FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination
:
B s .
A
A
A
:
full
3/4
1/2
:
E
E
:
Light
Dark
TV Shows » Stargate: Atlantis » Vision of the Future
|
Author of 7 Stories |
FABRIC pt 2
I have lived on a world that you may never see, and I have studied cultures I have never been a part of. —Elizabeth’s mind flashed through a string of pictures: Native American tribal dances, Cowboys, Eskimos, the Olympic games, motorcycle riding, break dancing, opera, Time Square, and the streets of Tokyo, the canals of Venice, and the canal markets of Bangkok.
The same goes for all of you—you have seen things that I have not. We will understand more about who we are and what culture we are a part of as we continue to interact with the world around us. I will be learning while I teach this section because Atlantis is still a new home for me. —Her mind wandered again: The people of the different planets rebuilt their lives after each Wraith attack. What had their worlds been like?
Religion is one of the most controversial topics you will ever encounter. Wars are fought over religion, which is why it is so important to understand. Religion comes from a Latin word meaning to rely. We all hold onto something. We can rely on structure, a philosophy, a belief, a purpose… or a ceremony.
Teyla hugged a small basket in her arms and grabbed a handful of red pedals, then held her hand out over John’s circle and opened it. She spoke in a clear, warm voice as the petals scattered around his feet as.
“Let our circles now collide and our lives forever change.
I am captive to a world where our heartbeats are the same.”
John dropped a handful of white petals on the ground in front of Teyla when she paused to for his reply.
“May my love always be your guide when dark clouds are in your way.
May the circle of my arms always comfort and keep you safe,” he said.
Teyla took a step closer so to him. “I give myself to you because I want to go with you wherever you go. By this vow I am your wife.”
“As your husband, I give you my life. I give you this ring, another circle—our future, because you complete me. I love you, Teyla.” John held up a small gold ring, but bent and cleared away two stones so he could kneel directly in front of her as he slipped it on her finger. She knelt down and kissed him while the people around them cheered. They finally pulled away, and together, picked up rocks and transformed the two circles into one.
Kiron and Elizabeth sat together on a low pier with their feet in the water while the cool evening wind blew against their bodies.
“You don’t want to be married?” Kiron asked
“Oh, I do. It is better for us if people see us that way. Leaders lead by example.”
He leaned forward quickly in an exaggerated movement. “So, how do we do that?”
“Just tell everyone I’m your wife,” she said, giving his shoulder a playful push.
“Is that all you want? I’d get you a ring or something..."
“But you know I don’t want that,” she interrupted.
He nodded holding a grin on his face. “What about a tattoo?”
Elizabeth kicked water at him while she laughed. “Drop it Kier. Marriage is just choosing to live life with someone and accepting the good or bad consequences that result from it.”
He wrapped his arms around her, quoting: “We are truly one equal temper of heroic hearts. Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will—to strive, to seek to find, and not to yield.”
“Kiron? Where did you learn...”
He pulled a book from the inside of his jacket. “I got this for you. It's not a ring, but I know Tennyson is your favorite. Elizabeth, my wife?”
“Always!” she said with a rush of excitement at the idea. She crawled onto his lap clutching the book to her chest while he held her tightly by the waist. They kissed and then rolled to where she was pushed flat against the pier.
Day 172—Monday 2000 hours
Rodney and Novinha sat in the family room of their apartment with all six children seated with them on the floor. Topher sat in Rodney’s lap, and Novinha held onto Rodney’s hand. The children were nervous and excited at the same time. At the last family meeting that had been called, Novinha had told them that she was going to marry Rodney.
“Are you pregnant, Anya?” Lanie asked immediately.
“Wishful thinking won’t keep you girls from being outnumbered,” Omri said with a laugh. He turned to look at Novinha for confirmation. “She’s wrong, right?”
“I’m not pregnant, Omri. That’s not why we called this meeting,” Novinha replied.
“We wanted to talk to all of you because we seem to be drifting away,” Rodney said. “Anya and I think it is because we’re still feeling bad because Topher got hurt. So, we’re going to talk about it. Who’s first?”
Rhianna raised her hand. “Does it hurt?”
“Nope, I don’t hurt anymore,” Topher replied.
“But you can’t run or play anymore!” Rhianna argued as she threw her hands in the air in frustration.
Topher shrugged as he stared at his little sister. “I can still do other stuff. I might be able to walk again, I don’t know. Would it bother you if I never walked again?”
“Um...” Tears of frustration built up in Rhianna's eyes. She knew what she was supposed to say, even though it not the way she felt.
“As long as you can still have fun, Topher. We’ll have fun, right?” Raydn asked.
“Come on you idiot!” Topher laughed. He quickly glanced at his parents. “Sorry. Look, I’m not dead so stop feeling bad. ‘Cause I don’t.”
Omri stretched out his legs and kicked Topher’s foot. “All of you had better watch how much you baby him. He looks slow and stupid, but he’s really smarter than than all of you.” He winked at Topher for a quick second. “Including Aikyn.”
Rodney shifted Topher so he could look at him. “Really?” “You’re going to have to spend the next 30 years proving that, kid.”
Novinha turned to Lanie. “Lanie, what do you think?”
“I like having a family, Anya. I really do, and I would feel horrible if Topher wasn’t here. We have to stop being strange about the accident because it makes me feel like we’re not a family.”
“Yeah,” Dane nodded in agreement. “Having a family is nice. I liked when Aikyn showed us how to make play-don’t!”
“That’s play-dough you blockhead,” Topher corrected.
“We’ve got them acting like siblings again I think,” Novinha said to Rodney, quietly celebrating the victory. She gave his had a quick squeeze before turning back to the kids. “I want us all to think about what specifically bothers us the most about all of the changes that have taken place in our lives over the past few months. Then, I want each of us to find a way to deal with it. Come talk to me and Aikyn if you need help.
“Is this an experiment!” Dane asked, fascinated by anything that took the form of an experiment, especially if Rodney was involved.
“Life is an experiment Dane; it is just more difficult to identify all of the variables. That is what Anya is asking you to do. Me being part of your family, you being here at Atlantis, and Topher's injury are the most major changes that have taken place. You need to decide how all of this makes you feel and find a way to deal with any negative emotions you find,” Rodney said.
“Oh, okay,” Dane said.
Monday 1600 hours
Carson took a moment to reread the sheet of paper he held in his hand before allowing himself to react. He had never performed an abortion before. Eylar’s case fell onto the other side of the line of ethics because the procedure would probably be medically necessary for her wellbeing. He glanced up and panicked when he saw Eylar staring at him. “Oh, dear!” he whispered.
She immediately slammed her book down on the table and pinched her eyes closed. “Shit!” With the world blocked out, she stood with her hands flat on the table and arms supporting most of her weight as she braced herself; she was terrified. She finally picked up her book and walked out of the infirmary, but stopped and turned back. “You’re going to fix this tomorrow, so put me on your schedule.” She jerked a knife out of her belt and pointed it towards him. “If you tell Ronon about this, I will kill you.”
A surge of adrenaline hit Carson when he saw the knife. She was completely serious, and until that moment he had fully intended to tell Ronon. He couldn’t see why a baby would be such a problem, but then he was not from the Pegasis galaxy. Ronon and Eylar had grown up as scarred children. Would their children be any different? Atlantis was not the cure for everything.
Eylar sat in the center of the floor of the room she shared with Ronon. His knife collection was fanned out around her in a full circle. It was made of almost a hundred knives of varying sizes. She continued to read her book while drinking from a half empty bottle of alcohol.
Ronon entered the room and stopped in surprise at the strange scene. “So, you’ve decided to un-hide my collection. What is wrong with you today?”
“You pissed me off this morning so I thought it was fair to piss you off,” she replied without looking up from the page.
He smiled and began to walk closer. “You didn’t have to leave the shower.”
She set the book down and glared at him. “You mean I should have stayed so you could fuck me?” She sent a knife sailing across the room; it embeds in the wood of a desk behind Ronon. He turned back and jerked it out of the wood and crossed completely to where she was sitting.
“You really are picking up some crude words from the Terrans. I’ve never heard you complain about what I do to you,” Ronon said as he knelt down and pulled the bottle away from her. “You had enough of that last night.”
“I need it more now than I did then,” she countered.
He let out a quick breath, trying to contain his annoyance. She had done a good job of ruining his day so far. “Do you still have something against being touched? It’s been a long day—“
“Is that all you think about?” she shouted up at him. “That is our problem, Ronon. We never plan anything. Let me inform you of my plans. Do not touch me today. Tomorrow I’m taking the day off. I don’t want to see you at all. How’s that?”
He backed away in shock. “What is wrong with you? Are you bleeding?”
She stood up and jerked the bottle away from him, taking a long drink before he was able to take it back again.
“Eylar, stop!”
She pulled her knife from her belt and held it level with Ronon’s chest. “Give it back to me Ronon.”
He laughed. “Or you’ll cut me open? Put the knife down and go take a shower, woman.”
Eylar threw the knife the short distance between them, and it sank deep into the shoulder muscle of his right arm causing him to release his hold on the bottle. Eylar immediately reached for it, but he hit her face, and she fell to the floor.
He jerked the knife out of his arm and dropped it. “Leave the bottle and walk to the bathroom now!” he cautioned in a deep voice.
For a moment, she seemed to obey after standing up again, but she turned and kicked him hard in the stomach, then picked up the bottle again.
“It’s too late for you to start giving orders, Ronon!” she screamed.
A surge of anger hit him, and he reached out to take the bottle. She responded by crashing it against the side of his head like a club. It hit without breaking, then fell when he punched her in the stomach and slapped her across the face. She stumbled backwards and crumpled on the floor.
He knelt beside her, immediately sorry, and pulled her into his arms. “Why did you make me do that, fueziel?”
“Because I love you.”
He shook her gently. “Stop playing games with me. Tell me what's wrong with you.”
She turned her face against his chest so her words were muffled by his clothing. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, Eylar...” Ronon quickly lifted her in his arms and ran out of the room.
Monday 1800 hours
Carson was still trying to control his reaction to when Ronon had entered holding Eylar; both of them had been cut and bleeding. She seemed more peaceful though.
“You have a deep cut on your forehead, Ronon. Let me stitch it for you,” Donlon said as he approached Ronon who was observing Carson and Eylar from a distance.
“I deserve to bleed for what I’ve done to her. Let me be,” Ronon replied in a gruff voice.
“You didn’t tell him and you tried to take care of it yourself,” Carson whispered to Eylar. “I would have helped you before I’d have let this happen.”
“I’m sorry. I was afraid and angry. I didn’t want to wait. I thought drinking would help, and then I though...” It hurt to realize that she was capable of using Ronon so cruelly.
“You wanted Ronon to do this to you so you would lose the baby.” Carson gently touched her arm. “The baby will live. Tell me what you want to do, and I will help you. Just don’t hurt yourself anymore.”
“We’re keeping the baby,” Ronon said, having overheard.
Eylar caught her breath in shock. “But, you don’t want a baby!”
“I know. But we’ve crossed a line and we’re not crossing it again. We will change, Eylar. If we have to, we’ll find someone to adopt the baby.” He walked away. “I’ll be back later.”
Ronon entered the east pier hanger, grabbed coveralls off the wall, and began pulling them on. He sorted his tools for a moment as he stationed himself beside a Jumper that needed repair. He was surprised when he saw John approach because he had thought the bay was completely empty.
“It’s been a long day of hunting. I’m surprised you’ve got enough strength to come in here and work,” John said.
“I could say the same thing about you, Sheppard.”
John studied Ronon’s face. “You’re bleeding. Is that something I’m not supposed to see?”
“What do you want?” Ronon asked with annoyance.
John shrugged casually. “I actually expected to be alone here.”
“So, you want me to leave?”
John shook his head. “No, but if you want to talk I’ll be working on Jumper four.” He picked up a tool. “Hey, can I borrow this?”
“Sure,” Ronon said giving a slight nod. John walked away without further comment.
Fifteen minutes later, Ronon approached where John was working.
“I think we are probably in here for similar reasons. You’re married to a Wraith, and so am I. I have questions.”
John grinned. "Wraith women. I could use a break, and I’ve got some vodka in my locker.”
“That’s a good way to start a conversation about women,” Ronon admitted.
They walked to the break room together. John disappeared for a moment and returned with a flask and handed it to Ronon.
Ronon took a deep drink before speaking. “I hit her.” He wiped his fingertips against the cut on the side of his forehead, then looked at his bloodstained fingers. “She hit me with a bottle of Zyr.”
“Ouch. Why?”
Ronon took another sip as he considered the question. “Eylar was desperate, and she thought she knew my mind. She thought if she provoked me enough I’d beat her and make her lose the baby that neither of us wants. I didn’t know she was pregnant. I didn’t know I could ever hit a woman, John. My wife is in the infirmary right now because I beat her.”
“I’m sorry about that.” John replied, touching his cheek thinking of how Teyla had hit him a few hours earlier. She was a warrior, but not a violent person. He cringed at the thought of him ever hitting her. “Is Eylar okay?”
“Yes, and so is the baby. I’m thankful about that. What is wrong with me?"
“Life I think.” John shrugged. “I’m in here moping because Teyla and I just had our first fight.”
“You and Teyla actual fight?” Ronon asked, amused by the revelation.
“It is surprising to find out what we’re capable of. She was out of her mind with fear, and I was trying to rush in and fix everything instead of letting her find her own way.”
“What’s she afraid of?”
“More Skandar Wraith crap,” John replied. “Sometimes, it pisses me off at how they use her. She’s helpless. She has a way of knowing about certain things that will happen even if she can’t do anything to change them.”
“Right, like when she knew the Ancients would destroy the Skander ships that were trying to land.”
John nodded. “The Skandar women—they’re really strong and independent."
“Eylar makes all of her decisions and rarely tells me what she’s doing.” Ronon sighed and shook his head. “We really don’t want to have a baby, Sheppard. We’re keeping it though.”
“I can’t help you there because I’m obsessed with my little girl. Maybe things will change.”
“I hope so because I would hate to resent the kid.” Ronon held the flask out to John.
“Give yourself time. And plenty of this,” John said as he took it.
“Do you and Teyla feed on each other?” Ronon asked cautiously.
“Um...we’ve done it three times. The first time when we were on Kalasandar, then when Teyla got shot, and another time when she was about to miscarry.”
“You don’t have a problem with it?”
John shook his head. “We weren’t sure if we should have a problem with it in the beginning. We were cautious. Things seem to be changing. It’s really strange. I would only admit this to you.” He tilted his head as he looked at Ronon. “Does Eylar feed on you?”
“It appeals to us. We’ve done it several times. We try to limit it, but it is quite intimate.”
“I know. After you get over the repulsed mindset and the intense pain of the first feed. It scared Teyla more than it scared me.”
“Wraith are quite the passionate lovers.” Ronon smiled. “Ah, Eylar is an amazing woman.”
“They’ve evolved into a superior race. Well, the Skandar Wraith at least,” John said.
“Michael didn’t want our help when we turned him into a human. That’s why it didn’t work. He had nothing to anchor him to sanity. ‘Zeta ties’ is the way Rodney would explain it, I think," Ronon said.
John nodded. “I hate to admit it, but if he had fed on Teyla he might have stayed human. He was able to connect to her more than with any of us.”
“That’s a bold statement for a husband to make,” Ronon laughed.
“I would have killed him before he could have done it,” John said. “I loved her even then, but I still felt bad about forcing myself on her when I had my Ellie bite incident."
Ronon choked. “You did what!”
“A very forceful kiss,” John quickly clarified. “God help me if I had done anything else.”
“What we do to women when we don’t mean to,” Ronon said passively as he stood up. He pointed to the flask. “I’ve got more of that in my room if you ever want to swap sad domestic stories and drink.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” John said sincerely. He remained seated while Ronon left the room.
Day 174—Wednesday 1100 hours
Elizabeth entered the Atlantis City Control Center where operators and technicians were engaged in the general routine of the workday. John sat at a workstation reviewing some paperwork. Elizabeth eyed him curiously as she approached.
“John, I thought you would be spending the day giving orders to your flight crews. It seems to be a busy day for them.”
John glanced across the room for a moment; Teyla was writing while talking to an unseen person over a radio. “I realized I had a few things that needed to be done up here.”
Elizabeth noticed where he was looking. “You think she might go into labor?”
“Wouldn’t it be great if she did.” John smiled up at her, then turned back to his work without saying anything else. Elizabeth was startled when Teyla looked in their direction.
“John,” Teyla called to get his attention. He turned just as she went into a trance. He stood up and crossed the room with Elizabeth trailing behind him.
“John?” Elizabeth asked curiously.
“She’ll be fine—“ His voice trailed off when Teyla began to shake, drops of blood fell from her nose. “Get Dr. Beckett in here!” John ordered. He knelt down and shook Teyla’s shoulders. “Switch. Let me touch this, Teyla.”
Without warning, he let go of her and fell backwards to the floor, and Teyla sat up straight, wiping her nose, then stood up and stared down at John. His body was strained as if he were being hit by a steady surge of electrical current.
“Teyla what just happened?” Elizabeth asked.
“I will explain later. I need Dr. McKay here. Is Dr. Beckett on his way?” Teyla glanced down at John again when his foot kicked over the chair she had been sitting in. The people working in the room stood up to stare at him. The seizure was getting more violent, and he was screaming. It was terrifying to watch, but she knew it was nothing compared to what he was seeing.
“Teyla?”
Teyla looked at Elizabeth, realizing that Elizabeth had been speaking to her. “Huh?”
“I said Dr. Beckett is on his way. Is there anything we can do for John right now?”
Teyla knelt down and turned John on his side. Blood drained out of his nose and he threw up blood from the strain his body was under. She wiped his face with her hand and stood up again when he was able to breathe clearly.
“It was either me or him. This is what he decided for us,” Teyla said in a low voice. "Carson will help him when it is over. There is nothing we can do now.” She motioned for Elizabeth to turn away. “Just don’t look.”
John sat next to Teyla in the conference room while Elizabeth, Kiron, Rodney, and Dr. Beckett stared at them. He was very pale and still feeling weak from the strain his body had been under, but glad it was over with. Dark circles outlined his eyes, and the whites were webbed with red lines from bust blood vessels.
“He is healthy,” Carson said, “even though he doesn’t look too great.”
“How I feel is not important,” John said.
“What was that?” Elizabeth asked him.
John flashed her a faint smile. “A grace from Cassandra. Thirty minutes ago, the inbound hive ship and accompanying cruisers crashed onto the surface of an uninhabited planet called Kirurah. They were attacked. Over one fourth of the Skandar are dead—about seven hundred of them. That is what you saw me reacting to. I felt what they were feeling.”
“You were able to trade with Teyla?”
“Yeah, pretty cool, huh? They have to contact her first and then get diverted to me if she doesn’t want to talk. She doesn’t just talk to them when they contact her, she feels what they are feeling. We agreed to switch after she was able to secure contact with them.”
“We were not sure how traumatic it would be,” Teyla added.
“You couldn’t block them out? It almost killed you, John!” Carson said.
“We needed to hear what they were saying,” John said, “and we couldn’t block out what they were feeling.”
Rodney sat up. “Teyla, your ability to speak to all of the Skandar gives you more than just Eta ties with them,” he said excitedly. “The connection expresses itself more like Zeta ties. It causes you to have a somatic reaction to their deaths—an intense physical reaction. In theory, they could kill you simply by killing enough of the Skandar.”
“Do you think the Ancients know that?” Elizabeth asked.
Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "Just apply the inverse. All of the Skandar would be crippled to some degree if Teyla died. Eta and Zeta connections, which makes us more powerful also make us extremely vulnerable. The Ancients would have to be aware of Teyla's vulnerability because the power created through her connection with the Wraith is the reason they hate the Skandar and want them all dead."
“We need to help those people right now. I have a planet address. It does not have a gate so we had to locate it on a galactic map.” Teyla pushed a datatpad across the table to Rodney.
“You both seem to have a plan,” Elizabeth said.
“I hope it works,” John relied. “As soon as this briefing is over I will join the Skandar who are still alive on that planet. Rodney, I want you to send an Eta fracture shield out to me when I get there. I know we’ve never gone further than Pithkara in our deep space shielding. The Ancients took down the ships, and they are still attacking the survivors and their numbers are decreasing.”
Rodney stood up. “I think we can get a shield up. I’ll get right on it.”
“Good. While I’m holding a shield over their heads Teyla will fly the Orion over to meet us,” John continued.
“I know Teyla can fly as well as you can, but why not send some other pilot?” Elizabeth asked. A pilot who isn’t pregnant, she thought in her mind.
“Can any other pilot at Atlantis hold an Eta shield around an Aurora class ship on a trek through deep space?” John countered.
Elizabeth paused and then turned to Carson. "I want you to send all of your medical teams, but I want you to stay here to watch our other patients. I believe Topher is still under observation."
Carson nodded. “I’ll send everything I’ve got.”
“Well, I’m off,” John said as he stood up. “Teyla will answer any other questions you may have.” He bent over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “Good luck, Commander Sheppard,” he whispered just before he disappeared.
Elizabeth jumped in surprise when she saw him vanish. Carson leaned close to her. “When I was a little kid, I thought it was cool when I saw Captain Kirk do that on TV. Now, I simply find it to be disturbing,” he muttered.
Teyla entered the east pier hanger bay wearing one of John’s command uniform shirts. It was stretched tight against her belly and close to being too small. Her hand gripped the strap of the bag she carried over her shoulder, and she felt her nails press sharply into the palm of her hand. The bag contained everything she would need to survive the trip, but somehow it did not provide her with enough peace to contend with Murphy’s Law, a bizarre concept that John loved to cite as an excuse for unexpected disasters.
The pilots stared at her when she crossed onto the parade deck. Elizabeth had called all of them together and told them to wait for further instruction. By the expression of surprise reflected on their faces, they were expecting John to be the one to show up.
“I am assuming my husband’s command in his absence from the city. Line up,” Teyla ordered. They continued to stare at her curiously while they formed their lines. She held still, confidently, as she waited. Their roles had been reversed, she thought. John had been forced to be a diplomat mediating the crisis on Kiturah, while she became a pilot and commander.
“At 1100 hours, the inbound Skandar ships were attacked and crashed on an uninhabited planet. The conditions there are harsh and many who did survive the crash will not survive the elements. Commander Sheppard is there right now giving assistance. I will be flying the Orion out to recover the survivors. The pilots who were previously tasked to work for Eylar and Socia are being reassigned to air group Delta. Jason you will take charge of it. The group will cover deck positions. When we arrive on the planet, you will disperse in Jumpers with your assigned medical teams and give aid to your designated area. Dr. McKay will head the science team that will accompany us, and Dr. Beckett will be sending all of his medical teams.
“Henry, I am leaving a prioritized list of assignments that air group Echo needs to complete in my absence. You will be evacuating all of our people from off world and bringing them back to Atlantis. Dr. Zelenka’s mining operations on Kalasandar need to be halted, so you will be bringing ore, mining equipment, and workers back. Elizabeth will be speaking to the foremen of the personnel teams from Kendon and Pithkara. She will contact you with further orders should she need pilots to help send them home. At 1400 hours, Delta will report to the ship and assist in loading before going through preflight check and engines fire. Dismissed.”
Noise erupted when the pilots were free to comment on the alarming turn of events. She gave Henry her list, and he turned away and shouted out orders to the people under his command.
Jason approached Teyla cautiously. “Did he know about this?”
“Excuse me?” Teyla asked, unsure of what he was referring to.
“Commander Sheppard wouldn’t explain why he stuck me with packing meat this week instead of letting me lead the escort team that would bring in the first Hive Ship to land at Atlantis. Now things have changed and I just happen to be...”
“Jason,” Teyla interrupted. “You are not the only pilot that is capable of leading. Some things can’t be explained at the time they are asked. Commander Sheppard did not have you packing meat just so you would be free to be re-tasked when this event occurred. You’ve spent the past 24 hours being covered in blood, so your body has been desensitized to the feel and smell of it. You will not enjoy this mission. You need to understand that. I will be flying the Orion there, but your pilots will be the ones to interact with the Skandar who are stranded on the surface of the planet.”
Jason stared at her in amazement. “You really can do everything he can. I thought it was only a rumor that you could pilot.”
“I do what I need to do. I need you to do as I’ve asked. Get ready for the flight."
“Thank you, signora,” he said with a sudden burst of emotion. “Thank you for this.”
Teyla smiled weakly as he walked away, knowing that his excitement would vanish the moment he stepped onto the surface of Kiturah. She braced her hands against her hips and stretches her back. The fingers of her left hand snagged on a hole in the side of the shirt. “John Sheppard,” she whispered to herself as she walked away.
The planet Kiturah had a name only because the citation allowed the neighboring civilizations to mark it on astronomy maps. It was marked as only being useful as a temporary stopover for ships that wanted to hide for a few hours, but it was too harsh to give safe refuge any longer than a day. It was smaller than Earth—more like Mars, John thought, but quickly changed his mind. Mars had always reminded him of the beautiful Grand Canyon; this world was a wasteland.
Kiturah’s harsh conditions resulted from its distance from the star it orbited, however it maintained a stable enough atmosphere to allow several hardy ectosymbiotic species to maintain a functional planetary ecology. Sections of debris from the hive ship and cruisers were spread out over several thousand kilometers. The surviving Skandar gathered in groups, waiting in the cold and dark for the help John promised would come. A flash of blue exploded in the sky when the shield around the Orion merged with the shield John held around the planet. When the ship landed, the groups of refugees began heading towards it as if the landing lights were a beacon.
John and Teyla stood alone together on the bridge of the Orion while all of the teams were engaging in the rescue efforts.
“How many are left now?” Teyla asked.
“Less than half. It would have killed you to see it. They just came from the sky and killed them one by one as if they were just pulling fish from a pond. The shield is all that stands between us and them. I want you to stay here and help settle people as the Jumpers return to the ship. You don’t want to see the bodies.”
“You know that we’ll be safe...”
“For now,” John interrupted, letting anxiety slip through with his words.
John and Jason stood together as they watched medical teams load their two jumpers. They had worked together for the past two hours giving aid to the more critically injured refugees. People with blistered skin, charred bone, bodies raked open and embedded with glass and metal, and blood dripping, dripping, dripping, as if counting with the second hand of a clock. John watched and listened to them helplessly as he held contact with every Skandar mind on the planet. The dying Skandar always asked to speak to Teyla—always, and he always told them no. Her ability to connect with them so completely made her vulnerable. Even the slightest contact would cause her to internalize the person’s pain. They found the peace they needed when he finally told them the truth; he was not willing to risk Ame’s life for their final blessing. Somehow, it was enough when they remembered that a new life was about to enter the world just as they were about to leave it. With their last breaths, they surprised John by choosing to give out a blessing of their own. They blessed Ame.
“This is not what I expected it to be,” Jason said, pulling John out of his reverie. “Teyla tried to prepare me. It looks like something from TV back on Earth. Torn up bodies all over the place.”
“Some family I come from,”John whispered. “They wanted to scare us. They’re waiting for us outside the shield. We really have no clue what it would be like if there were no...” He paused for a moment and stared in the distance at the faint glow of the Orion. “I’ve got something to do. Huan Xi, the medic, she knows how to fly. Have her bring my Jumper back.” John disappeared without waiting for Jason to reply.
Teyla sat alone on the slope of a mountain a short distance from the Orion. John appeared beside her.
“What happened?”
She grabbed onto his arms, and he helped her stand up. “I was helping a team that came on foot. I sent them ahead. I’m sorry. I know you told me to stay at the ship, but they needed my help.”
“Your water broke,” he laughed as he held her and glanced around. “This doesn’t look like the place, Teyla.” He bent slightly and picked her up. “I’ll jump you back to the ship.”
She pushed against him. “I can stand on my own, John.”
“And I can carry you,” he insisted. “I don’t want her popping...”
Her continued movement forced him to put her down, and he took a step backwards to keep his balance. The ground below them shifted and fell away a moment later carrying them down with it. Their fall was broken by the fabric of the shield they constructed together in the few seconds they had been falling. They held onto each other while they sat on the dirt floor of the new cave and looked out through the hole ten meters above that showed the sky and stars.
“Are you okay? Is she okay?” John asked, breathing heavily.
Teyla gripped his arm. “She wants out,” she replied in a strained voice.
“I can see that.” He pulled her hand away so he could take the backpack from his shoulders. “This definitely looks familiar. What is with you and me falling into holes? Did you bring anything? Because I’ve got my whole survival kit with me."
“I left it all at the ship.”
“Um, how far apart are they?”
“About three minutes,” she replied.
“Do you think she’ll get sick being born on a pile of dirt.”
“Uha! Ah!”
John grabbed her hand. “Breathe like you’re supposed to breathe, and...uh...I’ll figure something out.” He helped her remove her pants and organized the supplies he had brought while pointing a flashlight in her direction. She shined one back at him. They were surrounded by a glow similar to the eerie light of the glowsticks they had used on Kalasandar.
“Seeing a glimpse of this did nothing to prepare me. Why didn’t I read books or something?” John asked.
“Because Athosian women give birth alone,” she replied. “...but, as the father it is your place to be here with me according to your culture on Earth...so just enjoy the experience...auh! And let me do the rest.”
Moans mixed in with the careful rhythm of her breathing until she was left gasping from the strain of the delivery. Her focus was so intense that it was a complete surprise to John when she looked up at him with tired and brilliant eyes. She flashed a smile of warning, and he suddenly realized what she was trying to tell him.
“I see her! Um, one more Teyla and...I’ve got her!! Teyla! Look!” John seated himself behind Teyla so she could rest her back against his chest while she held Ame. “Listen to that voice. I thought you were supposed to spank babies to make them cry. Did I catch her wrong?”
Ame grew quiet as she snuggled in Teyla’s arms. “Some babies figure it out on their own."
“Welcome to the world, Ameleia Udiya Sheppard, and Happy Birthday, since this will be the only real birthday you will ever have.”
Teyla laughed at the animated tone of his voice. “Thank you, John.” She cut the cord and wrapped Ame in John’s t-shirt before settling her against her breast again to nurse.
“How are you feeling? We needed to get her out of here.” He stopped himself and refocused. “Why don’t we just sit here for a minute. I’ve got this crazy rush going.”
Teyla stared at his shadowed face. “I’m know.”
“I want you to...”
She cut off his words with a soft laugh. “It’s strange, but I want it too. I know I’ve always been reluctant in the past.”
John moved to sit in front of her and pulled her onto his lap while she cradled Ame in her arms. A rush of energy hit him when Teyla’s fingers pierced through his skin. The wave flowed through their bodies, but somehow it was different. It took him a moment to understand—Ame was the difference. “Teyla, this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my life!”
John and Teyla were dressed and standing together while looking up through the hole above them. Ame was tied securely to Teyla’s back in a makeshift sling.
“How do you say it again?” Teyla asked.
“Papoose. I think it’s an American Indian word for wrapped up baby. She’s cute though.”
“Yes, she’s cute.” Teyla touched the earth wall beside where she was standing. “Are you sure that d-jumping out of here is not a good idea.
“Neither of us is familiar with the planet, and we aren’t very familiar with Ame outside of your belly to do anything bold. Our Zeta energy is different because of her. It will take me longer than ten or fifteen minutes to understand the change to where we can all jump out safely.”
“We were doing this same thing after our first night together on Kalasandar.”
John smiled and jumped down from a compact mound of dirt. “They say history repeats itself. Almost makes this feel like we’re cheating on a test.”
“Only if we actually make it to the surface again. We’re climbing dirt.” Teyla dropped her voice and added, “It could sink again and take us lower into the mountain.”
“That’s not exactly what I’d like to think about right now,” he said nervously. “Change of plans. We can’t climb out of here safely, so I’ll jump and get help. I’ll be back soon.”
“Go,” she replied with an edge of anxiety in her voice. He disappeared, and she stared up at him when he looked down through the hole from the surface.
“I’ll get a crate so I can pull her up and then you can d-jump out when she gets to the surface.”
Rodney sat at his workstation aboard the Orion with his body leaned in towards the screens that showed the integrity of the Eta shield and the position of all of the rescue teams in relation to the ship.
“Hey, Rodney. I’m looking for a crate or something box-like,” John said as he entered the room. “Do you have any boxes in here? I found some rope, now I just need a box.”
“Um, there should be a plastic bin for storing data cards over there.” Rodney pointed in a direction without looking away from his computer. “You have to be careful unloading them and promise to reload them when you’re finished using it.” He stopped and turned, looking at John curiously before continuing, “What do you need it for?”
“Teyla had Ame a couple of hours ago.”
“That’s great!” Rodney cut in, but followed the remark with a resigned shrug. “Well this isn’t a very nice place to be born. Is she okay?”
“Yeah. Teyla was helping a group make their way down the mountain. It’s funny, but we fell into a sink hole and that’s where she had Ame. That’s why I need the bin. To fish Ame out.”
“They’re still down there?” Rodney interrupted. He stood up and knocked his chair over in the process. “How long ago did you leave them?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. They’re okay, Rodney,” John said.
“No, they’re not!” Rodney argued. He typed furiously on the keyboard and motioned to the updated information on the screen as he backed away.”
John stepped closer and and stared at the screen nervously. “What’s wrong?”
“I noticed it an hour after we arrived.” Rodney sat down and pointed to marks on the screen. “The Ancients have been bombing the surface outside the shield triggering seismic activity in the planetary core. I have no clue where they got the bombs, but the sinkholes are appearing all over. I told Jason to wrap things up and get everyone back here as soon as possible. We can’t stay here much longer. Where’s Teyla?”
“About four hundred meters north east of the starboard side of the ship, half way up the mountain.”
“Here?” Rodney asked, stabbing his index finger against the screen. “The ground there caved another 10 meters about seven minutes ago. They’re dead, John! The Ancients know they can’t get through the shield so they’re using the planet to get to us.”
“Teyla is not dead, Rodney. She has to be alive because I am not feeling the pain of their loss.”
“Can’t you just jump to her?” Rodney asked.
“I can’t feel exactly...” John shook his head as he struggled to comprehend the connection that still lingered between Teyla and him. “I can’t find her,” he finally said. “Is there any way we can get her out?”
“The ground is too unstable for us to dig. The vibrations might drop her closer to the core.” Rodney grabbed John’s arm. “She won't be able to breathe down there if she is buried.”
“Maybe she found a way out. I’ll be back.” John disappeared leaving the rope lying on the floor beside the workstation.
Rodney turned back to the computer and hit a button to broadcast a message. “Attention all rescue teams. This is Dr. McKay. Return to the Orion immediately and prepare for departure...and hurry!”
John knelt down at the foot of the hollow mountain and clinched his fists around the dirt his hands raked up from the ground. “Where are you? Why didn’t I see this?” he shouted into the darkness. The resounding silence only brought him a dull pain. His true agony came from knowing that he had abandoned Teyla and Ame; they were alone, and there was nothing he could do to help them.
“Sheppard, where are you?” Rodney called out over the radio. “The ship is secure and we need to go. Did you find her?”
“No,” John replied as he stood up letting the dirt fall back to the ground. “I’m not leaving until I find Teyla. I know they’re alive.”
“The Orion will fall apart if we stay any longer. We’ve got holes opening up right under us. If we get too many we’ll take a dive for the core. I need you to fly this thing.”
“Have Jason fly,” John said.
“Didn’t we agree that only you and Teyla could keep a shield around this thing?”
“The connection has already been established, Rodney. Think of it as...” John paused and let out a heavy breath of annoyance. “Why do I even need to explain this to you. Just leave. Go back to Atlantis!”
“Are you sure you want to do this? We are over 50 light years from Atlantis. Can you and Teyla really jump that far? We have no way of contacting you.”
“Stop asking questions and leave me alone,” John said.
The Orion lifted into a hover casting a bright shade of light over the fallen mountain. Long fault lines cut through the landscape as the crust of the planet continued to shift in response to the bombs the Ancients were setting off outside the shield. Wide sections of earth caved in around him. It was only a matter of time before the ground he was standing on would give way too.
When the ship was gone, he switched on his flashlight and pointed it out in front of him. The light grew dim as he resumed his wandering search until it died completely. He threw it to the ground and cursed while he kicked at it, but his foot hit against an uprooted tree; a crack sounded as a branch snapped. John jerked it away and raised his arm to fling it towards the cave, but stopped. He spread his fingers out, carefully inspecting the branch before breaking it in half. He turned away from the mountain and looked up at the sky. Two crisp wirrhs cut through the air as he twirled the sticks like bantos rods.
Elizabeth sat at a workstation and held her hands together while she listened to Rodney over the deep space relay that had just been patched through to the city control center. “Does he think he’ll be able to find her?”
“I don’t know. He said they were trapped, she gave birth, and then the ground caved again when he left to get help.”
“Teyla is still alive. John would know if she were dead,” Elizabeth assured him.
“I’m just not sure how she’d stay alive with an infant under so many kilos of dirt,” Rodney said. “I don’t understand why he can’t jump to her.”
“Sometimes we have to let go and trust other people to save themselves. Bring the people on that ship home. We’re waiting for you.”
“I guess that’s all we can really do. I’ll see you in thirteen hours Elizabeth.”
“I’m counting.” Elizabeth removed her ear piece and rubbed her eyes when the transmission cut off. When she looked up again, she saw Kiron heading towards her.
“You look upset. What’s wrong?” he asked cautiously.
“The Orion is coming home, but John stayed behind. Something happened. He can’t find Teyla and Ame.”
“Teyla had her baby. I thought that might happen. It’s dangerous for him to be there alone,” Kiron said.
“What would you do if someone you loved was lost and you knew they were alive? What if you couldn’t do anything to help?”
He stepped closer to her and brushed his fingertips under her chin. “I’d learn to pray.”
The shield dissolved while John stared up at the sky, and a stream of blue spiraled down and drained straight into him as if he were breathing it in. An arid wind accompanied the heavy darkness that replaced the shield; when it was still, he could sense the movement of bodies and echoes of voices. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was standing in the middle of a crowd of Ancients.
“Why is it that you hunt your own kind now?” John asked.
Nygard cut his way through the crowd and stopped in front of John. “We will not show you mercy because you were once our brother.”
“My wife causes no harm. Why did you try to kill her?”
“You already know the answer to that,” Nygard replied.
“Are you so afraid of them that you would rather destroy them than risk being at their mercy? The Ancients were once a greater race who showed compassion to weaker races. They will do the same. Join us. There can be peace. There must be peace.”
“You are still a child, Xa. You have no memory of the war before your time,” Nygard said.
“Tell me what I need to to know so I can understand then,” John demanded.
“We became a great civilization, then a group left us in anger and bitterness. A third of our people followed. A hundred years later, they returned broken and infected with a disease that claimed their minds and passions. We shunned them, but allowed them to live. We were wrong to show them mercy. That act of mercy brought us to this warring fate. Their complete destruction is our redemption. They must not leave the stars of this galaxy because their plague is our burden and responsibility, not that of other galaxies.”
“The Skandar at Atlantis are not dangerous. They are the same as you and me,” John argued.
“Her hold on you keeps you from seeing the truth—there is no hope for the race of Wraith. Right now, you stand before me as proof that taming still cannot eliminate their thirst for blood. You dishonor your Lantian ancestors by allowing a beast to gorge herself on your lifeblood like a carrion vulture. This is the corruption and abomination we fight against. Join us. Then you will be able to understand this war.”
John paused; there was no way to make them understand. The sharing of blood would always seem barbaric to people outside of the Skandar. “Teyla and I possess a connection that very few people have shared. I give her my blood out of love, and there is no pain or loss. You know she protects her people through the same energy that ties her to me. You attacked the ground because you couldn’t get through the shield, and you crashed the Skandar ships hoping to kill her from the shock of the dying Skandar. Give up and let us live our lives in peace. You can’t kill Teyla because our Zeta energy is too strong.”
“You speak as though she were alive,” Nygard said.
“You think she’s dead?”
“She will be.”
“Would it end the war if she were?” John asked.
Nygard held a wry smile on his face. “Every war has an ending, but that would not be the end of this one.”
“I’m glad we are establishing rules concerning the end of the war," John said. "I have one word for you. Apothkana.”
A torrent of noise rose from the crowd around them. “You even dare to announce that you would attack such a sacred place—the ascension of your ancestors?” Nygard demanded.
“My ancestors?” John scoffed. “They became nothing to me the day my mother chose death over ascension. Apothkana has been corrupted by warring minds so it is no longer sacred. Apothkana is where this war will end, and the Skandar will win.”
Without warning, Nygard lashed out with a knife and slashed at John’s left cheekbone. John reflexively hit him with one of the sticks and the two began fighting. A moment later a pale blue light exploded, knocking everyone out. John fell to the ground and lay unconscious while the Ancients disappeared on their own.
Carson sat at a table in the medical bay reading while he waited for the Orion to arrive with the wounded. Laura sat across from him sketching his portrait. He happened to glance up from the book at a moment when she was staring intently at him.
“Do you miss your mother?” he asked, knowing that Laura was probably thinking of her mother if she was sketching.
“Yes.” Laura sighed and pushed the pad of paper away from her. “She doesn’t have any other family, so I worry that she is not being cared for well. The nursing home will just drain her of life and there’s nothing I can do about it."
Carson closed the book and set it down. “If you could bring her to Atlantis, would you?”
“Absolutely. She’d love it here, and she would love painting pictures of this city. She can draw so much better than I can. She taught art in the public schools, and they didn’t appreciate her."
“I’m sure she could get a job here as an art teacher, and I guarantee that they would appreciate her.”
Laura nodded in agreement. “So many of the people here are homesick for the family they may never see again. It was different when we couldn’t go back because our gate lacked power. Now we haven't gone back because it is our choice to shut Earth out. As much as we may agree with it, we still feel loss.”
“You should talk to Dr. Zelenka. He has been feeling the same way. Maybe you both should talk to Dr. Weir...” Carson’s voice cut off when he heard a loud thud from inside the infirmary wing.
“Dr. Beckett!” Teyla’s voice called out to him.
Carson and Laura quickly ran to the other room and saw Teyla holding Ame and sitting on the floor next to John. He was unconscious, and they were all covered in dirt and dried blood.
“What happened, Teyla?” Carson asked, instinctively reaching for Ame.
Teyla let him take her. “I knocked him out so we could jump. He was about to get himself killed.”
“Men,” Laura gibed under her breath.
Carson turned Ame in his arms to see if she was hurt. Teyla stood up and gently touched Ame’s forehead. “She’s fine, we’re just dirty.”
“Help Teyla, Carson,” Laura said. “I’ll take care of the baby.”
“Well, it looks like you’re all I’ve got until my medical staff shows up in two hours,” Carson said in reply. He redirected his focus to Teyla when his arms were free. Together, they lifted John off the floor and moved him to a bed. “What exactly did you do?”
“He collapsed the shield extension he was holding around the planet because he was upset. I think he wanted to challenge the Ancients. I opened it up again because they were about to kill him,” Teyla said.
“He is breathing,” Carson observed as he bend over John. He looked up at Teyla. “I think he got shocked. His body is just taking some time to start up again.”
“He alright then?”
“I think so, but you would know better than I would.”
Teyla nodded. “Would you watch him and care for Ame? I would like to shower and change. I am very tired.”
Teyla shut off the water and stopped in surprise when she stepped out of the shower. John was sitting on the counter by the sink, waiting. He was clean, dressed in comfortable night clothes, and Carson had stitched the nasty cut on his cheek.
“We didn’t see the same thing, did we,” he said in a low voice as he hopped down to the floor.
“No.” She dried her face and hugged the towel around her as she crossed the room and stopped in front of him. “That is why we misunderstood each other and fought.” She reached up and touched his cheek. “This could have been worse.”
“By the way,” John said, pulling her close with a carefree movement. “Carson and Laura are having fun with Ame. You did good bringing her into the world, Teyla. That is what I saw. A very dark place and us welcoming her while Skandar were being evacuated from a barren planet. The crash and her. That was it. I didn’t know it would cave in. What did you see?”
“The Skandar dying as the Ancients attacked, and Ame and I falling into the earth. I was afraid it would kill her. I let you jump for help because I thought climbing out would cause another cave-in.”
“How did you survive? How did you get out?”
“Ame and I created a shield that would draw in air and withstand the pressure of the dirt.” Teyla pulled away and picked up a shirt from a pile of clothing that sat on the counter behind where John had been sitting.
He watched her pull it over her head. “But how?” he asked when he could see her face again.
“I knew we would fall, but I didn’t know what I to do until we actually fell. The idea was suddenly there. After our shield stabilized, I dug my way out as I climbed to the top.”
“So, it is possible to create you’re own shield?” John asked curiously.
“No, you will always need two people to hold a shield connection together,” Teyla clarified.
“Do you think other people will learn to create their own shields? In pairs of course."
“Everyone has the ability to learn.”
John watched her for a moment while she finished dressing. She seemed tired, but peaceful. It was exactly the way he felt. “Why couldn’t I find you?”
“A shield blocks things out,” she replied while hanging her towel over a rod on the wall. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the room. “We were so focused on blocking that you got blocked out too.” She turned and kissed him playfully. “Sorry, it was new for us. We’ll let you know where we’re hiding next time.”
“I was so afraid, Teyla,” he whispered.
She grabbed his face between her hands. “What were you thinking? You almost killed yourself out there!”
“I’m sorry.” He gently kissed her, then added, “I scared them though.”
“With what?”
“Apothkana.”
“You are making this about revenge now,” she said. "Udiya—"
“They drove me to revenge the moment they tried to kill you, Teyla," John interrupted sharply. "The only vow I made to my mother was to win the war so the world would have the peace that was absent during her lifetime.”
“We have no ability to attack them there. It was a hollow threat.” She moved away from him and sat on the bed to comb her hair.
“Give me a break.” By her movements, he sensed she was agitated. “They were scared by the idea, and they’ll leave us alone.”
“Your emotions overwhelm your judgment, John. You didn’t scare them; you provoked them.”
He crossed to her and pushed her back against the bed so his body was bent over hers. “We can’t change any of that now, but we can change the subject. We have a daughter who would probably prefer to spend the night with us instead of with Carson and Laura. I’m going to break her out of the infirmary. Would you care to join me?”
“You are such a wild spirit,” she laughed as she drew his head closer with her hand and kissed his lips. “Let’s go.”
Day 171—Sunday 2230 hours
Hundreds of people were standing and sitting on the grass at the edge of the festival ground. Elizabeth stood alone in front of them in the open field. The new moon was shrouded by the shadow of the planet leaving a deep darkness to contrast the starlight from the sky and the lantern light on the ground.
Elizabeth pressed the button on her ear piece and took a deep breath before speaking to the waiting crowd. “I’d like to thank all of you for coming together today to celebrate this event. As we declare ourselves an independent nation, we sever all ties with the past and become what we are now. We are no longer Terran, Wraith, Ancient, or Athosian, but four great civilizations who have chosen to be Skandar. Let it be known among all of the galaxies that a city can rise out of the ashes of civil war and birth a new era. We are that new era, and we are a new city. To life! Enjoy the show!”
A scream of rockets jetted into the air and exploded showering bright colors down over the mainland. The people cheered and watched intently as steady waves of fireworks continued to flash in the sky. While Elizabeth made her way back to Kiron, her eyes gazed beyond the crowd and across the ocean waves to Atlantis. The towers of the different sections were outlined by the clear lights of the city. The colored rain of fireworks added a new brilliance to the picture. It looked like Heaven, not on Earth or in the clouds, but on the water.
