Chapter 10 - Of Stellar Drift and Sparking Tempers

"Yes, Master Harry, we know you only tasked Dobby, Winky, and Kreacher for the work," Hudo began in a rush, ears twitching with anxiety. "But the place was filthy and dangerous! Covered in ice and snow! We were bored out of our minds in that tiny trunk with no work to do. So we decided to help, not that they asked for help or anything..." He trailed off, pulling at his ears like they might fall off.

Harry blinked, trying to process the speed at which Hudo had spoken. Once he caught up, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Here he was, marvelling at the impossible feat the elves had accomplished in just ten days—clearing, stabilizing, and even relocating an ancient outpost—but their only concern seemed to be that they might've disobeyed an order.

"You all did a fantastic job," Harry said sincerely, placing a hand on Hudo's shoulder. "I didn't expect anywhere near this much progress. You should be proud."

The change in Hudo was instant. The ear-pulling stopped, and his face lit up with a grin so wide it threatened to split his cheeks. He bounced on his feet like a child presented with a new toy.

Harry was about to say more when he felt it—the burn of a stare drilling into the back of his skull. He turned, already knowing who it was.

"Careful, Ms. Carter," he said, smirking. "You keep glaring like that, and something might catch fire."

Captain Samantha Carter, standing off to the side with arms crossed, narrowed her eyes to slits. Her cheeks flushed with restrained fury. He found her reaction oddly entertaining.

"It's Captain Carter," she snapped. "And you know it."

"Oh? Isn't 'Miss' the proper term for an unmarried woman in your world?" Harry asked with mock innocence, that infuriating twinkle in his eyes.

"Are you married? Who's the unlucky bloke?" he added, voice drenched in teasing.

Sam opened her mouth, then closed it, visibly flustered. "That's none of your business. And it's Captain because I'm military, you—you olf!"

She froze. The word had just slipped out.

Harry tilted his head. "Olf? I've never been called that before. Is that a term of reverence where you're from? I'm not sure if I like it. Maybe give me an example of how it's used in a sentence?"

Sam looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her. Her face, already red, deepened into a shade bordering crimson. Harry briefly considered activating an Alteran shield just in case she tried to lunge again.

Choosing mercy (for now), he turned toward Kreacher and asked, "What was she up to while I was out?"

Kreacher puffed up proudly, utterly oblivious to the emotional storm in the room. "Master, the Muggle tried to escape once, but Kreacher stopped her. Since then, she's been studying the giant ring."

Harry turned back toward Sam, eyebrow raised. "Trying to get into trouble, Captain?"

"Of course, Master, Kreacher was always there," the elf added. Then he leaned in, stage-whispering loudly, "Kreacher had to stop her from falling many times. The Muggle is very clumsy on ice."

"You did good work, Kreacher," Harry said, mentally filing away that image of Sam slipping around like a duck on an oil slick. He'd save that for later amusement.

He turned back to Sam, who now looked like she was trying to murder him telepathically. "So, Captain Carter. What have you learned about the Astria Porta?"

The scientist in her took over instantly. "Not much yet. We know it creates a stable wormhole between two points in space, using star constellations as coordinates. The gate acts as a one-way bridge, but only if we dial the correct address. So in effect, it's a galactic-scale teleportation device."

Then she paused, blinking. "Wait—why am I telling you this?"

Harry grinned. "Because you like talking science. And I'm genuinely interested."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but her curiosity had already latched on.

"You're partially right," Harry said, walking over to the gate. "But our Astria Porta doesn't just connect to one other gate. It can connect to any of the hundreds scattered across the universe. As long as you have the right address... and enough power."

Sam frowned. "This one is more advanced than the one back at our SGC base. Ours only connects to Abydos. I tried hundreds of addresses from its log, but none worked. This one doesn't even have a spinning dial ring."

Harry nodded. "Your gate can connect to others, too. The problem isn't the gate."

Sam looked confused. "But I kept getting 'address not found' errors, not 'insufficient power' ones. That suggests the addresses were simply wrong."

"Exactly," Harry said. "Think about it. That gate of yours hasn't been used in what, thousands of years? Those addresses are ancient. You're dialling to places that no longer exist—at least not at the coordinates you have."

Sam folded her arms. "Not all Stargates could have been moved or buried. Some must still be active."

"You're thinking too small. Consider this: what are all the Stargates sitting on?"

She frowned. "Planets."

"And what do planets do over time?"

She started slow. "They orbit their stars... they rotate... oh."

He grinned. "Keep going."

Her eyes widened as the realization hit. "Stellar drift. Over millennia, the stars shift in relation to Earth. The constellations change. So, the coordinates encoded into the addresses no longer match up. The gates are still there, but we're dialling to space."

Harry gave her a theatrical slow clap. "Bingo."

"But Abydos still works because it's close enough in stellar terms that the drift hasn't made the address invalid yet," she continued, almost breathless with excitement. "We could write a new program to calculate stellar drift! That would let us find the updated addresses!"

Kreacher, who had been silently observing, cleared his throat. "Master, the Muggle will be experimenting all night again, yes? Kreacher will have to stay up watching her. Again."

Harry chuckled. "Not tonight, Kreacher. Captain Carter needs her rest. Take her to her quarters."

"Come, Muggle," Kreacher said, tugging at her sleeve like a parent dragging a grumpy child. "Rest now. Play later."

Sam shot Harry a glare as she was ushered away. "This isn't over."

Harry waved cheekily. "Looking forward to it."

As the chamber door shut behind her, he chuckled to himself. "Kreacher's warming up to a Muggle. Either the world is ending, or I'm rubbing off on him. Gods help us all."

Then he turned back toward the Astria Porta, his mind already racing with ideas, problems, and possibilities. The galaxy had just become a lot smaller—and far more dangerous.

Please review
PREVIOUS INDEX NEXT