Sub-Sections
| Sarah | Robbie | James | Lisa | Qilin | 'Tasja | Cameron | Home | Post Script |
Sarah McKay (Age 17)
Sarah McKay was not an idiot.
She was, in point of fact, technically a genius. She had been known to utter the phrase "I will kill you with my brain" on more than one occasion in her childhood. She was a natural born 'gene-kid', one of those who interacted with the city of Atlantis on an almost instinctive level. What all of this meant in practice, was that it was next to impossible to get her to do something she didn't want to.
This did quite a lot to explain why she was standing in the Atlantis 'Gateroom with a petulant look on her face and a duffel at her feet, still arguing with her father.
"Papa, I don't want to go. It's an idiotic idea. Why do I have to learn how to behave on Earth? I've been there. I don't want to live there. I don't even want to go to school there."
Dr. Rodney McKay didn't look terribly thrilled to be having the discussion either. "Sarah, we've been through this. In private. You're going because you have to go to an Earth school to get your PhD. And you have to get your PhD before you get to decide where you want to live."
She stomped her foot. "That's not fair. Daddy doesn't have a PhD. He runs the entire military just fine without one. You're just being mean." She crossed her arms and glared around the 'Gateroom. Her gaze paused on her father, on the upper level with Captain Campbell, but she knew better than to try to drag him into this. He looked up, feeling her gaze, and shook his head at her. Nope. No help there.
Dr. McKay, meanwhile, was getting seriously fed up with the whole business. "Yes, your father is such a wonderful example in these circumstances. However, even allowing for his suicidal heroic years, he still managed to get a masters. Which you have not. Graduate school is not open for discussion, my dear. Therefore neither is this. It's four weeks. You'll survive." He picked up her duffel and shoved it into her arms. "Suck it up. You will go. You will learn stupid things with idiots, you will be polite about it, and they will let you go to graduate school. Then you can come home and bitch all you want."
She opened her mouth to respond, but her words were lost in the sound of 'Gate activation. She shot her papa a final glare before shouldering her duffel and trudging despondently towards the event horizon along with her fellow victims. Robbie shot her a smile, but she ignored it. She might have to do this, but she wasn't going to be happy about it.
This referred to Basic Acclimation & Non-Disclosure Camp. BAND Camp was the brain child of the SGC sociologists, concerned about the psychological trauma of moving teenagers to another planet, and the US Department of Defense, concerned about compromising the integrity of the Stargate Program. It was essentially a four week crash course in how to pass for a native Earther. It was mandatory for all children who had spent more than 10 years on a planet other than Earth who wished to enter any Earth academic or civilian institution.
Sarah McKay thought it was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard of. And that included Cameron's theory on time travel. She was still of this opinion when she stepped through the 'Gate and arrived on Epsilon 3, one of the SGC's off-world training facilities. She'd laughed really hard when she'd first read the information. Then she'd realized she was expected to attend.
Epsilon 3 was a normal forested world: blue skies, green trees, and aerial patrols cruising by at regular intervals. She paused a moment to study the patrol craft, then frowned. F-302's were ancient, and not in the good way. Robbie poked her in the back in response to the hold up, and she glared back at him before proceeding down the path to the waiting adults.
They were greeted by Colonel McKenzie, the man in charge of the project. After doing an attendence check he escorted them to a mess in one of the larger buildings of the compound. Apparently the Earth Alpha Site kids had gotten there first and staked out the back half of the mess. Sarah glared at the first one she saw on principle. It had been that kind of a day. She stalked over to one of the tables and tossed her backpack at the floor before sitting down and removing her half-size tablet. The rest of the Atlantis children followed her lead, and she ended up sharing her mid-room table with Robbie and Cameron. The rest of them settled nearby. Activating her tablet, she set about making a serious effort to ignore the welcome speaker. James would tell them later if there had been anything good, and she had far more important things to do with her time.
When he'd first been taking the route of attempted bribe, Papa had offered her a set of proofs to play with while she was gone. It hadn't worked, but she'd demanded the compensation anyway. He'd grumbled a lot, but Dad had smacked him and he'd handed them over.
Right around the time she became really engrossed in the work, Robbie tapped her shoulder. She shrugged him off, only to have him shake her. Without even looking up she caught his hand and twisted his arm, making him squawk. It didn't deter him, however, and he leaned over and hissed at her in Ancient. "Sit up, the colonel's calling your name." She blinked and sat up straighter, looking around.
"Sarah McKay? I know you're here, you logged in at the 'Gate."
Sarah sighed and raised her hand. "Over here."
The instructor walked over and handed her a folder, then continued his list of names. "Parrish, James"
James, who was sitting at the next table, raised his hand and muttered under his breath. Sarah looked down at the folder she had been given and began to poke around at it. It was blue, with her name printed in black on the upper left corner: "McKay, Sarah S." She opened it and found leaves of paper. Hardcopy. The idiots were wasting good hardcopy on something like this. Her opinion of the SGC dropped another notch.
She heard a quiet round of clapping from the Alpha Site kids and looked up, her eyebrows raised. What a strange behavior; she normally associated it with ritual sacrifices. She glanced over at Robbie to share the confusion, but he was staring at the front of the room. She followed his gaze and blinked. That was Lisa. She was sure that was Lisa. She hadn't seen Lisa since she was four. She poked Robbie, but got no response. She poked him harder, still nothing. He was actively staring at the girl at the front of the room. Sarah gave up and settled back in her seat to watch the proceedings.
The colonel was speaking again. "I'd like to introduce all of you to Lisa Kirnov, she's here to teach you about teenaged culture in Western nations." Lisa gave a half-hearted wave, her attention on the Atlantis section of the seating. "Now, we're going to take a five minute break, and then we'll give you sleeping and class schedule assignments. I'd like you to take the time to introduce yourselves."
The colonel stepped back from the podium and gave the universal 'talk amongst yourselves' gesture. Lisa slowly made her way toward the Atlantis contingent, obviously hesitant. Sarah took one look at the Alpha Site kids and decided that just wasn't happening. She saw Kat and 'Tasja making their way over, and James was making indecisive noises, so she considered the Atlantis contingent's obligations met. She watched Lisa approach the table and cocked her head. "Oy, Kirnov. Long time no see."
Lisa's eyes snapped over to Sarah and a real smile crept onto her face. She responded in kind, the Ancient coming easily even after so many years. The Alpha Site kids had stopped their chatter and were watching curiously.
"Long time yourself, Sarah." Lisa thought for a moment. "Kill anyone with your brain lately?"
Robbie snickered, and even Sarah had to smile. "Nah, I let people who are less important kill the idiots." Sarah paused, remembering the girl from the nursery and trying to reconcile her with the teen in front of her. "What happened to you? You went to Earth and you vanished. We missed you."
Lisa took the open seat next to Robbie and shrugged. "Matra and Mama moved to Chicago. I had to go too. When Mama tried to move back SGC said no. That was before the new immigration stuff started going through." Lisa's face saddened. "I begged to go home for years, I didn't realize it wasn't an option."
Sarah tried to think of something to say, but Robbie beat her to it. He gave Lisa a one armed hug. "We really did miss you. But you're here, so you must have security clearance now. Are you coming home?"
Lisa shrugged. "In a few years, probably. Matra said I have to wait until I'm 18 before I can leave on my own, and she's not moving again. She and Mama like their lives at this point. They don't miss the city like I do." She brushed her temples and the all nodded in understanding. They were cut off from any further discussion by Col. McKenzie's voice coming from the front of the room.
"All right. Now that you've had a chance to get to know each other, let's talk about sleeping arrangements." He indicated the map of the grounds on the wall behind him. "As you can see, we have 3 primary structures: Staff Housing, the Hangar, and the Primary Instruction Halls. You are in the Primary Instruction Hall. This is where you will take your meals and gather for the evening sessions. Most day sessions will also be held here. There are a number of smaller structures as well. Two of these are residence halls." He pointed to specific structures on the map. "Hall A, here, will be housing the males. Hall B, here, will be female housing. As you are all under 18, the structures will remain gender segregated with the exception of the main lounges. Those are co-ed. Room assignments are in your folders, as are your class schedules for the first week. You will be split into two mixed groups for the day sessions to promote socialization. The evening sessions will be conducted as a single group. Are there any questions?"
Sarah shook her head instinctively, still trying to sort out the gender-based housing requirements. Giving up on inherent comprehension she raised her hand and saw her fellow 'Lanteans relax since someone else was asking the question they all had. "Why do we have separate buildings? Wouldn't it be more efficient to have all the students in one structure?"
The colonel paused, obviously baffled by her question. "We house male and female students separately to prevent unauthorized fraternization. It's SOP when dealing with populations under 18."
Sarah frowned at him. "Why? I mean if we get unexpected bombardment it increases the number of viable targets, never mind being a waste of construction materials. Don't you have social controls dictating appropriateness of fraternization? Why wouldn't those be sufficient?"
The colonel rubbed the bridge of his nose and Robbie snickered. "This is how it is. Now, are there any other questions?" He looked around the room. "Good. Your schedule of classes is in your folders. Please report for the evening session, What Classified Means To You, at 1900 following dinner. Thank you."
Sarah grumbled under her breath in Czech as they were escorted to the residence halls. This was going to be a long month.
After finding her allotted room and bed, Sarah changed into a training skirt and tank top and went off to find the gym. She needed to beat something up. A lot. Maybe someone, even. She poked her head into the room the twins had congregated in to let them know where she was going, then found her way to the gym.
To her good fortune, Sarah was not the first there. One of the Alpha Site kids, something Jones, was running a kata with a wooden sword. Sarah grinned. She hadn't had the chance to spar with someone new in almost a year. She grabbed a couple of suitable looking sticks from the armaments rack and began running through her warm-up exercises. Since they were the same set she'd been doing since the age of three, she let her mind wander and watched her potential opponent. By the time she finished, she'd concluded that he wasn't bad. Oh, he showed a lack of variety in styles, but reasonably good execution. She casually wandered over to his side of the mats. "Jones, right?"
He looked up as he finished his series. "Yeah. Brad Jones. You?"
"Sarah McKay." She swung each of her sticks in a circle once and dropped into a fighting crouch. "Shall we?"
He shrugged and mimicked her pose. "Why not. I should warn you, though. My dad's an unarmed combat instructor. I never learned how to go easy on girls."
Sarah grinned, all teeth. "I learned from Teyla Emmagen. I never learned how to go easy on men."
They began circling, tossing tentative blows. A scuffle at the door caused them to pause. They watched Robbie, James, and Cameron wander in with the twins in close pursuit. All of them stopped dead when they saw what was going on. Cameron was the first to find his voice. "Sarah, that's cruel."
She raised her eyebrows curiously. "Why? He says his father is an instructor in combat. It should be a good fight."
Jones scoffed at the exchange. "I appreciate the concern, guys. But I've been doing this since I could walk. I think I can take care of myself."
Robbie whistled under his breath. "Yes, but so has she." He shook his head. "Have at it, then. Don't let us stop you." She watched him turn to the weaponry rack and select a pair of staves, tossing one to James and ignoring the rest of them as the two started to warm up.
Jones returned his attention to the match at the same time Sarah did, and the two began again in earnest. After several minutes of exchanging blows that were beginning to come more quickly, he was sweating heavily; she was barely breathing hard. She'd drawn it out so as to work off her anger, but it hadn't worked. Giving up on restraint, she began a full out assault; both sticks whirled and struck with a barely controlled fury. Jones was disarmed repeatedly, but she kept returning his weapon, unwilling to see it end.
After almost half an hour of sparring she was feeling much better, relaxing into the movements and letting them flow as Aunt Teyla had taught her. She disabled Jones in three quick blows, striking his wrist, knee, and torso in quick succession. He went down and stayed down, curled up on his side.
Robbie, having seen the last few rounds, came over to check the boy over. He stood up after a minute, speaking in Ancient. "Well, I don't think you broke anything. He should be fine with some ice and pain killer."
She nodded, and spoke in Czech. "Fine. Anyone else up for a go?" There were no takers. "Unarmed?"
Kat finally wandered back from where she'd been peering at the electronic equipment. She responded in English. "I'll go a round unarmed." She stretched and settled into a crouch.
A few minutes later an instructor poked his head in the door to give them a fifteen minute warning for dinner. Sarah and Kat broke up their minor brawl and nodded, each rising and heading for the door. As they headed for the residence halls to shower they heard the instructor in the gym. "What the hell happened to you?"
Sarah couldn't help but grin. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Robbie Cadman (Age 16)
Crack
Robbie winced as the sound of splintering wood echoed in the night. He took a last look at his handiwork and darted off to the woods to ensure he wasn't seen. After five minutes with no visible patrol he let out a sigh of relief and returned to the window of the girl's residence hall; now that the offending piece of wood was broken, it opened easily. He hoisted himself up and crawled into the room, looking around. The room was currently empty; Sarah and Lisa must be elsewhere for the moment. After a moment of contemplation he chose a bed at random and settled on it to wait. He didn't have to wait long.
The door to the room opened, and Lisa entered. Her hair was wet and she wore a towel; he realized belatedly that the girls must have gone to shower before bed. He sat up to say something, but she noticed him first. She screamed.
Sarah came sprinting into the room at a dead run, shampoo ready to launch at Lisa's attacker, only to stop short. Having gotten over the initial shock, Lisa closed her mouth and settled for glaring at Robbie. He looked at Sarah, confused, but she merely shrugged in a way that clearly said She grew up on Earth, who the hell knows what her problem is. Having decided that there was no real threat, Sarah wandered over to her duffel and began rummaging for clean clothing.
There was a knock at the door followed by 'Tasja's tentative "Ni hao ma?"
Sarah lifted her head, glanced over at the others, then responded. "Wo hung hao. Just a little confusion." She went back to rummaging around. Lisa still hadn't moved.
Robbie finally broke the silence. "What?"
Lisa's glare darkened. "Get. Out."
Robbie frowned, puzzled. "Uh, why?"
Lisa crossed her arms in exasperation. "Because I'm not changing with you in the room. Out!"
Robbie again looked to Sarah for help. It was a pointless move. Sarah was ignoring them, apparently having discovered a new form of something in the bottom of her duffel that was holding her attention. He sighed. "Look. If it makes you feel any better I'll turn around. But I'm not leaving, I need to talk to someone who doesn't think the world revolves around Earth football. Or how big Kat's breasts are." He shuddered in disgust. "I've tried. Really, I have. But the Alpha Site boys are really strange." At Lisa's hand gesture, he obediently turned around and settled facing the wall. A moment later he heard shuffling and assumed Lisa was finally getting dressed. "It's not exactly that they're not trying. But every time James and I start talking, they stop what they're doing. It's really hard to hold a conversation with a roomful of guys staring at you. They only speak English." He glared at the wall.
Lisa spoke from somewhere to his left. "I know exactly what you mean. I had that for years after we moved to Earth. Matra ended up getting me a deaf matrena."
Sarah finally spoke up, apparently having decided that it was safe to rejoin the conversation. "So you broke regs, traversed the length of the base, and broke a window, because you were bored?"
He grinned. "Well, yeah. And I thought you might be interested in helping me with a project."
"What kind of project?" He heard footsteps crossing the room, then she sprawled beside him. "Anything good?"
He shrugged. "I was out poking around this afternoon before the Age Restrictions on Earth seminar, and you're totally going to hate that one, and found somewhere that could really use a few less trees."
Sarah nodded contemplatively, sitting up and handing over her hairbrush as she thought. So that was what she'd been hunting for. Robbie started brushing her hair as she mused. "I don't suppose you brought any ordnance with you aside from standard, did you? Wait, this is you. Of course you did. Anything good?"
He set down the brush and parted her hair, beginning to work on a braid. "Well, I had some good stuff, but they did a search of our belongings before they put them in the rooms. They even took the flash-bangs."
Sarah turned to look at him. "Where in the name of the Ancestors did you find flash bangs? We're not importing the things anymore. I've been trying to get my hands on some for a year; I still owe James for that incident with the Pilaoi ceremony of friendship. I hate dancing."
He turned her head back to its previous angle. "My secret. And if you don't stop moving this is going to be crooked."
She reached back blindly and pinched his arm. Hard. "The only thing crooked is your sense of direction. Back to the topic at hand. They took everything?"
Robbie rubbed at the sore spot. "Well, my sidearm and a few spare clips were in my backpack. And I've got a knife. Because you always pack one for them to find, and -"
"One for you to keep." Sarah finished the well-known saying along with him. "I know. I've got a K-Bar, sidearm and clips, my tablet, and some duct tape. Not the greatest arsenal, but we've dealt with worse. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say our first order of business is going to be obtaining supplies?"
Robbie tied off her braid and started on the other side of her head, weaving a mirror image of the first. "I was thinking that, yes." He glanced up as Lisa tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes?"
"If you're going to take over my bed, can I at least sit down?"
He nodded. "Of course. Hey, you want to come and do some demolitions with us? We're going to be clearing a chunk of trees over the ridge."
Lisa had a skeptical look on her face. "I heard. You sure that's such a good idea?" She settled herself next to Robbie and watched him braid Sarah's hair into a complex weave.
Robbie shrugged. "Why not? Not like I don't do it at home. I'll get rusty if I take four weeks off."
Sarah turned to look at Lisa. "The boy gets edgy when he can't blow things up. Really edgy." She grumbled under her breath when he turned her head back to finish the braid.
Lisa nodded slowly. "Huh." A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Hey, would you teach me how to blow things up?"
Robbie cocked his head to the side. "You mean you don't know how? I thought everyone got basic demolitions at twelve." Lisa opened her mouth to retort but he waved her off. "Not an issue. Sure I'll teach you. It's easy enough on the simple ones, and trees are simple. Bigger structures?" He moved his free hand in a back and forth motion. "Those are a little more complicated."
Lisa grinned. "Don't worry, I learn fast." She was about to say more, but there was a knock at the door. She got up to answer, leaving Robbie free to tie off Sarah's braid. Once he did, Sarah flopped back down on the bed again.
Robbie turned just as Lisa opened the door. Colonel McKenzie was standing on the other side. Robbie shifted out of line-of-sight and hoped the colonel hadn't noticed him yet. He was impressed with Lisa; she didn't even blink at the officer, keeping the door mostly closed. "Can I help you, sir?"
Robbie heard the colonel clear his throat. "I need you to open your door, we've had a report that there's a male student in the hall. It will only take a moment."
"But Sir -" She was cut off when the colonel pushed the door fully open.
Sarah pushed herself up from where she was lying, supporting herself on her elbows. "Yes, Sir?"
"You girls are in luck, this time. First offense punishment only applies to the trespasser. If this happens again, you're all on Disciplinary Detail." The colonel directed his attention at Robbie. "Mr. Cadman, on the other hand, is not so fortunate. Stand up, boy."
Robbie did so, grumbling under his breath in Czech about seriously screwed up policies. "Yes, Sir?"
"What was that, Mr. Cadman?"
"Nothing, Sir."
"I thought not. For unauthorized visitation in the female residence hall, you are assigned one week of morning PT with the marines. This will consist of a 6 klick run and the standard calisthenics routines. You will meet with the lieutenant in charge of said exercises at 0530 beginning tomorrow."
Sarah attempted to speak up. "But, Sir, he-"
"But nothing, Ms. McKay. Or do you want to join him?" Sarah kept her mouth shut, saying quite a bit with her glare. "I thought not. Mr. Cadman, you will return to the male residence hall. Lt. Singer will be expecting you in the morning, I'd suggest you get to sleep."
Robbie nodded and left through the door, throwing a last exasperated look at Sarah. As he was escorted from the building, he could imagine all too well what Sarah's laughter would sound like. After all, it wasn't their fault that the colonel didn't know they did 8 klicks most mornings. And Robbie certainly wasn't going to enlighten him.
When Robbie was deposited back at the male residence hall, he found himself the subject of more than a few stares. The Alpha Site boys whispered amongst themselves until the NCOs had departed, then one he didn't recognise (obviously the appointed inquisitor) walked over and took the seat next to him. "Hi. I'm Jason." Jason shifted to get more comfortable. "So what did you get busted for?"
Robbie rolled his eyes and activated his tablet, waiting for it to boot. "Got caught in the female residence hall."
"The girls' dorm? Man, you move fast. Who'd you go to see?"
Robbie shrugged, already bored with the conversation. "I just wanted to talk to Sarah." He tapped at one of the program icons on the screen, pulling up the Ancient version of Tetris.
"Sarah? Man, you're nuts. That girl's insane."
That made Robbie's head pop up. "Sarah? You're kidding, right?"
"No, man. She beat Brad to a pulp her first night here. And she's got fucking weird ideas about weapons. She got into this big fight with the speaker in Gun Laws in Western Nations: Check Your Sidearm at the Door. Started in about something I couldn't even follow."
Robbie raised an eyebrow. "Really."
Jason nodded enthusiastically. "The girl's not human."
Robbie set down his tablet. "See, the way I remember it, he said he could take it. Cameron even asked again when we walked in on the match. Brad didn't want to listen when we said it might not be a good idea to go no-holds-barred with Sarah. It's his own fault."
Jason stuttered, defensiveness creeping into his voice. "But...but... His dad's an unarmed combat instructor. He's been doing that shit since he could walk. No way she did that in a fair fight."
Robbie rolled his eyes. "It was a fair fight. Sarah doesn't need to cheat to win; she's been doing it since she could walk, too. Her genetics are a little more... interesting than yours, perhaps. But she's plenty human."
Jason nodded warily. "Right. You know, I think I'm just going to let that one go. You know who ratted you out?"
Robbie shook his head. "I know it wasn't the twins; none of us get the policies here. Probably one of you Alpha Site types."
Jason stiffened. "What do you mean 'Alpha Site Types'?"
Robbie sat up. "You Earthborn. All of you from the Alpha site. You stare at us, blame us 'Lanteans for your own mistakes, think your ways are better because they're from the SGC, and we're the weird ones?"
Jason held up his hands in a defensive motion. "Hey, wait a minute. You can't just class us as one group. Yeah, we've all lived at the Alpha site, but we're from all over." He pointed to one of the other boys who waved. "Ming Tsu over there's from PNX-286, they're kind of big on rules there. Iref," a different boy nodded in their direction, "is from one of the free Jaffa worlds. Only half of us were born on Earth. So I think you need to stop before this gets unpleasant."
Robbie sighed and picked up his tablet. "Whatever. But next time I hear someone talking about Kat or Sarah behind their backs? I'll tell them. You don't want that. Do any of you know where James went?"
Heads shook in the negative around the room. Robbie groused in Czech and made his way to his own room, attempting to ignore the muttering in the main lounge. James was probably engrossed in a book somewhere; at least he'd have the room to himself.
Robbie didn't even turn on the light when he entered his room, just shut the door and made his way to his bed by feel before falling onto it facedown. There was a disgruntled mutter from the other bed. Robbie raised his head, surprised. "James?"
The shape on the other bed shifted. "Yeah. Where were you?"
"I went over to see Sarah. I wanted some help on the demolitions work I want to do later. Since you said no, I thought you'd be somewhere reading until 'lights out'."
"Nah, needed sleep. I hate these Ancestor-cursed twenty-four hour days."
Robbie chuckled quietly. "I hear you there. Sorry I woke you. Doors here aren't what they should be."
"Eh. No big deal. Sarah say yes?"
"Yeah. Although I landed Disciplinary Detail for my troubles since I got caught. I have to run six klicks a morning for the next week."
"Lucky bastard. Sarah's still going to make us do eight, I'm sure."
Robbie grinned and was totally unrepentent. "I know. 'Night."
"Night."
James Parrish (Age 16)
Unlike certain pyrotechnicians he could name, James managed to go two whole weeks before he ended up on Disciplinary Detail. When it did happen, it was arguable whether he was to blame.
Well, to be technical (because he always was, at least when it came to language), he might have thrown the first punch. But he was justified. Really justified. You didn't let people insult your family.
Upon reflection, he would concede that they hadn't started out actually insulting his family. It turned out that a few of the older Alpha Site kids were military brats. This was not surprising, since the Alpha Site had originally been a solely military outpost. Earthborn military brats spent a lot of time on military bases. This meant that they picked up military slang. James understood all of this; he watched the media they received from Earth. He and the others were nothing like the children they saw in the movies that arrived on the A.S.V. Orion. He knew that most Earthborn didn't learn to safety and remove the magazine from a P-90 when they were two because 'being around the weapons wasn't an option, it was a necessity' and 'better safe than sorry.'
None of this bothered James. As usual, it had been his curiosity that had caused the problem. He'd heard the word 'fag' come up a few times in conversation, in the same tone of voice that Dr. Zelenka usually reserved for things-not-to-be-repeated. James knew it was an insult, he just didn't know where it originated. He liked languages, liked knowing how they worked and evolved. So he had asked, because as far as he knew, a 'fag' was the used end of a cigarette (the term had come up in a British media example a few years back).
The question had been met with rather stunned gazes, implying that it was something everyone knew. James had pushed, and the answer he had gotten had stunned him in turn. After all, why was it an insult for two men to have sex? He had two fathers, and he was reasonably certain that his younger brother wasn't the result of immaculate conception. His dad had bitched too much about how it was all Patra's fault for that to have been the case. After Michael had been born Dad had gone on a rampage for years about the need for a Morning After Pill for Men. James knew this because Patra had to take him in for his check-ups and immunizations for almost three years while Robbie's father was refusing to speak to Dad. It wasn't until James was older that he understood what it had all been about.
This still left the question of why it was an insult. James had been puzzled, and said as much. He had explained that he had two fathers, and that he didn't see why it should matter. One of the Alpha Site kids (Terry? Tom? He was in the other group, and at that moment James couldn't bring himself to care about the name) had explained that it was morally wrong and that Earth (or at least the United States) prohibited men or women of that persuasion from serving in their military if the information came to light. Hence the insult. James took a deep breath, consciously unclenching his fists. It was just another sign that Earth was a seriously messed up place. He wouldn't let it get to him.
"So since I have two fathers who live together, they would be automatically barred from Earth military service? Because they are in violation of a subset's moral codes?"
T-something had thought for a moment, then nodded. "To put it in a very basic sense, yes. No room in the fighting types for people like that."
James voice dropped in pitch, quiet and controlled. "People like that. You mean people who are smart, competent, and educated? People who have saved my home more times than any of us can recall? Who are willing to risk their lives so that their children can grow up safe? The 'fighting types' have no room for people like that?"
"Well, yes. I mean I guess when you put it that way-"
That was about all James remembered clearly. According to the official report, when the marines had arrived and separated the group he'd been one of three still standing. Out of six. He remembered being pulled off of T-something, and he remembered that he'd reached out with his mind and there had been nothing there to calm him as it normally did, but that was all. They stuck him in his room for the rest of the day and he got to skip Wireless Communication: It Costs Money and Fashion of 2024: What Not To Wear. Around 1700 he had a visit from the colonel, who informed him he was being placed on Disciplinary Detail with the marines until he left. A few of the other boys in the brawl were as well.
James had been released and allowed to attend dinner and the evening session, with a warning that if it happened again he was getting sent back to Atlantis. James had nodded in all the right places (having a colonel for a father helped with these kind of talks a lot), then trudged over to the mess. Looking around after collecting his tray, he realized that the friends he'd made among the Alpha Site kids were avoiding his gaze, even the girls. He settled on a table with Sarah and Robbie, promptly refusing to discuss his currently bruised face. Sarah had done a quick head count on the Alpha Site kids and nodded knowingly, but didn't press the issue. That was as good as he was likely to get.
That evening's session was Credible Backstories 102. They'd been having the session every third night, creating and reinforcing their 'histories' as far as anyone they encountered on Earth was concerned. James understood the point, but really wasn't in the mood for it. Robbie and 'Tasja kept shooting him concerned looks, so he knew it must be showing, but it was just too much effort to pretend the afternoon hadn't happened. At the end of the session when things were wrapping up and the speaker asked for final questions, James decided to address the issue.
"Sir, I understand that this wasn't the topic of the evening, but there's something that's been troubling me since our first night here."
The lieutenant nodded cautiously, having heard about the earlier brawl involving the normally bookish teen. "Go ahead, Mr. Parrish."
"Sir, I know Sarah asked this the first day, but she never really got an answer. Why are we in same sex housing?"
"As I'm sure you have been informed, Mr. Parrish, regulations require the residence facilities for minors, those under 18 Earth Standard Years of age, be single sex."
"Why? What does it accomplish? Col. McKenzie said it was to prevent fraternization, but that doesn't make sense if you look at it logically. There's no reason I could not choose to fraternize with Robbie; why couldn't Lisa fraternize with Sarah for that matter? I mean, I know in Earth media homosexuality is stereotyped and only minimally reflected, but it's still an acknowledged part of your society, yes? So what makes it so much more likely that I will engage in unauthorized fraternization with one of the female members of the group? You insult us with the implication that we cannot control ourselves, and by extension by implying that only those of us interested in the opposite sex have any need to."
The lieutenant blinked at him. "Unfortunately I am not in a position to discuss or debate the functionality or lack thereof in your current housing assignments. It is something you would need to discuss with those who organized this operation."
James frowned. "I just don't understand the assumption. I mean, you're not even ensuring a lack of viable reproduction. If it were population control that's one thing, but same sex segregation doesn't eliminate population growth, it only changes the reproductive result statistics. The men are less likely to produce female children, the women producing only female children." James stood and grabbed his backpack angrily. "This whole thing is about helping us to understand Earth culture so we don't stand out, so that's what I'm trying to do. I just want to understand." His voice echoed in the silent lecture hall. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out. He heard others behind him and stopped once he reached the treeline surrounding the base outside the chain-link fencing, leaning against a tree.
Sarah appeared in his line of sight after a moment, followed by Robbie and Cameron. The twins weren't far behind. Even Lisa was visible, though she hung to the back of the small group. Robbie was the first to break the silence. "I think we need to clear the air. Let's take a walk."
Robbie led the way and they walked in ones and twos through the trees for close to half an hour before stopping at a clearing. A rather recently cleared clearing. So this was where Robbie had been venting lately. James could understand why it had been chosen; it reminded him of home. It was the edge of an inland lake, its shore made of large rocks impossible to identify in the starlight. The wrongness in the absence of even a single moon seemed to echo through the stillness.
Taking Robbie's suggestion to heart, James settled against a 'fallen' tree near the water's edge and soon they were all seated, scattered between a few of the downed trunks and leaning gently against each other in the cool night air. He spoke in a strong, clear voice, initiating the cleansing ritual they all knew so well. "You do not realize what you will miss until it is taken from you. We speak of loss to acknowledge it, to allow it to pass from us." He paused for a moment, letting the words be absorbed before resuming his speech.
"I miss the semi-sentient vines. Dad's had those things forever, but they're still my favorite. I miss how you can talk to them and they tease you; hissing and shifting and an intelligent response always just outside of comprehension."
'Tasja spoke next. "I miss my mom's balcony. On a clear day you can lie on your back and pretend you are actually touching the sky; on a cloudy day you are in the middle of the clouds. It's like flying."
"I miss doing demolitions inventory. It's the one thing mum and I always shared, even after she got promoted." Robbie spoke quietly, eyes on the water.
Sarah shifted to lie on her back, using Robbie as a pillow. "I miss flying. Really flying. When it's just you and the Puddle Jumper, and you're all on your own in the upper atmosphere and you can almost feel it on your skin. And then that first moment when your destination comes into sight and you know it's one more successful run; one more day you've really been alive."
Several of them sighed in agreement. Cameron spoke up next. "I miss the hunt. I've only been on one as a full hunter, but the thrill of the chase cannot compare with anything else I've known."
Kat spoke up from beside James, curled into his side. "I miss the city. I miss her hum, and I miss her whispers, and I miss doors that open when you want them to, and I miss computers that do what you tell them to, and I miss feeling whole." He felt her shaking against him and realized she was crying. He stroked her back gently, soothing her as much as any of them could. They all knew what she meant. All of them except for 'Tasja and Cameron had The Gene. It varied in strength, but they all had it. You didn't even realize what was there until the first time you were off-world for more than a day; then the unnatural stillness seemed to creep in. It wasn't so bad on most of the Pegasus worlds, almost all of them had bits and pieces of Ancient technology. It was the barren worlds, those without the touch of the Ancestors, where the quiet stillness became that much closer to a gaping void.
James opened his mouth to conclude the ritual when Lisa's voice cut him off. It was barely audible, even in the quiet night, but they all understood her without difficulty. "I miss the sea. The smell and the sight and the taste and the sound. All of it."
James searched the darkness and found her at Robbie's side, tucked under his arm and leaning against him. James spoke the formal closing words in Ancient, joined by everyone except Lisa. "We give voice to our pain that it be taken from us; that we may heal and grow stronger. Ancesters, take our loss and our sorrow and do with them what you will." They bowed their heads in contemplation a moment.
After the requisite time had passed, James shifted in an attempt to avoid the knot at his back. As he resettled Kat against his side, he realized that she had fallen asleep. Upon closer inspection, most of the group appeared to have drifted off. He was trying to decide how he'd pull his sidearm out without waking the younger girl when Sarah's voice cut through the quiet. "You can sleep, James. I'll take first watch. I'll wake you at a third and then you can wake Robbie for pre-dawn." He heard the sound of a sidearm being unholstered and let himself doze off.
Sarah woke him three hours later, as promised, and he managed to shift Kat so that she was curled up on the ground. The first hour and a half of his shift passed without incident, but then he heard an all-too-familiar sound. Low altitude aircraft on approach. Not Wraith Darts, but not the familar sound of Puddle Jumpers either. Probably one of the base F-302's, but no way to tell until it was directly overhead. He roused the group, everyone coming to full alertness within moments. Even Lisa seemed to remember how things worked. Sarah gestured to the treeline and they sprinted for cover. James normally considered himself an optimist; there was always a possibility of talking one's way out of a situation. However, if his day continued on its current trend then the incoming were not even going to be Tau'ri. He really wished he had a P-90. Or, even better, one of those Satedan pistols. Those were nice.
As the craft passed overhead, James breathed a sigh of relief. F-302s. Which meant they were probably looking for the Atlantis contingent. Which meant he was in trouble again. Although he highly doubted that the colonel would put the entire group on Disciplinary Detail. And really, once you'd had combat training with Charin's dad, nothing could scare you. That was the point of combat training with Charin's dad.
The group proceeded back to the base in silence, taking no chances. Sarah walked point, her eyesight better than anyone else's as a positive side effect of her increased reflex development. Robbie brought up the rear. They all kept their sidearms out. They had been at the base for two weeks, but it was still in many ways an unknown world. 'Better safe than sorry' had been a recurrent theme in their collective childhood. They were approaching the treeline when Sarah whispered sharply to them in Ancient. "Away." She slid her sidearm into its holster and stepped from the forest and into the light. James watched her take a few more steps into the light before calling to the marine standing outside of the fencing.
The marine brought his rifle up and peered at her through the scope before lowering it again. "Ms. McKay?"
Sarah nodded, hands raised in the universal 'I come in peace' gesture. "That's me. What can I do for you?"
The marine took a few steps closer and frowned. "Where have you been? Where are the rest of the Atlantis children? We've been looking everywhere for you."
James winced. Oh yeah, they were in trouble. He kept his attention focused on Sarah, watching as she spoke more quietly to the marine for a minute before making a gesture with her left hand. They walked out of the woods in a single unit, stopping behind Sarah and waiting until the guard had radioed in their presence. After a few minutes during which James watched Robbie fiddle a bit alarmingly with the clasp on his holster, the colonel and his desk sergeant appeared. Col. McKenzie looked furious, but he didn't say anything. They were escorted to their respective residence halls in silence, their sidearms confiscated, and informed as a group that they would be showing up for PT the next morning as well as for evening sessions with their combat instructor to 'get this teenaged rebellion out of their systems'.
When James finally fell asleep, the only thing he felt guilty about was that Lisa didn't have the training that the rest of them did. She was going to be miserable. Even factoring that, it had been worth it for the night to themselves. Talking really did make everything better.
Lisa Kirnov (Age 16)
The first morning Lisa was assigned to Disciplinary Detail, she found a marine waiting for her outside the female residence hall. When she attempted to proceed to the PT field with Sarah and the twins, the marine calmly informed her that she would be meeting with the colonel this morning instead. Puzzled, but unwilling to get herself into more trouble at the moment, Lisa sat quietly outside the colonel's office and waited patiently. Half an hour later Colonel McKenzie arrived and waved her inside.
"Do you know why you're here, Ms. Kirnov?"
Lisa shook her head. As far as she knew, she was supposed to be out running with the rest of the 'Lanteans right now. She didn't think she'd broken any other rules.
The colonel took a seat behind his desk, gesturing for her to take one of the guest chairs. "Ms. Kirnov. Lisa. You were hired on as a summer intern here for a reason. Do you know what that reason was?"
"I am to assist in course preparation regarding contemporary teenaged cultural practices on Earth. In addition, I am to provide basic understanding of the culture found on Atlantis based upon my observations during my time spent there. Sir."
Colonel McKenzie nodded. "That's correct. Now that we've established what you're supposed to be doing, let's take a look at what has been occurring. For example, can you tell me where in that job description you found justification for engaging in and encouraging deviant behaviour among the Atlantis children?"
Lisa bit her lip. "I hadn't known that I was, Sir. I was under the impression that I was supposed to interact with the students here. Get to know them and socialize. I've been going about that as well as I can, Sir. I admit, I may not have reported every incident I heard rumor of; trust is earned among children from warzones. I was told at the SGC that this was the third year this project was organized; surely you've had children who didn't adapt well before, Sir?"
The colonel shook his head. "You are correct that this is the third year we've held this program, but it is the first year we've invited children from Atlantis to participate. I've never seen such an insular group. Only two of them have made any attempt at contact with the other children in the two weeks we've been here. To add to the initial socialization issues, there's the issue of deviant behavior."
"Sir, I believe some of the problems you're running into are based on simple cultural differences. Things that are commonplace in Atlantis simply are not done on Earth controlled bases or Earth itself. I tried to bring this up when I was first asked for my input, but all of you thought I was exaggerating. The Atlantis children may have Earthborn parents, but we're not Earthborn. It's a very different way of life out there. I was only three when I left, but I still remember it clearly. Aside from that, as much as the 'Lanteans are avoiding contact with the Alpha Site kids, they're being avoided in return. The Alpha Site types stare and whisper. Is it any wonder the 'Lanteans don't want to talk to them? I don't want to talk to most of them."
The colonel opened and shut his mouth once before martialling his thoughts. He did not look pleased. "I do not believe that was the issue at hand. I didn't ask whether the 'Lanteans', as you call them, were solely responsible for not playing nicely with others. I said that you were not hired to socialize with the Atlantis children to such an exclusive degree. You are here to advise session instructors and to provide normal social interaction examples for the attending children in order to help prepare them for what they will encounter on Earth." He paused a moment, studying her. "I've been getting complaints left and right from staff about the unwillingness of the Atlantis children to speak English. Their propensity for fighting. Their superior and antagonistic attitude towards anyone born on Earth. You say that they come from an alien culture and need adjustment. I tell you that is what this place is for. We are here to help them, but they have to allow it. Your assistance in circumventing SGC policies and providing the Atlantis children with positive reinforcement for their misbehavior needs to stop."
Lisa frowned. "Sir, I think you overestimate the change that can be accomplished in four weeks. I can't imagine there haven't been difficulties in the past."
"Difficulties are one thing. We expect difficulties. But we don't expect our expert on Atlantis culture to change sides at the drop of a hat. You're our expert, Ms. Kirnov. You're not one of them. You're not doing anyone any good by speaking to them in their own languages or encouraging them to avoid their classmates. You're the only person we have on staff who even speaks what they do."
"With all due respect, Sir. The language that the 'Lantean children speak is far older and more distinguished than English or Spanish or Chinese. It was my native tongue once; I don't see how you can expect me not to take the opportunity to speak it." She carefully left out the fact that all of them routinely cursed in Czech, courtesy of Dr. Zelenka's stint as a baby-sitter when he'd torn up his left leg getting in the way of shrapnel from a Wraith landmine. Kat said he still swore every time the pressure changed. Lisa didn't doubt it.
"That is exactly what I'm talking about, Ms. Kirnov. I think you need to take a very careful look at where your allegiances lie. You are here representing Earth, you would do well to remember it."
Lisa stood up, hands balled into fists. "This is why we split from Earth in the first place. It was always Earth first and Atlantis second. Before you forget, Colonel, I was born in Atlantis. I know where my allegiances lie. With the people who didn't lie to me, ignore me, or send me to doctors who didn't have the right security clearances and told me it was all in my head." She turned and stormed out of the office, heading to the girls' residence hall.
When Lisa reached the residence hall, Sarah and the twins still had not returned from their PT. Most of the other girls had yet to wake. Lisa trudged to her room and then went to take a shower, glaring at anything that crossed her path, including the freakishly petite girl from PNX-286. Lisa stood under the hot water for far longer than was reasonable before wrapping herself in a towel and slinking back to her room.
Lisa wasn't sure why she was so upset by the morning's conversation. The colonel had been obnoxious in his statements, yes, but no more so than people she'd dealt with before. The complete lack of understanding for the 'Lanteans hurt, but she could see why it was happening. It was... It was being told that she wasn't one of them. Wasn't 'Lantean. The implication that she wasn't truly a member of that group, and by extension should immediately assume Earth was correct in its behaviors was more painful than she wanted to admit.
Lisa pulled out fresh clothing with sharp movements, nearly ripping a shirt in the process of tossing it on the floor. When she was dressed, she allowed herself to fall onto her bed and curl up into a ball, fighting the tears which burned so irrationally for release. She heard someone behind her but didn't bother getting up; she didn't want Sarah to see her this upset. She didn't want anyone to know that the colonel had shaken her up so badly. A moment later a hand was placed on her shoulder, followed by a dip in her bed as someone sat beside her. "Sarah, please just go away. I don't want to talk right now. About anything."
The hand didn't move, and the voice that accompanied it wasn't Sarah's. "You looked pretty upset when you got out of the colonel's office. Ni hao ma?"
Lisa shrugged, not wanting Robbie to hear the bitterness lurking in her throat. The colonel's words had driven home another point as well. Was she really one of the 'Lanteans anymore? Or was she just a tag-along who didn't belong in either world? She squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as they would go, trying to hold the tears in. She didn't realize she was shaking until she felt Robbie lift her and pull her into his arms. "Ssh. Ssh. It's all right. Whatever it is."
Lisa shook her head and tried to curl up even further; the tears having begun to escape. Once they started, she couldn't make them stop. There was a moment of shifting and squirming before she found herself pressed against Robbie's chest. He carded his fingers through her hair gently and spoke nonsense in a number of languages until she was again calm enough to speak coherently. "How did you know what happened?"
She felt him shrug. "Sarah saw you come out of the main instruction building, said you looked pretty bad." There was a moment of silence, and when he spoke again he had shifted to Ancient. "Can you talk about it?"
Lisa took a few slow breaths before speaking. "I don't know who I am anymore. I don't know where I fit in, if I even fit in anywhere. I'm not Earthborn, I never will be. But I'm not really 'Lantean anymore either, am I?"
She felt his hand pause for a fraction of a second before resuming its stroking. "I don't care what they told you, Lisa. You are one of us. You'll always be one of us. You might have been lost for a while, but the city knows her children."
"Really?" She hated the pleading note in her voice, but was unable to stop herself from asking.
"Of course. Even if you never go back; Atlantis will always be your home." There was an odd note to his voice, and she wondered if she wasn't the only one who was revealing more than they wanted to.
They were startled from their quiet conversation by the sound of the door opening. Robbie was halfway to his feet when the visitor announced herself. "Lisa? You left your shampoo in the shower and I-" Qilin, the petite girl from PXN-286, was standing in the doorway with a stunned expression on her face.
Lisa sat up abruptly, heedless of her tearstained face. "Qilin, this isn't what it looks like..."
"Really? Because it looks like I just figured out why you're so friendly with the Atlantis group," she accused, "you think if you sleep with them you'll be one of them? My mother tried that, remember? It doesn't work. She can't even get Earth citizenship with the new laws." Qilin deposited the shampoo on the nearest solid object. "Sorry to interrupt."
"Qilin, wait-" The slamming of the door cut off Lisa's attempt at an explanation. She slumped back against Robbie. "That could have gone better."
Robbie rubbed her back softly. "It's done now." He paused. "You realize you're probably going to get even more Disciplinary with the rest of us for this, right? I feel like I should apologize in advance."
Lisa shrugged half-heartedly. "I've got a junior master's certification in Aikido; I can probably hold my own in the PT. Mom enrolled me when I started taking the El into school by myself. Said I needed to be 'able to defend myself.' The running is going to suck, though."
Robbie grinned at her. "Nah. Running's the easy part. Mum was a running star in college; she taught me some tricks. I'll show you if they make you run with us."
Lisa found herself smiling in return. "I think I'd like that." She straightened up with a groan. "I should probably go find Qilin and explain that it wasn't quite how it looked. She's a nice girl, in her own way. We met the first day, before you arrived. Her father's a US marine and her mother's from PNX-286; apparently the match didn't go so well. Without an Earthborn husband Qilin's mother can't move to Earth, but Qilin can since she's a US citizen because of her father. It's just a mess all around."
Robbie was watching her thoughtfully. "I hadn't realized some of the Alpha Site kids were so much like us; I thought they had stronger ties to Earth."
"Well, from what I understand they do and they don't. I gather for the Earthborn the Alpha Site is like growing up on any other foreign military base. For the refugees it's a stopover to a better life that ends up permanent. I remember one of them saying Earth is somewhere that sends us books, guns, and media while taking 20 % of our income. I think the difference is that Earth never cut them off. They don't realize how Earth is about their bases, and for them it is just a base. They've never even considered being able to make a go of it by themselves; it's not an option. Not like it was for us."
There was a knock at the door, followed by Sarah's damp head a moment later. "I don't suppose you've seen my shampoo, eh? I thought I left it in the showers, but it was gone when I got back." She wandered the rest of the way in, exclaiming as she saw the bottle on the desk. "There it is! Anyway, we'd better get going if we're going to make it to the mess before breakfast is over." Sarah put her shampoo away and grabbed her good jacket, heading to the door. "Coming?"
Robbie rose and offered Lisa his hand. She spent a long moment contemplating the offer before she slid her hand into his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Yeah, I think I am."
Qilin Smith (Age 16)
The screaming woke Qilin in the middle of the night.
Qilin might not have the combat training that her roommate did, but she had ears like anyone else. Apparently when Katerina Weir screamed, she wanted the world to know. Qilin sat up in bed, looking around for the source of the attack; surely it would take something serious to make one of the Atlantis children scream. If the rumors were right, they'd grown up in the middle of a war zone.
What she found was her roommate pressed into the corner at the head of her bed. Qilin stared at the girl, trying to make out what was going on. Kat had her knees pulled up to her chest and was staring at the rest of the room with wide, terrified eyes; her screams were piercing. Kat kept staring at the space between them and blinking hard, like she could make something go away. Qilin rose slowly, not wanting to startle the girl; she hesitantly approached Kat and reached out to place a hand on the first thing she could reach, the girl's arm. The moment Qilin's hand connected with Kat's skin, the girl began convulsing. Qilin jumped back, frightened, and began screaming for help.
A moment later 'Tasja Weir, Kat's sister, appeared in the doorway looking concerned. Qilin watched as 'Tasja took one look at the convulsing girl and raced back out again. Qilin had backed herself into her own corner by the time 'Tasja reappeared with Sarah on her heels. The two whispered in that strange language they all spoke, then Sarah nodded and headed off and 'Tasja crossed the room and took hold of her sister. Qilin watched in silence while 'Tasja held her sister still until the girl's twitching body relaxed and she was merely shivering. Once Kat had calmed Qilin shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, peering over with a kind of morbid curiosity. "What...what happened?"
'Tasja took a long look at her unconscious sister, stroking Kat's hair gently as she shivered before turning to face Qilin. "She flipped. It's happened before; it's not as bad as it looks, honest." She cocked her head to look more closely at Qilin. "How much do you know about Atlantis?"
Qilin shrugged. "Same as any of us, I guess. That it's a war zone, that you speak a weird language, that the older girl beat the tar out of Brad and one of your boys took on five of us and won. Personally, I don't get what's so special about you."
'Tasja sighed and turned her gaze again on her sister. "Atlantis is the City of the Ancestors; it was built by the Ancients millions of years ago. These Ancients had a special gene that they programmed their technology to respond to; we call it the ATA Gene. It's very rare in the human population. Every 'Lantean born without it gets a gene therapy within their first month of life in an attempt to increase the number of people who can use the technology. If it takes, they also have a chance of passing this gene on to their children. It's successful in about 65% of applications. Are you with me so far?"
Qilin nodded hesitantly. She couldn't understand what this had to do with the unconscious girl on the other bed, but she could follow the other girl's meaning well enough.
"Good. Something you need to understand; our city is made entirely of this gene-coded technology. It's in our doors, our windows, our computers, our floors; it's in everything. People with The Gene who are raised in the city interact with Atlantis in a different way than everyone else. I don't know how it works; the therapy didn't work for me, it's not perfect. In some sick twist of fate, it worked too well on my sister. When we were little, we couldn't go offworld for more than a day without this happening." 'Tasja gestured to the shivering girl in the bed. "As she's gotten older it's gotten better, she's all right as long as she has something Ancient under her pillow or with her. She's never gone this far away from home, though."
Qilin shuddered, imagining what it would be like to be bound to a place like that. Her mother's people were nomadic by tradition, and some of those inclinations had passed to Qilin. She thought a moment. "Before she started, um... Before it happened, she was screaming. I think she was having a nightmare."
'Tasja peered at Qilin thoughtfully. "We all get nightmares, don't you? I mean, it comes with growing up in a war zone. None of us made it to five without seeing the Wraith in some form or another; even the changed Wraith who ended up living with us occasionally went bad. I can't count the number of times Kat woke me by turning on the lights in her sleep because she was frightened. With the nightmares you either get over them or you learn to scream silently." She shrugged. "I got over it. Kat still becomes a little strange for weeks after a bombardment. I think it's the tie to the city."
They were interrupted by Sarah's return. She had Robbie on her heels, and they could hear official personnel outside the building. Robbie crossed the room and displaced 'Tasja, running something that Qilin didn't recognize over the shivering girl. While he was doing this, Kat began mumbling. She was loud enough that Qilin, still on the other side of the room, could understand bits and pieces. The words "quiet" and "hurts" and "empty" were repeated over and over in a whimper. Qilin pulled her knees up and withdrew onto her bed, disconcerted both at the pathetic girl on the bed and the matter-of-factness of the other children. As if this was nothing special. Even Lisa, the girl Qilin was reasonably sure was trying to sleep her way into the Atlantis group, seemed far too relaxed with the situation.
Qilin's observations were brought to an abrupt halt when the base's doctor entered the room. "Everyone out, I need space to work here."
Robbie glared at the woman. "We know what's going on. She needs to go home. It's happened before. Most of us have it to some degree. She reached for the city and it wasn't there. It's just worse for her; she has an unusual relationship with the city." He stood. "She's stable right now, but she won't stay that way. She needs to go home." There was something fierce in his eyes, and Qilin had to look away. She couldn't imagine talking to one's senior like that.
The doctor and Robbie exchanged glares for a moment before the doctor backed down, shocking Qilin. "We knew this might happen, but I want to make sure it's what it appears. I'll have the colonel contact Earth about getting her back to Atlantis. In the meantime, I want to run some tests. We have some time either way; it can't hurt."
Robbie turned and spoke to Sarah and 'Tasja, using quick, sharp words. They replied in that same strange language they slipped into when they wanted privacy. None of the other kids knew what it was either. After a few moments they seemed to come to a consensus. Robbie turned back to the doctor. "'Tasja or I stay with her until she leaves."
The doctor looked relieved. "That's fine. I'd appreciate someone who's handled this before being available. Could you carry her to the infirmary for me?"
Robbie knelt and gathered the shivering girl into his arms; she still hadn't stopped her muttering, and it was disturbing to see her glassy, fear-bright eyes so wide in the pale face. Qilin found her gazed fixed on Kat's hair; the deep auburn locks that normally seemed full of a life of their own now lay sweaty and limp against Robbie's shoulder. Out of everything, that stood out the most. Qilin realized that she was probably in mild shock herself; she hadn't felt this dissociated since she'd been told that her father wasn't coming back home again when she was eight. She stared after the group as they all left with Robbie, only coming back to herself after they had left.
Qilin found herself shivering and realized how cold the room was. She was dressed for sleep in a tank top and shorts, but outside the warmth of her bed it was woefully inadequate. There would be no more sleep for her tonight, not unless she wanted nightmares herself. After a moment's thought she concluded that she might as well shower and prepare for the day. Still shivering, she collected her things and made her way to the showers. Once there and under the hot spray she acknowledged that perhaps some of the shaking wasn't from the temperature and allowed herself to lean against the wall and slowly sink to the floor.
She'd never seen anything like that. It was frightening; Kat had seemed so normal until she woke up screaming. All because of some mutant gene. Qilin shivered harder, the hot water not touching the cold she felt inside. The Atlantis kids, 'Lanteans she'd heard them say, hadn't even blinked at what had happened. That kind of thing was normal for them; it was to be expected. What would it be like to live like that? She had thought her life had been hard and strange; she was a half-breed exile to her mother's people and something to be pitied by the Earth soldiers who rotated through the base. All of them were like that in one way or another; only Brad and Josh were Earthborn themselves. The rest of them were mixed-breeds or refugees.
Even the children of the soldiers were second class compared to the Earthborn; they got their information and entertainment from Earth, but the way things were set up they could have no effect on the rules that governed their own lives. She'd never thought about it much until she'd heard one of the 'Lanteans arguing with a teacher over whether being at Earth's mercy was better than leaving it behind. Robbie had sounded really upset, and it hadn't made any sense to Qilin at the time. What other option was there than following Earth's rules? Except, as she had been learning through rumor, Atlantis didn't follow Earth's rules. They weren't actually a colony; they were an independent state. The people of Atlantis had essentially told Earth to leave them alone.
Qilin was brought out of her musing by the sudden disappearance of the hot water. It hadn't gone cold, merely vanished. She looked up, blinking, and found Sarah standing there with an annoyed look on her face. "You must have been in here close to an hour for the water to have cooled this much. You do realize that, right?"
Qilin shook her head in confusion, trying to bring her thoughts into a semblance of order again. Sarah let out a put-upon sigh and tossed a towel at her; Qilin barely managed to catch it before it hit the wet floor. Sarah reached over and gripped Qilin's shoulder, helping her upright and wrapping her in the towel. When Sarah spoke again, her voice was surprisingly gentle. Not at all what Qilin would have expected from the stories told by the girls in Sarah's session group. "Kat really freaked you out, didn't she?"
Qilin nodded. She tried to speak, and on the second attempt her voice worked well enough to be understood. "Her sister said something about bad gene therapy? Can that happen to the rest of you, too?"
Sarah shook her head and guided Qilin to the bench that rested again one of the walls. "Kat's strange that way. Most of the rest of us come by our gene naturally. After what happened with Kat they started holding off on the shot until kids are two months old; it hasn't happened since. There's a silence in my mind, but it's not overwhelming. Dad gets it too when we visit Earth, but Papa doesn't."
Qilin wrapped the towel tighter around herself. "What's it like, having a city that talks to you?"
Sarah settled beside her. "It's... I don't know how to describe it to someone who doesn't have The Gene. Dad says that it's like finding a part of yourself you didn't know was missing. I can't imagine not having her there." She shifted, turning to face Qilin head on. "They tried to make us leave once. Back when I was little, they cut us off. The Daedalus vanished, and it was just us against the rest of the galaxy. I don't remember anything before the Year of Secession; I was only one when it happened. I do remember when Earth tried to take us away, though. The Earthers showed up after years of silence and expected us to bow down to them; we said no. They wanted us to leave, to give up our city, how could they do that?" Sarah shook her head. Her voice became quieter. "It was our home. Some people left, like Lisa's family, but most of us stayed. I can't imagine what Lisa must have gone through, living so long without the city." She shuddered visibly at the idea. Then she straightened up. "Hey, you steady enough to make it back to your room? I've got to get to Disciplinary soon."
Qilin took a deep breath, considered, then let it out again. Sarah's rambling monologue had calmed her significantly; she did indeed feel more grounded again. "I believe I will be fine. I apologize; I shouldn't have reacted so badly. Why did you come to find me?"
Sarah shrugged good-naturedly. "I didn't." She gestured to the room at large. "I heard the shower, thought someone left it on. I realized what must have happened when I found you, thought you might like someone to talk you down."
To her surprise, Qilin found herself smiling. She spoke formally, hoping to make her meaning more clear. "Thank you. It has helped. I was... not myself for a while there. You may depart, I will be fine."
Sarah gave her a concerned glance. "If you're sure..."
Qilin nodded. "Go, you do not wish to be late."
Sarah giggled unexpectedly. "You sounded just like my aunt," she explained. With that, Sarah rose and made her way to the door. She paused at the threshold, indecision evident before she spoke. "Listen- Qilin, right?" Qilin nodded. "If you need to talk about what happened, later, come and find me, eh? The other Alpha Site kids aren't going to understand. I know what it's like to get really shaken up. We all do."
Qilin blinked at the unexpected offer, but before she could respond Sarah had vanished around the corner. She slowly stood from the bench and cinched her towel tighter before proceeding out the door and to her room. She eyed Kat's empty bed with concern, hoping that the girl truly was all right. She thought about what Sarah had said, the open offer to talk about this with someone who understood what she'd seen. Perhaps the 'Lanteans weren't what they seemed; maybe they were just different. Unlike the other children that she knew, the 'Lanteans never doubted where home was. It was something Qilin admired; she wondered if she would ever be that certain of her right to belong.
Natasja Weir (Age 15)
'Tasja was brought out of her packing by a tentative knock on the door. She looked up and saw her sister's roommate, the little Asian girl from PNX-286. "Can I help you?"
The girl looked around hesitantly. "I'm sorry to intrude. I wanted to ask how your sister is doing?"
'Tasja shrugged. "She went home last night. I'm sure she's fine."
"You are not more concerned?"
'Tasja set down the shirt she was folding to take a good look at the girl. Qilin, that was it. "It's not like it hasn't happened before. After the third time, you kind of get used to it. She's always fine by the end of her first day at home. It's being away from the city that makes her nuts." She paused, considering. "Actually, she's kind of nuts to start with; when I was little she'd wander off and we'd find her in a corner talking to the door controls or what have you. It's just that she gets a lot worse the longer she's away from home. She needs her social time with Ancient machinery or something. Oh, hey, take a seat. It's not like Gina's going to be back before we leave." 'Tasja gestured to her roommate's empty bed.
Qilin blinked in surprise and inched further into the room warily before settling carefully on the indicated bed.
'Tasja gave up on the packing and set her mostly full duffel to the side, sitting on her own bed. "This will probably make me seem really strange and heartless and resentful, but ever since I can remember, my life has been dictated by what Kat could or couldn't do." She cocked her head and carefully positioned her hands in imitation of her mother. "'Sorry, 'Tasja, we can't meet your cousins on Earth, Kat can't be away from home that long.'" She lay back with a sigh. "I spent fifteen years unable to spend more than a few hours off world, spending every downtime on The Mainland because Kat couldn't go very long off-world. We always thought she'd grow out of it, but nope! She's stubborn that way."
'Tasja raised her head and saw Qilin frowning at her. "You don't like your sister?"
'Tasja sighed. "That didn't come out right, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister dearly. She's my twin, I can't help but love her." She rolled onto her side to more comfortably face Qilin. "This is the first time we've been apart, I mean really apart, since we were born. There were only so many of us in the nursery, and after the end of the Secession sometimes kids would go back to Earth with their families for a month. We never did that; Kat couldn't go more than a day or two away from home and matra wanted to make things as stable as she could for us. She doesn't have any family on Earth, anyway; Dad's got a sister, a niece, and two nephews, I think." She smiled thoughtfully. "I've seen a few pictures, but I've never met them."
Qilin played with her shoelace. "You are scared to be alone?"
'Tasja was preparing to rather heatedly refute the accusation when she got a good look at Qilin's face. The other girl looked lonely and rather out-of-place herself. "Yeah. I guess I am. It's good to have the others here, especially going to Earth, but it's not the same; we've grown up together, but they're not family like Kat is. Blood is different, even for us 'Lanteans." She concentrated on smoothing a wrinkle on her duffel. "Do you have any family on Earth?"
Qilin shrugged. "My dad's a marine, but I don't know where he's stationed. He walked out when I was eight; he never came back. For all I know he's dead somewhere. Don't know if any of his family's still alive. My mother's family disowned her for marrying a foreigner. I don't even know where he's from; he was gone a lot even before he left for good."
'Tasja's face softened in sympathy. "I'm so sorry. Cameron's dad died when he was ten; it was horrible. His little sister was only four." She shivered. "It was a bad year."
Qilin shrugged again. "I didn't really know what I was missing, I guess. Just one day he was supposed to come home and didn't." She looked like she wanted to say more, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sarah poked her head in, grinning.
"Come on, guys. We're getting out of here. Ten minutes until we have to assemble at the 'Gate. You ready to go?" Sarah was practically bouncing.
Qilin stood. "I'm ready."
'Tasja looked down at her duffel as if seeing it for the first time. "Not packed! Tchikuso!" She began madly stuffing things into her duffel, heedless of their delicacy.
Qilin winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry I distracted you, but thank you for the conversation." She departed along with Sarah; 'Tasja could hear them talking quietly as they made their way down the hallway to the main lounge.
'Tasja paused in her frantic packing to glare at her mostly full duffel, attempting to encourage it to pack itself. When that failed she crammed the last of her belongings in with a grimace for their lack of organization and zipped it. After all, she thought as she hoisted the strap over her head, it wasn't like things stayed wrinkle-free in a duffel anyway.
She joined the rest of the group by the 'Gate. Everyone was chatting excitedly, glad to be leaving Epsilon 3. She did a quick headcount and realized they were all present; she was the last to arrive. A moment later Colonel McKenzie came striding over from the Main Instruction Hall, clipboard in hand. He ran over a few last reminders, took attendance, and then the 'Gate was activated and they were traveling to Earth.
- - -
The SGC was almost exactly what 'Tasja expected. She had heard about it from the Earthborn time and again, and the real thing fit her mental image perfectly. Heavy on the gunmetal gray, standard complement of soldiers guarding the 'Gate, control room visible from the 'Gate; the only thing she hadn't expected was the material making up the ramp. On that fact alone, she concluded that she definitely preferred the 'Gateroom in Atlantis.
They were all escorted to the infirmary for the required health checks and to ensure that proper immunizations were in place. Unfortunately those who were on their first visit to Earth (Cameron, Qilin, 'Tasja, and a number of the Alpha Site kids she didn't know) lacked immunity to things like measles. Sarah, Robbie, and James had been through it before, and Lisa had grown up on Earth, so they got to hang out in the mess until everyone else was done. Everyone else got lined up for shots. 'Tasja hated shots.
Twenty seven needle sticks and nine unhappy teenagers later, they were escorted from the base. They would be spending their first two days in Colorado Springs before they began their whirlwind tour of the United States - Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; and Monterey, CA. They would have visited Toronto, but the issuing of passports had yet to be completed for those on their first visit to Earth.
The plans alone left 'Tasja reeling, never mind the amount of travel time involved. She'd never been anywhere that wasn't easily accessible by either 'Gate or Puddle Jumper. People didn't build more than a certain distance from the 'Gate unless they were seriously advanced. No one had the population to spare for establishing outlying cities when they'd just be destroyed in a few years. Even with the Wraith all but gone, cullings still happened; it made no sense to leave a population so exposed. The idea of this much sprawl was just baffling. Colorado Springs was larger than most of the groups that traded with Atlantis on a regular basis. The Genii complexes had fewer people (and less every year, if the rumors about fertility problems were true). It would be centuries before any of their trading partners could boast even a single city this size.
The sheer numbers became much more intimidating when there weren't the grounds of the Academy acting as a buffer. When they flew to Washington, DC, capital of the nation, the sheer size of the place was mind-blowing. Once they had landed at Andrew's AFB and were en route to their accommodations in the city, she found herself unable to stop staring. Wave upon wave of buildings, sprawling further than the eye could see. Add to that the haze that lingered in the air, adding another five or six degrees to the already stifling heat, and the chemical smell and she found herself desperately wishing to be home. By the time they arrived at the hotel 'Tasja just wanted to curl up and sleep. Looking around, she found similarly dazed expressions on the faces of the other first-timers.
Once they had deposited their gear, the Colonel split them into three and four person groups with a two-marine escort and distributed maps. They were to explore various landmarks within walking distance and return for evening meal in four hours. They were forbidden to attempt to use the 'Metro', the local mass transit; that was to be a topic for the next day.
'Tasja found herself with Qilin; Sarah, who was sneezing her head off for no obvious reason; and Brad Jones, the boy who had spent three days in the infirmary after an ill-advised sparring match with Sarah and as a result had been avoiding voluntary exposure to the 'Lanteans ever since. After a few moments of discussion and a consultation with their 'escorts', they decided to visit the Air and Space Museum for the amusement value.
While walking to the museum, they passed several large groups in what appeared to be modified uniforms of garish colors; one was an awful shade of green, another bright orange. There was a third group made up of more young children than 'Tasja had ever seen in one place, all wearing bright yellow covers and running around screaming and chasing each other across the cement paths. 'Tasja stopped to watch them for a moment, fascinated by their carelessness. The matrenas obviously watching the children had no weapons, and seemed to show only a token regard for the individual children as they shepherded them slowly toward one of the museums on the other side of what the marines called the 'Mall'.
'Tasja was brought out of her study by a woman to her left who had begun to yell at a small boy running across the dirt; she looked up and realized that her own group was nearing their destination without her. She gave the group of children one last look before breaking into a jog to catch up with her 'team'. They passed through the entrance scans and she found herself spellbound by the craft suspended above the entryway. It was simplistic, with bulky lines and obviously inferior construction materials, but for all of that there was something about it that called to her. She bounced from exhibit to exhibit with a physical excitement, those with her all but forgotten. She paused when she reached the exhibits on space flight and habitation, studying the planes and curves of the retired shuttle and space station with an experienced eye. She'd grown up around mechanical engineers, after all; while it would never come close to a Jumper's capabilities, she could see improvements that could be made to the 'shuttle' to improve its performance. A modification to the wing structure here, and a higher efficiency polymer there. She was finally dragged away from the exhibit by the other girls; she had lost track of time and they needed to start heading back to the hotel. Brad had wandered off with the other escort and would meet them there.
She spent the whole walk back explaining her theories to Sarah, who was nodding and occasionally replying but seemed generally uninterested. She turned to Qilin to ask her opinion, but received a blank look for her efforts. It was only when Qilin failed to respond to a repetition of the question that 'Tasja realized she'd been speaking Czech. It was a bad habit adopted from her father; when 'Tasja got excited, she switched to Czech because her father followed faster in his native tongue. It had made many a theoretical debate flow more smoothly. She attempted her discussion again in English, but found the girl woefully undereducated in things like structural dynamics. With a sigh she gave up and resolved to commit her impressions to her tablet that evening to share with her father.
The rest of the time in Washington passed remarkably quickly for 'Tasja. The next morning was a Sunday according to the Earth calendar, so they attended a service at the National Cathedral as a supplement to their Introduction to the Active Practice of Earth Religions seminar. The ceremony itself was innocuous, if boring. Since her Bat Mitzvah, she'd taken part in a number of native welcoming rituals and festivities with their allies before being allowed to come and go freely. She and Sarah had a rating scale based upon possibility of physical harm, palatability of refreshments, and the boredom factor. This rated maybe a two out of ten.
The uneventful morning was followed by a special tour of the congressional complex with a review of the USA's governmental structure and its differences from the some of the other prominent leadership styles on the planet. 'Tasja spent much of the time zoning the presenters out and thinking about the shuttle from the day before.
That evening they flew to the Great Lakes base and were driven into the city of Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan. As she was settling into her room at the new hotel, 'Tasja was startled by a knock at the door. She opened it to find Qilin outside. The girl spoke softly, staring at her hands. "I thought perhaps you would like some company, since your sister is not here and you have no roommate to distract you."
'Tasja blinked, and realized that until Qilin had mentioned it she hadn't even considered her sister's absence; this was a marked change from her first two nights 'alone' when she'd cried herself to sleep.
"I'm sorry, I must have been mistaken. I'll leave you alone." The girl moved to return to her room, but 'Tasja's hand shot out and she gripped Qilin's arm.
"Wait, please. I... I'd like the company." 'Tasja smiled hopefully. She was rewarded with a bright grin from Qilin, who proceeded to settle on the empty bed in 'Tasja's room. 'Tasja was learning that once the girl actually started to relax she could be quite entertaining.
"So... What did you think of that food at the Mexican restaurant?"
'Tasja settled herself on her own bed and allowed herself to get lost in the meaningless conversation. It wasn't the quiet understanding she was used to from her sister. It wasn't even the distracted muttering that sometimes ran late into the night back home when Kat has discovered some new facet of Atlantis. What it was, was enjoyable; Qilin seemed to genuinely like her as 'Tasja and not one of "the Weir Twins." There was something to be said for that. Perhaps life as simply herself wasn't such a bad prospect.
Cameron Akeilo (Age 16)
When the plane touched down at the last stop on their tour of the United States, the military language school in Monterey, California, Cameron was practically bouncing with anticipation. He'd been waiting for this part of the visit since they'd stepped through the 'Gate to Earth. He'd begged and badgered and pleaded with Captain Campbell to get access to his father's personnel file, and the captain had finally given in the week before the departure for BAND Camp. There was only one portion of the file that Cameron had actually been interested in; according to the USMC, Sgt. George Williams had a brother in San Francisco whom he had listed as his next-of-kin. Staying in Monterey meant a chance to visit the city, maybe even meet his uncle. The possibility of meeting his patra's family made the questioning looks from the teachers following Sarah's signature multi-language cursing bouts (the only one worse was James, and his were so rare they didn't count) that much easier to ignore. The curious glances and whispering had been bad enough from the Alpha Site kids in the beginning. He understood that the Monterey base was a language school, but that didn't mean he wanted to be studied.
The next morning Cameron was up before everyone else, unable to sleep; he'd been up for over an hour when Robbie blearily knocked on his door to get him up for their morning run. After breakfast the group was shepherded into a smaller airplane, amusingly enough called a puddle jumper, and they flew into San Francisco. The morning was spent touring historic landmarks and the demonstration of public transportation in forms other than the 'Metro' example shown in Washington. Cameron paid little attention, instead watching the time creep by. The afternoon was their final 'test'; they would be allowed to wander unsupervised in small groups until 1730 when they had to return for the evening meal and would then attend a local dramatic performance.
Cameron was lucky enough to be paired with 'Tasja and Qilin for the afternoon. He and 'Tasja had always gotten along well, bonding over their lack of The Gene; Qilin, while quiet, seemed to have a subtle sense of humor to go with her soft features. He also knew that 'Tasja would understand when he explained his plans for the afternoon; it was her first time on Earth as well, and she had cousins that she had never met.
Having written and re-written mission plans for this day since he had first learned about BAND Camp, Cameron didn't need to think about what he was doing anymore. After the mid-day meal, he dragged the girls down the street to the nearest phone booth and made them wait while he made his call. It had taken very little to convince 'Tasja not to rat him out, and Qilin had followed along silently. Now everything, all of his hopes for a group who would accept him because he was blood, one of them, came down to this. Still, he'd never allowed himself to think beyond 'first contact'. When a voice that sounded painfully like his patra's answered the phone, he almost dropped the receiver in surprise. His voice caught in his throat; he couldn't make himself speak. This was what he'd been waiting for, yet only now did he realize that he had no idea what to say to the man on the other end of the line.
"Hello? Hello?"
"Um, Hi. You don't... I mean, you probably haven't..." Cameron paused and took a deep breath, collecting himself. "I'm looking for the brother of George Williams."
There was a pause. "This is Christopher Williams, but my brother's been dead over ten years now. If you're looking to reach him you're out of luck."
"No, no, I was attempting to reach you. I would like to meet with you, if possible."
"I'm sorry. Who are you? Have we met? Did you know my brother? What is this about?"
Cameron gripped the phone tighter, the receiver warm in the afternoon sun. "My name in Cameron Akeilo. You are my uncle."
There was a shocked silence from the other end of the line, and Cameron noticed 'Tasja peering inside at him in concern. He waved her off. "Sir?"
"I'm here. I'm here. This had better not be a joke."
"It's not. There were... reasons you never knew about me. I'll explain, but perhaps I could do it in person? I am only here for a short time, but would very much like to meet you."
"In person? Christ, you're in the city? Listen, kid, I can leave work in an hour, I'll meet you in Golden Gate Park by the main entrance in an hour and a half."
"How will I-" There was a click, and the connection was severed. Cameron stared at the now-useless receiver helplessly, then shrugged. Realizing this was all he would get, and that it was far more than he could have hoped for, as the conversation sank in he allowed himself a moment of triumph. His uncle, his blood uncle, was going to meet with him. He really did have family and roots on Earth, even if his patra had never spoken much about them. They were still family. Matra had family before the Fugitta, but her sister had been in a neighboring camp and not fled to Atlantis with the rest when the culling had occurred; they had never found bodies but there had been no hope of survivors. The planet had been scoured clear.
The trio made their way to the park, glad for the chance to look over the water again. Of the places they'd visited on their trip to Earth, this was the closest to the atmosphere of Atlantis that they had encountered. The girls waited with him, 'Tasja quietly telling Qilin stories about home while he paced nervously. When it grew close to the appointed time, after he'd assured them he'd be fine, the girls left to browse the shops they'd passed on the walk over with the understanding that they'd return in two hours time. 'Tasja had been wary of leaving him alone, the cardinal rule of the Pegasus Galaxy being 'Go Nowhere Alone', but she had conceded that he was more than capable of taking care of himself.
Cameron stood by the main entrance to the park and looked at his watch for the sixth time in five minutes; it was now 14:30, when his uncle had said he would arrive. Cameron looked around anxiously, worried that he would not be able to recognize the man he was meeting. Just as he debated pacing again, he caught sight of his uncle. It couldn't not be, the stranger looked too much like his father to be unrelated. The man approached him slowly, hands in his pockets; he did not stop walking until he was arms length away, and Cameron held his breath. This was it, what he'd been waiting for since he had learned he had other living family. The man cocked his head in obvious thought, then pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and offered it in greeting.
"So, Cameron, right?"
Cameron nodded. "Cameron Akeilo."
"I'll be honest with you, kid. I didn't really think you'd be here; I figured it was just a prank. It's been five, maybe six years since I even talked to anyone about George. See, I got a call a good fifteen years ago saying that George was MIA, presumed dead. Then nine years later I got another call that confirmed that he was KIA. They asked me if I wanted his body brought home; I told 'em I didn't know where we'd bury him and just to put him in Arlington. Got a letter from some doctor talking about what a great guy he was, same thing from some Colonel that said he was his CO. Never heard anything about him leaving behind kids, though. The military didn't really say much of anything in the official stuff." He watched his uncle begin to walk further into the park, heading to the edge overlooking the ocean, and followed.
Cameron took a deep breath to steel himself, not wanting to talk about his father's death but knowing that he needed to say something. "He did die six years ago, in the line of duty. He got caught in an attack; they were able to rescue him but it was too late. He died before they got him home. Matra begged and pleaded to be allowed to tell his family herself; she'd wanted to meet you for years, for us to have blood relations beyond closest kin. Patra said we had to wait until Sai, my sister, was old enough before he'd allow us to meet you. Then he died, and even if we wanted to we couldn't come to meet you because officially we didn't exist. The US government didn't want to consider the marriage valid, so she had no rights." He took a shaky breath. "I... There were reasons, and they made a lot of sense to the people who made the rules, but it still hurt." Cameron looked up to find his uncle staring at him, gaze skeptical but kind. He placed a comforting hand on Cameron's shoulder.
"Look, kid. I don't know what to tell you. Hell, if you didn't look so much like George I'd think you were making it up, but you do. Our family was never the most stable of things; there was a reason he ran for the Marine Corps when he was eighteen. Mom never forgave him for that, said he abandoned all of us and it was selfish. Me? I understood it, I almost did the same thing when I got old enough but I was the youngest, Mom needed me. So I stuck around until I couldn't take it and then I moved out here. None of us really speak anymore. Your dad and I, we'd just started talking again when he got an offer for some new posting. After that he just vanished, posted to Antarctica or something; the military told me they couldn't get reliable mail so not to send anything. After that I got the occasional letter, but it wasn't a big surprise when I got told he was MIA, even less when they confirmed his death. By then, I hadn't even seen him face to face in over a decade. He chose his career; I figured he knew the risks. I don't think Mom shed a tear, and I know Sue didn't."
Cameron watched his uncle in growing horror at the image of his father's family that was developing in his mind. He had heard stories from the other kids about the weird and 'dysfunctional' families that their Earthborn parents had; however, this wasn't merely non-functioning, this was disturbing. No one had ever been cast out for a choice of profession, among the newer population or the Athosians. You didn't deny your calling; it weakened the whole community if you did. He'd heard the adults talk about Earth and how they didn't feel like they'd left anything behind, but it had never occurred to him that this included living family. Family was everything in Athosian society, because often family was around for far too short a time. It was the bond of blood, an unbreakable tie, and far too rare to just throw away. This was nothing like he'd imagined; even if his patra had been reluctant to talk about his childhood, Cameron had assumed that his patra's family would care about the member they had lost.
His...uncle had continued speaking while he had been quietly freaking out. When the man finished he focused more closely on Cameron again, a wry grin on his face. "So, welcome to the family, kid. I don't believe that lying does anyone any good, so I'll tell it to you honestly. I'm your Uncle Chris, and I'm probably the only one who will ever talk to you."
Cameron swallowed hard. "We're blood. That has to count for something."
Chris scoffed. "Where did you grow up? Blood runs thinner than water in some parts. Hell, Dad left us when I was two, never came back again. How's that for blood?"
Cameron felt sick. Back home, no one abandoned a child. You didn't have one unless you knew both parents wanted it. You needed two parents, because it was all too likely one would die before the child was grown; life in the Pegasus Galaxy could be unforgiving. Even with all of the precautions and care options available in the city, no one wanted to be an orphan. "But how could he? There was no punishment? No societal controls? He could just do that to his own children?"
Chris blinked at him, confused. "You've got some strange ideas of normal, kid; I'll give you that much. Wherever it is you're from, I think I might have liked growing up there. " He looked around for a minute. "Listen, there's a place a bit up the road with good ice cream, you want to take this inside, maybe sit down and you can tell me more about yourself?"
Cameron nodded blankly and followed without conscious thought, trying to come to grips with this unfamiliar image of 'family'.
- - -
They spoke of trivial things at the ice cream shop, unwilling to dig into family politics again on either side. Cameron's matra was only mentioned once, in passing. They talked about what universities Cameron was considering, what he wanted to do with his life, Chris's job (he was an architect), and San Francisco. They returned to the park at the same time as the girls, 'Tasja dragging Qilin by the hand and speaking loudly in what sounded like mutilated Chinese while waving about a bag of purchases. The two stopped when they caught sight of Cameron and 'Tasja waved hesitantly.
"Oi, Cameron. How'd it go?" She called over, smiling brightly.
He smiled back, relieved at the sight of familiar faces. "Better than worse." It wasn't really an answer, but it quieted her anyway. She shared a look with Qilin and the two returned to their butchery of Mandarin; he was pretty sure it was Qilin's matra's language so the oddness might simply have been an effect of 600 years of evolution, but one could never be sure. He turned back to Chris and found himself pulled into a hug.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to know George went on with his life and I'm glad to meet you. Wouldn't mind meeting your sister sometime, too. I'm here if you're ever in town again, I mean that. It's nice to talk to family that doesn't hate my guts."
Cameron returned the embrace, then drew back and stepped away. "I will remember. Be well." He waved as 'Tasja started dragging him down the street, a worried look in her eyes. He waited until they were out of earshot before stopping her. "What was that all about?"
'Tasja looked innocent; he was pretty sure she wasn't. "Um, nothing?" He crossed his arms and settled in to wait; he might have only been a year older, but he was still her senior. She caved sooner than he expected. "All right, fine. You looked upset. Not really upset, but just sad. Not like I thought you'd look. What happened?"
Cameron shrugged. "He's my uncle; we talked and went down the street for ice cream and then we came back. That's it."
'Tasja shook her head. "No, Cameron. See, you're not happy and enthusiastic and excited and telling us all about your relatives. What was wrong?"
He sighed. "He hadn't spoken to Patra since he was assigned to Atlantis; I expected that. I mean, Patra didn't have letters from home like some of the guys do. But before that none of the family had spoken to him since he left home at eighteen. He was just written off, and they never looked back. Chris is a nice man, and he is blood, but it was nothing like I expected."
Qilin spoke then, she'd been so quiet he'd almost forgotten about her. "That is why I have never sought my father's family. Mama's family disowned her for marrying a foreigner; her tribe cast her out. That means I have no tribe either, since I'm a half-blood. My father left us; why should his family behave any differently? If he's still alive, it would be unpleasant. If he's not there would be doubts about my honesty. It is better not to know." Her eyes were sad.
"But it shouldn't be that way. Family members take care of each other: matras, patras, even matrenas. Children are wanted. Even if a relationship fails, the child is not to blame." He reached over and picked up one of 'Tasja's bags before starting to walk again; the two girls hurried after. When he spoke again his voice was quieter, yet filled with distress. "I don't understand how they could do that and think it normal. He was not cast out in any way that should have mattered; he committed no crime by the laws of his society, he joined the marines to serve... How can people live in a world like that?"
'Tasja spoke quietly from behind him. "I don't know. I think it depends on the people; I have heard nothing of that nature from my patra about his family. He doesn't speak very much with his sister, but merely because they have grown apart since their parents died." He heard her stop walking, and obligingly paused as well, thinking about her words. A colorful Czech exclamation caught his attention and he turned to face her; she was standing looking at her watch. She looked up and met his gaze. "Um, it's 1725..."
He and Qilin both paled. Cameron pulled the map out of his pocket and did some quick figuring. "We're never going to make it by 1730."
Qilin was suddenly in full-timid mode. "How late will we be?"
He winced and double checked his route. "How fast can you run?"
"Ten, perhaps eleven kilometers per hour?"
Cameron grabbed the heaviest of her bags. "Not too late, then. Let's go"
As the three tore through the streets, trying desperately not to tear the shopping bags and just barely avoiding running down the occasional pedestrian, Cameron realized that it might not matter if he never met the rest of his patra's family. They wouldn't understand him like 'Tasja did, or even like Qilin did. They weren't his people, as much as he might wish it. His patra had once told him 'You can't change what you are; you can change the face of a beast but the beast will remain.' Patra had been talking about the Wraithborn, but Cameron could see that it applied to the 'Lanteans as well. He would never not be 'Lantean, even if he lived on Earth the rest of his life. Like Specialist Dex would always be Satedan. Maybe that was in the blood, too.
Home
It was organized chaos in the 'Gateroom when the children returned from BAND Camp. All of the parents who could arrange to be in-city and off-duty had congregated, and while the room was large it also echoed. Elizabeth Weir stood on the balcony overlooking the 'Gate and watched as families were reunited, savoring the mix of excitement and the unique teenaged air of 'why do I have to put up with this?' that seemed an intergalactic constant.
She watched as the initial rush faded to knots of families and friends on the floor below. Over by the doors was Sarah, who had been the first through both going and returning, deep in discussion with Rodney. From her hand gestures, Elizabeth couldn't tell if she was describing stick fighting or cake decorating; Rodney was gesticulating just as furiously while John tossed out obviously provocative interjections. Then there was Robbie Cadman, parked near the base of the stairs with his younger sister perched on his back. He appeared to be getting congratulations from his mother for something; Elizabeth would bet from the look on Carson's face that it was the number of times the boy had ended up on Disciplinary Detail. The colonel had included a note on that particular subject; it hadn't been pleasant. The other dramatic greeting seemed to be Cameron Akeilo, who had his mother in a hug that looked painfully tight. Elizabeth made a mental note to ask Teyla what that had been about when the opportunity arose.
She was brought out of her study by a tap on her arm. She turned and smiled to find Kat watching the group below with a wistful expression. Elizabeth placed an arm around her daughter's shoulders, "I wish your homecoming could have been like that."
Kat shrugged in a good attempt at indifference. "It got me out of a week of it, so... Not all bad."
Elizabeth squeezed her shoulder gently. "I would have given anything for you to have been able to have what they have, for you not to be bound to this city. You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt, you know."
Kat leaned into her mother's side, resting her head on the familiar shoulder. "Why does it hurt? It shouldn't; she tells me it shouldn't, but it does. I'm not like everyone else; I'll never be like everyone else. I don't even want to be like everyone else, to not be able to hear her this way; so why does it hurt?"
Elizabeth kissed her forehead, letting her thumb soothingly stroke her daughter's arm. "Because you're still human, Kat. Part of being human is wanting to fit in; you're not immune to that. No one is, even Dr. McKay."
Kat giggled, and Elizabeth knew her point had been taken as intended. A moment later Kat stepped away, composing herself and leaning back over the railing watching those below, almost immediately waving at someone below. "'Tasja, up here!"
Elizabeth heard an answering shout and the sound of running feet on the stairs. She watched the two embrace and begin speaking quickly, and couldn't stop the proud smile from taking over. When 'Tasja finally turned to her mother for a hug, Elizabeth gave up trying. 'Tasja was babbling on about the aircraft she had seen on Earth, her words too fast for Elizabeth to follow. She held up a hand to stop the flow. "Your father is in his lab; his knee wasn't up to much walking or he would have been here. I'm sure he'd be delighted to hear all about your theories on aerodynamic flow." 'Tasja's face lit up and before Elizabeth could admonish them they were sprinting down the stairs to the nearest transporter. She sighed and shook her head; everything was back to normal.
- - - - -
James knew something was wrong as soon as his parents met him at the 'Gateroom. His worries increased when Patra asked Robbie's parents to watch Michael for them. He started trying to sort through the possibilities as they walked. They wanted to talk to him alone, so it obviously wasn't something that affected the family seriously. They always had those talks with Michael. Dad believed in discussing things as a family, and Patra never felt like arguing. That was how things worked at home, Dad decided how things would be and Patra would shrug and say "sounds fine"; Patra said he spent his days fighting with the locals, he wasn't going to fight with his husband too. James could only remember a few times when his parents had seriously argued; it was always over major decisions, never small things.
When they'd returned to their quarters his fears were confirmed; Patra indicated that he should take a seat on the couch, Dad pulled one of the desk chairs over to face the couch and sat down, and Patra remained standing and assumed his 'interrogation' face. James swallowed hard and decided to try to talk his way out of whatever he was supposed to have done. "Dad, Patra, I'm not sure exactly what it is you're upset about, but I swear I didn't do it."
His parents shared a look of amusement and he relaxed; this couldn't be that serious. Then Patra clasped his hands behind his back and stopped wandering and James realized it just might be that bad after all. Patra broke the new silence. "The initial reports from the camp came back with Kat. Do you know what yours said?"
James shifted uneasily. "Um, no?"
Patra crossed his arms over his chest. "Try again."
Dad cut in at that point, his voice quiet but firm. "They said you'd been fighting, James." His face eliminated the need for him to voice his reaction: We're very disappointed in you.
"'Instigated multiple incidents with non-Atlantis children, resulting in confinement to the infirmary of no less than 5 children.' I would love to hear an explanation for that."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time?" James gave a weak smile.
Patra's control frayed visibly; he began pacing the area in front of the main door, turning his head to keep James in view. "Wrong answer. Nothing justifies that kind of use of force on other humans, especially not civilians." His volume increased with each new offense. "Two separate altercations. Disciplinary Detail with added night-shift work. You went AWOL for most of a night. Where did this come from?"
Dad reached out and caught Patra on his next circuit, stopping him with a hand on his wrist; his gaze never left James. "James, you know you've always been able to talk to us. This kind of report isn't like you. I'd expect this kind of thing out of Michael, but not you."
James stared at the wall just over Dad's head. "You weren't there. First of all, it was only one fight. I don't know what the second thing they're talking about is; maybe it was something in hand-to-hand. I don't even remember a lot of the fight; it all kind of blurred once the first punch got thrown. As for the going AWOL..." He sighed and slouched down, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his hands in his hair. "It wasn't just me; it was all of us. I know that's no excuse, but things are so different there. We needed some time alone; we didn't do any harm, we just wanted somewhere people weren't staring at us." He looked up, his voice hushed. "We're so different from them; it's like we were speaking different languages even when we were all using English. There was nowhere to go to get away from it, we just had to take it."
Dad's features softened and he stood, crossing to ruffle James' hair before stepping to the door. "I'm going to let you and your father sort the rest of this out." His face grew stern. "I expect you both to be in one piece when I return, all right?"
"Yes, Dad."
Dad left, disappearing through the front door. That was how it went when James got in trouble; once the basic truth was sorted out and general displeasure expressed then Dad would leave and let Patra find out what had really happened and decide how severe the punishment should be. It wasn't that Dad didn't take part in the decision, just that James had always gotten along better with Patra; they understood each other without a lot of talking. Michael was the opposite; he had inherited his more volatile nature from Dad. The two had been having 'aggravated debates' since Michael was three, and both Patra and James knew enough to leave them to it.
Once the doors closed behind Dad, James felt the couch beside him dip with Patra's weight. A hand rested a hand on his back and began to move in the slow motions he had found soothing for as long as he could remember. It was several long moments before Patra spoke.
"So, lost your temper, huh?"
James shrugged noncommittally.
"Must have been pretty bad to make you lose your temper. You want to talk about it?"
James shook his head hard; he wondered if he did it enough if he could just dislodge the memories.
"You want the universal truth?"
He turned to cock his head at Patra, curious. Patra caught his gaze, face serious.
"People are assholes."
James snickered, he couldn't help it. Soon the two were laughing hard at the observation. He relaxed back against the couch, breathing deeply and releasing the tension that had been building up since he'd left four weeks earlier. He had survived the experience, and he had come out with more knowledge than he had gone in. All the same, it was good to be home.
- - - - -
When Qilin stepped through the 'Gate to the Alpha Site, there was a crowd gathered, but no one to meet her; her mother was nowhere in sight. Her mother had warned her that she would most likely have to work when the students returned, but Qilin had hoped someone would be kind enough to trade shifts; apparently that hadn't happened. With a sigh she hoisted her duffel over her shoulder and headed toward the civilian quarters that she shared with her mother. Her mother was a nursing assistant at the chronically understaffed base clinic; Qilin was used to arriving home alone.
It had never bothered her before; most of the children on base had busy parents. Like what she'd heard of Atlantis, there was a 23-hour drop-in center for the children of military personnel; unlike Atlantis, civilian personnel had only limited facilities available in addition to the on-base school. After her father had vanished for good, Qilin had stopped going to the military drop-in; she didn't know if that had been because of the rules or because her mother no longer trusted the Earth military. She hadn't minded all that much; the first few years there had been only a couple children, but as regulations changed more children started transferring in from Earth with their parents. The older the children transferring in, the stranger the looks she received - as though she was the newcomer. Given the way they all whispered about 'the aliens' you'd think she and the Jaffa children had blue tails or something. She'd been just as happy to spend time after school with one of her mother's co-workers or a friend's family.
Qilin swiped her ID card in the lock of her quarters and walked in on auto-pilot, immediately heading to her room to deposit her duffel. She was distracted by sounds emanating from the small kitchen and looked in out of curiosity as she passed by; what she saw was enough to give her pause. Her mother stood in front of the stove making Lasta cakes. They hadn't had Lasta cakes in years; when Qilin was ten her mother had stopped cooking dishes from her homeworld because she said it reminded her of things she couldn't have and there was no point. Qilin had spent months after that begging her mother to make the cakes again, but she had never been successful.
Qilin set down her duffel in the hallway and stepped into the kitchen, hesitant to disturb her mother yet intrigued by the preparations. Wary of the dangers of a hot cooking surface, she waited until her mother removed the current batch before speaking. "Mama?"
Her mother dropped the ceramic plate she had been using and it hit the countertop with a clatter as she spun to face Qilin. "You're early!"
Qilin blinked. "No... We came through right on schedule." She reached over to steal a warm cake from the plate. "Are these for me?"
Her mother smiled and nodded. "I wanted to do something special for your homecoming. I was going to meet you at the 'Gate, but here you are." Her smile turned sheepish, and Qilin grinned in response. "I must have lost track of the time."
Qilin gasped in mock horror. "Surely not!" She received a swipe with the dish towel from the counter for her efforts.
"Put your things away in your room and then I want to hear all about your adventures. You must leave nothing out. But first go! Scoot!" She brandished her dishtowel at Qilin who leapt giggling from the room to follow her mother's orders. She set her duffel next to her bed and paused for a moment, looking at the intricate embroidery on the wall that was one of the only things her mother still possessed from her childhood on PNX-286. Qilin wondered who had been the go-between to acquire the ingredients for the sweetcakes cooling in the kitchen. The Jing-dai had cast her mother out and refused to speak to her again. Now that she was older Qilin understood why her mother had stopped using the rare nuts and fruits; everytime Zhing-mae asked someone to trade for her it was like a slap in the face. The Jing-dai had turned their backs on her and her family, so she in turn had attempted to leave behind her culture. Qilin herself could barely speak the Jing-dai language, something the Earthborn called 'Man-da-ren'. It brought into sudden clarity the attitudes of the 'Lantean children she had grown to know; Earth had abandoned their parents, so they saw no reason not to abandon Earth.
She stood, giving the needlepoint one final look before turning her back on it and following the scent of the Lasta cakes to the kitchen. Her mother loved her enough to bake the cakes again; she loved her mother enough to respect the pain involved. Perhaps the month apart had been a blessing, allowing them to remember who they were and giving them the chance to look forward instead of back. Who you were could be defined by so much or so little; all they had was each other, but it might be enough.
- - - - -
Elaine Kirnov waited anxiously outside of the security checkpoint at O'Hare Airport, watching the arriving passengers for her daughter. "I'm going to go check the monitors again in case there's been an update."
Karen Pulaski, her partner of 17 years, took her firmly by the arm. "You will do no such thing. You checked two minutes ago; they're not going to change her status from 'landed' to 're-routed to Cleveland' at this point. Here I thought I was going to be the nervous one. I didn't even want to let her go to this thing."
There was a surge of people coming through the doors, and Elaine shifted her attention back to the new arrivals. "I hope she had a good time. She sounded happy when she called last week. I just hope nothing happened. She's only sixteen, she's still so young." She felt Karen place a reassuring hand at the small of her back, but then her attention was drawn to a teenaged figure in jeans and an Air Force Academy T-Shirt. She grinned and waved at her daughter, catching her gaze. Lisa's face lit up with a grin as she made her way over to her mothers.
After the requisite hugs had been performed, the three women made their way to the baggage claim. Lisa chattered the whole way about what a wonderful time she'd had and how great it had been to see Sarah and everyone else. Elaine wondered what she wasn't saying, but hoped it was nothing important. Once Lisa's duffel had been acquired, the same one that had carried her things to Earth from Atlantis, they took the CTA into the city for a quiet evening at home. Lisa's adrenaline lasted three steps into the house before she started drooping. Elaine stifled a laugh and carried her daughter's bag up to her room for her.
They were quietly preparing dinner when Lisa abruptly changed topics. "So I'm thinking about going to graduate school in Boulder."
Elaine's head shot up. "I'm sorry?"
Lisa gave her a look that Elaine found disturbingly similar to one that Dr. McKay had favored in staff meetings; while terribly out of place, it was also effective. Lisa repeated the previous sentence at half-speed. "I'm thinking about going to graduate school in Boulder. Colorado. University of Colorado?"
Karen set down the spoon she had been using on the stroganoff and folded her arms. "Graduate school is what, two years away? Three if you don't take summer classes? Where is this coming from?"
Lisa shrugged. "Well, they've got a good research rating and a good ecology department and..." the rest was mumbled too quietly to understand. Elaine shook her head in exasperation.
"Let's try that one again."
Lisa looked defensive. "I said they've got a good research rating and a good ecology department."
"And?"
Lisa sighed. "It's near Cheyenne Mountain, and Robbie's looking at going to the Academy for his exchange year so he'd be less than an hour away."
Elaine glanced over at Karen and gave her an inquisitive look, but Karen shook her head indicating she knew nothing either. "And what does Robbie's exchange year have to do with things?"
Lisa picked up the carrot she had been peeling, stabbing it into the table as she spoke. "Nothing. We just got to talking about what we were doing, w