Abandonment Challenge: Left to Fend by Springwoof
Was watching that moment in Before I Sleep where the Ancients abandon Atlantis and Weir is left behind, hiding.
Inspiration for this fic hit like a hammer: What would Elizabeth Weir do if she was abandoned? Anything she had to...
(Caution for the very spoilerphobic: very tiny spoilers for Season 2, nothing you can't get from the promo commercials or Gateworld.)
TITLE: Left to Fend
AUTHOR: Springwoof
CATEGORY: Gen
LENGTH: 6620 words
SPOILERS: all of SGA Season One, and some very minor spoilers for Season Two (none that aren’t available from Gateworld or watching the promo commercials.)
DISCLAIMER: I make no claims of ownership, and make no profit whatsoever. May the folks who do own the Stargate franchise enjoy continued success and generous financial rewards.
NOTES: Humble thanks to swift, efficient, amazing beta, amezri! All remaining errors are mine.
SUMMARY: “Where were you people all these years?”
Left to Fend
By Springwoof
“You have to understand, Colonel Ramkumar, when Earth abandoned us this last time and left us to fend for ourselves, we had no way of knowing it wasn’t a permanent condition,” Elizabeth Weir explained reasonably.
“Of course we understand, Dr. Weir,” Dharti Ramkumar responded automatically, as if having the Krishna met by an escort of alien spacecraft was an everyday occurrence.
Well, in some areas of space it was, but this was Atlantis, in the Pegasus galaxy-they had expected everything from the Wraith ready to rumble to a small-but-grimly-hanging-on Atlantis Expedition to a burnt and smoking ruin of a former Ancient city. The unofficial motto of the SGC was “Expect the Unexpected,” but for some reason they hadn’t expected this-a thriving metropolis, the suburban sprawl of several busy towns on the mainland, a bustling spaceport, a space station. Success. On a scale not imagined back on Earth.
“It’s Tal Weir,” snapped the man at Weir’s side, craggy-faced, tall, and looming. “Show respect!” he scowled.
“Osri, peace,” Weir soothed, touching his arm. “The Colonel is showing me respect, in the only way she knows. The last time we spoke with the Tau’ri, I was known as Doctor Weir,” she turned to Ramkumar. “My title here is Tal, now, Colonel Ramkumar.”
“Very well, Tal Weir,” she managed a shallow bow. “I meant no disrespect.”
“Of course not,” Weir smiled at her. “Would you like to go down to the planet? Or you can send a team of your choosing, of course. We have so much to discuss, and we’re hungry for news of Earth. We’re just in the way of Stationmaster Gallot’s business here,” she indicated the thin, beaky-nosed man at her other side. “Atlantis has adequate meeting facilities and depending on how long your crew has been in space, perhaps we can discuss arrangements for shore leave on the mainland as well.” She smiled again. Weir did a lot of smiling.
“Your ship may dock here if you choose, Colonel,” Gallot offered, in a crisp, unidentifiable accent.
“Very well,” Ramkumar agreed, warily. Something was off, but she didn’t know if it was her own nerves or what. She’d be very freaked out to find out they’d all been taken over by the Goa’uld or something similar. “Let me call my ship.”
Gallot showed her to a communications panel and helped her complete a call to the Krishna. A brief conversation with her second in command, Major Singh, assured him all was well and-in coded language-asked him to remain on alert. It also got her an entourage to bring with her to Atlantis: Dr. Wu Sheng, and Captain Miguel “Mike” Perez.
“You have transport rings?” enquired Gallot politely, and at her nod, “Right there is fine.” Indicating a large blue circle on the floor. Wu and Perez arrived without problem.
While she had been lining up her team and seeing to the safety of her ship, Weir had been arranging transport. “We could ring down to Atlantis, of course, but if you don’t mind taking a little more time, I’ve arranged a shuttle for a more scenic route.” She indicated the door to the shuttle bay gracefully, then led the way to their shuttle. “We call them ‘puddle jumpers’ by the way, so don’t be surprised to hear us saying ‘jumper’-we’re talking about the shuttles, not about leaping from something,” Weir smiled to herself, amused with her own joke.
A little man with shaggy hair and glasses came running up just as they reached their designated ‘jumper. “Elizabeth! Going back to Atlantis so soon? May I go as well?”
When he reached them, Weir cupped the back of his head lightly in her hand and brought their foreheads together. He touched her shoulder with one hand. “Radek, yes of course! Don’t you like to ring down?” The man repeated the greeting gesture briefly and somewhat awkwardly with the tall Osri, both of them grinning at each other.
“Gives me indigestion. I avoid when possible,” the short man answered Weir, eyeing Ramkumar and her team curiously.
“Pardon me, please,” said Weir. “Colonel Ramkumar of the Krishna, Captain Perez, and Dr. Wu, also of the Krishna. May I introduce Dr. Radek Zelenka, one of my senior staff. Radek, these people are from Earth! Can you imagine, after eleven years!”
Zelenka nodded to all of them and they nodded to him in return. Ramkumar searched her mental database of Atlantis Expedition personnel. Ah yes, Radek Zelenka, a Czech, one of the scientists in the international contingent. His specialty eluded her for the moment, but it would come.
They all piled into the jumper and took seats on padded benches along the sides of the vehicle, Weir’s people facing her own crew. “There are emergency supplies in the bulkhead compartments directly behind you,” said Osri. “In the unlikely event of an emergency, the compartments will open automatically. The contents are clearly labeled in both Ancient and English.” Then he sat down and seemed to settle in to wait.
Ramkumar was about to point out that they weren’t going anywhere, and that there didn’t seem to be a pilot, when a blue shimmer appeared in the air toward the front of the vehicle. It coalesced into the figure of a glowing blue man.
“John!” Weir jumped up from her seat, surprise and gladness on her face. “I didn’t realize you were going to pilot us yourself! You didn’t have to, John, one of your staff could have easily done this or we could have gotten a human pilot from the station.”
The blue man smiled crookedly at Weir.
“Oh, of course, John. If you wanted to, I certainly don’t have a problem with it! You’re just so busy, I didn’t think you’d have time for shuttle duty.”
The blue man turned and regarded Ramkumar and her crew gravely.
“Oh! Pardon me again, Colonel. This is John Sheppard, our Defender, or rather, his hologram. You can talk to him if you like, he can hear you. You just won’t hear him for now--you’re not linked to Atlantis. John, this is Colonel Ramkumar, Captain Perez, and Dr. Wu of the Krishna.” Ramkumar’s mental database spat out, Lt. Col. John Sheppard, USAF. “Colonel Sheppard,” she and Perez stood and saluted courteously. Wu stood and bowed. The hologram nodded and sketched a very abbreviated salute in return.
“Um, Colonel, Osri would remind me to let you know that it’s appropriate to address him as Defender Sheppard,” Weir made an apologetic gesture. Ramkumar regarded her with some confusion, but nodded. “As you wish, Tal Weir. Defender Sheppard,” the Colonel nodded at both and sat again, her team sitting with her. Osri regarded her with amusement and exchanged knowing looks both with Zelenka and the hologram of Sheppard. The hologram smiled crookedly again and sketched another salute, then faded away.
The ‘jumper’s hatch sealed, and docking clamps detached as it separated from the space station. The front and roof of the ‘jumper suddenly turned transparent, allowing an impressive view of the busy space station, a bit of the Krishna, and even the planet below, as well as the star-strewn darkness of space. “Pardon me, ma’am, but is anyone piloting this thing?” Perez asked nervously, as the ‘jumper began to accelerate away from the station.
“Oh yes,” said Weir, nodding in reassurance. “Defender Sheppard is piloting this ‘jumper himself!” At their confused expressions, she elaborated. “He doesn’t have to be visible to pilot this craft. I assure you, it’s perfectly safe, or else Osri wouldn’t allow me to be here.” She lifted a wry eyebrow in Osri’s direction. He folded his arms and lifted an eyebrow in return. Both suddenly startled, looked up and to the right, and began to snicker. On the other side of Weir, Zelenka dissolved into a fit of giggles.
A few moments later, when she had regained control of her expression, Weir began to scold the thin air. “John, that’s just not so and you know it! And be polite, our guests can’t hear your attempts at humor. Well, no, I don’t think they’d get the joke either, but that’s no excuse to exclude them!” She turned her attention to Ramkumar and her team. “I’m so sorry for our rudeness, Colonel. Captain. Doctor. John apologizes as well, don’t you John?” She tilted her head as if to listen, then nodded decisively.
“If you’ll excuse me, Tal Weir,” said Ramkumar uncomfortably, hands folded tightly on her lap. “But can you tell us how…why,” she gestured in frustration at where the hologram had appeared previously.
“Ah, yes, well, Colonel, I told you we had much to discuss,” Weir smiled mysteriously. “I’d prefer to save this until we get back to Atlantis, and answer all your questions at once. Why don’t you enjoy the view?”
And the view was fantastic. The jumper sank in a slow spiral towards the planet, eventually entering orbit. The stars, the multitude of ships in the system, and the complex-looking space station, all gradually faded as the planet began to loom into view. The jumper sank gradually into the atmosphere, gently circling the planet, gradually dropping lower. Eventually, the landmass passing below them showed vast stretches of cultivated fields, as well as a variety of small villages and hamlets, then gradually, several larger towns on the coast, then a large stretch of ocean, dotted now and again with fleets of boats. Finally, Atlantis herself sparkled brightly, like a jewel on the surface of the water.
***
That view of Atlantis had nothing in common with the videos the returning Daedalus had brought back of the fabled city just after it had survived its battle with the Wraith. Nor did the busy city they found when they emerged from the shuttle bay.
“I will see you tonight, Elizabeth?” Zelenka asked, touching his forehead to hers again.
“Of course, Radek,” she assured him, touching his hand lightly with her own and smiling at him.
His own smile was brilliant as he tugged Osri down to touch his forehead as well. “Get down here, you big oaf! Not everyone is tall!” Osri grinned at him as their foreheads bumped and swatted him on the shoulder. “Away with you, hmyz!” Zelenka scowled at him and he laughed.
The scientist waved at Ramkumar and her team. “Colonel, Captain, Doctor, if I don’t see you again, it was good to meet you. Farewell.”
“This way, please,” Weir directed them, as Zelenka scurried away. She led them through corridors filled with a variety of people, in a variety of dress, including children. They all bowed towards Weir as she passed, hands on their hearts. Even the children slowed from their running, or ceased their playing to stop and bow quickly, hands to heart. Weir nodded to her people and strode along briskly, Ramkumar and her team behind her, Osri at their heels.
Weir led the way into the ‘Gate room, and up some stairs. As she passed the control station, she addressed one of the personnel there. “Jinto, ask your father, Dr. McKay, Dex, Shil Yana, and Dr. Beckett to come to conference room three, please. I think Defender Sheppard will know to be there as well, but, for courtesy’s sake, ask him also.”
The young man bowed to her, hand to heart. “It shall be as you say, Tal Weir. What do I tell Dr. McKay when he complains about being too busy to attend meetings?”
Weir grinned at him. “Tell him we have visitors from Earth, Jinto. That will get him here!”
He grinned in return.
***
Ramkumar studied the people in the conference room, sorting through her mental database. She wished briefly that she had gone ahead and gotten the experimental memory expansion implant they’d offered her last year, then maybe she’d have a true mental database--a program running from its own little microscopic hard drive sitting nestled in the folds of her brain. She’d be looking at virtual displays running on her retinas right now, information displaying for her convenience, instead of scrabbling around in her own human, all-too-fallible memory.
She was fairly sure that at least half the people here weren’t on the original manifest of Atlantis Expedition members, or even on the list of aliens that the Daedalus had brought back. Perhaps that Halling fellow…the name seemed familiar, though the face did not. Maybe the Daedalus hadn’t taken an image of him. The Ronan Dex that glowered across the table at her was certainly unfamiliar, as was the pale, androgynous Shil Yana who sat beside him. Beckett, sitting and chatting with Shil Yana. He looked much like his last photo, although sporting a graying beard now. Weir was on the original team, of course, though her shadow, Osri, had definitely not been on the manifest. At the other end of the table, the blue hologram of Sheppard bothered her, beyond the mere fact that it was a hologram.
When McKay strode in, making notations on his computer tablet as he walked, the difference struck her. As McKay took his seat next to Sheppard it was glaringly apparent how very different he looked from his photo in her files. His hair had receded a bit, grayed slightly, and he was somewhat thinner, but the most startling difference was the deep scar that traveled across his left cheek, disappeared under a black eye-patch, and re-emerged above it to travel diagonally across his forehead. When his remaining blue eye glared at her, she startled, only then realizing that she’d been staring. She looked down at her hands on the table, then darted a glance at Sheppard’s hologram. That was what was strange. Weir, McKay, and Beckett all looked changed, older if nothing else. Except for being blue, Sheppard’s holographic image exactly matched his photograph of over a decade earlier.
“Well, now that we’re all here, we can start the meeting,” said Weir briskly. “Those of you not linked to Atlantis, please wear the communication devices on the table in front of you so that you can hear Defender Sheppard when he speaks.” A pause while Ramkumar and her crew donned the earpiece/mic combination. “Colonel,” continued Weir. “Why don’t you introduce yourself and your staff, then I’ll introduce my people.”
Although most of the Atlanteans had introduced themselves informally as they came in, Ramkumar nodded, agreeing with the idea of formal introductions. “Very well, Tal Weir,” she stood. “I am Colonel Dharti Ramkumar of the UNPSF Krishna. This is my Second Officer, Captain Miguel Perez,” Perez nodded. “And our ship’s Political Officer, Dr. Wu Sheng.” Wu nodded as well, eyes sharp behind his glasses. Ramkumar sat down.
“What the heck is UNPSF?” asked Sheppard’s voice over their communicators, shortly followed by McKay’s abrupt exclamation, “Where the hell were you people all these years? We needed Earth and you abandoned us!”
“Gentlemen,” Weir said sharply, standing. “Let’s be civilized, and introduce ourselves first.” The other end of the table subsided. “Very good,” she eyed McKay especially, and then nodded at Ramkumar and her team. “As you know, I am Elizabeth Weir, Tal of Atlantis. Let me present my staff. Pol Osri of the PerAn, senior enforcer; Doctor Carson Beckett, chief medical officer; Shil Yana, Speaker of the Villana and chief maintenance officer; Ronan Dex of the Atterians, head of offworld expedition teams; Halling of the Athosians, provisions officer; Doctor Rodney McKay, head of our science department; and John Sheppard, the Defender of Atlantis.” She smiled proudly at her staff as they all nodded at the visitors at their introduction.
Then she turned sharp eyes to Ramkumar and leaned forward over her fists planted on the table. “Now, Colonel, what the heck is UNPSF, and where the hell were you people all these years?!”
“UNPSF is the United Nations Peacekeeping Space Force,” said Ramkumar calmly, palms flat on the table, her face set to project sincerity. “And what happened is that the peoples of Earth found out about the Stargate project, Tal Weir. And the Earth was attacked by a spacegoing power. One led to the other, don’t you see…Things were…in something of an uproar. We were quite busy, for quite a while.”
“And in the meantime, you forgot about us,” interjected McKay, bitterly.
“Surely not, Rodney,” Weir turned to Ramkumar. “Surely, even with those emergencies, General O’Neill, or General Hammond, wouldn’t forget about us?”
“Um, ah!” Ramkumar quickly shuffled through her mental files to recognize the names. “I believe both those gentlemen did not survive the initial attack, or at least the response to the attack. Cheyenne Mountain, Stargate Command, and in fact, many areas of North America in general, did not survive those early days. And you were a top-secret project, you understand. All knowledge of you was lost, for quite a while. However, there was the Ancient facility at Antarctica, and some of the SGC teams offworld at the time eventually returned. In time, the UNP Space Force had the time, and breathing room, to listen to their petitions on your behalf. There is a General Samantha Carter from the U.S. Air Force back on Earth that sends her regards, Doctor McKay, Tal Weir. And a Doctor Daniel Jackson, too, I believe.”
McKay slumped in his chair, deflated.
“What news do you have of Earth for us now, Colonel,” Weir asked her, grimly.
“Well, we survived the attack, obviously. And the SGC survives. We recovered the Stargate, although it is located in Antarctica now-or, I should say, once again. The SGC is part of the UNP now, instead of the USAF. Earth’s…political alignments are different than you may remember, but we have continued the exploration of our galaxy and have a Space Force to help defend the planet. Dr. Wu has datadisks with briefing information for you,” she nodded at Wu as he produced the disks and some paper reports from his case and passed them down the table to Weir.
“What can you tell us of Pegasus, Tal Weir?” Perez spoke up.
“What of the Wraith?” Wu added, leaning forward to see past Perez.
Weir settled down in her seat and steepled her hands in front of her. “The Wraith sleep,” she nodded at Shil Yana. “Thanks to the Villana, our Friends, the Wraith are in deep hibernation. We have a few decades to grow stronger and figure out how to defeat them.”
“On the contrary, Doctor Wu,” Shil Yana spoke, its androgynous voice either a deep alto or very light tenor. “The Wraith sleep now--and not of their own volition. Elizabeth generously gives us credit, but we were not able to do this before we had the help of Atlantis. We call the Atlanteans ‘Friend’ and that is not a term we use lightly. Indeed, many of my people have left our home world for the first time in our memory to live here and make Atlantis their home.” It nodded gravely towards Weir.
“As I was saying, Colonel--the Wraith sleep, for now. Atlantis has gained great Friends,” she smiled at Shil Yana. “We also have strong allies,” she nodded to Osri, Halling, and Dex. “However, our sacrifices have been many,” she glanced at McKay and Sheppard. “And we still have enemies in Pegasus, those who are jealous of what they perceive as our wealth and safety, and don’t appreciate how hard we’ve worked and how much we’ve sacrificed for both.”
Ramkumar stared at her wordlessly for a moment before she realized that Weir had finished talking and was waiting for a response. She rubbed her hands together and glanced at Perez beside her. “That was…inspiring, Tal Weir. We are…amazed that you are doing so well. We were-- frankly, we were expecting to be a rescue mission, or worse. You had been here so long…”
Her speech was cut short as a small person darted into the conference room, opening the doors seemingly by magic. “Papa, Papa! Wex said there were visitors from Earth! Can I see them, Papa?” A thin, dark-haired boy of around four or five Earth-years ran around the table to McKay, and tugged on his sleeve.
“Johnny, what are you doing here? Papa’s in an important meeting. You know you mustn’t disturb me while I’m at work,” McKay scolded, but lifted the child up into his lap. The boy settled back against his father’s chest, gripping one of McKay’s hands in both of his, and stared at the strangers with the piercing blue eyes obviously inherited from his father.
“I’ll be quiet, Papa, I promise. I’ll be good,” the child whispered earnestly.
The hologram of Sheppard snorted. “Too late for that, Squirt! I don’t think ‘good’ is a concept you’ve grasped yet.”
“And whose fault is that?” McKay smirked at the hologram Sheppard. “You’re the one who spoils him rotten, Uncle John!”
“Ahem,” said Weir, capturing everyone’s attention again. “Johnny-John,” she addressed the boy, “you interrupted your Papa, and Auntie Elizabeth, and Uncle John, and all our folk in an important meeting. What did I tell you the last time you interrupted a meeting?”
The child shrank back against his father. “You’d send the enforcers and have them take me away to be punished,” he whispered. He grasped his father’s hand tighter and pressed it to his chest. “Please, Papa, don’t let Auntie Lizzie enforce me!” he begged.
McKay kissed the top of the boy’s head. “If it was your Auntie Lizzie you offended, I could do something, Johnny, but you’ve trespassed against Tal Weir of Atlantis, and I can’t go against her authority, you know that. All I can do is ask for mercy. You can help. Go over there like a big boy and beg the Lady of Atlantis for her mercy.”
He helped the child off his lap, and led him by the hand to the head of the table nearest Weir. Osri had stood behind and to the side of Weir, arms folded, looming dangerously. The child eyed him nervously as he shuffled closer.
McKay bowed deeply, hand over his heart. “My apologies, Tal Weir, for my family’s disruption of the business of Atlantis. May I beg your mercy for my errant child?” he said formally.
He prodded the boy’s shoulder. Johnny copied his father’s bow. “I’m sorry, Auntie Lizzie,” Another nudge. “Tal Weir, I’m sorry I interrupted your meeting. Please don’t enforce me! I’ll be good and won’t be a dis-ruption again, I promise.” Another nudge. “I beg your mercy, Lady of Atlantis, we depend on you. Our Friends, we believe in you. Ancestors, we remember you. Amen.”
Weir hid a smile behind her hand, managed to control her expression, and said sternly, “This is not prayer service, Johnny; you’re requesting clemency for your actions. Remember that!”
“Yes, Tal Weir,” he whispered, head bowed.
“Very well. For the sake of your father’s great service to the City, and for the love of your mother’s people, our devoted Friends, the Tal of Atlantis grants you clemency for your transgressions. You are remanded to the custody of your parents for such punishments as they see fit. But remember, John McKay, one day you’ll be grown, and your parents won’t be able to shield you anymore. Don’t make me regret showing mercy this time.”
“No, Lady. You won’t be sorry. I’ll be good now,” the boy promised earnestly.
Weir kept her stern expression with difficulty, and all the Atlantis folk around the table hid smiles behind their hands or turned their faces away. The Sheppard hologram disappeared altogether.
There was a knock at the conference room doors. “Tal Weir,” Jinto poked his head in. “There is-ah, yes, I see our maker-of-trouble really is here! His minder is outside looking for him, Tal Weir. May I let her in?”
“Uncle John! You told on me!” the boy accused, whirling to look for the hologram. McKay grabbed his shoulder and shook it, directing the child towards the door. “Hush! You are in enough trouble, young man!”
A woman in her thirties, with curly blonde hair and a careworn expression, edged hesitantly through the door. Her eyes lit when they saw Johnny. “There you are!” She came to kneel in front of her wayward charge, holding his arms. “Johnny, you had me so worried!” She caught sight of McKay’s scowl above her, and indeed, the disapproving scowls of all the Atlantis folk in the room. She bowed deeply from her kneeling position, until her forehead touched the floor, and stayed there, trembling. “Your pardon, Master. He got away from me.”
“And what if he had gone off the South Pier into the ocean, Sora? Would I have to pardon you for letting him get away from you then as well?” McKay snarled. “You are charged with his safety. I can’t tolerate a breach of that trust. You know that.” He looked up and met Osri’s eye, “Send an enforcer for her tonight, Osri. I’ll let you know the level of punishment later.”
He looked down at the trembling woman kneeling at his feet, obviously weeping, obviously trying to suppress it. “Get out of here, Sora. Take Johnny home to his room as well. Just wait until your mother gets home, young man,” he said to the child, whose pouty lower lip and apprehensive eyes declared his realization that he was still in trouble. “Leave us now. You’ve disrupted Tal Weir’s meeting long enough. Unless--” He turned to Weir. “If you’d like to punish Sora as well, it is your right, Tal Weir. She was responsible for Johnny.”
“I’m sure your punishment will be sufficient, Rodney,” Weir said considered, looking coldly at Sora. “Unless this happens again…” Sora shrank from her gaze, paling and looking down at the ground. She made as if to kneel again, stopped by a slight disapproving sound from Osri, and bowed deeply instead, hand to heart. “Your mercy is great, Lady. This disruption will not occur again. Come, Johnny!” Sora grabbed Johnny’s hand in hers and backed out of the room, child in tow.
“Your pardon, Elizabeth,” McKay said again, briefly, before retaking his seat, his expression more forbidding than before.
Weir folded her hands on the conference room table, and gathered the eye of everyone around it before she spoke again, addressing her comments to Ramkumar. “I apologize for the interruption. As you were saying, we have been here quite a long time, and look forward to the opportunity to resupply. There are a variety of Earth luxuries my people have been missing.”
“Yes, and medical supplies,” agreed Beckett. “I have a list of medical supplies we would be grateful for.”
“Excuse me,” Ramkumar interrupted. “I’m afraid you are under a misconception. We are not here to resupply you. We are here to recall you.” She sat up straighter. “Tal Weir, we fully prepared to return the Atlantis Expedition to Earth--along with whatever dependants you may have engendered. Ah, however, I don’t believe I’m authorized to bring anyone else along who wasn’t originally from Earth, and I don’t know how many non-family members we can…”
Weir waved her hand, dismissing Ramkumar’s anxiety. “It’s of no matter, Colonel. We’re not returning. Oh,” she held up a finger to halt the Colonel’s words. “I’m sure there will be some individuals who may wish to return, and we will of course allow them to do so, but the majority of my people are staying here. Atlantis is our home now.”
Ramkumar compressed her lips. “You don’t understand, Doctor Weir. My orders state that I am to return with any surviving members of the Atlantis Expedition.”
Osri was on his feet instantly, growling, “You may address our Lady as Tal Weir. So I have instructed you before. Show respect, Tau’ri! Show respect, or regret it. I can make you regret it, very much.”
Perez was on his feet next, hand on his sidearm. “Did you just threaten Colonel Ramkumar, mister?”
“Stand down, Perez,” said Ramkumar quietly, carefully meeting Weir’s cold gaze. “I meant no disrespect, Osri, Tal Weir.” Perez sat down slowly.
“Of course you meant disrespect, or rather, you meant to remind me of my place--of my supposed superiors back on Earth,” said Weir, tone glacial, eyes flinty. “Peace, Osri,” she commanded, nevertheless. Osri sank down to his seat. “The reason Colonel Ramkumar doesn’t show proper respect for my title is because she doesn’t comprehend what it means. Colonel, the Tal is both a religious and secular position of great authority among the PerAn. They began to use it in connection with me when we first became allies, and since about a third of the people on this world now are PerAn, it seems to have stuck. The Tal is the ultimate leader of his or her people-the leader whose Word is law, who commands life or death, fortune or suffering. In times of sickness, I decide who has priority for medicine. In times of famine, I decide who eats, and who goes hungry. I carry the honor and the responsibility for the survival of this world, Colonel. As Tal Weir, Lady of Atlantis, I represent all my people. To show respect to me is to respect them. To slight me is to slight them.”
Ramkumar couldn’t help it, she frowned. “You speak as if you were queen, or dictator, of this whole world, not just the leader of the Atlantis Expedition. You haven’t gone power-mad or something, have you?”
Weir smiled a small smile. “Believe me, Colonel. The responsibility is so heavy, the power barely registers except as a tool to handle the problems that come up.”
“But, why did you say what you did about staying? You can’t be serious. You can’t not want to go home, can you?”
“Consider Atlantis a colony that has declared its independence, if you must. As I said, Atlantis is our home, now. Most of us are not going back to Earth, no.”
Ramkumar stood, her team standing with her.
“That is unacceptable,” Wu said flatly, folding his arms across his chest. “The UNP requires your return. You and your people must be debriefed.”
“I’m sorry, I have my orders,” Ramkumar added apologetically.
Weir didn’t look the least bit intimidated. “How do you think you’re going to carry out those orders, Colonel? Do you think you can threaten me, or any of my people, in my own City?”
Perez drew his sidearm from its holster and aimed the weapon at Weir. “I’m really sorry, ma’am.”
Weir sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, actually I’m sorry. I hate these displays. I thought we were done with them. Go ahead, fire your gun.”
Perez looked pole-axed, “Ma’am?”
Weir waved at him. “Go ahead, shoot. For goodness sakes, don’t shoot at me if it makes you nervous, shoot at the door or something. Look, shoot at John, he’s a hologram, it won’t hurt him.”
Perez glanced at Ramkumar for permission and she nodded, perplexed. He looked at the hologram Sheppard, who stood casually, hands on his hips, nodding at them with a cheerful grin on his lips. “Come on, hit me with your best shot!” encouraged the Sheppard voice on their earphones.
Peering behind Sheppard to see nothing but a window and some random furniture, Perez fired his weapon. The bullet exited the gun at normal velocity, but then began to slow, as if it had been shot into a vat of a semi-solid gel, gradually losing velocity until it hung, wavering, about a foot in front of Sheppard’s hologram. Sheppard chuckled. The rest of the Atlanteans at the table looked bored.
“Osri, tidy up that bullet. We don’t want any of the children to find it and play with it. Be careful, it may still be hot,” said Weir, waving at the bullet hanging mid-air.
“Yes, Tal Weir,” Osri acknowledged, taking a small metal box out of a pouch at his side and holding it open with one hand, while he made a shooing motion towards the bullet with the other hand. As if it had been called, the bullet turned and slowly came towards Osri, finally landing with a clink in his box.
“If you want another demonstration, you can fire at me if you like,” Weir said wearily.
“How?” gaped Perez, checking his clip. “It’s impossible--”
“No, not really,” McKay said cheerfully. “Granted it looks like magic mumbo-jumbo, but it’s really just a bit of technology we adapted from--”
“Rodney, don’t go telling the nice people about making nuclear bombs again,” Sheppard scolded, frowning at McKay.
“Oh, yes, right, sorry. Carry on! We can magically disarm you!” McKay pointed and intoned dramatically at Ramkumar’s team before dismissing them from his attention once more and resuming making notations on his computer screen.
“If you have alien technology of this magnitude, it is your duty to share it with your homeworld,” Wu told them.
“As I mentioned several times already, Dr. Wu, Earth may be the world of origin for some of the residents of the City, but Atlantis is our home. We would be happy to trade for the technology, if you like,” said Weir.
“Nonsense!” insisted Wu. “You must see that this is treason. You cannot be meaning to make an enemy of Earth, Doctor Weir!”
“Earth abandoned us in a really nasty place, Wu,” said McKay, not looking up from his computer screen. “We’ve gotten fairly nasty as a consequence, just to survive. You want to take us on? The Genii thought they could take us on. That was Sora’s people. Did you know, that historically, on Earth, slaves were originally enemies defeated in battle?”
“That girl is your slave?” Perez asked in horror.
“For now,” McKay shrugged, looking up to meet Perez’s eyes. “Don’t feel too badly for her. She’s responsible for this,” he indicated his missing eye.
“And she killed Teyla!” Sheppard’s hologram growled.
“Teyla was the former leader of my people,” Halling said. “Sora’s people, the Genii, lied to us, pretended to be our friends, then pretended to ally with Atlantis against the Wraith, only to attempt to betray them soon afterwards. When a joint mission went badly and her father was killed, Sora held Teyla solely to blame and sought her death from then on, as if her father were not a grown man who knew the risks of going up against the Wraith,” Halling shook his head. “I have no pity for her. She had none for us.”
“The servant has no memory of her former life,” added Osri. “She only knows she is Sora, a servant, not terribly beloved. If her people ever negotiate her release, she will be returned to them unharmed. We will, of course, remove her memories of Atlantis, so that she can bring no tales of us back to the Genii. She will only have her emotions to remember us by-fear, and awe, and the habit of obedience.”
“That’s…really creepy,” remarked Perez.
Perez and Ramkumar exchanged glances.
“We do not wish to be your enemies. However, I have my orders. You must see that you have no choice. No matter what you can do with your alien technology here, Tal Weir, when I tell my ship--” Ramkumar began.
Weir put her elbows on the table, and her chin on her fists, and sighed deeply. “Do you really think we haven’t been threatened from space before, Colonel?” she waved desultorily. “Call your ship. Go ahead, we’ll wait.”
“You can call on these communication devices, Colonel,” Sheppard’s voice said in the earpiece Ramkumar still wore. Fumbling, she tapped the side of it. “Singh, this is Ramkumar, report!”
“Thank goodness, Colonel!” Singh’s voice sounded in her ear. “I’ve been trying to reach you! About three minutes ago, all the ships systems went haywire. All the systems have been taking turns going offline for about two seconds, then they come back on their own. I’m talking life support, weapons, gravity, power, everything! And the ship keeps doing barrel rolls! We can’t get it to stop, Colonel. Do you have any idea if it’s something on the planet?”
“Yes, yes, I have a very good idea, Singh,” she said, looking from Weir to a grinning Sheppard, bouncing on his holographic toes. “I’ll take care of it, just hang on and do your best. Ramkumar out.”
“Haven’t lost your touch, eh, John?” McKay said, lip curling up on one side of his mouth.
Sheppard buffed his blue holographic fingernails on his blue holographic jacket and blew on them jauntily. “Yep, ol’ Defender, that’s me. I’ve still got it.”
“Well, can you please let ‘it’ go from my ship, Sheppard?” demanded Ramkumar.
Sheppard raised his blue holographic eyebrows at her. “That’s Elizabeth’s decision. Weren’t you listening? Tal Weir, Lady of Atlantis--decides who eats or starves, lives or dies, gets to keep their atmosphere or breathe vacuum... I’d be real respectful right about now, if I were you.”
Doctor Wu glared, eyes bulging and clenched fists trembling. “You dare not! When Earth discovers your perfidy--”
“Oh come now,” McKay said impatiently. “You don’t really believe we’d leave a big ol’ Tau’ri ship around for them to find, do you? We’ll just take all your people for servants, mind wipe them so they don’t remember any other life, then have fun with your supplies and use up your ship for spare parts.”
“And every ship your UNPSF sends to check on Atlantis will end up ‘disappearing’ as well, Colonel,” Sheppard spoke earnestly to Ramkumar. “I can do it,” he assured her softly. “I didn’t give up being corporeal for nothing…”
Ramkumar took a deep breath. “Please, Tal Weir, release my ship.”
“You know what, Elizabeth, why are we even warning them? Let’s just take the ship and wait for their big wigs to send more. Think of it! Supplies at last! Coffee! Chocolate! I bet they have chocolate! I bet they have penicillin, Carson!” McKay addressed Dr. Beckett excitedly. Ramkumar was alarmed to see a spark of interest in Beckett’s eyes.
“Enough, Rodney!” said Weir firmly. “We will not attack unprovoked. For the simple reason that we’re not pirates!” she glared at her people around the table. “Something has to make us better than the Genii, better than the Yu-lash, better than the Wraith, for goodness sake!”
“Yes, you’re right, of course, Elizabeth,” McKay mumbled, joined by reluctant agreement from the others.
She sighed. “John, release their ship, please. Colonel Ramkumar, we would still welcome trade with your people. We’ve discovered many wonderful things here. Things we’re quite willing to share with Earth.”
“We do not deal with terrorists!” Wu slammed his fist down on the table.
Weir arched an eyebrow at the Colonel. Ramkumar shook her head slowly, “I’m sorry, Tal Weir, I would like to accommodate you, but my orders…”
“Very well, Colonel, but if you can’t trade with us, do us both the favor of leaving us alone. Doctor Wu, Atlantis makes a very formidable enemy. Earth does not want to be another of our enemies,” Weir stood, folding her arms. “Earth abandoned us, forgot about us. We were left to fend for ourselves, and so we did. Go home. Leave us alone.”
And they were very glad to do so.
###end###
Inspiration for this fic hit like a hammer: What would Elizabeth Weir do if she was abandoned? Anything she had to...
(Caution for the very spoilerphobic: very tiny spoilers for Season 2, nothing you can't get from the promo commercials or Gateworld.)
TITLE: Left to Fend
AUTHOR: Springwoof
CATEGORY: Gen
LENGTH: 6620 words
SPOILERS: all of SGA Season One, and some very minor spoilers for Season Two (none that aren’t available from Gateworld or watching the promo commercials.)
DISCLAIMER: I make no claims of ownership, and make no profit whatsoever. May the folks who do own the Stargate franchise enjoy continued success and generous financial rewards.
NOTES: Humble thanks to swift, efficient, amazing beta, amezri! All remaining errors are mine.
SUMMARY: “Where were you people all these years?”
Left to Fend
By Springwoof
“You have to understand, Colonel Ramkumar, when Earth abandoned us this last time and left us to fend for ourselves, we had no way of knowing it wasn’t a permanent condition,” Elizabeth Weir explained reasonably.
“Of course we understand, Dr. Weir,” Dharti Ramkumar responded automatically, as if having the Krishna met by an escort of alien spacecraft was an everyday occurrence.
Well, in some areas of space it was, but this was Atlantis, in the Pegasus galaxy-they had expected everything from the Wraith ready to rumble to a small-but-grimly-hanging-on Atlantis Expedition to a burnt and smoking ruin of a former Ancient city. The unofficial motto of the SGC was “Expect the Unexpected,” but for some reason they hadn’t expected this-a thriving metropolis, the suburban sprawl of several busy towns on the mainland, a bustling spaceport, a space station. Success. On a scale not imagined back on Earth.
“It’s Tal Weir,” snapped the man at Weir’s side, craggy-faced, tall, and looming. “Show respect!” he scowled.
“Osri, peace,” Weir soothed, touching his arm. “The Colonel is showing me respect, in the only way she knows. The last time we spoke with the Tau’ri, I was known as Doctor Weir,” she turned to Ramkumar. “My title here is Tal, now, Colonel Ramkumar.”
“Very well, Tal Weir,” she managed a shallow bow. “I meant no disrespect.”
“Of course not,” Weir smiled at her. “Would you like to go down to the planet? Or you can send a team of your choosing, of course. We have so much to discuss, and we’re hungry for news of Earth. We’re just in the way of Stationmaster Gallot’s business here,” she indicated the thin, beaky-nosed man at her other side. “Atlantis has adequate meeting facilities and depending on how long your crew has been in space, perhaps we can discuss arrangements for shore leave on the mainland as well.” She smiled again. Weir did a lot of smiling.
“Your ship may dock here if you choose, Colonel,” Gallot offered, in a crisp, unidentifiable accent.
“Very well,” Ramkumar agreed, warily. Something was off, but she didn’t know if it was her own nerves or what. She’d be very freaked out to find out they’d all been taken over by the Goa’uld or something similar. “Let me call my ship.”
Gallot showed her to a communications panel and helped her complete a call to the Krishna. A brief conversation with her second in command, Major Singh, assured him all was well and-in coded language-asked him to remain on alert. It also got her an entourage to bring with her to Atlantis: Dr. Wu Sheng, and Captain Miguel “Mike” Perez.
“You have transport rings?” enquired Gallot politely, and at her nod, “Right there is fine.” Indicating a large blue circle on the floor. Wu and Perez arrived without problem.
While she had been lining up her team and seeing to the safety of her ship, Weir had been arranging transport. “We could ring down to Atlantis, of course, but if you don’t mind taking a little more time, I’ve arranged a shuttle for a more scenic route.” She indicated the door to the shuttle bay gracefully, then led the way to their shuttle. “We call them ‘puddle jumpers’ by the way, so don’t be surprised to hear us saying ‘jumper’-we’re talking about the shuttles, not about leaping from something,” Weir smiled to herself, amused with her own joke.
A little man with shaggy hair and glasses came running up just as they reached their designated ‘jumper. “Elizabeth! Going back to Atlantis so soon? May I go as well?”
When he reached them, Weir cupped the back of his head lightly in her hand and brought their foreheads together. He touched her shoulder with one hand. “Radek, yes of course! Don’t you like to ring down?” The man repeated the greeting gesture briefly and somewhat awkwardly with the tall Osri, both of them grinning at each other.
“Gives me indigestion. I avoid when possible,” the short man answered Weir, eyeing Ramkumar and her team curiously.
“Pardon me, please,” said Weir. “Colonel Ramkumar of the Krishna, Captain Perez, and Dr. Wu, also of the Krishna. May I introduce Dr. Radek Zelenka, one of my senior staff. Radek, these people are from Earth! Can you imagine, after eleven years!”
Zelenka nodded to all of them and they nodded to him in return. Ramkumar searched her mental database of Atlantis Expedition personnel. Ah yes, Radek Zelenka, a Czech, one of the scientists in the international contingent. His specialty eluded her for the moment, but it would come.
They all piled into the jumper and took seats on padded benches along the sides of the vehicle, Weir’s people facing her own crew. “There are emergency supplies in the bulkhead compartments directly behind you,” said Osri. “In the unlikely event of an emergency, the compartments will open automatically. The contents are clearly labeled in both Ancient and English.” Then he sat down and seemed to settle in to wait.
Ramkumar was about to point out that they weren’t going anywhere, and that there didn’t seem to be a pilot, when a blue shimmer appeared in the air toward the front of the vehicle. It coalesced into the figure of a glowing blue man.
“John!” Weir jumped up from her seat, surprise and gladness on her face. “I didn’t realize you were going to pilot us yourself! You didn’t have to, John, one of your staff could have easily done this or we could have gotten a human pilot from the station.”
The blue man smiled crookedly at Weir.
“Oh, of course, John. If you wanted to, I certainly don’t have a problem with it! You’re just so busy, I didn’t think you’d have time for shuttle duty.”
The blue man turned and regarded Ramkumar and her crew gravely.
“Oh! Pardon me again, Colonel. This is John Sheppard, our Defender, or rather, his hologram. You can talk to him if you like, he can hear you. You just won’t hear him for now--you’re not linked to Atlantis. John, this is Colonel Ramkumar, Captain Perez, and Dr. Wu of the Krishna.” Ramkumar’s mental database spat out, Lt. Col. John Sheppard, USAF. “Colonel Sheppard,” she and Perez stood and saluted courteously. Wu stood and bowed. The hologram nodded and sketched a very abbreviated salute in return.
“Um, Colonel, Osri would remind me to let you know that it’s appropriate to address him as Defender Sheppard,” Weir made an apologetic gesture. Ramkumar regarded her with some confusion, but nodded. “As you wish, Tal Weir. Defender Sheppard,” the Colonel nodded at both and sat again, her team sitting with her. Osri regarded her with amusement and exchanged knowing looks both with Zelenka and the hologram of Sheppard. The hologram smiled crookedly again and sketched another salute, then faded away.
The ‘jumper’s hatch sealed, and docking clamps detached as it separated from the space station. The front and roof of the ‘jumper suddenly turned transparent, allowing an impressive view of the busy space station, a bit of the Krishna, and even the planet below, as well as the star-strewn darkness of space. “Pardon me, ma’am, but is anyone piloting this thing?” Perez asked nervously, as the ‘jumper began to accelerate away from the station.
“Oh yes,” said Weir, nodding in reassurance. “Defender Sheppard is piloting this ‘jumper himself!” At their confused expressions, she elaborated. “He doesn’t have to be visible to pilot this craft. I assure you, it’s perfectly safe, or else Osri wouldn’t allow me to be here.” She lifted a wry eyebrow in Osri’s direction. He folded his arms and lifted an eyebrow in return. Both suddenly startled, looked up and to the right, and began to snicker. On the other side of Weir, Zelenka dissolved into a fit of giggles.
A few moments later, when she had regained control of her expression, Weir began to scold the thin air. “John, that’s just not so and you know it! And be polite, our guests can’t hear your attempts at humor. Well, no, I don’t think they’d get the joke either, but that’s no excuse to exclude them!” She turned her attention to Ramkumar and her team. “I’m so sorry for our rudeness, Colonel. Captain. Doctor. John apologizes as well, don’t you John?” She tilted her head as if to listen, then nodded decisively.
“If you’ll excuse me, Tal Weir,” said Ramkumar uncomfortably, hands folded tightly on her lap. “But can you tell us how…why,” she gestured in frustration at where the hologram had appeared previously.
“Ah, yes, well, Colonel, I told you we had much to discuss,” Weir smiled mysteriously. “I’d prefer to save this until we get back to Atlantis, and answer all your questions at once. Why don’t you enjoy the view?”
And the view was fantastic. The jumper sank in a slow spiral towards the planet, eventually entering orbit. The stars, the multitude of ships in the system, and the complex-looking space station, all gradually faded as the planet began to loom into view. The jumper sank gradually into the atmosphere, gently circling the planet, gradually dropping lower. Eventually, the landmass passing below them showed vast stretches of cultivated fields, as well as a variety of small villages and hamlets, then gradually, several larger towns on the coast, then a large stretch of ocean, dotted now and again with fleets of boats. Finally, Atlantis herself sparkled brightly, like a jewel on the surface of the water.
***
That view of Atlantis had nothing in common with the videos the returning Daedalus had brought back of the fabled city just after it had survived its battle with the Wraith. Nor did the busy city they found when they emerged from the shuttle bay.
“I will see you tonight, Elizabeth?” Zelenka asked, touching his forehead to hers again.
“Of course, Radek,” she assured him, touching his hand lightly with her own and smiling at him.
His own smile was brilliant as he tugged Osri down to touch his forehead as well. “Get down here, you big oaf! Not everyone is tall!” Osri grinned at him as their foreheads bumped and swatted him on the shoulder. “Away with you, hmyz!” Zelenka scowled at him and he laughed.
The scientist waved at Ramkumar and her team. “Colonel, Captain, Doctor, if I don’t see you again, it was good to meet you. Farewell.”
“This way, please,” Weir directed them, as Zelenka scurried away. She led them through corridors filled with a variety of people, in a variety of dress, including children. They all bowed towards Weir as she passed, hands on their hearts. Even the children slowed from their running, or ceased their playing to stop and bow quickly, hands to heart. Weir nodded to her people and strode along briskly, Ramkumar and her team behind her, Osri at their heels.
Weir led the way into the ‘Gate room, and up some stairs. As she passed the control station, she addressed one of the personnel there. “Jinto, ask your father, Dr. McKay, Dex, Shil Yana, and Dr. Beckett to come to conference room three, please. I think Defender Sheppard will know to be there as well, but, for courtesy’s sake, ask him also.”
The young man bowed to her, hand to heart. “It shall be as you say, Tal Weir. What do I tell Dr. McKay when he complains about being too busy to attend meetings?”
Weir grinned at him. “Tell him we have visitors from Earth, Jinto. That will get him here!”
He grinned in return.
***
Ramkumar studied the people in the conference room, sorting through her mental database. She wished briefly that she had gone ahead and gotten the experimental memory expansion implant they’d offered her last year, then maybe she’d have a true mental database--a program running from its own little microscopic hard drive sitting nestled in the folds of her brain. She’d be looking at virtual displays running on her retinas right now, information displaying for her convenience, instead of scrabbling around in her own human, all-too-fallible memory.
She was fairly sure that at least half the people here weren’t on the original manifest of Atlantis Expedition members, or even on the list of aliens that the Daedalus had brought back. Perhaps that Halling fellow…the name seemed familiar, though the face did not. Maybe the Daedalus hadn’t taken an image of him. The Ronan Dex that glowered across the table at her was certainly unfamiliar, as was the pale, androgynous Shil Yana who sat beside him. Beckett, sitting and chatting with Shil Yana. He looked much like his last photo, although sporting a graying beard now. Weir was on the original team, of course, though her shadow, Osri, had definitely not been on the manifest. At the other end of the table, the blue hologram of Sheppard bothered her, beyond the mere fact that it was a hologram.
When McKay strode in, making notations on his computer tablet as he walked, the difference struck her. As McKay took his seat next to Sheppard it was glaringly apparent how very different he looked from his photo in her files. His hair had receded a bit, grayed slightly, and he was somewhat thinner, but the most startling difference was the deep scar that traveled across his left cheek, disappeared under a black eye-patch, and re-emerged above it to travel diagonally across his forehead. When his remaining blue eye glared at her, she startled, only then realizing that she’d been staring. She looked down at her hands on the table, then darted a glance at Sheppard’s hologram. That was what was strange. Weir, McKay, and Beckett all looked changed, older if nothing else. Except for being blue, Sheppard’s holographic image exactly matched his photograph of over a decade earlier.
“Well, now that we’re all here, we can start the meeting,” said Weir briskly. “Those of you not linked to Atlantis, please wear the communication devices on the table in front of you so that you can hear Defender Sheppard when he speaks.” A pause while Ramkumar and her crew donned the earpiece/mic combination. “Colonel,” continued Weir. “Why don’t you introduce yourself and your staff, then I’ll introduce my people.”
Although most of the Atlanteans had introduced themselves informally as they came in, Ramkumar nodded, agreeing with the idea of formal introductions. “Very well, Tal Weir,” she stood. “I am Colonel Dharti Ramkumar of the UNPSF Krishna. This is my Second Officer, Captain Miguel Perez,” Perez nodded. “And our ship’s Political Officer, Dr. Wu Sheng.” Wu nodded as well, eyes sharp behind his glasses. Ramkumar sat down.
“What the heck is UNPSF?” asked Sheppard’s voice over their communicators, shortly followed by McKay’s abrupt exclamation, “Where the hell were you people all these years? We needed Earth and you abandoned us!”
“Gentlemen,” Weir said sharply, standing. “Let’s be civilized, and introduce ourselves first.” The other end of the table subsided. “Very good,” she eyed McKay especially, and then nodded at Ramkumar and her team. “As you know, I am Elizabeth Weir, Tal of Atlantis. Let me present my staff. Pol Osri of the PerAn, senior enforcer; Doctor Carson Beckett, chief medical officer; Shil Yana, Speaker of the Villana and chief maintenance officer; Ronan Dex of the Atterians, head of offworld expedition teams; Halling of the Athosians, provisions officer; Doctor Rodney McKay, head of our science department; and John Sheppard, the Defender of Atlantis.” She smiled proudly at her staff as they all nodded at the visitors at their introduction.
Then she turned sharp eyes to Ramkumar and leaned forward over her fists planted on the table. “Now, Colonel, what the heck is UNPSF, and where the hell were you people all these years?!”
“UNPSF is the United Nations Peacekeeping Space Force,” said Ramkumar calmly, palms flat on the table, her face set to project sincerity. “And what happened is that the peoples of Earth found out about the Stargate project, Tal Weir. And the Earth was attacked by a spacegoing power. One led to the other, don’t you see…Things were…in something of an uproar. We were quite busy, for quite a while.”
“And in the meantime, you forgot about us,” interjected McKay, bitterly.
“Surely not, Rodney,” Weir turned to Ramkumar. “Surely, even with those emergencies, General O’Neill, or General Hammond, wouldn’t forget about us?”
“Um, ah!” Ramkumar quickly shuffled through her mental files to recognize the names. “I believe both those gentlemen did not survive the initial attack, or at least the response to the attack. Cheyenne Mountain, Stargate Command, and in fact, many areas of North America in general, did not survive those early days. And you were a top-secret project, you understand. All knowledge of you was lost, for quite a while. However, there was the Ancient facility at Antarctica, and some of the SGC teams offworld at the time eventually returned. In time, the UNP Space Force had the time, and breathing room, to listen to their petitions on your behalf. There is a General Samantha Carter from the U.S. Air Force back on Earth that sends her regards, Doctor McKay, Tal Weir. And a Doctor Daniel Jackson, too, I believe.”
McKay slumped in his chair, deflated.
“What news do you have of Earth for us now, Colonel,” Weir asked her, grimly.
“Well, we survived the attack, obviously. And the SGC survives. We recovered the Stargate, although it is located in Antarctica now-or, I should say, once again. The SGC is part of the UNP now, instead of the USAF. Earth’s…political alignments are different than you may remember, but we have continued the exploration of our galaxy and have a Space Force to help defend the planet. Dr. Wu has datadisks with briefing information for you,” she nodded at Wu as he produced the disks and some paper reports from his case and passed them down the table to Weir.
“What can you tell us of Pegasus, Tal Weir?” Perez spoke up.
“What of the Wraith?” Wu added, leaning forward to see past Perez.
Weir settled down in her seat and steepled her hands in front of her. “The Wraith sleep,” she nodded at Shil Yana. “Thanks to the Villana, our Friends, the Wraith are in deep hibernation. We have a few decades to grow stronger and figure out how to defeat them.”
“On the contrary, Doctor Wu,” Shil Yana spoke, its androgynous voice either a deep alto or very light tenor. “The Wraith sleep now--and not of their own volition. Elizabeth generously gives us credit, but we were not able to do this before we had the help of Atlantis. We call the Atlanteans ‘Friend’ and that is not a term we use lightly. Indeed, many of my people have left our home world for the first time in our memory to live here and make Atlantis their home.” It nodded gravely towards Weir.
“As I was saying, Colonel--the Wraith sleep, for now. Atlantis has gained great Friends,” she smiled at Shil Yana. “We also have strong allies,” she nodded to Osri, Halling, and Dex. “However, our sacrifices have been many,” she glanced at McKay and Sheppard. “And we still have enemies in Pegasus, those who are jealous of what they perceive as our wealth and safety, and don’t appreciate how hard we’ve worked and how much we’ve sacrificed for both.”
Ramkumar stared at her wordlessly for a moment before she realized that Weir had finished talking and was waiting for a response. She rubbed her hands together and glanced at Perez beside her. “That was…inspiring, Tal Weir. We are…amazed that you are doing so well. We were-- frankly, we were expecting to be a rescue mission, or worse. You had been here so long…”
Her speech was cut short as a small person darted into the conference room, opening the doors seemingly by magic. “Papa, Papa! Wex said there were visitors from Earth! Can I see them, Papa?” A thin, dark-haired boy of around four or five Earth-years ran around the table to McKay, and tugged on his sleeve.
“Johnny, what are you doing here? Papa’s in an important meeting. You know you mustn’t disturb me while I’m at work,” McKay scolded, but lifted the child up into his lap. The boy settled back against his father’s chest, gripping one of McKay’s hands in both of his, and stared at the strangers with the piercing blue eyes obviously inherited from his father.
“I’ll be quiet, Papa, I promise. I’ll be good,” the child whispered earnestly.
The hologram of Sheppard snorted. “Too late for that, Squirt! I don’t think ‘good’ is a concept you’ve grasped yet.”
“And whose fault is that?” McKay smirked at the hologram Sheppard. “You’re the one who spoils him rotten, Uncle John!”
“Ahem,” said Weir, capturing everyone’s attention again. “Johnny-John,” she addressed the boy, “you interrupted your Papa, and Auntie Elizabeth, and Uncle John, and all our folk in an important meeting. What did I tell you the last time you interrupted a meeting?”
The child shrank back against his father. “You’d send the enforcers and have them take me away to be punished,” he whispered. He grasped his father’s hand tighter and pressed it to his chest. “Please, Papa, don’t let Auntie Lizzie enforce me!” he begged.
McKay kissed the top of the boy’s head. “If it was your Auntie Lizzie you offended, I could do something, Johnny, but you’ve trespassed against Tal Weir of Atlantis, and I can’t go against her authority, you know that. All I can do is ask for mercy. You can help. Go over there like a big boy and beg the Lady of Atlantis for her mercy.”
He helped the child off his lap, and led him by the hand to the head of the table nearest Weir. Osri had stood behind and to the side of Weir, arms folded, looming dangerously. The child eyed him nervously as he shuffled closer.
McKay bowed deeply, hand over his heart. “My apologies, Tal Weir, for my family’s disruption of the business of Atlantis. May I beg your mercy for my errant child?” he said formally.
He prodded the boy’s shoulder. Johnny copied his father’s bow. “I’m sorry, Auntie Lizzie,” Another nudge. “Tal Weir, I’m sorry I interrupted your meeting. Please don’t enforce me! I’ll be good and won’t be a dis-ruption again, I promise.” Another nudge. “I beg your mercy, Lady of Atlantis, we depend on you. Our Friends, we believe in you. Ancestors, we remember you. Amen.”
Weir hid a smile behind her hand, managed to control her expression, and said sternly, “This is not prayer service, Johnny; you’re requesting clemency for your actions. Remember that!”
“Yes, Tal Weir,” he whispered, head bowed.
“Very well. For the sake of your father’s great service to the City, and for the love of your mother’s people, our devoted Friends, the Tal of Atlantis grants you clemency for your transgressions. You are remanded to the custody of your parents for such punishments as they see fit. But remember, John McKay, one day you’ll be grown, and your parents won’t be able to shield you anymore. Don’t make me regret showing mercy this time.”
“No, Lady. You won’t be sorry. I’ll be good now,” the boy promised earnestly.
Weir kept her stern expression with difficulty, and all the Atlantis folk around the table hid smiles behind their hands or turned their faces away. The Sheppard hologram disappeared altogether.
There was a knock at the conference room doors. “Tal Weir,” Jinto poked his head in. “There is-ah, yes, I see our maker-of-trouble really is here! His minder is outside looking for him, Tal Weir. May I let her in?”
“Uncle John! You told on me!” the boy accused, whirling to look for the hologram. McKay grabbed his shoulder and shook it, directing the child towards the door. “Hush! You are in enough trouble, young man!”
A woman in her thirties, with curly blonde hair and a careworn expression, edged hesitantly through the door. Her eyes lit when they saw Johnny. “There you are!” She came to kneel in front of her wayward charge, holding his arms. “Johnny, you had me so worried!” She caught sight of McKay’s scowl above her, and indeed, the disapproving scowls of all the Atlantis folk in the room. She bowed deeply from her kneeling position, until her forehead touched the floor, and stayed there, trembling. “Your pardon, Master. He got away from me.”
“And what if he had gone off the South Pier into the ocean, Sora? Would I have to pardon you for letting him get away from you then as well?” McKay snarled. “You are charged with his safety. I can’t tolerate a breach of that trust. You know that.” He looked up and met Osri’s eye, “Send an enforcer for her tonight, Osri. I’ll let you know the level of punishment later.”
He looked down at the trembling woman kneeling at his feet, obviously weeping, obviously trying to suppress it. “Get out of here, Sora. Take Johnny home to his room as well. Just wait until your mother gets home, young man,” he said to the child, whose pouty lower lip and apprehensive eyes declared his realization that he was still in trouble. “Leave us now. You’ve disrupted Tal Weir’s meeting long enough. Unless--” He turned to Weir. “If you’d like to punish Sora as well, it is your right, Tal Weir. She was responsible for Johnny.”
“I’m sure your punishment will be sufficient, Rodney,” Weir said considered, looking coldly at Sora. “Unless this happens again…” Sora shrank from her gaze, paling and looking down at the ground. She made as if to kneel again, stopped by a slight disapproving sound from Osri, and bowed deeply instead, hand to heart. “Your mercy is great, Lady. This disruption will not occur again. Come, Johnny!” Sora grabbed Johnny’s hand in hers and backed out of the room, child in tow.
“Your pardon, Elizabeth,” McKay said again, briefly, before retaking his seat, his expression more forbidding than before.
Weir folded her hands on the conference room table, and gathered the eye of everyone around it before she spoke again, addressing her comments to Ramkumar. “I apologize for the interruption. As you were saying, we have been here quite a long time, and look forward to the opportunity to resupply. There are a variety of Earth luxuries my people have been missing.”
“Yes, and medical supplies,” agreed Beckett. “I have a list of medical supplies we would be grateful for.”
“Excuse me,” Ramkumar interrupted. “I’m afraid you are under a misconception. We are not here to resupply you. We are here to recall you.” She sat up straighter. “Tal Weir, we fully prepared to return the Atlantis Expedition to Earth--along with whatever dependants you may have engendered. Ah, however, I don’t believe I’m authorized to bring anyone else along who wasn’t originally from Earth, and I don’t know how many non-family members we can…”
Weir waved her hand, dismissing Ramkumar’s anxiety. “It’s of no matter, Colonel. We’re not returning. Oh,” she held up a finger to halt the Colonel’s words. “I’m sure there will be some individuals who may wish to return, and we will of course allow them to do so, but the majority of my people are staying here. Atlantis is our home now.”
Ramkumar compressed her lips. “You don’t understand, Doctor Weir. My orders state that I am to return with any surviving members of the Atlantis Expedition.”
Osri was on his feet instantly, growling, “You may address our Lady as Tal Weir. So I have instructed you before. Show respect, Tau’ri! Show respect, or regret it. I can make you regret it, very much.”
Perez was on his feet next, hand on his sidearm. “Did you just threaten Colonel Ramkumar, mister?”
“Stand down, Perez,” said Ramkumar quietly, carefully meeting Weir’s cold gaze. “I meant no disrespect, Osri, Tal Weir.” Perez sat down slowly.
“Of course you meant disrespect, or rather, you meant to remind me of my place--of my supposed superiors back on Earth,” said Weir, tone glacial, eyes flinty. “Peace, Osri,” she commanded, nevertheless. Osri sank down to his seat. “The reason Colonel Ramkumar doesn’t show proper respect for my title is because she doesn’t comprehend what it means. Colonel, the Tal is both a religious and secular position of great authority among the PerAn. They began to use it in connection with me when we first became allies, and since about a third of the people on this world now are PerAn, it seems to have stuck. The Tal is the ultimate leader of his or her people-the leader whose Word is law, who commands life or death, fortune or suffering. In times of sickness, I decide who has priority for medicine. In times of famine, I decide who eats, and who goes hungry. I carry the honor and the responsibility for the survival of this world, Colonel. As Tal Weir, Lady of Atlantis, I represent all my people. To show respect to me is to respect them. To slight me is to slight them.”
Ramkumar couldn’t help it, she frowned. “You speak as if you were queen, or dictator, of this whole world, not just the leader of the Atlantis Expedition. You haven’t gone power-mad or something, have you?”
Weir smiled a small smile. “Believe me, Colonel. The responsibility is so heavy, the power barely registers except as a tool to handle the problems that come up.”
“But, why did you say what you did about staying? You can’t be serious. You can’t not want to go home, can you?”
“Consider Atlantis a colony that has declared its independence, if you must. As I said, Atlantis is our home, now. Most of us are not going back to Earth, no.”
Ramkumar stood, her team standing with her.
“That is unacceptable,” Wu said flatly, folding his arms across his chest. “The UNP requires your return. You and your people must be debriefed.”
“I’m sorry, I have my orders,” Ramkumar added apologetically.
Weir didn’t look the least bit intimidated. “How do you think you’re going to carry out those orders, Colonel? Do you think you can threaten me, or any of my people, in my own City?”
Perez drew his sidearm from its holster and aimed the weapon at Weir. “I’m really sorry, ma’am.”
Weir sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, actually I’m sorry. I hate these displays. I thought we were done with them. Go ahead, fire your gun.”
Perez looked pole-axed, “Ma’am?”
Weir waved at him. “Go ahead, shoot. For goodness sakes, don’t shoot at me if it makes you nervous, shoot at the door or something. Look, shoot at John, he’s a hologram, it won’t hurt him.”
Perez glanced at Ramkumar for permission and she nodded, perplexed. He looked at the hologram Sheppard, who stood casually, hands on his hips, nodding at them with a cheerful grin on his lips. “Come on, hit me with your best shot!” encouraged the Sheppard voice on their earphones.
Peering behind Sheppard to see nothing but a window and some random furniture, Perez fired his weapon. The bullet exited the gun at normal velocity, but then began to slow, as if it had been shot into a vat of a semi-solid gel, gradually losing velocity until it hung, wavering, about a foot in front of Sheppard’s hologram. Sheppard chuckled. The rest of the Atlanteans at the table looked bored.
“Osri, tidy up that bullet. We don’t want any of the children to find it and play with it. Be careful, it may still be hot,” said Weir, waving at the bullet hanging mid-air.
“Yes, Tal Weir,” Osri acknowledged, taking a small metal box out of a pouch at his side and holding it open with one hand, while he made a shooing motion towards the bullet with the other hand. As if it had been called, the bullet turned and slowly came towards Osri, finally landing with a clink in his box.
“If you want another demonstration, you can fire at me if you like,” Weir said wearily.
“How?” gaped Perez, checking his clip. “It’s impossible--”
“No, not really,” McKay said cheerfully. “Granted it looks like magic mumbo-jumbo, but it’s really just a bit of technology we adapted from--”
“Rodney, don’t go telling the nice people about making nuclear bombs again,” Sheppard scolded, frowning at McKay.
“Oh, yes, right, sorry. Carry on! We can magically disarm you!” McKay pointed and intoned dramatically at Ramkumar’s team before dismissing them from his attention once more and resuming making notations on his computer screen.
“If you have alien technology of this magnitude, it is your duty to share it with your homeworld,” Wu told them.
“As I mentioned several times already, Dr. Wu, Earth may be the world of origin for some of the residents of the City, but Atlantis is our home. We would be happy to trade for the technology, if you like,” said Weir.
“Nonsense!” insisted Wu. “You must see that this is treason. You cannot be meaning to make an enemy of Earth, Doctor Weir!”
“Earth abandoned us in a really nasty place, Wu,” said McKay, not looking up from his computer screen. “We’ve gotten fairly nasty as a consequence, just to survive. You want to take us on? The Genii thought they could take us on. That was Sora’s people. Did you know, that historically, on Earth, slaves were originally enemies defeated in battle?”
“That girl is your slave?” Perez asked in horror.
“For now,” McKay shrugged, looking up to meet Perez’s eyes. “Don’t feel too badly for her. She’s responsible for this,” he indicated his missing eye.
“And she killed Teyla!” Sheppard’s hologram growled.
“Teyla was the former leader of my people,” Halling said. “Sora’s people, the Genii, lied to us, pretended to be our friends, then pretended to ally with Atlantis against the Wraith, only to attempt to betray them soon afterwards. When a joint mission went badly and her father was killed, Sora held Teyla solely to blame and sought her death from then on, as if her father were not a grown man who knew the risks of going up against the Wraith,” Halling shook his head. “I have no pity for her. She had none for us.”
“The servant has no memory of her former life,” added Osri. “She only knows she is Sora, a servant, not terribly beloved. If her people ever negotiate her release, she will be returned to them unharmed. We will, of course, remove her memories of Atlantis, so that she can bring no tales of us back to the Genii. She will only have her emotions to remember us by-fear, and awe, and the habit of obedience.”
“That’s…really creepy,” remarked Perez.
Perez and Ramkumar exchanged glances.
“We do not wish to be your enemies. However, I have my orders. You must see that you have no choice. No matter what you can do with your alien technology here, Tal Weir, when I tell my ship--” Ramkumar began.
Weir put her elbows on the table, and her chin on her fists, and sighed deeply. “Do you really think we haven’t been threatened from space before, Colonel?” she waved desultorily. “Call your ship. Go ahead, we’ll wait.”
“You can call on these communication devices, Colonel,” Sheppard’s voice said in the earpiece Ramkumar still wore. Fumbling, she tapped the side of it. “Singh, this is Ramkumar, report!”
“Thank goodness, Colonel!” Singh’s voice sounded in her ear. “I’ve been trying to reach you! About three minutes ago, all the ships systems went haywire. All the systems have been taking turns going offline for about two seconds, then they come back on their own. I’m talking life support, weapons, gravity, power, everything! And the ship keeps doing barrel rolls! We can’t get it to stop, Colonel. Do you have any idea if it’s something on the planet?”
“Yes, yes, I have a very good idea, Singh,” she said, looking from Weir to a grinning Sheppard, bouncing on his holographic toes. “I’ll take care of it, just hang on and do your best. Ramkumar out.”
“Haven’t lost your touch, eh, John?” McKay said, lip curling up on one side of his mouth.
Sheppard buffed his blue holographic fingernails on his blue holographic jacket and blew on them jauntily. “Yep, ol’ Defender, that’s me. I’ve still got it.”
“Well, can you please let ‘it’ go from my ship, Sheppard?” demanded Ramkumar.
Sheppard raised his blue holographic eyebrows at her. “That’s Elizabeth’s decision. Weren’t you listening? Tal Weir, Lady of Atlantis--decides who eats or starves, lives or dies, gets to keep their atmosphere or breathe vacuum... I’d be real respectful right about now, if I were you.”
Doctor Wu glared, eyes bulging and clenched fists trembling. “You dare not! When Earth discovers your perfidy--”
“Oh come now,” McKay said impatiently. “You don’t really believe we’d leave a big ol’ Tau’ri ship around for them to find, do you? We’ll just take all your people for servants, mind wipe them so they don’t remember any other life, then have fun with your supplies and use up your ship for spare parts.”
“And every ship your UNPSF sends to check on Atlantis will end up ‘disappearing’ as well, Colonel,” Sheppard spoke earnestly to Ramkumar. “I can do it,” he assured her softly. “I didn’t give up being corporeal for nothing…”
Ramkumar took a deep breath. “Please, Tal Weir, release my ship.”
“You know what, Elizabeth, why are we even warning them? Let’s just take the ship and wait for their big wigs to send more. Think of it! Supplies at last! Coffee! Chocolate! I bet they have chocolate! I bet they have penicillin, Carson!” McKay addressed Dr. Beckett excitedly. Ramkumar was alarmed to see a spark of interest in Beckett’s eyes.
“Enough, Rodney!” said Weir firmly. “We will not attack unprovoked. For the simple reason that we’re not pirates!” she glared at her people around the table. “Something has to make us better than the Genii, better than the Yu-lash, better than the Wraith, for goodness sake!”
“Yes, you’re right, of course, Elizabeth,” McKay mumbled, joined by reluctant agreement from the others.
She sighed. “John, release their ship, please. Colonel Ramkumar, we would still welcome trade with your people. We’ve discovered many wonderful things here. Things we’re quite willing to share with Earth.”
“We do not deal with terrorists!” Wu slammed his fist down on the table.
Weir arched an eyebrow at the Colonel. Ramkumar shook her head slowly, “I’m sorry, Tal Weir, I would like to accommodate you, but my orders…”
“Very well, Colonel, but if you can’t trade with us, do us both the favor of leaving us alone. Doctor Wu, Atlantis makes a very formidable enemy. Earth does not want to be another of our enemies,” Weir stood, folding her arms. “Earth abandoned us, forgot about us. We were left to fend for ourselves, and so we did. Go home. Leave us alone.”
And they were very glad to do so.
###end###