"Better start from the beginning," Colonel Sheppard had said while the Starfleet personnel, at least those from Earth, where dumbfoundedly staring at AR-1. Tuvok and B'Ellana, the two aliens who studied at Starfleet Academy during their time at Earth had heard about Atlantis, and the two of them looked at each other with only B'Ellana showing some measure of surprise. However, Neelix and Kes, were the only ones with no idea why their fellow officers where so stunned at learning about their destination.

And it was Neelix who asked that particular question.

"In ancient Earth mythology," Chakotay, the archaeologist among them, spoke up while staring in surprise at AR-1, "it's a city that was supposedly inhabited by a technologically advanced civilization. One day, mysteriously, it vanished. The popular theory was that it disappeared beneath the ocean after a massive quake."

"I read that it was supposed to have been close to San Terini," B'Ellana added while Chakotay nodded.

"Well," Colonel Sheppard said leaning forward, "the stories are kind of true. Except for the whole San Tarini bit."

But before anyone could ask anymore questions, it was the Captain who spoke up… her voice relaying her disbelief, "Colonel, I suppose it would be best if you began from the beginning."

The Colonel nodded his head before telling the assembled group about the Alterrans who left their galaxy to flee the Ori. He told them the less detailed story; that the Alterra arrived at the Milky Way, they seeded Stargates throughout the galaxy for faster transportation of goods and people, and they built up an empire as well as collaborated with three other benevolent races to form the Alliance of Four Great Races. Then McKay stepped in and told them about the galactic plague, and the need to flee the galaxy for their own survival.

"So, they built a City-Ship and named it Atlantis," he said, and then stopped as the Starfleet officers stared at him. Neelix and Kes looked at each other in stunned silence while Tuvok stared at them with his arms resting on the table with his hands joined together in a steeple shape. The Captain, Kim, and Chakotay leaned back on their seats in contemplative silence. The silence remained for a few seconds while they sorted through the information they had been given before B'Ellana spoke.

"So, these Alterrans left for Pegasus to flee this plague?" the half Klingon woman asked.

"Our records show that trillions died," McKay said recalling the database of the dead that was discovered in Atlantis last year, "so the others had to leave before they died. And as far as we know, after they left, a weapon they built activated. It was designed to destroy any target to its component elements. So, they destroyed all life in the galaxy so that the plague could be eradicated."

Janeway and Chakotay glanced at each other silently, their minds trying to come to grips with what these people were saying.

Captain Janeway was leaned back on her chair as she rubbed her chin, her eyes drifting over the newcomers and then overs her own crew. She could see the stunned look on everyone but Tuvok – then again, she expected Tuvok to show little to now emotion.

'But still, a race of aliens using a weapon that could destroy all life in a galaxy,' Janeway thought, 'if a hostile race got hold of this technology,' Janeway tried not to shudder as she thought about what hostile races like the Borg could do if this particular piece of technology existed in their reality. Janeway turned her head towards Chakotay who had furrowed his eyebrows together, 'we have our own theories about how life spread throughout the galaxy, I wonder how similar the stories are with each other.' Janeway made a mental note to compare the theories of how life was seeded among the star in their own database with that of what they were being told by AR-1.

Without interrupting what Colonel Sheppard was telling them, the Voyager crew listened closely until it McKay told them that the Atlantis Expedition was formed to find the mystical city following an attack on Earth. The attack was centred on Antarctica, Janeway listened intently, but it was repealed.

Janeway glanced at her crew mindful of the fact that AR-1 didn't tell them how the attack was repelled that day. Just that it was, 'a powerful weapon that destroyed an entire fleet of ships'. Again, Janeway wondered what would happen if that particular weapon was capture by a hostile force, 'since Earth isn't united in this reality, judging by the individual flags on their sleeves, then there is the risk that hostile nations could take this weapon for themselves.' Janeway then, while Colonel Sheppard was talking about their first year in Atlantis, thought, 'but then again they are still here. Earth hasn't fallen thanks to internal struggles over alien technology and the existence of alien life.'

"Do they know?" Janeway asked staring at Colonel Sheppard, "do the people of Earth know about the Stargate? About what's out there?"

"Not yet," the Colonel said resting his arms on the table, "the President will be addressing a joint assembly of the United Nations in six months. That's when everyone will know the truth."

"That's going to be a surprise," Chakotay said as he recalled his Earth's history.

"Actually, I know I should ask Woolsey about this but it would be great to know how you guys did your own Disclosure Day," Colonel Sheppard asked sheepishly. He could see that the Captain was about to say something, but he spoke first instead, "we've already had someone from another team travel accidentally to an alternate reality."

"Another reality?" Tuvok asked.

"Accidentally?" Neelix leaned forward with confusion on his face.

"How do you accidentally travel to another reality?" Kim asked while Kes stared at the Colonel, Teyla, and then McKay who was still eating his protein bar; they looked as if this was simply just another day on the job. Kes, and the others, listened as the Colonel explained Colonel Samantha Carter's jaunt to an alternate reality where the Stargate Program was revealed… but that led to a dictatorial type of government in the US and several other nations.

"And I read about the time when there were alternate reality versions of SG-1 that came through the Stargate."

"Excuse me?" Paris asked with his left eyebrow arched up.

"I think… yeah… about twenty teams from different realities," Colonel Sheppard said, "that's my favourite report to read. Anyway, the good thing is that we got them home."

"What we're trying to say," Teyla interrupted, "is that we'll do everything we can to send you back home to your reality."

Janeway didn't know what to think as she leaned back on her seat. They were stuck in another reality, and these people were talking about alternate realities as if it was nothing. Shaking her head, she pushed back her thought about Atlantis and the attitude about the three of them before speaking once again, "Colonel Sheppard, what can you tell us about this hyperspace tunnel? Colonel Hawking mentioned something about asking your superiors if they could give us an engine. I was hoping you could tell us more about…" the Captain nodded her head backwards towards the window behind her, "hyperspace."

"That's what I would like to know as well," B'Ellana said leaning forward, placing her arms on the table, "how much power is needed to achieve hyperspace flight? How fast does it go? And…"

"I'll have to stop you there," chuckled the Colonel as he raised both hands, "I'm not the sciency one on our team." He then nodded towards McKay who just finished eating the protein bar, "he's the head scientist on Atlantis, he can give you the technical details. But what I can tell you is that this is a different region of subspace, and the Talon wasn't towing Voyager, then we would be over Atlantis in about four to five hours."

"I see," Janeway whispered while the Starfleet officers mumbled to each other. She glanced at the surprise on Chakotay's face, Paris and Kim were leaning towards B'Ellana who were whispering at them with eyes wide open in surprise, and Neelix and Kes were staring at AR-1 silently."

But before anyone had any follow-up questions, the Colonel then added, "this ship can travel between Atlantis and Earth in anywhere between 5 days to a week."

"Excuse me?" Janeway said in disbelief, 'can't be that fast. Warp from Pegasus to the Milky Way would take… more time than I could even think about without getting sick.'

"And once the Gate bridge is reopened," McKay added, "the travel time can be cut down to an hour."

Janeway and Chakotay stared at each other, both in disbelief at what they heard. In the meantime, B'Ellana leaned back on her seat with eyes wide open in stunned silence. All the mumbling stopped. It was suddenly very quiet in the Briefing Room – even Kim and Paris shut up while staring at McKAy, while Tuvok raised an eyebrow. He and the Captain already heard from Colonel Hawking and the medical staff sent from the Talon that Hyperspace was fast, but they never realized how fast.

'Then it can be inferred the power requirements for hyperspeed are enormous,' the Vulcan thought to himself as he stared at his fingers pressed against each other into a steeple, 'so what power source are they using?'

Before Tuvok can ask anything, it was the stunned B'Ellana who spoke up first.

"How… how long would it take to travel seventy-five thousand light years?"

"At full power?" McKay asked, "or at cruising speed?"

"Both," B'Ellana said.

"One to three hours depending on how much you push the engines," McKay said.

"That… that means we can be home in hours instead of years," Kim whispered.

"Years?" Teyla narrowed her eyes at him, as did the others from AR-1. Teyla then looked back at Janeway, and then at the other Voyager crew before turning back towards the Captain, "Captain, how long have you and your crew been travelling?"

"For a year," Janeway said, "and, like the Ensign said, we have another seventy-five years before we can reach home."

"Wow," the Colonel leaned back in surprise and disbelief, "I'm sorry to hear that." Colonel Sheppard couldn't imagine being stuck on a ship traveling for even ten years to get to another point in space, 'and these guys have to travel for seventy-five years. Damn, Woolsey… you better find a way to help them.'

"What FTL technology do you use?" McKAy asked while Teyla stared at Paris, and then as Neelix and Kes in surprise.

"Warp drive," B'Ellana said before describing the technical aspects to McKay who then shook his head before frowning.

"That's really slow," the man said shaking his head before he took out his tablet while the Colonel asked him to work with B'Ellana to check on technological compatibility. The Colonel then turned to the Captain sheepishly.

He realized that he had just given what would sound like an order on someone else's ship, "sorry Captain. I didn't mean to step on your toes."

"I was actually going to suggest that my Chief Engineer and your Head Scientist work together," the Captain said before turning towards B'Ellana, "whatever he needs, B'Ellana."

"I'll also need to check your sensor logs," McKay said, "there may be something there that can tell us how and why this ship arrived in this reality."

The Captain and Colonel nodded their heads.

"In the meantime, I'd like to talk to Miss Emmagen and Colonel Sheppard in my Ready Room," the Captain said, "Mr Tuck and Commander Chakotay, I would like for the both of you to join us." She then turned towards the others and said, "everyone else, back to you stations."

"Aye, Captain," Kim and Harry said.

"Captain, I would like to prepare something special for our guests," Neelix said, "I believe we have several Earth dishes in the replicator database, and…"

"Replicators?" asked the Colonel, "you use…"

"Devices that use raw materials to create food store within a database," the Captain said, "not those machine bugs you were talking about earlier, Colonel."

"Any food?" McKay spoke.

"Oh anything," Neelix nodded his head excitedly.

"Surprise us, Neelix," the Captain said before she stood up, followed by the others. "Dismissed."

Atlantis. At that very moment.

Woolsey had just finished sending his report to Homeworld Command about Voyager, the mysterious circumstances around their arrival to this reality, the attack by rogue Wraith, and the fact that Voyager was being towed to Atlantis. He also informed the Director of Homeworld Command about the request made by Captain Janeway for Voyager to be installed with a hyperdrive so that they could make it home faster.

As he walked back to his glass-walled office, Woolsey couldn't imagine spending seventy five years on a ship without seeing Earth, 'I supposed we've been spoiled by the existence of the Stargate and the latest generation hyperdrive.' He hoper that Homeworld Command would approve the request, and he was expecting an answer by tomorrow.

Entering his office, Woolsey walked around his desk and then sat down on his high-backed chair. He then leaned forward and picked up a tablet containing all departmental reports. He was going to skim through it before the meeting with all Heads of Departments in an hour. Once he finished reading the first three lines of text, he niticed movement in front of him. Woolsey looked up and was perplexed to see a look of worry etched on the face of McKay's deputy, Dr. Zalenka.

Instead of watching the man knock on the door, Woolsey waved him in. Leaning back as the scientist opened the door, Woolsey asked if there was something the matter.

"There was a situation in the Ancient laboratory on '673," Zalenka said. Woolsey furrowed his eyebrows, his face reflect the worry on Zalenka's, as he reached for the tablet being offered to him. It was only three months ago that McKay discovered a lab in the Ancient Database that was used for power generation. With hope that they would find what they hoped the lab contained, a team was sent to M7U-673.

And while they didn't find what they were hoping for, which were fully powered ZPM's; they did find something better. It was a lab where the Ancients would create their ZPMs.

"As you can see," Zalenka pointed at the tablet while Woolsey was reading the text on the screen and trying to understand what it was saying, "the lab experienced a major power fluctuation." Woolsey checked the time code for the fluctuation and he felt his blood rush away from his face; it was about the same time that Colonel Hawking claimed Voyager appeared in this reality – at least that was the information she relayed from Captain Janeway. Woolsey then looked up as Zalenka, missing the shock on his face, continued talking about how the team only just managed to bring the lab online and had had sent the results of their diagnostics.

"Several control crystals were destroyed and several circuits were burned out," Zalenka continued as Woolsey read the report, "it'll take us approximately a month to finish repairs and then we can begin creating our first ZPM… the first one in over ten thousand years."

"Dr. Zalenka," Woolsey said shaking his head as he put the tablet down on the table. He liked what he just heard, he knew the Earth and her fleet needed the ZPM's for power generation, but there was something else eating away at his gut, "explain, in layman's terms, how a ZPM is charged?"

"The device extracts energy from hundreds and thousands of different realities," Zalenka went on, "this presents the build up exotic particles… which would happen if the device extracted energy from only one reality at random."

"Okay?" Woolsey nodded his head before Zalenka went on to explain that the device also creates the ZPM's, and that the energy is used to create an artificial region of subspace-time within the ZPM casing, "and vacuum energy is extract from that subspace-time until it reaches maximum entropy."

"And during this extraction of energy from other realities, is there a way to…." Woolsey shrugged while he went on, "pull a ship from another reality into this one?"

"Huh?" Zalenka asked confused. "Mr. Woolsey, what are you… wait… a ship appeared here from another reality?"

"About the time the lab detected the fluctuation, a ship from another reality appeared in this one," Woolsey said, "is there any way we are responsible for this?"

"The chances of having something like this happen is infinitesimally small," Zalenka sat down on the chair facing Woolsey, "that's why the Ancients extract power from so many realities at once, to prevent something like this from happening."

"Did the team change anything in the lab?"

"According to reports, nothing was changed," Zalenka said, "as you American's like say, everything was on its default settings."

"That's not a saying," Woolsey said while Zalenka leaned forward.

"The point is that nothing was changed," Zalenka said, "and even if a ship did pass through the point of extraction, it should not affect them. Energy is extracted from a different subspace layer, so it does not affect ships travelling is hyperspace. At least it should not or else we would be seeing numerous civilizations from other realities trapped in Pegasus."

"What if they don't use hyperspace?" Woolsey said as Zalenka scrunched his face in confusion. "I'll send you a report by Colonel Hawking on the Talon. She explained that the ship that arrived in this reality is using a faster than light drive that warps subspace… I think that was the explanation."

"Please send me the report, Mr. Woolsey," Zalenka said as he got up, "but… it is possible. If… well… I can't make a conclusion until Rodney and I have seen their logs."

"Which is?"

"If their drive warps subspace around the ship?" Zalenka said, "then it could interfere with the extraction process. And if that's true…."

"Notify Dr McKAy," Woolsey said, "and if the data pans out, then we need a way to get them back home."

"of course," Zalenka nodded before he rushed out of Woolsey's office and to Stargate Operations where he then sent a message to the Talon, after which the message would be relayed directly to McKay. In the meantime, Woolsey was rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"Homeworld Command is going to love this," he whispered sarcastically.

TBC.