Major Carter asked, with Major Davis standing just behind her still looking at the Aetherial in disbelief. "Why did you destroy the ship?"

Harry turned to face her as Neville, Luna, Carson and Hermione headed for the couch. "As Teal'c explained, we could not turn our ship around and head for Earth with it inside. I apologize for ruining your hard work." He replied.

Natalie smiled beside him. "Teal'c has a storage device with a detailed scan of the design. I'm certain you can build another, more reliable design, with the raw materials." She turned from the now thoroughly confused woman and walked over to the couch, taking the spot at the far right.

Carter just looked at Harry and Natalie in confusion, turning to Major Davis who mirrored her confusion.

"I didn't understand a word of that." She replied.

Aurora turned to Harry and smiled before she too headed for the new couch. It would seem they would need to await the return of Jackson, O'Neill and Teal'c for any sort of communication to begin, as they had agreed not to utilize English too early in their discussions with the SGC. Planning instead to take the approach the SGC reports stated that the Nox had used. Taking their time and 'learning' the language from their hosts.

As she reached the couch, she noticed that Luna was in the process of integrating something else, this time small enough to fit on Hermione's open hands. When it finished, she noted that it was a replica of the colourful three-dimensional sigil on the wall opposite the patterned window into the general's office. A layered symbol representing the SGC.

The teen girl smirked up at her as Hermione passed it to her and she admired it for a few moments before tucking it into one of her many expanded pockets. Aurora took a seat as well, all of them bar Harry now seated and the boy soon joined them as well as Major Davis gathered up writing supplies and laid them out on the table, occasionally glancing at the supposedly advanced race that had just saved their people that were currently chilling on a couch that had spawned out of nowhere.

Jackson soon returned with an armful of books, and several others followed him in as the general opened the door to his office again, looking at them warily before he took his place at the head of the table nearest the office.

"Doctor Jackson?" He asked simply, an obvious familiarity between them as the question would have no discernible meaning otherwise.

"It's Ancient, sir. Obviously, Jack and Teal'c have a pretty firm grasp of it right now, thanks to…" The man paused, giving a shrug and a tilt of his head as if the rest was obvious. "My own familiarity is limited for the same reason. But I think we will manage for the moment."

"Actually," Neville said softly, drawing the eyes of the soldiers gathering around the table, "it's called Alteran."

"Alteran?" Jackson mimicked back and the group nodded. "OK then."

The man quickly noted that down and the general watched them cautiously. He seemed wary of a group that could not only come and go from his base without warning but had created furniture inside of it without so much as a by your leave.

Several long quiet minutes passed as more people gathered in the room. She could figure out who some of them were from the facial expressions two of the members made upon entering and spying the group on the couch. The two women quickly came over, under the watch of everyone else in the room and stopped before them.

"I am so sorry." The shorter of the two said immediately. "So very sorry."

"It's fine, Lieutenant Riley." Harry smiled up at her and gestured for her to calm down, also helping to identify which woman was which, though she did quickly notice each wore a badge on their left breast that bore their last names. "It was an accident and I am perfectly fine. Hermione's the one you should talk to. She gets upset when I get hurt."

For a moment, Hermione looked like she wanted to yell at the women before she sighed and nodded. "It is fine."

"This is them?" General Hammond asked the two women from his seat at the table.

"Yes, general. These are the people we met on 888." The one whose name tag identified her as Sergeant Mawes added.

Hammond nodded and turned to Jackson. "Ah, they seemed to say it's alright. That it was an accident."

"If Harry held a grudge, we would not be here. But that's not who he is." Luna added, with a smile at Harry, who was beginning to go a little red from the attention.

Jackson once again relayed the words to those at the table and Riley seemed to relax significantly. Harry gestured for her to take a seat at the nearby table as O'Neill and Teal'c finally rejoined the group. O'Neill took the seat to Hammond's right and Teal'c sat towards the end on the side facing the Aetherial on their couch.

"Looks like you've made yourselves at home," O'Neill said, and Aurora noticed he seemed to have just run through a shower and changed his clothing. Now he and Teal'c matched the others in the room, wearing the green fatigues of the others, with the exception of General Hammond and Major Davis in their much neater uniforms.

"Alright, people. Let's get this started." Hammond said, and those milling around fell quiet. SG-1 and the two members of SG-15 sat around the table, watching them sitting on their couch, surely looking more like a bunch of relaxed teenagers than any advanced civilization.

Davis took the seat to Hammond's left, and the last couple of spaces were filled by some of the others who had been standing about the room. A few of those gathered headed over to stand by the doors, and Aurora noticed a similar aspect on all of their uniforms. They were guarding the room, and several of them continuously glanced in their direction.

Hammond looked at them for a moment before he spoke. "Firstly, I want to thank you for returning our people to us safely."

Harry nodded in reply. "You're most welcome." He said, which made O'Neill smile before he allowed Jackson to translate.

"I think the next thing to address has to relate to our prototype. Colonel O'Neill said that you destroyed it. Can you explain why?"

Most of them turned to Harry, as it seemed he was willing to act as their voice on this occasion. And while they had come to an agreement earlier that the vessel was more of a risk to the SGC than a boon, it had been Harry's suggestion to simply break it down.

"Cervus is a tough ship. I made her that way. But given we could not be certain that your craft wouldn't suddenly fire up and crash around the hangar bay if we altered course, or worse explode if we started messing with it, we elected to break it down into its base materials and return it to you."

Jackson and Teal'c translated the statement, and Harry waited patiently as those around the table noted down what was being said.

"The technicians have looked into the room in which you placed the materials. They inform me that it is not in pieces, but piles of ingots."

"I said that we broke it down," Harry said as if it were obvious.

"How," O'Neill asked, seeming to figure that Harry was misunderstanding their question.

"With the matter converter," Natalie replied simply, heading off a deep discussion on the technology. "Now you have the raw materials you need to try and build your own design. Teal'c should still have the scans we made of the retrofitted one."

The large man reached into his pocket and withdrew the device that Natalie had given him earlier, passing it along the table to Major Carter. She examined it but could not find any connection point. "How does it…"

"It should be able to connect to one of your WiFi devices," Natalie explained, and Jackson translated. Though he appeared to be having trouble with some of the words, occasionally having to consult one of the many books in front of him.

Seeming to detect that they were trying to lead the group away from asking detailed questions about the technology, Hammond tried a new approach. "Alright then. About the incident that occurred on P3X-888…"

"Not to worry, General." Carson interrupted. "Harry here was right as rain. There isn't even a scar."

Harry smiled at both Carson and her, indicating his thanks for their quick, if ultimately unnecessary efforts. She was still amazed at his ability to forgive though. If Aurora had been shot, she doubted she'd be in a hurry to make friends with the people who did it.

Harry spoke up again. "We do not hold a grudge over something that was an accident. We were all taken by surprise by the Unas. Not an ideal way to meet, but it left us all a little wiser from the encounter."

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and Aurora could tell she was uncomfortable with the topic, even now. But Harry was correct, they had learned a lot from the incident, and improved several of their methods and equipment as a result.

"As simple as that?" Hammond asked after the three men from SG-1 translated the statement together.

Harry gave a single nod once again, not bothering to speak this time.

Hammond turned to O'Neill and the Colonel shrugged. O'Neill turned back to look at them and spoke. "Lazaria."

Harry gave a short chuckle at the face the elder man was fixing him with, and it was clear this was the topic that O'Neill most wanted to address.

"Lazaria?" Jackson asked, unsure of what the significance was.

Harry paused, looking at the rest of them as if seeking some sort of advice. But as Aurora had been uninvolved in the weapons test above the small moon, she could not help him here.

"Lazaria was… We'd recently finished building a new class of ship and had been looking for a chance to test it out under real-world conditions. When we detected a Goa'uld ship approaching Lazaria alone, we decided it would make a suitable test. A few of us boarded Vir and jumped into the system. It was our first space encounter with the Goa'uld and we were uncertain how things would proceed. I have since been informed I made a few mistakes that day, such as allowing you to believe the weapons you saw came from the planet." Harry said, pausing as he considered his next words while they were translated for him.

"You saved our lives." Lieutenant Riley said, seeming to realize the importance of their efforts that day. "Most of us, at least. Thank you."

The confused looks that the Aetherial were giving the soldiers seemed to spur Hammond to speak. "We had a few casualties that day. But the way I understand it, if you had not intervened we would have lost a lot more. You have our gratitude."

Aurora didn't know Harry that well yet, given she had been trapped on Earth for the past four months. It wouldn't be obvious to the soldiers around them, but even she could tell from a glance and the way Hermione grasped his hand, that Harry was upset that they had simply left after the battle was done, rather than seeing if those on the moon required any assistance. He would likely blame himself for those casualties going forward. He took on so much that wasn't truly his fault.

"So there was never any weapon located on Lazaria?" Carter queried, seeming to become more and more frustrated with their group as they interfered in one after another of her works.

"Sorry, but no. Vir is a spaceship. A very heavily armed spaceship." Harry apologized.

"Well, it was still culturally significant," Jackson argued, though very few others at the table seemed to share his enthusiasm for what they now deemed a great deal of wasted time. "And the Lazarians were immensely grateful. It had been almost a generation since the Goa'uld had visited their world. Had you not intervened, they would be suffering greatly right now."

"That is one of the reasons why we placed a defence satellite in orbit around Lazaria. To protect them against further attack." Harry paused for a moment, considering his next words before continuing. "And as we hope to be honest with you, one in orbit around Earth as well."

"What?" Several voices asked.

"You placed a weaponized satellite in orbit around our planet?" Hammond asked, seemingly very put out.

"Yes." Harry replied without hesitation. "After the whole time loop mess, where neither we nor the Asgard could contact or approach the planet for four months, and knowing of more than one attempt to conquer the planet by the Goa'uld and the Replicators, we decided Earth could use the additional protection. Something we're gradually providing to all of the planets under the protection of the Asgard, to help shore up that treaty."

"If you have placed such a device in orbit, why can we not detect it?" Teal'c questioned.

Aurora knew that several of her companions were suppressing smirks at that question.

"For the same reason you could not detect the Biliskner," Hermione explained this time, "and cannot now detect Cervus. Our ships and technology are invisible to your methods of detection. You could be staring directly at the satellite and you would not notice it. But you need not worry. The satellite cannot be hacked, and it cannot fire at the planet itself. It's simply there to ward off unfriendly vessels. And is capable of doing so at a substantial range."

"Isn't that dangerous, with our own satellites and space program?" O'Neill enquired.

"A single satellite couldn't possibly provide coverage for the entire population of a planet the size and population spread of Earth simultaneously," Carter argued, ignoring the Colonel's query.

Noting that a few of their audience still doubted their word, Aurora raised her arm and tapped a command into her remote. In front of their couch, a hologram appeared showing Vir's very short encounter with the Goa'uld spacecraft. In which it was extremely evident that Vir was dominating the encounter. When the laser beam lanced from the front of the ship and carved through the Goa'uld vessel, several of the soldiers gasped, while others looked immensely pleased.

"The satellite can fire four such beam weapons simultaneously, in multiple directions." Harry narrated. "And is protected at close range by the plasma turrets. It will detect incoming vessels at a considerable range, dozens of light-years at least, and is self-guiding for the most part, but will also follow our direct instruction. We can control it from any of our facilities and move it wherever it is needed around the planet to fend off an invading force long enough to deploy more agile defences if required. And those features will also automatically keep it clear of any of your own satellites or ships. However, it is shielded heavily, so I would advise against trying to locate it."

It took a few moments for the comments to be translated, and as the hologram vanished, Hammond asked. "So, you oppose the Goa'uld?"

"We definitely oppose their methods. Enslaving an entire galaxy of people for their own self-aggrandizing needs." Harry explained. "After experiencing their techniques for ourselves…" Harry paused again and looked at Luna, and Aurora knew he was considering the awful torture device that had been used on the girl. "We consider ourselves their enemies. Though I don't think they yet realize that."

Those gathered around the table seemed very pleased by the statement, especially Davis, Hammond and O'Neill.

"However." Harry continued, silencing them all. "While we find this world to be valuable, and will work to see it remains safe, we do have other concerns that require our attention. As with our mutual friends the Asgard, we cannot and will not always be around to intervene. While we all worry about Earth, we are busy dealing with things in Pegasus as well."

"Pegasus?" Teal'c asked, raising one eyebrow curiously.

"It is a nearby dwarf galaxy. And there is an enemy there that could pose a far greater threat to humanity than the Goa'uld." Hermione explained.

As Jackson translated the statement, Carter seemed especially curious. "You have the ability to travel readily between galaxies?" Though there was an audible amount of doubt in her words as well. She had read some of the notes on SG-1 in their database, and she knew for a fact that Major Carter had been aboard two Asgard ships capable of making such journeys before. One of which had actually made two intergalactic trips with her aboard.

Natalie was clearly thinking along similar lines, smirking at the woman as she responded. "Yes. Vir is an intergalactic spaceship, as we explained. It takes a couple of days, but we can indeed travel between galaxies."

Luna sighed at the continuing disbelief visible around the table, despite the advancements they'd already shown to the group. She tapped on her remote, causing everyone at the table to pull back in shock as a new hologram appeared above the large wooden table this time. Everyone present could recognize the Milky Way as it swirled in the centre of the image, but soon more galaxies began appearing around it.

Luna stood and walked over to the table, pointing at the Milky Way. "Avalon." Then to the Andromeda Galaxy. "Ida." And finally to Pegasus. "Pegasus."

"Wait," Jackson said in amazement, not needing to translate the names as Luna sat once more. "Are you saying that the Andromeda galaxy is the Asgard home galaxy?"

"So far as we know. We've only ever travelled there by Stargate to date." Neville replied and Harry blushed at the fact he'd thought they were headed there after the party.

"Same here," O'Neill added, rubbing his head.

"You should avoid using a repository again, Colonel," Carson warned. "Human physiology is not quite ready for millions of years of information to be dumped into their brains. Not the greatest design choice to dump all of it at once. Few are."

Both Hammond and Teal'c were now watching them with an air of suspicion.

"How is it you have such detailed knowledge of our technology and actions?" Hammond asked.

Harry sighed before he answered. "Because we have ways of accessing your mission reports."

This definitely changed the atmosphere in the room. "How?"

"For that, I should apologize. I believe I gave your staff quite the shock that day. But we needed your gate offline for a while. So, for that, I am sorry."

"That was you?" Teal'c asked, his eyes still drifting back over to Luna periodically.

"Sorry. We needed to borrow your Beta gate for the day." Harry apologized again, pointing over his shoulder at what the SGC assumed to be that very gate, and both the SGC personnel and several of the Aetherial were looking at him. Harry was going to have some explaining to do with his own people for straight out revealing that to the SGC. "We've been aware of you, and watching for some time. But as Luna said, we're still pretty new around here. We tried to be as unobtrusive as we could. And we have intentionally stayed out of your way on several matters."

"And have cleaned up a couple as well," Hermione added, seeming to have moved past her frustration at her boyfriend outing their previous visit and joining the discussion. "Such as the numerous Replicators that were not destroyed by the de-orbiting of the Biliskner."

"They survived that?" Carter asked after Jackson translated the statement. "Even the gate was destroyed."

"Actually, we recovered it. After destroying the few complete models that survived the de-orbiting." Harry replied. "You will find that the gates are extremely hardy. These models are anyway.

"Mostly, back then, we were focused on dealing with an enemy from the Alteran home galaxy. It took us some time to manufacture the device we needed, and those efforts required encroaching on your territory. We apologize, and will certainly try not to interfere like that again. I have had those 'older and wiser than I' meddle in my life far too much to be willing to do it to others on a regular basis." He explained.

The room went silent for a moment as everyone seemed to digest what Harry had just divulged. However, Aurora noticed that Teal'c still seemed to be fixated on Luna for some reason. And it piqued her curiosity.

"What is it, Teal'c?" Aurora asked, watching the man closely.

His face was nigh inscrutable, but his focus did not waver. "I do not wish to accuse without cause." He replied. "However…"

"However, 'Junior' can detect other symbiotes," Luna replied, turning to face the man as O'Neill smirked at the Junior reference before he seemed to parse the statement and his face fell.

"What other symbiote?" Jackson asked, turning to Teal'c.

"You need not worry," Carson replied. "Isis is completely suppressed right now. Which is why it took you so long to even feel her presence."

"Isis?" Jackson said with a curious tone.

"She's a Goa'uld?" Hammond asked, somewhat angrily and several of the guards' hands went towards their weapons.

"No." Hermione replied firmly. "A Goa'uld symbiote made the mistake of attempting to take her as a host. But our Luna is fairly unique and decided not to cooperate. This allowed us to develop the halo she is wearing which helps with her natural ability to contain the creature and keep her own mind."

Hermione shuffled closer to Luna and placed her arm around the girl. She also laid her other hand on the holster on her thigh, subtly suggesting that the soldiers drop their line of questioning.

"For now," Harry added, clearly trying to defuse the sudden hostility in the room, "we are studying Isis. The people we come from have had no interaction with the Goa'uld before this that we are aware of, and thus we need to study them to truly understand what we would be fighting. You are completely safe from her. You have my word. If Luna's control should slip and Isis were to take over, she would be stunned instantly by the halo. There is no threat."

Aurora noticed that Carter had closed her eyes and was thinking on something hard before she looked up at Luna in surprise as well. Aurora recalled the information that Idun had shared when Luna had first been taken host. That the female member of SG-1 had once been host to a Tok'ra symbiote. Evidently, that had left some sort of mark behind that allowed her to detect Isis as well, now she knew to look for it.

Turning to look at the girl, she noticed none of her usual airiness. Apparently, she was not feeling very welcome here anymore.

Harry too seemed to have noticed the change in the room, and he did not look pleased. He was immensely protective of his friends and family. Even from things like this, and she worried this might go poorly with Hermione's attention focused on Luna as well.

Yet he surprised her by simply closing his eyes and taking several slow breaths.

"It seems we may have worn out our welcome for today. We shall leave you to deliberate on matters." He tapped on his remote and a small item beamed into place on the conference table in front of Jackson. "This device will enable you to contact Merlin. He will always be around, but he is limited in what he can do. However, he can pass any message you may have onto us, no matter what galaxy we may be in at the time. And I will ask him to contact you with a detailed breakdown of our language, Dr Jackson. Hopefully, it might help us ease any further communication between us."

"Merlin. As in Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?" Jackson replied, before translating the rest of the statement for the others at the table.

"Exactly," Natalie replied, not expounding on the comment at all.

Harry sighed heavily, glancing at each of the Aetherial in turn and getting a subtle nod of agreement. The feeling in the room was soured by their belief that Luna might be an enemy agent. With a nod to those at the table, Harry engaged the beam again and they vanished from the base, couch and all.

Aurora considered the conversations they had just completed. As far as intentional contact went, it could have been better. But it also could have gone a lot worse. As they had seen in the past.

"Well," She said softly as the group stood from the couch and Hermione guided Luna out of the room and towards the girl's quarters. "I supposed that Padma might warm up to the SGC a bit once she hears about that last exchange."

Harry gave her a small smile and she knew he took the comment as it was intended. But he did not speak as he followed the two girls out of the room.

ϟ

Sunday, 20th August 2000.

Carson helped to ease Elizabeth into the chair, tucking it firmly under the table before he circled it and took his own seat to her right.

As incredible as it was to visit wonders like Aedis and Atlantis, it was a treat to be back amongst the hustle and bustle of life on Earth. The outdoor seating section of the D.C. eatery was as busy as any he'd ever seen. Various young folk decked out in grey and blue outfits bedecked with a large bulldog were everywhere. In other corners, he noted what he was sure were politicians having some quiet meeting away from their usual haunts. Tourists decked out in a world's worth of various attires were eagerly discussing where they would head next on their journeys, in dozens of different languages.

He could see why Elizabeth would choose such a lively place to come and eat for lunch before they were due to head back across the pond. By the time that they finished up their late lunch, his mother would be back home from her own evening events, given the five-hour time difference between the two locations. Something they had not needed to consider for some time now.

Carson turned to Elizabeth and gave her a warm smile, which she returned. "It's a lovely place, this. So alive."

She ducked her head quietly, simply nodding her agreement. He knew she had been enjoying her return to the planet of her birth, and particularly her time with Jack West and his friends and family. But she seemed apprehensive at being here all of a sudden. Despite the location being her own choice.

Carson picked up his menu and tried to cheer her up in his usual fashion. "So… you're the one with the experience. What's good?" He asked, with a broad smile on his face. It had been a while since he'd had true cause to speak English again and he was greatly enjoying using it once more. As fascinating as the Aetherial's adopted language was.

She caught his eye and smiled. "I was always particularly partial to the lamb chops. Though today, it has been so long that I believe I'll have the half-smoke." She closed her eyes for a moment and was lost in a memory, and Carson smiled at seeing her so.

"Here you go." A voice sounded from a few tables behind Carson, but he ignored it, simply glancing over the menu and checking the items Elizabeth had mentioned.

"Thank you, Simon." Another voice replied, and Carson froze as his eyes flicked to Elizabeth, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Carson refused to turn around and look in the direction of the voice, knowing it would only draw attention. Instead, his focus was dominated by the forlorn look now decorating the face of his companion.

Her eyes were fixed in the direction he'd heard the voices, and he could tell why. Despite the changes age had wrought, he still recognized the voice of his current companion. It was suddenly very clear why she had insisted on this location for their meal, and why she had suggested a late lunch.

Carson knew that the others, especially Hermione, would be worried by their actions now. She had moaned about the dangers of messing with time often during the loop, once they had learned what it was. But getting up and leaving now without drawing attention would be a lot harder than it seemed, given the elderly Elizabeth's mobility difficulties.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

Elizabeth nodded slowly, but her eyes did not move from their targets over his shoulder. The woman was clearly mourning the life that was being lived by her younger self right in front of her eyes. A dangerous side effect of her unintentional time travel. One that they had enabled with her treatment and the fact that the Aetherial had the ability to travel back and forth between galaxies even easier than they could catch a cab from here to the nearby Washington Monument.

The voices sounded again, greeting a few others that had arrived at their table and tears began to well in Elizabeth's eyes as she watched.

"Elizabeth?" Carson asked again.

This time, the woman tore her gaze away from the sight hidden away behind him. He could practically see her thoughts rushing at a million miles an hour in her eyes. The pain of an entire lost life. A love lost to scientific curiosity. A youth she would likely never again experience outside of a simulated environment.

He placed his hand gently atop her own as it rested on the table and that seemed to spur some action out of Elizabeth once more.

"I'll be fine, Carson. Thank you." She finally said, the words wrapped in emotion as she spoke. "We should order."

Carson carefully looked around them to ensure their conversation was still secret before he spoke. "I won't tell the others," he said, catching her eye as she summoned the waiter. "But we can't ever do this again."

"I know. I just… needed to see them, just once." She replied, giving him a warm smile.

"I understand."

The conversation ended as the waiter arrived and took their orders. Elizabeth occasionally glanced at the other table, where the occupants were talking back and forth. Every now and then one of them would laugh at some comment or other.

Carson was worried for Elizabeth at first, but the longer the meal went on, the more her resolve seemed to solidify. She had made some decision that she wasn't sharing right now. But they would definitely discuss it later on. Once they returned to Atlantis directly from Aether after they had finished their evening spent with his mum.

Hopefully, she would keep until then.

ϟ

Wednesday, 23rd August 2000.

Harry felt weird.

Of all the things he had experienced in his short life so far, this was definitely up there amongst the strangest. Entering a fully digital environment… just felt off. It had taken him most of the party to realize what it was that had been so odd about it, but eventually, he had figured it out, drawing a smirk from his girlfriend beside him when he had told her.

He couldn't feel his magic.

Just glancing at Hermione's face now had been enough to know that this had spawned an entire world of research that she was intending to pursue. If they could not feel their magic inside this space, did that mean that it was somehow separate from their minds in their bodies? Did the digital environment somehow pull them out of their bodies and into it's grasp? Would there be a way to allow magic inside...?

A cough from nearby drew his attention away from Hermione and back to the front of the large gathering. It was slightly humbling to see the entire crew gathered together for the first time. Though none of them now wore anything he would expect to see a starship crew wearing.

Instead, he assumed most of their clothing was some variation of Lantean formal wear. Which both mirrored Earth's attire and yet looked nothing like it at the same time. Though he considered that some did appear a little closer to the outfits worn during the Yule Ball several years before.

Harry forced himself not to glance again at Hermione's wonderful dress, which was in the same colour as her attire had been that night. It was clear that Seber had drawn everyone's attention for a reason. And he owed the man his focus.

The captain was looking out over the large space in which they were all standing. A deep look of pride was evident on his features. The very last of the crew that were transferring across had been imported into the city this very morning, now totalling two hundred and fifty-seven.

This meant that more than fifty of the faces in this crowd would soon disappear, never to be seen again. As they had elected to leave the environment the old-fashioned way once this celebration was complete. And yet, that didn't seem to darken the spirits of the rest of the crew. They had been saying their goodbyes over the months it had taken to import those who wished into the city.

"I can't begin to tell you all how incredibly proud I am of you," Seber said at long last, seemingly having settled his nerve. "For the longest time, we wanted nothing more than to return to Atlantis, before we became so lost in our own creation. Caught up in the imaginings and fantasies of centuries. And yet now, here we are. Back home. To find that things have changed so completely."

There were many nods from the crew, and several of those choosing to remain inside this environment aboard the Aurora gave the Aetherial, standing off to the left, glances that Harry was unable to clearly interpret.

"My thanks, and I would hope yours as well, go to those who plucked us from the depths of space and gave us hope of new life." Seber continued, indicating their group and drawing all eyes to them for a moment. Harry was incredibly uncomfortable with the praise. He had never liked being noticed for doing the right thing. At least his Quidditch wins were a direct result of intentionally honed skill. Rather than luck and fortuitous timing. "I will never be able to repay them for saving so many of us from certain death."

He paused again for several moments. "To those of you who have chosen to move on, I wish you the best in whatever the next life turns out to be for us. I know a few of you have been studying the information our friends have provided, and I hope you succeed in your efforts. Know that I will miss you all regardless. And it has been my greatest honour to serve with you all.

"While we may not have yet achieved the victory we had hoped to return to, we can celebrate the work we did and the lives we saved with our efforts. Even if many of those lives will never know of our struggles. But I assure you all that we, and the Aurora, will be remembered."

As he said this, Luna moved her hands behind her back and Harry couldn't help but notice the movement at the edge of his eyeline. Before he could formulate a querying eye in her direction, a large field of energy shimmered into place out to the right of the gathering, towering over everyone present.

Harry smiled at the sight as it solidified into being. A copy of the memorial that Luna and those in the Palace had finally settled on.

"This is the final design of the memorial that shall be built in the coming days in the capital of our saviours. Every single member of our crew is named on its surface. And it will be built from reclaimed material from Aurora herself. So that she will live forever, and we will be known. Our efforts immortalized."

Everyone present gave a cheer before the crew all turned to Seber and gave him what Harry now recognized as the Lantean salute. He too copied the action, the others by his side copying him. The action seemed to deeply affect the man standing before them all.

"Thank you. For your service, and companionship, all these years. Again, I could not be more proud of you all."

He stepped off of the small stage and began to mingle with the crew. Some of whom headed over to inspect the memorial. While others made a beeline for Seber, to have a final word with him.

As the music started up again, Harry was pulled onto the dance floor once again, this time by Luna and he quickly became lost in the renewed frivolity of the event. He had danced first with Hermione during the early minutes of the night, and then with several of the crew members of the Aurora that wanted to show their appreciation for their efforts. It had become too easy to lose track of time both then and now. Until Lia, with whom he was now sharing a dance, looked over his shoulder and pulled away with a smile.

"Captain." She said, and Harry turned to see the man watching them.

"Good to see you enjoying yourselves." He replied, before focusing his attention towards Harry. "It is time."

The joy of the moment was immediately quashed by the seriousness on the man's face. And Harry knew exactly what he meant.

A chime filled the air and all of the crew seemed to know what it meant, gathering once more, this time around the memorial. They hemmed in a smaller group of fifty-six. Those who were moving on.

The smaller group looked out at the gathered faces around them and gave another salute. As a collective, the inner group closed their eyes and then disappeared from the environment for good. Harry had no way of knowing for sure if any of them achieved ascension in the process as the environment did not show their forms changing into energy as Moros had. They were simply there one moment and gone the next.

Seber seemed particularly bothered by the loss. Harry knew how he felt, having lost people he cared deeply about far too many times in his life. No matter how hard he tried to save some of them.

"It never gets easier," Seber said softly as the crowd that remained broke apart once more, splitting into small groups milling about here and there. "But with that complete, I suppose that my time has come as well."

He turned to Harry and extended his hand. Harry held his own out in return and the two shook. While it seemed to anyone looking to be no more than a simple gesture, it was the command they had programmed that would shut off the Aurora's control access program. As none remaining behind now were capable of flying the ship safely. Being mostly made up of support crew who had no intention of ever leaving the environment.

"Will you do me the honour of enacting the command, High Councilor?" Seber asked, being especially formal. He would likely be the last of the crew to ever partake of the mind transfer.

"Of course," Harry replied, all the prior joy of the occasion having vanished for him now. "I will see you tomorrow, in Atlantis. Welcome home, Captain."

Seber nodded and stepped away, watching his crew enjoy their time together as he waited for the experience that had only been described to him until now. Harry caught Hermione's eye and she nodded at him before he closed his own and he felt the connection end.

His pod extended outwards and he extricated himself from the opening. He had known the request was coming, so had picked a pod very close to where Seber's body lay. The presently empty city had already been configured and was awaiting the transfer. All Harry had to do was enter the command string into the panel above the pod he was now standing over.

He could feel the weight of it all resting on his shoulders. This would be the two hundred and fifty-eighth crew member to import into the Mind Palace. They had just witnessed the fifty-six that chose oblivion pass on, even though their now deceased bodies still lay nearby. The powerful stasis chambers, fueled by the still practically new potentia would maintain them as they were for thousands of years to come. Plenty of time for them to decide what to do with the dead.

Adding in the six that had died in the time since they had first located the ship and that left only eighty-six residing in the environment. Choosing the dream over a chance for future life. Not that he begrudged them that decision. Sometimes he wished he could have made such a choice and avoided all the pain he had endured in his short life so far.

In total, of the five hundred and thirty-two Lanteans that originally set out from Atlantis on the secret mission ten thousand years before, one hundred and eighty-eight of them had now died. And Harry was mourning the deaths of them all. Just as he had all those that had died during the War they had fought a few years earlier.

Over two hundred and fifty lives that he had failed to save.

A pair of arms encircled Harry from behind and he did not need to turn to know it was Hermione.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

He just nodded silently, looking down at the ancient face of the man he was about to 'save'. Someday, they might figure out how to use their technology to return him to another body, but Harry was about to kill this one. At its owner's request.

"It's a lot." He whispered.

Hermione pressed a soft kiss to his neck. "I know. But there is no one I know stronger than you Harry. And this is what they want."

"I know. But in a way, I do this and the Aurora dies. No Captain. No active crew. A shell floating in space. No, a tomb. Preserving the dead bodies of a civilization I like to pretend we have any hope of one day matching."

Hermione slid around his side, lifting his arm over her shoulder and tucking tightly into him as he instinctively pulled her closer.

"We have already begun the journey. And we have chosen you to help lead us down that path. They have too." She added, nodding at the nearby pod. "I know that you can handle such a task. And I will be by your side throughout it all. I swear it, for all time, Harry."

She kissed him properly, and Harry felt a swell of love in his heart for her. Always by his side, no matter the insanity he got himself into.

"I love you." He said softly.

"And I love you." She replied, a happy smile on her features that made her glow even in the dim lighting of the ship. "Are you good?"

Harry nodded and turned back to the pod. With a quivering finger, Harry hit the command to commence the transfer. And with that act, he hollowed the once great craft into nothing more than a memory.

END OF BOOK FOUR.

A/N: And so we come to the end of Book Four. That Loop really swallowed it whole.

There will be a break, as usual, before I begin posting Book Five as I want to try and get the ending to Elfish Welfare written and posted. As that story has been nine months without a new chapter and yet is so close to being completed.

I can't give any sort of ETA yet as to when Book Five will start going up, but I will be posting in all the usual places once it does. Thanks for reading so far.