Out of the Dark

Part 1 of the Empires Series

I don't own Stargate, or Battlestar, any of the characters, or anything else associated with the shows.

Prologue

Atlantis

Richard Woolsey stood on the balcony above the control room of Atlantis, his home. Watching the dazzling sun reflect off the North pacific always helped him to reflect on the day that had come before, whether it had been good or bad. When he began commanding Atlantis the first time, John Sheppard had told him that both Elizabeth Weir and Samantha Carter had done the same thing while they were in command. According to him, it had always helped them to cope with the great responsibility that came with the job. He had found the advice very helpful, and now stood in the same spot in the evenings, whenever he could. Sometimes even for hours. That was despite the fact that he no longer felt in control of the city.

"There you are!" Rodney McKay walked out onto the balcony looking rather flustered. Woolsey smiled, taking one last look at the beautiful red sky in front of him. "I've been looking all over for you, why is it always so hard to find you around here when you're supposed to be…"

"What's wrong, Rodney?" The older man cut him off before he could finish his sentence, wishing he would just cut to the chase.

"Oh? Nothing, nothings wrong... In fact, every thing's going fine. Really, you couldn't ask for things to go any smoother!" Woolsey stood, arms folded, and shot him a look. "Uh, yeah, I just wanted to show you something. I was skimming through the Ancient database when I came across something that I think you're going to find very interesting…"

Battlestar Galactica

Laura Roslin lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling above her. It was a view she was becoming used too. The vitality she had felt once she stopped taking her cancer treatment was fading, and she had become something of a rare site outside of the Admiral's quarters. Despite the fact that she still held the title of President, Lee Adama was doing the bulk of the work for her. She planned that he would take the job upon her passing, she could think of nothing worse now than her title passing to Tom Zarek.

All of a sudden, a brilliant white light filled the room, and then faded again. Another jump. No doubt another failed search for new resources. Resources that were so badly needed that Roslin felt that the civilians would begin ripping each other apart if they weren't found. "Here we go again…" She lay there, staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes, before she heard someone entering the room. She gathered what energy she could and sat up, met with the sight of Bill Adama, Admiral of the fleet, and her lover.

"Laura... I've got a feeling you're going to want to see this…"