Mistaken Identity - Chapter 6
Created | Updated Apr 19, 2007
Chapter Six
'You must be Garrity?' said Major Evan Lorne. It was incredible — the man standing opposite him looked exactly the same as he did. No wonder Diana Skouris had been mistaken.
'And you've gotta be Lorne?' said Agent Marc Garrity. No wonder people had been mistaking them for each other. The Air Force Major was wearing a 'this is weird' expression. Lorne gave a laugh.
'No kidding. People have been calling me Garrity all weekend and I thought maybe we looked vaguely similar, but this... this is unreal,' said Lorne
'Talking of unreal, what the hell are you mixed up in?' asked Garrity. 'What the hell's Atlantis, and why do those people with the weird voices want to destroy it?'
'Weird voices?' asked Lorne.
'Yeah, distorted somehow. They had this... device... that made me feel like my brain was melting. They kept asking me for access codes to the Atlantis operating systems,' Garrity replied. Lorne sighed. The Trust — how was he going to explain all this?
'I can't tell you. I'm really sorry, but I can't,' said Lorne.
'Look I've got some of the highest security clearance going; Red-9, if you must know. I know those people ain't from Earth; it doesn't take a genius to work that out,' retorted Garrity, Lorne sighed.
'My clearance is Red-9 too, but you've gotta keep this to yourself.' Garrity nodded. One more secret wasn't going to hurt. 'The group that kidnapped you are called the Trust; they're controlled by a race of parasitic aliens called Goa'uld. They burrow into you and take over. The distorted voice is the alien speaking. The host is human, but the Goa'uld suppresses it. Atlantis is an off-world base in the Pegasus Galaxy; there is a race of life-sucking aliens that want to use Earth as a new feeding ground...' said Lorne.
'That would be the Wraith, right.' Lorne looked surprised. 'Those Goa'uld told me when they thought I was you,' Garrity replied.
'Right, the Trust have tried to destroy Atlantis once already. The Goa'uld were once masters of the universe, until they got their asses kicked about three years ago. Now they're trying to rebuild their empires and don't want a load of new aliens pissing in their pool,' continued Lorne.
'And you live out there in Atlantis, in another galaxy?' asked Garrity incredulously. Lorne nodded and smiled.
'It's a blast, apart from the Wraith, the Genii and the Asurans, but it's an incredible experience. I don't regret a moment of it since I joined the expedition,' he replied. Garrity didn't know whether to envy his doppelganger or not, knowing what he did about the end of the world.
'You don't want to swap, do you?' he joked. Lorne shook his head.
'Not a chance. Anyway, what's the deal with that Isabel, what's promicin and who's Jordan Collier? She and some older guy kept asking me what this Jordan guy had done with their promicin. They drug runners or something?' asked Lorne. Garrity blew out a breath.
'Isabel got you? Man, you're lucky you're still alive. She's crazy,' said Garrity.
'Yeah, I gathered that,' replied Lorne as he remembered his time in Isabel's hands. 'So what's her game?'
'She's a 4400, of sorts...' started Garrity.
'A 4400?' asked Lorne.
'I supposed you wouldn't know, being in a galaxy far, far away. About three years ago four thousand four hundred people, who the world thought had been kidnapped by aliens, were returned on the lake shores in Seattle. None had aged a day. Some of them found they had some kind of special powers. Anyway, it turns out they were kidnapped by the future and changed to prevent the destruction of the world. Promicin is a drug or hormone that gives the 4400 their power, and the only source is Isabel. She teamed up with Ryland, who used to be my boss, to produce as much of this stuff as they can,' Garrity continued.
'And Collier stole it, right?' Garrity nodded. 'Isabel told me as much,' said Lorne.
'Jordan Collier is the unofficial leader of the 4400. He used his money and influence to get them housing, jobs, an education and equal rights. I have no idea what he wants with it; the only person who would know is his right-hand man, Shawn Farrell,' finished Garrity.
'And they've obviously realised their mistakes and we're going to be swapped,' said Lorne. Garrity nodded.
'Looks like it,' he replied. 'The last thing I want is for Isabel to get her hands on me.'
'I'm not exactly thrilled at being handed over to the Trust,' said Lorne. The two men fell into silence.
O'Reilly's Farm, Ottumwa, Iowa
In an outbuilding on a farm belonging to an old veteran buddy of Richard's, NTAC and the SGC were plotting how to rescue Lorne and Garrity.
'I've had a report that both parties and their captives are in position,' said Agent Malcolm Barrett.
'Okay Sheppard, you and Mr Tyler look for Lorne and Garrity. Take a Life Signs Detector with you. SG-1 will take the front and NTAC will take the back,' said Colonel Sam Carter.
'Tess will go with you. Let her do what she does well and no shots need be fired,' said Jordan Collier. Sam looked at the frail-looking girl standing just behind Jordan and frowned.
'I don't think so; we can't allow Miss Doerner to join us. She might get hurt,' said Sam. Or get in the way, she thought to herself.
'Tess will be an asset to the operation, won't you, Tess,' replied Collier. Tess nodded and stared at Sam, who smiled and nodded1.
'Yes, she will. Okay Tess, you can join us and do what you do,' said Sam.
'Okay, get into position,' said Colonel Cameron Mitchell as the groups moved off.
