Log: A Day in Atlantis
Who: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Chris Lightfellow, and Wyatt Lightfellow (as NPC'ed by Reiji Kageyama) - Other NPCs include Borus Redrum, Roland Lezaurus (both as NPC'd by Chris), and Elizabeth Weir (as NPC'd by Sheppard). And a few scientists scared of their boss (as NPC'd by McKay at the end. :D)
Where: City of Atlantis
When: Thursday, April 13, 2006
What: When they last encountered each other, Sheppard invited Chris to come join visit the city of the Ancients (well, /his/ Ancients, that is). So. She does, with Wyatt, Borus, and Roland in tow. Not only do they get to meet up with Sheppard and McKay (again, for Chris), but Elizabeth Weir, the leader of the Atlantis Expedition.
Watch For: McKay being pwned by all directions of the field. It's a fun past-time.
Getting visitors in this manner isn't a usual thing. Most of the time, people seem to be content with trying to do battle (and losing!) with the shield of the Stargate... or using a radio if their smart. Actually, most people usually use the radio. It's a rather bad move to try and show up via Stargate in this area...
However, that's not how this is going today. Once the commotion had reached the ears of the 'people who really matter' (read Weir, most likely) that something had happened on the mainland... well... Then it'll just have to be considered that things would be thrown into a bit of turmoil. Strangers? Through a gate? Planets can't have more than one Stargate. The network doesn't... well... /work/ to allow it. So! Nevertheless...
Investigations were made. People were encountered. And people were recognized! Yay! All's good. Right? Right.
So- upon requests to Elizabeth Weir and acceptance from the leader lady, the visitors are brought ot the city... and waiting for their arrival is a face that at least one should recognize. Sheppard's not in his 'off-world' gear... but despite wearing the jacket and all of his standard uniform, that rakish appearance should be recognizable by all.
And standing with him is a woman- most likely the aforementioned 'leader lady', actually- Weir is in her general uniform as well, but they're both being rather patient. At least, Weir is. Sheppard? He's in the process of talking about everything he saw when helping out Chris. - in a very nonchalant manner, of course.
The Puddlejumper bringing them turns around, spiralling as it lowers and touches down. After a moment, the rear bulkhead opens up. A few members of John's team step out - and then come the guests of honor. Chris is at their head, though two are quickly falling in after her. They all wear clothing a bit more comfortable: chainmail hauberks, instead of full plate, and their weapons are all sheathed.
Borus Redrum and Roland Lezaurus look at one another for a moment, before looking back around. "I've never seen /anything/ like this," the Swordsman of Rage remarks. "Is this even possible?"
"Many things are possible," Chris replies. She smiles once at Sheppard, nodding to him, and then looks back into the Puddlejumper. "Come, Father. They're our friends." She almost says 'allies' - but that seems a little hasty.
Another man is accompanying Chris today - a man with a certain strong air of pride and nobility, and perhaps self-confidence as well. He doesn't actually look all that much like Chris; his skin is deeply tanned, for instance, and his face is covered in a thick beard. His hair is in a similar spectrum, at least, although somewhat more blonde than the Silver Maiden's.
Wyatt Lightfellow steps out after his daughter, looking around with a carefully controlled look of marvel. "I see," he says. "Any friend of Chris' is a friend of mine. Hello to you all."
"Greetings to all of you," The woman says, "And welcome to Atlantis. My name is Dr. Elizabeth Weir and I've been put in charge of this expedition." She seems rather formal in this introduction- and finally breaks to move slightly in a gesture towards the colonel standing next to her. "I'm pretty sure at least one of you knows Lt. Col. John Sheppard. He's the one who told me about his encounter with you and in your home world."
Of course, Sheppard casts his little half-grin towards Chris before offering a nod towards her. "It's good to see you again, Lady Chris." Look! He can be taught too! (Despite whatever McKay wants to say!) He remembers that conversation they had. "It's also a pleasure to meet you as well, sir." See- the colonel's being a bit more restrained at the moment... but this is most likely due to Weir's presense. ... it doesn't always help, but it sometimes makes him play a little nicer now and then. This is one of those moments.
However, Weir continues on with her own words for the moment, "And I can assure you, this city is far unlike anything we've ever seen as well. If you'll come with us, we can have the opportunity to sit and allow you to ask any questions you may have. You'll also have to forgive us, we're not quite used to having visitors show up from the mainland like this. We have another way for others to arrive- one you'll be seeing shortly on our way to the conference room." This is when she starts to lead the way back towards the main areas that are usually around the Gateroom.
The city is quite a marvel, though- its archetecture is quite unlike anything else that's out there. Everything seems to be rather conveniently designed, making the walk from the Jumper bay as short as it possibly can be, working down a bit of stairs which should arrive into the spacious open area. There's plenty of room where a Jumper can hover in place in front of the strangely decorate ring set at the far end of the room. The stairs that lead up from there eventually go to where Weir and Sheppard are leading their visitors- the controls should be rather visible, but... again- the room that's directly off of the gateroom is more their attention.
The meeting room is rather modest and doesn't have much decoration, but the tables provide plenty of space for everyone together. Weir waits for the others before she takes her seat. However, Sheppard? He's got something else to do. He seems to have broken off and is standing outside for the moment.
"Thank you, Doctor Weir," Chris says with a respectful nod. She is somewhat in charge, after all; this may not last, however, with Sir Wyatt again being among the Zexen Knights. She hardly minds; after all, it is her father who should lead the knights, in her mind. "It is a pleasure to come here."
She looks at Sheppard, once, and nods her head. There is still a smile on her face; her mood is considerably good, likely in large part to the man following after her. "You, as well, Colonel Sheppard. It looks like you have been well since we last spoke."
The three knights follow after, dutifully. Chris falls back a little, to speak with Wyatt. Her tone is less reserved and almost excited. "I imagine even you haven't seen a place like this before, have you, Father? Though you've been to far more cities than I ever have..."
Roland nods to Weir. It should be worth noting that he is an elf, and thus has pointed ears. "Indeed... what is its history, if I may ask? It seems out of this world."
As if Spock is one to talk!
Wyatt is fairly quiet; he listens to Doctor Weir respectfully, and nods his comprehension. "Thank you for taking time to see us, Doctor. It's an honor." He is from a world far removed from her technology, but he seems to be able to grasp it easilly enough. He does look down to Chris, and smile faintly. "I have traveled to some that remind me of this one. But none of this scope or scale...it is quite a marvel, indeed."
Once Weir has settled into her place. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the differences in Roland's appearance- but after the things that they've encountered, having pointed ears is a small difference. Of course, there are sure to be others, but... for now? "There's quite a bit to this city," she says before she smiles slightly. "We only have the little that we know, but the people who built it were incredible beings that we have been researching back on our home world, in fact. Following their traces, we've discovered the existance of this city- Atlantis- and we have chosen to begin to explore this galaxy. We're actually quite a ways from home, to be quite honest. Using the Stargate is our primary mode of long-distance transportion here, and I'm sure that if we see more of you around here, you will come to know more about it and what it's done to our people since we've discovered how to operate it."
Ah, there's Sheppard. Finally, he's coming back in- he does stop to talk to someone in the control area outside, but more or less, it sounds like he's talking to someone. And he sounds a bit irritated. But all things considered, there's no surprise when he's having to deal with the local egomaniacal genius of the base.
Elizabeth falls quiet also as she glances over towards the door, waiting patient for the two gentlemen to arrive.
"I figured it'd be best if you come along too," Sheppard finally finishes before he steps inside and gives a bit of a grin. This grin seems to be towards Weir, before he quickly nods back in the newcomer's direction. She shakes her head- because she knows who it is too.
He's actually loud enough to hear, no matter where they're coming from.
"Why is it that people always interrupt me when I'm in the middle of something important?" An annoyed voice can be heard as it approaches the conference room. Rodney had been directing his team in trying to see if they couldn't find a way to apply the workings of the radios to the ones the teams normally used on their missions. It would be incredibly useful if they could work this into the city and perhaps even the Daedalus.
Unfortunately, just like the Atlantean technology, and in fact a little worse, it was beyond their current understanding. In fact, that radio he'd just put back together the other day? It's in peices again, and Rodney's carrying it with him as John drags him into the room. He didn't really feel the need to keep listening to it after the last conversation he'd had anyways.
"Hey! I expect some progress by the time I get back!" Rodney calls over his shoulder, demanding things of his team that he didn't really expect without his help anyways. There's a nervous response from some woman scientist in the background, but it's not really important. By now, he's made it into the room and blinks in surprise at the new visitors. Oh wait. Well one of them isn't exactly new. "Oh, I didn't realize we had company."
"Good evening, Dr. McKay," Chris says with a nod in his direction. She even smiles a little, before looking back towards the table. The fact this plane impresses her father is enough for her (even if she didn't know he spent a good deal of time on other planes). She looks towards Weir, and nods her head. "I see... so, these Stargates - I take it they're much like the other Gates?"
She has no way of knowing this could send Rodney into a conniption.
Wyatt remains relatively quiet, merely obsreving. At Rodney's entrance he provides a polite nod, and at Chris' question, he leans forward, obviously interested. "I'm curious as well," he admits.
McKay's arrival is enough to earn a slight smile from Weir before she looks back towards her guests. "I've not seen much of the other Gates, myself. However, from what I've heard from Sheppard, they are similar in some ways, yet very different in others."
"You see," This is when the Colonel takes his seat next to Elizabeth and he picks up on the conversation, "The gates aren't exactly a permanent connection- you have to 'dial out', so to speak, and use a set of coordinates, as we've called them, to- more or less go somewhere. Kind of like a telephone." He pauses, for a second, realizing the look he's picked up from Weir. Without casting another glance, he raises an eyebrow slightly, "...you do know what a telephone is, right?" Fumble. Fumblefumble.
C'mon, McKay, can you make this any better? Or will you, as usual, make it worse?
Ah, hello again, Chris. Er, /Lady/ Chris." Rodney corrects himself a bit late, but really, that last time was probably a fluke. You really can't expect this man to hold up to your standards of 'decent human being', can you? Regardless of his social blunder, he smiles to their guests, even the elf man! He's likewise getting used to strange looking people, so long as they don't try to suck the life out of him.
Why is he smiling even though he's been dragged away from his work? Because he'd actually meant to speak to her since they last saw each other! He had a lot to explain about magic and... Oh dear. You're right, Rodney will have to explain this too. There's no way his ego will let him /not/ do it.
Taking a seat, he starts to explain. "Actually, not quite. See the Stargates travel to and from different places in /this/ universe. The um... Gate gates," Gee, that sounds so... defined. Way to go Rodney, ".../those/ gates actually take on a much bigger problem, one that's baffled scientists for all time. In fact, just finding their existence is likely to set off a small war of sorts among a few schools of thought." Rodney pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Er. Where was I? Right! The gates! The gates you came through actually connect the billions on billions of multiverses, expanding on countless possibilities of reality, or so some believe..."
Oh. And telephones? You don't need to explain phones to them when all you have to do is explain the difference between two types of travel!
Someone better shut him up. Please. For your sake. For their sake. For the poor player's sake who can't stand to write any more of this crap.
"Ah... I see," Chris replies. Judging by the look on her face, as well as both Borus' and Roland's, she definitely does not see. The woman shifts a little, before she nods once. "Thank you, Dr. McKay." Perhaps she has a sense that arguing will only prolong things. Still, she does shoot an uncertain look in the direction of Wyatt. Maybe he understood some of that.
"Then, this means the Stargate is how you arrived to Atlantis," she ventures. She understood thast much. "And thus, it is on your plane. And it was built by some ancient civilization, Dr. Weir said?"
Wyatt leans over to Chris, and murmurs, "Their gates only work on this plane. Ours work on many. Theirs work like person-mail; you have to put in an address. ...I think."
As it is obvious that both of her 'experts' are failing at explaining the Stargates, Weir moves to straighten in her seat to assume 'control' of her side of the conversation again. The moment Chris issues her thanks to the astrophysicist, Elizabeth chooses it as her moment to interrupt. Sheppard's worked himself down into a simmer, which is normal... McKay's probably trying to find where that train of thought ran off to and scramble to get it as he's been interrupted. This gives her the perfect chance to strike, honestly.
"The Stargates work in a more situational basis. A series of symbols are entered and they direct us to which gate we're going to be headed towards. And yes, they are built by an ancient civilization- I believe there has been evidence to show that they've been in existance for quite some time. The gates exist back in our home galaxy, but they're different in this world- however, I believe that our discoveries of their existance in this world has proven that they made many advancements while they lived here."
Aha! Sheppard's got his moment now- "Which is pretty amazing, because from what I've heard back home, some of their stuff there is pretty cool too."
Well, being thanked is enough to get McKay out of rambling mode, at least for a while. He settles back in his seat as Weir takes the lead, because that's what she's good at. She was in charge after all. But he can't help but nod to Wyatt as he seems to grasp what it's about. "Exactly."
He goes back to poking at his radio for a moment, turning it over to glance at one of the innards, and mutters, "And yet despite however smart they were, whoever built these things makes them look like preschoolers in comparison." Yes, it's still bugging him. It'll be a few weeks, to be honest.
Chris Lightfellow smiles awkwardly. "Much like the Sindar, too," the woman says, before glancing at Wyatt again. She looks down at the table, then, as she reaches her conclusion. "There are a fair number of ancient civilizaions that seem to be around."
She shakes her head on that thought. "But, enough of that. I hope that Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay have told you some details about our world?" She looks at the two men. "If not, both my father and I should be able to field any questions, though--"
She feels a small pang of guilt. After taking care of the reports yesterday, she hadn't /really/ had a chance to sit down with her father and talk. The Council, then Sir Salome, then a few other older knights had seen to that. "I...can't say exactly what he has been doing on our plane in the past few worlds, so I will have to let him speak for himself on that."
Wyatt looks vaguely irritated. "I but wish I could discuss it so freely," he mutters. "There are certain things I must keep to myself, and unfortunately some of my activities in that time is one of them. Mostly, however, I traveled, in an effort to understand something. The Gates first opened not long after...certain incidents..." He gives Chris a sad look, before returning his eyes to the Atlantis crew. "So I have also spent a certain amount of time traveling the worlds, as well."
"Actually," Weir chooses to field this one after hearing Wyatt speak. She tilts her head slightly before she considers her words then says, "it's not much different back in our home world either. Most of the public isn't even aware of the existant of the Stargate that we have on Earth, let alone the gates everywhere else. Most of the family and friends of my people in this city don't even know what they're fully doing." Her words sound rather grave as she speaks, but she still holds a bit of conviction to them. "However, I believe it's for the best. Considering everything we've encountered and happened upon, it's hard to figure out if the public is really ready for the type of knowledge we can give them. Most of the people who do know seem to have troubles figuring out what to do with our own programs, let alone how to let the rest of the world know."
"Perhaps," Sheppard speaks up once it looks like Weir's complete with her speech, "we can give you the opportunity to look around, see the city a bit- perhaps even see how the Stargate itself works when one of our teams comes in. Or if we have a need to, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble to help us out at least once." He glances towards Elizabeth. It's sure to say that he's asking permission, while not sounding like he's doing that.
"There are things here that are a lot different than they've been for the rest of the IPA. We've not had much opportunity to involve ourselves in their matters," Weir only gives look a half-hearted glance before she continues. "We kind of have our hands full. But, I'm sure that we can make accomodations for you if you're interested in learning more about this city. As for other questions I may have, I'm rather interested in hearing a few things about your world. I've read up on Colonel Sheppard's report from his time with you- but it wasn't as detailed as usual, since it wasn't treated as 'official business'. However, the opportunity to make new friends and forge possible alliances is something that we're always interested in. Especially with someone who seems to have the same interest we do in learning of new worlds and cultures. I have a number of questions to ask, yes, however, it might be a little hard to vocalize most of them. I'm sure I can trust these two men to that job. I believe I've also heard that McKay wants to find out some way of clarification on some things he's learned through you and Sheppard as well..." And she moves to rise to her feet. "...however, if you'll excuse me. I need to go check on a few other things. If was a pleasure to meet all of you, and I hope you enjoy yourselves here."
As Elizabeth turns to leave, she pauses, giving another look to Sheppard, who returns a 'what?' type expression, eyebrow raised an all that. "If you need anything, Rodney, John... You know how to contact me. I trust you two can handle this."
Rodney seems to be in his own little world, examining the radio again. Really, that was what his focus was on before this little get together. Did you think he'd put it down so easily? Though, when Weir finally gets up to leave, he glances up again as he hears his name. "Huh? Oh!" Setting down the radio finally, he asks, "I wanted to talk to about that rune thing you showed us the other day. We had to leave before we'd finished speaking about it." She'd said something about earthquakes and lightning and water? "It's simple enough to create fire with the right materials, but... I'm curious just how you can create water with something like that."
Nope, this man still doesn't believe in powers or anything like that. There's gotta be an explanation and he's just got to figure it out. Imagine what uses something like that could be in emergencies, anyways!
"Ah... my apologies, Father. I wasn't aware that it was sensitive information. We can speak of it later, hopefully," Chris replies. What had he been doing, though? The thought of why he never came to tell her or her mother that he was alive comes to her, as well. She looks to the side a little, away from Wyatt, seemingly in thought. Sheppard and McKay may both notice her expression briefly darken.
Dr. Weir and and McKay, however, distract her. She nods to Elizabeth, but much of her attention goes to McKay. She smiles a little awkwardly. "Well, there are, ah, elemental forces that exist naturally. If you manipulate their flow, with a rune as the focal point, you can create and manipulate water. If only I had a Water Rune, to demonstrate."
Wyatt...remains surprisingly quiet, actually. He does turn and nod to Elizabeth's departure, saying, "It was a pleasure, Doctor. Good evening." He turns his attention back to Chris, and shrugs. "I hope so as well, Chris. Perhaps later, yes."
He allows Chris to deliver the explanation on the runes.
Now comes the dry response from Sheppard as he looks over towards McKay. "You know... there are a lot of things we still can't figure out how to explain." He says nothing more. He simply waits to see the sort of reaction he'd get out of this.
Or maybe he'd get McKay to give up on trying to find an explanation. But that's a really hard shot to try to do. McKay's rather stubbon in his own right. Probably one of the reasons he was picked for the mission. Well, it's almost up there with his intelligence, at least.
However, it's also easier to understand that Sheppard's willing to say that there are things he can't explain. He's dealt with things like that a bit more than the scientist next to him. He offers a bit of a shrug towards Chris and Wyatt at this point.
For his troubles, all Sheppard gets is an annoyed look from McKay, something along the lines of 'yes, we know you don't think it's worth it, so what?'. But he thinks about what she says for a moment, then sighs. "Alright, well I guess without the correct Rune there isn't much I can learn here."
See John? You lucked out. Or maybe Rodney just wants to get back to his research on the radio since he's not getting anywhere with this. Standing up, he nods to the guests. "Well. Not that I find you people boring or anything, but I need to check up on my team and make sure they're not slacking off." McKay picks up the pieces of his radio, lifting it for emphasis. "We're trying to find a way to interface these with the radios we already have." It will fail. But a man can dream, can't he?
"I'll see if we can bring someone in with a Water Rune. Perhaps a Pale Gate Rune, as well. I'm certain you would like to see a beast be summoned," Chris states, with a purely innocent smile on her face (if a little sheepish). Is she playing games with McKay? Her? Never.
Really.
Wyatt smirks.
Just a little.
Playing games with McKay? Sheppard may yet grow to like Lady Chris more. Playing with McKay is always fun. Perhaps that was part of why he said what he did. "...if we need you for something, should I send someone to your lab since you'll be so focused on taking your radio apart, or should I just call for Zalenka with his fully functional radio?"
He's not done yet. Really.
McKay is making his way out the door, when John goes there. Hoo boy. Rodney turns around again, raising a finger to make a point. "You think this is funny don't you? That I've been boggling over this thing for three days now? How about I call /you/ when it's working. I'm sure you can manage to not get into too much trouble in the next few hours, hm?" He seems to imply just how close he is to figuring something out. Or at least, he /thinks/ he is.
Until a few hours later. Anyone passing by the lab will hear a snap as some poor assistant breaks a crystal or some other important peice in the radio.
Lots of shouting. Maybe a crash or two, and some fleeing scientists. But then Atlantis can rest in peace again, at least until the usual crazies start up again around here.
Oh yeah. And Rodney will be needing a new radio. *sigh*
Chris looks at Rodney, and winces as he walks off for a moment. The young woman then adjusts the way she sits, glancing once towards Wyatt, and then once at Sheppard. "He strikes me as... a little high-strung, Colonel," she finally admits after a moment. "And we haven't even explained what the True Runes do, quite yet."
If circumstances were slightly different, Wyatt might be able to explain that. As it is, such a thing would be hard. She looks back towards him. "I will have to meet with Dr. Weir a few more times," she says, "for diplomatic purposes and whatnot. Roland and Borus will be staying while I am here... did you wish to stay, as well, Father?"
Wyatt shakes his head. He, indeed, cannot explain the True Runes at the current time. He looks over at Chris' question, and nods. "I should very much like that. I'm afraid the Council may have to call me back sometime soon...but I would like to stay here for as long as possible." 'With my daughter' is implied but not said; they're in formal company, after all.
Sheppard leans back in his chair, a smug look showing at the irritation he draws from the scientist. It seems that he's enjoying the rather put out reaction for the most part. And he is, really! The Colonel raises both eyebrows in an innocent expression as McKay storms out, and waves his fingers idly with a quiet, "Toodles." ...it's like he knows just what's going to happen next. He makes a mental note to talk to Weir about getting another radio set aside for when he does come crawling back for it.
Finally, John shifts positions before he looks to Chris, and says idly, "That's putting it lightly, actually- and you don't have to be so formal- you can call me John, really." He moves to stand up. "Also, if you two want, I can get some people to prepare some quarters for you to stay the evening- get you two some dinner if you haven't had any. It's not /excellent/ dining, but it's good. You should really try the blue jello, too." There's that playful grin again before he reaches over to gesture back to the door. "But if you two would like. We can begin our tour while they set things up. Get you a bit more acquainted with the place and how to find your way around while you're here."
Chris looks at Wyatt and nods. "I understand." The council would want to speak with him soon, she knew; hopefully, though, there would be at least a few days before he was called back to Vinay del Zexay. Being away from the city would be good; the council would have spies watching their every move, in the city. "That would be ideal," she says, looking at Sheppard. "We will also have to try this... blue jello."
What could blue jello be?
Wyatt's face creases. He has seen many worlds, now, and visited many cities, crossed many planes and gates, and yet...
"...'blue jello', you say? Interesting..."
"It's really good. Don't let McKay know they're serving it tonight, however." Sheppard grins before he gestures for the two to leave the meeting room first. "It'll break his poor little heart to know they're serving it while he's so focused on his little radio problem." That and he wants to save the satisfaction of telling him. Really.
"But follow me." He states pleasantly, strolling alongside his visitors. He seems to be quite used to giving the 'grand tour'... as not so grand as it really is. But it should be a rather fun bit of time for them to get together and just talk. Right?
Where: City of Atlantis
When: Thursday, April 13, 2006
What: When they last encountered each other, Sheppard invited Chris to come join visit the city of the Ancients (well, /his/ Ancients, that is). So. She does, with Wyatt, Borus, and Roland in tow. Not only do they get to meet up with Sheppard and McKay (again, for Chris), but Elizabeth Weir, the leader of the Atlantis Expedition.
Watch For: McKay being pwned by all directions of the field. It's a fun past-time.
Getting visitors in this manner isn't a usual thing. Most of the time, people seem to be content with trying to do battle (and losing!) with the shield of the Stargate... or using a radio if their smart. Actually, most people usually use the radio. It's a rather bad move to try and show up via Stargate in this area...
However, that's not how this is going today. Once the commotion had reached the ears of the 'people who really matter' (read Weir, most likely) that something had happened on the mainland... well... Then it'll just have to be considered that things would be thrown into a bit of turmoil. Strangers? Through a gate? Planets can't have more than one Stargate. The network doesn't... well... /work/ to allow it. So! Nevertheless...
Investigations were made. People were encountered. And people were recognized! Yay! All's good. Right? Right.
So- upon requests to Elizabeth Weir and acceptance from the leader lady, the visitors are brought ot the city... and waiting for their arrival is a face that at least one should recognize. Sheppard's not in his 'off-world' gear... but despite wearing the jacket and all of his standard uniform, that rakish appearance should be recognizable by all.
And standing with him is a woman- most likely the aforementioned 'leader lady', actually- Weir is in her general uniform as well, but they're both being rather patient. At least, Weir is. Sheppard? He's in the process of talking about everything he saw when helping out Chris. - in a very nonchalant manner, of course.
The Puddlejumper bringing them turns around, spiralling as it lowers and touches down. After a moment, the rear bulkhead opens up. A few members of John's team step out - and then come the guests of honor. Chris is at their head, though two are quickly falling in after her. They all wear clothing a bit more comfortable: chainmail hauberks, instead of full plate, and their weapons are all sheathed.
Borus Redrum and Roland Lezaurus look at one another for a moment, before looking back around. "I've never seen /anything/ like this," the Swordsman of Rage remarks. "Is this even possible?"
"Many things are possible," Chris replies. She smiles once at Sheppard, nodding to him, and then looks back into the Puddlejumper. "Come, Father. They're our friends." She almost says 'allies' - but that seems a little hasty.
Another man is accompanying Chris today - a man with a certain strong air of pride and nobility, and perhaps self-confidence as well. He doesn't actually look all that much like Chris; his skin is deeply tanned, for instance, and his face is covered in a thick beard. His hair is in a similar spectrum, at least, although somewhat more blonde than the Silver Maiden's.
Wyatt Lightfellow steps out after his daughter, looking around with a carefully controlled look of marvel. "I see," he says. "Any friend of Chris' is a friend of mine. Hello to you all."
"Greetings to all of you," The woman says, "And welcome to Atlantis. My name is Dr. Elizabeth Weir and I've been put in charge of this expedition." She seems rather formal in this introduction- and finally breaks to move slightly in a gesture towards the colonel standing next to her. "I'm pretty sure at least one of you knows Lt. Col. John Sheppard. He's the one who told me about his encounter with you and in your home world."
Of course, Sheppard casts his little half-grin towards Chris before offering a nod towards her. "It's good to see you again, Lady Chris." Look! He can be taught too! (Despite whatever McKay wants to say!) He remembers that conversation they had. "It's also a pleasure to meet you as well, sir." See- the colonel's being a bit more restrained at the moment... but this is most likely due to Weir's presense. ... it doesn't always help, but it sometimes makes him play a little nicer now and then. This is one of those moments.
However, Weir continues on with her own words for the moment, "And I can assure you, this city is far unlike anything we've ever seen as well. If you'll come with us, we can have the opportunity to sit and allow you to ask any questions you may have. You'll also have to forgive us, we're not quite used to having visitors show up from the mainland like this. We have another way for others to arrive- one you'll be seeing shortly on our way to the conference room." This is when she starts to lead the way back towards the main areas that are usually around the Gateroom.
The city is quite a marvel, though- its archetecture is quite unlike anything else that's out there. Everything seems to be rather conveniently designed, making the walk from the Jumper bay as short as it possibly can be, working down a bit of stairs which should arrive into the spacious open area. There's plenty of room where a Jumper can hover in place in front of the strangely decorate ring set at the far end of the room. The stairs that lead up from there eventually go to where Weir and Sheppard are leading their visitors- the controls should be rather visible, but... again- the room that's directly off of the gateroom is more their attention.
The meeting room is rather modest and doesn't have much decoration, but the tables provide plenty of space for everyone together. Weir waits for the others before she takes her seat. However, Sheppard? He's got something else to do. He seems to have broken off and is standing outside for the moment.
"Thank you, Doctor Weir," Chris says with a respectful nod. She is somewhat in charge, after all; this may not last, however, with Sir Wyatt again being among the Zexen Knights. She hardly minds; after all, it is her father who should lead the knights, in her mind. "It is a pleasure to come here."
She looks at Sheppard, once, and nods her head. There is still a smile on her face; her mood is considerably good, likely in large part to the man following after her. "You, as well, Colonel Sheppard. It looks like you have been well since we last spoke."
The three knights follow after, dutifully. Chris falls back a little, to speak with Wyatt. Her tone is less reserved and almost excited. "I imagine even you haven't seen a place like this before, have you, Father? Though you've been to far more cities than I ever have..."
Roland nods to Weir. It should be worth noting that he is an elf, and thus has pointed ears. "Indeed... what is its history, if I may ask? It seems out of this world."
As if Spock is one to talk!
Wyatt is fairly quiet; he listens to Doctor Weir respectfully, and nods his comprehension. "Thank you for taking time to see us, Doctor. It's an honor." He is from a world far removed from her technology, but he seems to be able to grasp it easilly enough. He does look down to Chris, and smile faintly. "I have traveled to some that remind me of this one. But none of this scope or scale...it is quite a marvel, indeed."
Once Weir has settled into her place. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the differences in Roland's appearance- but after the things that they've encountered, having pointed ears is a small difference. Of course, there are sure to be others, but... for now? "There's quite a bit to this city," she says before she smiles slightly. "We only have the little that we know, but the people who built it were incredible beings that we have been researching back on our home world, in fact. Following their traces, we've discovered the existance of this city- Atlantis- and we have chosen to begin to explore this galaxy. We're actually quite a ways from home, to be quite honest. Using the Stargate is our primary mode of long-distance transportion here, and I'm sure that if we see more of you around here, you will come to know more about it and what it's done to our people since we've discovered how to operate it."
Ah, there's Sheppard. Finally, he's coming back in- he does stop to talk to someone in the control area outside, but more or less, it sounds like he's talking to someone. And he sounds a bit irritated. But all things considered, there's no surprise when he's having to deal with the local egomaniacal genius of the base.
Elizabeth falls quiet also as she glances over towards the door, waiting patient for the two gentlemen to arrive.
"I figured it'd be best if you come along too," Sheppard finally finishes before he steps inside and gives a bit of a grin. This grin seems to be towards Weir, before he quickly nods back in the newcomer's direction. She shakes her head- because she knows who it is too.
He's actually loud enough to hear, no matter where they're coming from.
"Why is it that people always interrupt me when I'm in the middle of something important?" An annoyed voice can be heard as it approaches the conference room. Rodney had been directing his team in trying to see if they couldn't find a way to apply the workings of the radios to the ones the teams normally used on their missions. It would be incredibly useful if they could work this into the city and perhaps even the Daedalus.
Unfortunately, just like the Atlantean technology, and in fact a little worse, it was beyond their current understanding. In fact, that radio he'd just put back together the other day? It's in peices again, and Rodney's carrying it with him as John drags him into the room. He didn't really feel the need to keep listening to it after the last conversation he'd had anyways.
"Hey! I expect some progress by the time I get back!" Rodney calls over his shoulder, demanding things of his team that he didn't really expect without his help anyways. There's a nervous response from some woman scientist in the background, but it's not really important. By now, he's made it into the room and blinks in surprise at the new visitors. Oh wait. Well one of them isn't exactly new. "Oh, I didn't realize we had company."
"Good evening, Dr. McKay," Chris says with a nod in his direction. She even smiles a little, before looking back towards the table. The fact this plane impresses her father is enough for her (even if she didn't know he spent a good deal of time on other planes). She looks towards Weir, and nods her head. "I see... so, these Stargates - I take it they're much like the other Gates?"
She has no way of knowing this could send Rodney into a conniption.
Wyatt remains relatively quiet, merely obsreving. At Rodney's entrance he provides a polite nod, and at Chris' question, he leans forward, obviously interested. "I'm curious as well," he admits.
McKay's arrival is enough to earn a slight smile from Weir before she looks back towards her guests. "I've not seen much of the other Gates, myself. However, from what I've heard from Sheppard, they are similar in some ways, yet very different in others."
"You see," This is when the Colonel takes his seat next to Elizabeth and he picks up on the conversation, "The gates aren't exactly a permanent connection- you have to 'dial out', so to speak, and use a set of coordinates, as we've called them, to- more or less go somewhere. Kind of like a telephone." He pauses, for a second, realizing the look he's picked up from Weir. Without casting another glance, he raises an eyebrow slightly, "...you do know what a telephone is, right?" Fumble. Fumblefumble.
C'mon, McKay, can you make this any better? Or will you, as usual, make it worse?
Ah, hello again, Chris. Er, /Lady/ Chris." Rodney corrects himself a bit late, but really, that last time was probably a fluke. You really can't expect this man to hold up to your standards of 'decent human being', can you? Regardless of his social blunder, he smiles to their guests, even the elf man! He's likewise getting used to strange looking people, so long as they don't try to suck the life out of him.
Why is he smiling even though he's been dragged away from his work? Because he'd actually meant to speak to her since they last saw each other! He had a lot to explain about magic and... Oh dear. You're right, Rodney will have to explain this too. There's no way his ego will let him /not/ do it.
Taking a seat, he starts to explain. "Actually, not quite. See the Stargates travel to and from different places in /this/ universe. The um... Gate gates," Gee, that sounds so... defined. Way to go Rodney, ".../those/ gates actually take on a much bigger problem, one that's baffled scientists for all time. In fact, just finding their existence is likely to set off a small war of sorts among a few schools of thought." Rodney pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Er. Where was I? Right! The gates! The gates you came through actually connect the billions on billions of multiverses, expanding on countless possibilities of reality, or so some believe..."
Oh. And telephones? You don't need to explain phones to them when all you have to do is explain the difference between two types of travel!
Someone better shut him up. Please. For your sake. For their sake. For the poor player's sake who can't stand to write any more of this crap.
"Ah... I see," Chris replies. Judging by the look on her face, as well as both Borus' and Roland's, she definitely does not see. The woman shifts a little, before she nods once. "Thank you, Dr. McKay." Perhaps she has a sense that arguing will only prolong things. Still, she does shoot an uncertain look in the direction of Wyatt. Maybe he understood some of that.
"Then, this means the Stargate is how you arrived to Atlantis," she ventures. She understood thast much. "And thus, it is on your plane. And it was built by some ancient civilization, Dr. Weir said?"
Wyatt leans over to Chris, and murmurs, "Their gates only work on this plane. Ours work on many. Theirs work like person-mail; you have to put in an address. ...I think."
As it is obvious that both of her 'experts' are failing at explaining the Stargates, Weir moves to straighten in her seat to assume 'control' of her side of the conversation again. The moment Chris issues her thanks to the astrophysicist, Elizabeth chooses it as her moment to interrupt. Sheppard's worked himself down into a simmer, which is normal... McKay's probably trying to find where that train of thought ran off to and scramble to get it as he's been interrupted. This gives her the perfect chance to strike, honestly.
"The Stargates work in a more situational basis. A series of symbols are entered and they direct us to which gate we're going to be headed towards. And yes, they are built by an ancient civilization- I believe there has been evidence to show that they've been in existance for quite some time. The gates exist back in our home galaxy, but they're different in this world- however, I believe that our discoveries of their existance in this world has proven that they made many advancements while they lived here."
Aha! Sheppard's got his moment now- "Which is pretty amazing, because from what I've heard back home, some of their stuff there is pretty cool too."
Well, being thanked is enough to get McKay out of rambling mode, at least for a while. He settles back in his seat as Weir takes the lead, because that's what she's good at. She was in charge after all. But he can't help but nod to Wyatt as he seems to grasp what it's about. "Exactly."
He goes back to poking at his radio for a moment, turning it over to glance at one of the innards, and mutters, "And yet despite however smart they were, whoever built these things makes them look like preschoolers in comparison." Yes, it's still bugging him. It'll be a few weeks, to be honest.
Chris Lightfellow smiles awkwardly. "Much like the Sindar, too," the woman says, before glancing at Wyatt again. She looks down at the table, then, as she reaches her conclusion. "There are a fair number of ancient civilizaions that seem to be around."
She shakes her head on that thought. "But, enough of that. I hope that Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay have told you some details about our world?" She looks at the two men. "If not, both my father and I should be able to field any questions, though--"
She feels a small pang of guilt. After taking care of the reports yesterday, she hadn't /really/ had a chance to sit down with her father and talk. The Council, then Sir Salome, then a few other older knights had seen to that. "I...can't say exactly what he has been doing on our plane in the past few worlds, so I will have to let him speak for himself on that."
Wyatt looks vaguely irritated. "I but wish I could discuss it so freely," he mutters. "There are certain things I must keep to myself, and unfortunately some of my activities in that time is one of them. Mostly, however, I traveled, in an effort to understand something. The Gates first opened not long after...certain incidents..." He gives Chris a sad look, before returning his eyes to the Atlantis crew. "So I have also spent a certain amount of time traveling the worlds, as well."
"Actually," Weir chooses to field this one after hearing Wyatt speak. She tilts her head slightly before she considers her words then says, "it's not much different back in our home world either. Most of the public isn't even aware of the existant of the Stargate that we have on Earth, let alone the gates everywhere else. Most of the family and friends of my people in this city don't even know what they're fully doing." Her words sound rather grave as she speaks, but she still holds a bit of conviction to them. "However, I believe it's for the best. Considering everything we've encountered and happened upon, it's hard to figure out if the public is really ready for the type of knowledge we can give them. Most of the people who do know seem to have troubles figuring out what to do with our own programs, let alone how to let the rest of the world know."
"Perhaps," Sheppard speaks up once it looks like Weir's complete with her speech, "we can give you the opportunity to look around, see the city a bit- perhaps even see how the Stargate itself works when one of our teams comes in. Or if we have a need to, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble to help us out at least once." He glances towards Elizabeth. It's sure to say that he's asking permission, while not sounding like he's doing that.
"There are things here that are a lot different than they've been for the rest of the IPA. We've not had much opportunity to involve ourselves in their matters," Weir only gives look a half-hearted glance before she continues. "We kind of have our hands full. But, I'm sure that we can make accomodations for you if you're interested in learning more about this city. As for other questions I may have, I'm rather interested in hearing a few things about your world. I've read up on Colonel Sheppard's report from his time with you- but it wasn't as detailed as usual, since it wasn't treated as 'official business'. However, the opportunity to make new friends and forge possible alliances is something that we're always interested in. Especially with someone who seems to have the same interest we do in learning of new worlds and cultures. I have a number of questions to ask, yes, however, it might be a little hard to vocalize most of them. I'm sure I can trust these two men to that job. I believe I've also heard that McKay wants to find out some way of clarification on some things he's learned through you and Sheppard as well..." And she moves to rise to her feet. "...however, if you'll excuse me. I need to go check on a few other things. If was a pleasure to meet all of you, and I hope you enjoy yourselves here."
As Elizabeth turns to leave, she pauses, giving another look to Sheppard, who returns a 'what?' type expression, eyebrow raised an all that. "If you need anything, Rodney, John... You know how to contact me. I trust you two can handle this."
Rodney seems to be in his own little world, examining the radio again. Really, that was what his focus was on before this little get together. Did you think he'd put it down so easily? Though, when Weir finally gets up to leave, he glances up again as he hears his name. "Huh? Oh!" Setting down the radio finally, he asks, "I wanted to talk to about that rune thing you showed us the other day. We had to leave before we'd finished speaking about it." She'd said something about earthquakes and lightning and water? "It's simple enough to create fire with the right materials, but... I'm curious just how you can create water with something like that."
Nope, this man still doesn't believe in powers or anything like that. There's gotta be an explanation and he's just got to figure it out. Imagine what uses something like that could be in emergencies, anyways!
"Ah... my apologies, Father. I wasn't aware that it was sensitive information. We can speak of it later, hopefully," Chris replies. What had he been doing, though? The thought of why he never came to tell her or her mother that he was alive comes to her, as well. She looks to the side a little, away from Wyatt, seemingly in thought. Sheppard and McKay may both notice her expression briefly darken.
Dr. Weir and and McKay, however, distract her. She nods to Elizabeth, but much of her attention goes to McKay. She smiles a little awkwardly. "Well, there are, ah, elemental forces that exist naturally. If you manipulate their flow, with a rune as the focal point, you can create and manipulate water. If only I had a Water Rune, to demonstrate."
Wyatt...remains surprisingly quiet, actually. He does turn and nod to Elizabeth's departure, saying, "It was a pleasure, Doctor. Good evening." He turns his attention back to Chris, and shrugs. "I hope so as well, Chris. Perhaps later, yes."
He allows Chris to deliver the explanation on the runes.
Now comes the dry response from Sheppard as he looks over towards McKay. "You know... there are a lot of things we still can't figure out how to explain." He says nothing more. He simply waits to see the sort of reaction he'd get out of this.
Or maybe he'd get McKay to give up on trying to find an explanation. But that's a really hard shot to try to do. McKay's rather stubbon in his own right. Probably one of the reasons he was picked for the mission. Well, it's almost up there with his intelligence, at least.
However, it's also easier to understand that Sheppard's willing to say that there are things he can't explain. He's dealt with things like that a bit more than the scientist next to him. He offers a bit of a shrug towards Chris and Wyatt at this point.
For his troubles, all Sheppard gets is an annoyed look from McKay, something along the lines of 'yes, we know you don't think it's worth it, so what?'. But he thinks about what she says for a moment, then sighs. "Alright, well I guess without the correct Rune there isn't much I can learn here."
See John? You lucked out. Or maybe Rodney just wants to get back to his research on the radio since he's not getting anywhere with this. Standing up, he nods to the guests. "Well. Not that I find you people boring or anything, but I need to check up on my team and make sure they're not slacking off." McKay picks up the pieces of his radio, lifting it for emphasis. "We're trying to find a way to interface these with the radios we already have." It will fail. But a man can dream, can't he?
"I'll see if we can bring someone in with a Water Rune. Perhaps a Pale Gate Rune, as well. I'm certain you would like to see a beast be summoned," Chris states, with a purely innocent smile on her face (if a little sheepish). Is she playing games with McKay? Her? Never.
Really.
Wyatt smirks.
Just a little.
Playing games with McKay? Sheppard may yet grow to like Lady Chris more. Playing with McKay is always fun. Perhaps that was part of why he said what he did. "...if we need you for something, should I send someone to your lab since you'll be so focused on taking your radio apart, or should I just call for Zalenka with his fully functional radio?"
He's not done yet. Really.
McKay is making his way out the door, when John goes there. Hoo boy. Rodney turns around again, raising a finger to make a point. "You think this is funny don't you? That I've been boggling over this thing for three days now? How about I call /you/ when it's working. I'm sure you can manage to not get into too much trouble in the next few hours, hm?" He seems to imply just how close he is to figuring something out. Or at least, he /thinks/ he is.
Until a few hours later. Anyone passing by the lab will hear a snap as some poor assistant breaks a crystal or some other important peice in the radio.
Lots of shouting. Maybe a crash or two, and some fleeing scientists. But then Atlantis can rest in peace again, at least until the usual crazies start up again around here.
Oh yeah. And Rodney will be needing a new radio. *sigh*
Chris looks at Rodney, and winces as he walks off for a moment. The young woman then adjusts the way she sits, glancing once towards Wyatt, and then once at Sheppard. "He strikes me as... a little high-strung, Colonel," she finally admits after a moment. "And we haven't even explained what the True Runes do, quite yet."
If circumstances were slightly different, Wyatt might be able to explain that. As it is, such a thing would be hard. She looks back towards him. "I will have to meet with Dr. Weir a few more times," she says, "for diplomatic purposes and whatnot. Roland and Borus will be staying while I am here... did you wish to stay, as well, Father?"
Wyatt shakes his head. He, indeed, cannot explain the True Runes at the current time. He looks over at Chris' question, and nods. "I should very much like that. I'm afraid the Council may have to call me back sometime soon...but I would like to stay here for as long as possible." 'With my daughter' is implied but not said; they're in formal company, after all.
Sheppard leans back in his chair, a smug look showing at the irritation he draws from the scientist. It seems that he's enjoying the rather put out reaction for the most part. And he is, really! The Colonel raises both eyebrows in an innocent expression as McKay storms out, and waves his fingers idly with a quiet, "Toodles." ...it's like he knows just what's going to happen next. He makes a mental note to talk to Weir about getting another radio set aside for when he does come crawling back for it.
Finally, John shifts positions before he looks to Chris, and says idly, "That's putting it lightly, actually- and you don't have to be so formal- you can call me John, really." He moves to stand up. "Also, if you two want, I can get some people to prepare some quarters for you to stay the evening- get you two some dinner if you haven't had any. It's not /excellent/ dining, but it's good. You should really try the blue jello, too." There's that playful grin again before he reaches over to gesture back to the door. "But if you two would like. We can begin our tour while they set things up. Get you a bit more acquainted with the place and how to find your way around while you're here."
Chris looks at Wyatt and nods. "I understand." The council would want to speak with him soon, she knew; hopefully, though, there would be at least a few days before he was called back to Vinay del Zexay. Being away from the city would be good; the council would have spies watching their every move, in the city. "That would be ideal," she says, looking at Sheppard. "We will also have to try this... blue jello."
What could blue jello be?
Wyatt's face creases. He has seen many worlds, now, and visited many cities, crossed many planes and gates, and yet...
"...'blue jello', you say? Interesting..."
"It's really good. Don't let McKay know they're serving it tonight, however." Sheppard grins before he gestures for the two to leave the meeting room first. "It'll break his poor little heart to know they're serving it while he's so focused on his little radio problem." That and he wants to save the satisfaction of telling him. Really.
"But follow me." He states pleasantly, strolling alongside his visitors. He seems to be quite used to giving the 'grand tour'... as not so grand as it really is. But it should be a rather fun bit of time for them to get together and just talk. Right?