Chapter VI
As Jonas Quinn tell the tale of how he and his men arrived on Destiny. The crew eyes begin to light up and a glimmer of hope was now clearly visible in everyone, everyone but Rush who maintained his septic look as he listen to every detail trying to picture the events in his mind. If everything that Jonas had told was true then it was very possible that they could return home. A murmur between the crew had started, it was but a whisper heard between Jonas words.
JONAS QUINN: After the Wraith structure was carefully demolished, construction of our facility began. It took a bit of time but in the end we managed to get the facility and the Stargate operational and a couple of months after that, we initiated Operation Long Retrieval: And were we are.
DR. RUSH: How stable is the planet? I mean, the last two times that a dial-in to Destiny was attempted both planets exploded and both had an enriched naquadria core. So?! How sure are you, that didn’t happened this time.
JONAS QUINN: First, we are sure. We used the stones to report back soon after we arrived on Destiny. Second, the planet is very stable but we can’t dial-in at any time. The scientists back in Stargate Command have come to the conclusion that for the planet’s core to fully recover from the energy extraction; a Destiny dial-in can only be done once every six month and no longer than 30 to 40 seconds at the time. I know it seems a low number but it’s enough to act as a life line for the people on board.
DR. RUSH: Excuse me, one more question. With the time that passed since the discovery of the naquadria core, the planning, the assault on the planet, the demolitions and the construction of the facility and not to mention that there wasn’t a Stargate on M4S-781, there’s only one question of significant importance… How long have we been in hibernation?
Everyone got really quiet and turned to Jonas.
JONAS QUINN: Well… you all knew the chances were slim, to say the least, when you entered the hibernation pods and…
COL. YOUNG: Stop stalling and answer the man, please.
JONAS QUINN: Seven years.
A loud “What?” was spoken simultaneous by everyone. The hope that had begun to grow in the crew minds as they heard Jonas tale of what happened, was crushed and replaced by a share state of disbelieve.
COL. YOUNG: How in the hell did that happened?
Eli? – He looks around. – Eli where are you?
CHLOE ARMSTRONG: That is what I was trying to tell everyone before Mr. Quinn started talking, I can’t find Eli anywhere.
LT. SCOTT: What do you mean, anywhere?!
CHLOE ARMSTRONG: Look around he isn’t here. No one has seen him.
MASTER SGT. GREER: Calm down, Chloe. There must be an explanation.
DR. RUSH: I’m sure there’s an explanation but that doesn’t mean that you’ll like it.
COL. YOUNG: Rush, head up to the bridge and see if you can find any signs of Eli on the ship or if any of the hibernation pods are still active. – Rush didn’t reply, we just turned around and head to the bridge. - In the meantime: Dr. Volker, Mr. Brody and Dr. Park go and see if you can find a reason as to why we took seven years to make the jump between galaxies. Everyone else go do the rounds and make a stock of our supplies.
