THE END OF BEGINNINGS

SIX

One.
Despite the misconception, gate travel is not instant.  Power and distance play a role on how fast or slow matter moves through the subspace passage sent boring through the cosmos.  There is a micro-lag, something the mind is only partly aware of while the traveler is hurled through the vast cosmos.  And, 3.001 million light years is no small trek.
Two.
The gravity of the stellar tunnel is irresistible.  Light and matter are pulled unstoppably forward.  There's a flash as bright as a camera strobe and lasting just as long.  It is everywhere at once, but only for the fleetest of heartbeats.  That curtain of brightness instantly bends and breaks down.  The gleaming particles swarm and separate, like cosmic fireflies.  They're left behind just as quickly as they appear, blending in and giving way to the bands of energy stretching and curving away between the stars.
Three.
The gravity-slicked slide through infinity buzzes the mind.  Each bend of the stellar path propels the molecules of the body faster and faster.  One is left with the feeling of seeing without looking, as if dreaming but still being awake.
The vaporous vortex has an end.  The parapets of the bridge between galaxies A and B suddenly brighten.  The stars fade, mellowed by the coalescing cascade of atoms.  The body is put back together just at the threshold of its destination.  The journey through the undercurrents of the cosmos is over.
Daniel Jackson blinked, inhaling a breath of the cool air that touched his skin as he walked past the gleaming, watery veil.  The bright, clean gate room of Atlantis opened up before him.  Beams of sunlight reached down to the smooth, metal floor from the long windows stretching up the city's central tower.  The wide chamber was crowded without feeling cramped.  The pair of cargo transports idled a dozen steps from the gate.  Their long, flat bodies were parked like disjointed train cars.  The resupply team was being helped with their gear and given instructions by the dozen or so members of the Atlantis expedition that had been waiting for their arrival.  Daniel knew some of them, but not all.
Dr. Carson Beckett was one he easily recognized.  The other was a slender man standing just off to the right of the stargate.  His wide smile was almost as bright as the sunlight pouring into the building.  It was a welcomed sight for Daniel.
"Dr. Jackson!  Welcome back."  Jonas Quinn stepped forward just as the glistening pool of energy behind Daniel vanished.  With a loud, electric SNAP, the active stargate shut down and the one way passage from Earth was closed.
"How's it going, Jonas," Daniel asked, shaking the scarred hand that was extended toward him.
"Life is good," replied the former member of SG-1, still smiling.  Jonas Quinn had every reason and right to be anything but joyful.  The last several years had not been easy for him.  Yet, he didn't seem to dwell on the pain that had tortured his body.  His soul seemed unscathed from the dismaying tribulation he had managed to endure.  "I can't think of anything to complain about.  Especially in this place."
Daniel patted Jonas on the back of his shoulder as they started to leave the stargate behind them.  "That's great, Jonas."
"How are you?  How's General O'Neill?"
"He's...hungry.  Which has to be a good thing."
Jonas nodded his head.  "Definitely has to be a good thing."
"Other than that," Daniel said as the two men reached the base of a short staircase directly opposite the stargate, "I don't have a lot of new information.  Carter said his surgery seems to have gone well.  So, we'll see."
They were ascending the metal steps gilded in the afternoon sunlight as Daniel spoke.  The bright band of pink-white light shone through a crown of tall windows at the top of the stairs.  Daniel could just make out the jagged peaks of mountains beyond the edges of the city.  The shore of the mainland was lost in a pillowy fog hugging the long coastline.
Beside him, Jonas glanced back down into the crowded gate room.  "Who's your new friend?"
Daniel grunted under his breath.  "More like our new babysitter.  He's going to be the new face of the IOA around here."
Jonas furrowed his brow as he walked with Daniel into a nearby corridor.  He didn't know all the details of the Earth-based organization.  But, he'd learned enough to be weary of anyone and anything associated with the international bureaucracy.  "That should keep things interesting around here."
Daniel rolled his eyes.  "I'm hoping not."