Conjunctions, by Sophonisba [amnesty 2007|culture clash/debriefing challenges]
-title- Conjunctions
-author- Sophonisba (saphanibaal)
-warnings- AU, AU, AU: a behind-the-scenes part of my canon-asymptotic AU, with a fair amount of explications between the lines. Gen with inferences. Some oddities with language as artifacts of the translation process. Discussion of religious themes.
-timeframe- Between "The Siege" and "The Intruder."
-spoilers- First season, "The Siege," some of the flashback bits of "The Intruder," and the SG-1 episode "Full Circle."
-characters- Teyla, and... herein be spoilers.
-disclaimer- SGA, of course, is not mine. Nor is the rest of the Stargate franchise, for that matter. If they were, canon would look considerably more like this. At one point, Chuck-tech paraphrases C. S. Lewis (from The Last Battle, to be more precise) and the last sentence was inspired by Wrede's The Raven Ring.
-word count- 3187
-summary- While the command staff is on Earth, Teyla holds her first command meeting.
Conjunctions
The funeral services had gone as well as could be expected, really. The great starship Daedalus had left to return to its home world, as soon as they were finished; Doctors Weir, McKay, and Beckett and Major Sheppard had tarried a little longer before leaving through the Ring to likewise report their deeds to their own leaders (strange as it was to think of Doctor Weir, at least, as having a leader), Doctor Beckett yawning and Doctor McKay standoffish and more arrogant than usual as they brought up the heels of the procession.
Teyla announced, then, over the buffay-tables of the shared leavetaking meal, that there would be a meeting of underleaders in the evening hours, before leaving the Tellus-born to their own devices and speaking with her people, reaffirming ties that had been let lapse too long.
That evening, she was the second one into the room; Captain Jackson was already there, in the black-and-grey of her military wear, seated in the chair Teyla customarily used and staring at one of the Ancestors' scanners on the table in front of her as if it held all the secrets of the universe. (Which, being Ancestral in nature, was not impossible.)
The gate technicians came in next, taking their own accustomed seats, and then Aiden Ford, debating with a newcomer still in their mottled garb. Then Halling and Cylin, equally annoyed, and on their heels Ali (as he preferred to be known), still in the formal costume he had worn when presiding over the funerary ceremonies with Doctor Weir.
Finally Doctor Corrigan and Kate Heightmeyer entered, the latter a little out of breath, and Teyla called the meeting to order in a flurry of opened laptops. (The Canadian technician called "Chuck" offered his to Halling and Cylin: Halling looked away indignantly, but Cylin peered at it thoughtfully; apparently Chuck had had his display the alphabet handed down from the Ancestors rather than that changed and adapted from the curved one of Roma, wherever that might be.)
"Our status is clear, I trust," she added. "Doctor Jackson is still missing. The most severely wounded of the Tellurian-born have been taken through the Ring to the Mother-earth on beds borrowed from the Daedalus, said beds to wait there until it arrives and regains them. We are currently reorganizing to await the return of the 'command staff.' Doctor Corrigan?"
"Most of Hard Sciences are still recovering from the last three days -- even though most of them made an effort to make it to the services, they went straight back to bed afterwards. I don't know whether, when Dr. Zelenka gets his endocrine system back on straight, you want him to sit in instead of me, or us both to be here, or what."
Captain Jackson shot him a sharp glance.
"Unless we get Daniel back overnight, if that, Zelenka will be up and capable at least of coming to meetings while we're still looking for him," he answered gently. "Besides, he will still need time to heal."
"Breaking an addiction is best done in the absence of other responsibilities," Kate agreed. "He didn't work when he was breaking the sarcophagus's hold on him, and he only had the SGC's department of anthropology and languages under his care at that time."
Teyla looked up, startled.
"That was in the first or second year of his time on SG-1," Aiden explained. "Remember, we were explaining why we weren't using the emergency healing chamber the Major found in the labs." He gave no clue, in face or voice, whether he had heard Doctor McKay's halting, indirect explanation that the science team had in fact used it judiciously as a last-ditch substitute for sleep, compensating for the drain of charitable feelings it caused and careful not to risk its manipulation of spirit taking away that necessary to keep intellect functioning quickly.
"While the best-forgotten viper still held me," Captain Sha`re Jackson explained the other aspect of Teyla's questioning with the terseness that had marked her actions since her husband's stolen puddlejumper was found downed and abandoned, as if she had no energy to spare for anything but the search (although Teyla suspected, rather, that the other woman dared not risk more than the most minimal interaction lest she lose control and begin to break things. Or people).
Teyla nodded. "Halling?"
"The people are comfortable enough," Halling said, "finding it easier to live in the City of the Ancestors the second time, although we hope that we will be able to return to our new home soon. It is near planting-time."
"The people would be more comfortable," Cylin said, "if certain matters were made clearer."
"It has served," Halling began.
"Has," Cylin glared at him. "It will not do so indefinitely. If you are to lead our people in Teyla's absence, command against perils should devolve upon me. If your skill in times of peril is too valuable to lose, then we should determine whether Charin should remain the heir lieutenant or whether we should choose a new one, whether it be Nomar or Buan or Amory or whomsoever!"
"Tanistry," Doctor Corrigan said thoughtfully as Cylin Norriten and Halling Irrylar glared at each other.
"What is your will, Teyla?" Halling asked, tone light enough to show he thought it more a formality than a true request for guidance.
"Had I my will," Teyla began slowly, "our peoples would be close enough that Charin's duties remained light, and that you should serve as peril-commander in Major Sheppard's absence." Halling looked surprised and pleased by that last; Aiden and Lieutenant Eccles, appalled. "But the worlds turn as they will and not as we would; we will discuss the matter before you leave."
"When Nomar's well enough to sit in, I should hope," Aiden put in. "What with him being up for election, and all."
Cylin nodded fiercely.
"Of course we shall not leave until Nomar may come with us," Halling gave in gracefully.
Teyla nodded. "Doctor Heightmeyer?"
Kate sat up a little straighter. "Dr. Beckett hadn't really designated a successor since we lost Dr. Perrot, so medical took a quick vote and decided that I wasn't doing anything so I could administrate."
"Hardly nothing," Chuck's Columbian counterpart, called "Dee," said.
"Nothing needing immediate intervention, and -- honestly," she looked at Teyla and the other Athosians, "I don't even know where to begin with Astrylla, I'm hoping you do. But they're pretty sure Nomar is going to survive his wounds, and everyone else should make it as long as medical can devote their time where it's needed."
Cylin had sunk back into her chair with a long sigh, and some of the Atlanteans looked at her curiously.
"Nomar is married to Cylin," Teyla explained. "Even their oldest child is not quite a woman yet, and they will be glad not to lose a father."
"And this Astrylla?" the newcomer asked.
"She is a Norriten," Halling answered, puzzled. "Of Cylin's House, but not her chamber."
"The Wraith left her little better than Colonel Everett," Kate explained, "Lieutenant... "
"Eccles," Aiden supplied before Lieutenant Eccles could. "Senior remaining officer of the newcomers. Dr. Heightmeyer is our -- I can't remember, are you a psychiatrist or a psychologist?"
"I have a degree in both," Kate explained, "although I generally function more as the latter than the former. At any rate, we're prepared for the near future, although we really wish the Daedalus gets back soon with our shopping list of medicaments and whatnot."
"And in your specialty?" Teyla asked.
"Well," Kate said, thought for a moment, and began again. "The Wraith didn't take too many years off Sergeant Alvarez; I think I can speak to her and you should treat her as someone who has had another such sudden physically catastrophic attack... "
"I will be happy to speak with you on this matter later," Teyla said.
Kate nodded. "Most of the people in the city are grieving. Grief isn't something you cure, it's something you work through."
Well, of course. "Grief is a cure," Teyla pointed out, and everyone but Lieutenant Eccles nodded.
"So Ali's as much use for that as I am -- rather more, at least half the time," Kate said.
"I have spoken with many people already," Ali said, "and have made appointments with several more."
Lieutenant Eccles looked puzzled.
"This is the -- imam?" Teyla said carefully, and was rewarded with a smile and nod. "Ensign Ali Sa'id, our other officer, who is holy man to the marines."
"In practice, more like chaplain to the entire expedition," Ali shrugged. "This may change, now that we're going to be getting an influx of personnel."
The lieutenant blinked, looked about to say something, and then visibly thought better of it.
"How would you feel about that?" Kate wondered.
"I'd hope some of the people who won't talk to me would be willing to speak to someone whose personal beliefs march more with their own," Ali sighed, "but I'm afraid most of the people who feel uncomfortable with me for that reason would rather talk to you than any of us."
Kate nodded. "Does -- never mind that now, I'll ask you later. At any rate, Corporal Kaur's probably the worst off of those in mourning; she lost her husband and half of her team and is quite obviously dealing with her share of survivor's guilt as well. And she, like most of the others, wants work to help."
"I was thinking of putting her and Alvarez on Stackhouse's team," Aiden said, "or maybe giving her Bates' job."
"Who is this Kaur?" Lieutenant Eccles demanded, looking up from his own laptop. "She seems to be a Canadian national, from the records, and you're talking of giving her a Marine sergeant's role..."
"Well, she was his second-in-command when he was wearing his city security hat," Captain Jackson pointed out. "She is a corporal of mounted police."
"She was married to Kurama Singh in biology," Chuck put in. "Originally, she was support staff, and then we phased her over to the military."
"She can keep up with the Marines, even if she's not quite crazy enough to be one of us. Sir," Aiden said. "I think we're going to be getting more people from other countries' military, so it's just as well that we have a procedure in place."
"I'm glad you do," Lieutenant Eccles said. "That's one of the things that's going to face who'ever winds up in command here. I was just surprised."
"Face whomever?" Teyla said, "We have a peril-commander and his heir lieutenant, a proved commander in his own right, and a line of heredity at need."
"Well, yes, and obviously Major Sheppard and the Lieutenant here have done well, but now we're in contact they'll send someone to replace Col. Everett, and they could reassign Sheppard." His voice gentled. "Probably they'll keep him on, though, if they approve of his actions."
The silence around the table was deafening.
"They cannot do this," Teyla breathed. "When we send communication through the... Gate, we will tell them that we wish him back and will not accept another in his place."
"Uh, Teyla," Aiden said. "The Marines can't. Um. Do that. We can give testimonials, but we can't say 'we won't.' It's part of the oath we take to the Columbian government."
"The rest of us will be happy to sign a vote of 'no confidence,' though," said Dee. "Did you honestly not get that the only reason we didn't refuse Everett's authority was because Daniel said we could afford a war on two fronts less than the loss of the mines?"
"Not quite the only reason," Aiden put in.
"Well, not for *you*," Doctor Corrigan pointed out.
"We, too, will not work with an untried peril-commander," Halling agreed.
"I'm perfectly willing to point out that the team won't accept any new member we don't choose for ourselves," Aiden went on.
"Well, of course not," Teyla pointed out. "That is family."
Lieutenant Eccles looked rather as if he had bitten into a camparis in mistake for a cerissa.
"The situation was open to misconstruction," Sha`re Jackson hissed to Teyla and Doctor Corrigan. "It was clear from his expression that he misconstrued."
Drawing a breath in relief at this, the first expression of humor she had shown since Daniel Jackson was blown into the ocean, Teyla held it while she considered matters.
"Surely Doctor Weir is taking or shall take care of this matter there," she said decisively, "but we shall send our message all the same, that the leaders of Urth shall know our will. Aiden?"
"Um," Aiden said, "there's a problem with calling on me."
Teyla looked at him inquisitively, but it was Captain Jackson who answered.
"The Major left Ford and me in charge, but Lieutenant Eccles outranks him, although Ford has the Pegasus experience, so there's some confusion."
"I don't mean to be pushy, but rank is built into the system, and the system works," Lieutenant Eccles said.
"I am a staff captain," she said neutrally.
"Still a captain, ma'am," Aiden said, giving her the Columbians' peculiar salute. She returned it by striking her left shoulder with the scanner in her right hand.
"A captain?" Lieutenant Eccles said, eyes dropping to the blue shirt she wore beneath her jacket, adding "ma'am" when Aiden, Doctor Corrigan, Chuck, and Dee stared pointedly at him.
"Of the Armies of Abydos," Teyla explained.
"Isn't Abydos, uh, gone?"
"Your point is?" Chuck said.
"How many worlds are in their confederation?" Cylin asked quietly.
"Only one, now," Halling answered, "but there are almost as many people on it as on all the thousand worlds put together."
"There were eight billion and some people on the Mother-earth as of the last census I saw," Dee said helpfully.
"Eighty... myriad... myriad?" Halling and Cylin repeated, working their gaping jaws with some effort.
"It is impossible. You have misunderstood the speech that is the Ring's gift," Halling went on. "There are not that many people in the entire universe."
"I'm afraid there are," Lieutenant Eccles said gently. "We're the most populous planet we know of... the ones with more technology tend to have lower populations -- "
"We're not to Stage 3 yet," Aiden explained. "Still getting used to better medicine, and of course we haven't had the Wraith showing up and doing a number on us."
"I was astonished my own self," Sha`re Jackson said, "but it is what happens when no one hinders humans from growing and breeding as they would."
"The military, Captain Jackson, then?" Teyla asked.
"Major Sheppard started getting the new guys integrated before he left -- everyone has at least one partner. Training is helping them work together, although ideally we'd be able to use a variety of environments."
Teyla nodded. "When the sages are rested, then, we will see what they might be able to do to help find Doctor Jackson. The marines, toward that end, will divide into parties to train on the mainland, perhaps together with those Athosians who wish..." She let her voice trail off, and Halling nodded. "Also, we will send parties to hunt and to gather food, now that we have more mouths to feed. We will also consider a cover story that possible trading parties may use, since we wish the City to remain believed destroyed; Lieutenant Eccles, if you will work with Doctor Corrigan and with Buan on that?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"I will tell Buan," Cylin volunteered.
"We have enough food to feed everyone who's here for eighty-four days," Chuck added, "plus our share of the Daunt harvest."
"It is always well to have a reserve." Teyla smiled at him, and he inexplicably blushed.
"If that's everything, then?" Ali asked.
"Unless one of you has a matter to suggest."
"We're -- never mind that, then," Lieutenant Eccles said. He blinked at Captain Jackson. "I suppose Dr. Jackson's a colonel or something in your army, too?"
"Oh, no, it is my brother Skaara who is Kerner," Sha`re Jackson said dismissively. "But he has Ascended, so it is Dan'yel who holds his place until he comes back."
"Who would return from being one with the Ancestors?" Halling asked.
She shrugged. "Sam did. Dan'yel did."
"Dr. Jackson Ascended?" Lieutenant Eccles said. "When did this happen?"
"Back when we lost Abydos," Chuck answered. "He was only gone for an hour before he got Oma to spot him and came back down, so..."
"Spot him?" Kate wondered.
"Apparently it is a complicated procedure," Ali said, "which is undoubtedly why Ascension has not become general knowledge."
"Yet people die every day," Cylin pointed out.
"That's different," half the room said at once.
"If Sam had seen her mother, or mine, or those people Dan'yel and Teal'c and Jack had loved well in life, she would have said," Sha`re Jackson said firmly.
And Teyla did not want to have this conversation now, was not sure that she could, but the responsibility was on her --
"Those who die," she said with a surety she did not feel, "join those Ancestors who have died and who yet work in the world. Those who Ascend, join those Ancestors who have never died -- "
"And who choose to work nothing in the world," Dee said
cheerfully.
"When honoring the Ancestors," Chuck said, surprisingly, "one honors those worth honoring. If you serve someone not worth the serving with love and justice, the benefit goes to those that are; if you do something horrible, no matter whose name you do it in, it is as if it were done in the name of all that is evil and uncaring. That's what we teach."
"We will speak of this more tomorrow," Teyla said, "but -- so I hold as well."
Halling looked gravely worried, but Cylin was nodding thoughtfully.
"If that's all, then?" Kate said, and Teyla smiled at her.
"Thank you all for your patience," she said. "I hope with your help to keep our City in good order until Doctors Weir and Beckett and those conjoined with me return."
People filed out, straggling.
"Looking good, ma'am!" Aiden said before joining Lieutenant Eccles.
Ma'am? It had been "Teyla" for mooncycles, but...
"I will go and see whether any of the scientists are awake yet," Sha`re Jackson said.
"Do not push too hard," Teyla cautioned her. "Doctor Jackson has become dear to us too, but nothing will be gained from overtired minds."
"I know, but I can't sit and do nothing -- and Teyla. The rest of my family calls me Sha`re. You should too."
Halling and Cylin paused to give her formal braces of farewell, and then it was just Kate and herself.
"Um," Kate said. "About Astrylla?"
"I will be happy to speak of what we have done in regard to those left behind by Wraith," Teyla said. "Over dinner, perhaps?"
"I shouldn't, but... well, it is a consultation..."
"We are speaking of the welfare of one of my people," Teyla said. Surely that took precedence.
These Tellurians did nothing like normal people.
-author- Sophonisba (saphanibaal)
-warnings- AU, AU, AU: a behind-the-scenes part of my canon-asymptotic AU, with a fair amount of explications between the lines. Gen with inferences. Some oddities with language as artifacts of the translation process. Discussion of religious themes.
-timeframe- Between "The Siege" and "The Intruder."
-spoilers- First season, "The Siege," some of the flashback bits of "The Intruder," and the SG-1 episode "Full Circle."
-characters- Teyla, and... herein be spoilers.
-disclaimer- SGA, of course, is not mine. Nor is the rest of the Stargate franchise, for that matter. If they were, canon would look considerably more like this. At one point, Chuck-tech paraphrases C. S. Lewis (from The Last Battle, to be more precise) and the last sentence was inspired by Wrede's The Raven Ring.
-word count- 3187
-summary- While the command staff is on Earth, Teyla holds her first command meeting.
Conjunctions
The funeral services had gone as well as could be expected, really. The great starship Daedalus had left to return to its home world, as soon as they were finished; Doctors Weir, McKay, and Beckett and Major Sheppard had tarried a little longer before leaving through the Ring to likewise report their deeds to their own leaders (strange as it was to think of Doctor Weir, at least, as having a leader), Doctor Beckett yawning and Doctor McKay standoffish and more arrogant than usual as they brought up the heels of the procession.
Teyla announced, then, over the buffay-tables of the shared leavetaking meal, that there would be a meeting of underleaders in the evening hours, before leaving the Tellus-born to their own devices and speaking with her people, reaffirming ties that had been let lapse too long.
That evening, she was the second one into the room; Captain Jackson was already there, in the black-and-grey of her military wear, seated in the chair Teyla customarily used and staring at one of the Ancestors' scanners on the table in front of her as if it held all the secrets of the universe. (Which, being Ancestral in nature, was not impossible.)
The gate technicians came in next, taking their own accustomed seats, and then Aiden Ford, debating with a newcomer still in their mottled garb. Then Halling and Cylin, equally annoyed, and on their heels Ali (as he preferred to be known), still in the formal costume he had worn when presiding over the funerary ceremonies with Doctor Weir.
Finally Doctor Corrigan and Kate Heightmeyer entered, the latter a little out of breath, and Teyla called the meeting to order in a flurry of opened laptops. (The Canadian technician called "Chuck" offered his to Halling and Cylin: Halling looked away indignantly, but Cylin peered at it thoughtfully; apparently Chuck had had his display the alphabet handed down from the Ancestors rather than that changed and adapted from the curved one of Roma, wherever that might be.)
"Our status is clear, I trust," she added. "Doctor Jackson is still missing. The most severely wounded of the Tellurian-born have been taken through the Ring to the Mother-earth on beds borrowed from the Daedalus, said beds to wait there until it arrives and regains them. We are currently reorganizing to await the return of the 'command staff.' Doctor Corrigan?"
"Most of Hard Sciences are still recovering from the last three days -- even though most of them made an effort to make it to the services, they went straight back to bed afterwards. I don't know whether, when Dr. Zelenka gets his endocrine system back on straight, you want him to sit in instead of me, or us both to be here, or what."
Captain Jackson shot him a sharp glance.
"Unless we get Daniel back overnight, if that, Zelenka will be up and capable at least of coming to meetings while we're still looking for him," he answered gently. "Besides, he will still need time to heal."
"Breaking an addiction is best done in the absence of other responsibilities," Kate agreed. "He didn't work when he was breaking the sarcophagus's hold on him, and he only had the SGC's department of anthropology and languages under his care at that time."
Teyla looked up, startled.
"That was in the first or second year of his time on SG-1," Aiden explained. "Remember, we were explaining why we weren't using the emergency healing chamber the Major found in the labs." He gave no clue, in face or voice, whether he had heard Doctor McKay's halting, indirect explanation that the science team had in fact used it judiciously as a last-ditch substitute for sleep, compensating for the drain of charitable feelings it caused and careful not to risk its manipulation of spirit taking away that necessary to keep intellect functioning quickly.
"While the best-forgotten viper still held me," Captain Sha`re Jackson explained the other aspect of Teyla's questioning with the terseness that had marked her actions since her husband's stolen puddlejumper was found downed and abandoned, as if she had no energy to spare for anything but the search (although Teyla suspected, rather, that the other woman dared not risk more than the most minimal interaction lest she lose control and begin to break things. Or people).
Teyla nodded. "Halling?"
"The people are comfortable enough," Halling said, "finding it easier to live in the City of the Ancestors the second time, although we hope that we will be able to return to our new home soon. It is near planting-time."
"The people would be more comfortable," Cylin said, "if certain matters were made clearer."
"It has served," Halling began.
"Has," Cylin glared at him. "It will not do so indefinitely. If you are to lead our people in Teyla's absence, command against perils should devolve upon me. If your skill in times of peril is too valuable to lose, then we should determine whether Charin should remain the heir lieutenant or whether we should choose a new one, whether it be Nomar or Buan or Amory or whomsoever!"
"Tanistry," Doctor Corrigan said thoughtfully as Cylin Norriten and Halling Irrylar glared at each other.
"What is your will, Teyla?" Halling asked, tone light enough to show he thought it more a formality than a true request for guidance.
"Had I my will," Teyla began slowly, "our peoples would be close enough that Charin's duties remained light, and that you should serve as peril-commander in Major Sheppard's absence." Halling looked surprised and pleased by that last; Aiden and Lieutenant Eccles, appalled. "But the worlds turn as they will and not as we would; we will discuss the matter before you leave."
"When Nomar's well enough to sit in, I should hope," Aiden put in. "What with him being up for election, and all."
Cylin nodded fiercely.
"Of course we shall not leave until Nomar may come with us," Halling gave in gracefully.
Teyla nodded. "Doctor Heightmeyer?"
Kate sat up a little straighter. "Dr. Beckett hadn't really designated a successor since we lost Dr. Perrot, so medical took a quick vote and decided that I wasn't doing anything so I could administrate."
"Hardly nothing," Chuck's Columbian counterpart, called "Dee," said.
"Nothing needing immediate intervention, and -- honestly," she looked at Teyla and the other Athosians, "I don't even know where to begin with Astrylla, I'm hoping you do. But they're pretty sure Nomar is going to survive his wounds, and everyone else should make it as long as medical can devote their time where it's needed."
Cylin had sunk back into her chair with a long sigh, and some of the Atlanteans looked at her curiously.
"Nomar is married to Cylin," Teyla explained. "Even their oldest child is not quite a woman yet, and they will be glad not to lose a father."
"And this Astrylla?" the newcomer asked.
"She is a Norriten," Halling answered, puzzled. "Of Cylin's House, but not her chamber."
"The Wraith left her little better than Colonel Everett," Kate explained, "Lieutenant... "
"Eccles," Aiden supplied before Lieutenant Eccles could. "Senior remaining officer of the newcomers. Dr. Heightmeyer is our -- I can't remember, are you a psychiatrist or a psychologist?"
"I have a degree in both," Kate explained, "although I generally function more as the latter than the former. At any rate, we're prepared for the near future, although we really wish the Daedalus gets back soon with our shopping list of medicaments and whatnot."
"And in your specialty?" Teyla asked.
"Well," Kate said, thought for a moment, and began again. "The Wraith didn't take too many years off Sergeant Alvarez; I think I can speak to her and you should treat her as someone who has had another such sudden physically catastrophic attack... "
"I will be happy to speak with you on this matter later," Teyla said.
Kate nodded. "Most of the people in the city are grieving. Grief isn't something you cure, it's something you work through."
Well, of course. "Grief is a cure," Teyla pointed out, and everyone but Lieutenant Eccles nodded.
"So Ali's as much use for that as I am -- rather more, at least half the time," Kate said.
"I have spoken with many people already," Ali said, "and have made appointments with several more."
Lieutenant Eccles looked puzzled.
"This is the -- imam?" Teyla said carefully, and was rewarded with a smile and nod. "Ensign Ali Sa'id, our other officer, who is holy man to the marines."
"In practice, more like chaplain to the entire expedition," Ali shrugged. "This may change, now that we're going to be getting an influx of personnel."
The lieutenant blinked, looked about to say something, and then visibly thought better of it.
"How would you feel about that?" Kate wondered.
"I'd hope some of the people who won't talk to me would be willing to speak to someone whose personal beliefs march more with their own," Ali sighed, "but I'm afraid most of the people who feel uncomfortable with me for that reason would rather talk to you than any of us."
Kate nodded. "Does -- never mind that now, I'll ask you later. At any rate, Corporal Kaur's probably the worst off of those in mourning; she lost her husband and half of her team and is quite obviously dealing with her share of survivor's guilt as well. And she, like most of the others, wants work to help."
"I was thinking of putting her and Alvarez on Stackhouse's team," Aiden said, "or maybe giving her Bates' job."
"Who is this Kaur?" Lieutenant Eccles demanded, looking up from his own laptop. "She seems to be a Canadian national, from the records, and you're talking of giving her a Marine sergeant's role..."
"Well, she was his second-in-command when he was wearing his city security hat," Captain Jackson pointed out. "She is a corporal of mounted police."
"She was married to Kurama Singh in biology," Chuck put in. "Originally, she was support staff, and then we phased her over to the military."
"She can keep up with the Marines, even if she's not quite crazy enough to be one of us. Sir," Aiden said. "I think we're going to be getting more people from other countries' military, so it's just as well that we have a procedure in place."
"I'm glad you do," Lieutenant Eccles said. "That's one of the things that's going to face who'ever winds up in command here. I was just surprised."
"Face whomever?" Teyla said, "We have a peril-commander and his heir lieutenant, a proved commander in his own right, and a line of heredity at need."
"Well, yes, and obviously Major Sheppard and the Lieutenant here have done well, but now we're in contact they'll send someone to replace Col. Everett, and they could reassign Sheppard." His voice gentled. "Probably they'll keep him on, though, if they approve of his actions."
The silence around the table was deafening.
"They cannot do this," Teyla breathed. "When we send communication through the... Gate, we will tell them that we wish him back and will not accept another in his place."
"Uh, Teyla," Aiden said. "The Marines can't. Um. Do that. We can give testimonials, but we can't say 'we won't.' It's part of the oath we take to the Columbian government."
"The rest of us will be happy to sign a vote of 'no confidence,' though," said Dee. "Did you honestly not get that the only reason we didn't refuse Everett's authority was because Daniel said we could afford a war on two fronts less than the loss of the mines?"
"Not quite the only reason," Aiden put in.
"Well, not for *you*," Doctor Corrigan pointed out.
"We, too, will not work with an untried peril-commander," Halling agreed.
"I'm perfectly willing to point out that the team won't accept any new member we don't choose for ourselves," Aiden went on.
"Well, of course not," Teyla pointed out. "That is family."
Lieutenant Eccles looked rather as if he had bitten into a camparis in mistake for a cerissa.
"The situation was open to misconstruction," Sha`re Jackson hissed to Teyla and Doctor Corrigan. "It was clear from his expression that he misconstrued."
Drawing a breath in relief at this, the first expression of humor she had shown since Daniel Jackson was blown into the ocean, Teyla held it while she considered matters.
"Surely Doctor Weir is taking or shall take care of this matter there," she said decisively, "but we shall send our message all the same, that the leaders of Urth shall know our will. Aiden?"
"Um," Aiden said, "there's a problem with calling on me."
Teyla looked at him inquisitively, but it was Captain Jackson who answered.
"The Major left Ford and me in charge, but Lieutenant Eccles outranks him, although Ford has the Pegasus experience, so there's some confusion."
"I don't mean to be pushy, but rank is built into the system, and the system works," Lieutenant Eccles said.
"I am a staff captain," she said neutrally.
"Still a captain, ma'am," Aiden said, giving her the Columbians' peculiar salute. She returned it by striking her left shoulder with the scanner in her right hand.
"A captain?" Lieutenant Eccles said, eyes dropping to the blue shirt she wore beneath her jacket, adding "ma'am" when Aiden, Doctor Corrigan, Chuck, and Dee stared pointedly at him.
"Of the Armies of Abydos," Teyla explained.
"Isn't Abydos, uh, gone?"
"Your point is?" Chuck said.
"How many worlds are in their confederation?" Cylin asked quietly.
"Only one, now," Halling answered, "but there are almost as many people on it as on all the thousand worlds put together."
"There were eight billion and some people on the Mother-earth as of the last census I saw," Dee said helpfully.
"Eighty... myriad... myriad?" Halling and Cylin repeated, working their gaping jaws with some effort.
"It is impossible. You have misunderstood the speech that is the Ring's gift," Halling went on. "There are not that many people in the entire universe."
"I'm afraid there are," Lieutenant Eccles said gently. "We're the most populous planet we know of... the ones with more technology tend to have lower populations -- "
"We're not to Stage 3 yet," Aiden explained. "Still getting used to better medicine, and of course we haven't had the Wraith showing up and doing a number on us."
"I was astonished my own self," Sha`re Jackson said, "but it is what happens when no one hinders humans from growing and breeding as they would."
"The military, Captain Jackson, then?" Teyla asked.
"Major Sheppard started getting the new guys integrated before he left -- everyone has at least one partner. Training is helping them work together, although ideally we'd be able to use a variety of environments."
Teyla nodded. "When the sages are rested, then, we will see what they might be able to do to help find Doctor Jackson. The marines, toward that end, will divide into parties to train on the mainland, perhaps together with those Athosians who wish..." She let her voice trail off, and Halling nodded. "Also, we will send parties to hunt and to gather food, now that we have more mouths to feed. We will also consider a cover story that possible trading parties may use, since we wish the City to remain believed destroyed; Lieutenant Eccles, if you will work with Doctor Corrigan and with Buan on that?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"I will tell Buan," Cylin volunteered.
"We have enough food to feed everyone who's here for eighty-four days," Chuck added, "plus our share of the Daunt harvest."
"It is always well to have a reserve." Teyla smiled at him, and he inexplicably blushed.
"If that's everything, then?" Ali asked.
"Unless one of you has a matter to suggest."
"We're -- never mind that, then," Lieutenant Eccles said. He blinked at Captain Jackson. "I suppose Dr. Jackson's a colonel or something in your army, too?"
"Oh, no, it is my brother Skaara who is Kerner," Sha`re Jackson said dismissively. "But he has Ascended, so it is Dan'yel who holds his place until he comes back."
"Who would return from being one with the Ancestors?" Halling asked.
She shrugged. "Sam did. Dan'yel did."
"Dr. Jackson Ascended?" Lieutenant Eccles said. "When did this happen?"
"Back when we lost Abydos," Chuck answered. "He was only gone for an hour before he got Oma to spot him and came back down, so..."
"Spot him?" Kate wondered.
"Apparently it is a complicated procedure," Ali said, "which is undoubtedly why Ascension has not become general knowledge."
"Yet people die every day," Cylin pointed out.
"That's different," half the room said at once.
"If Sam had seen her mother, or mine, or those people Dan'yel and Teal'c and Jack had loved well in life, she would have said," Sha`re Jackson said firmly.
And Teyla did not want to have this conversation now, was not sure that she could, but the responsibility was on her --
"Those who die," she said with a surety she did not feel, "join those Ancestors who have died and who yet work in the world. Those who Ascend, join those Ancestors who have never died -- "
"And who choose to work nothing in the world," Dee said
cheerfully.
"When honoring the Ancestors," Chuck said, surprisingly, "one honors those worth honoring. If you serve someone not worth the serving with love and justice, the benefit goes to those that are; if you do something horrible, no matter whose name you do it in, it is as if it were done in the name of all that is evil and uncaring. That's what we teach."
"We will speak of this more tomorrow," Teyla said, "but -- so I hold as well."
Halling looked gravely worried, but Cylin was nodding thoughtfully.
"If that's all, then?" Kate said, and Teyla smiled at her.
"Thank you all for your patience," she said. "I hope with your help to keep our City in good order until Doctors Weir and Beckett and those conjoined with me return."
People filed out, straggling.
"Looking good, ma'am!" Aiden said before joining Lieutenant Eccles.
Ma'am? It had been "Teyla" for mooncycles, but...
"I will go and see whether any of the scientists are awake yet," Sha`re Jackson said.
"Do not push too hard," Teyla cautioned her. "Doctor Jackson has become dear to us too, but nothing will be gained from overtired minds."
"I know, but I can't sit and do nothing -- and Teyla. The rest of my family calls me Sha`re. You should too."
Halling and Cylin paused to give her formal braces of farewell, and then it was just Kate and herself.
"Um," Kate said. "About Astrylla?"
"I will be happy to speak of what we have done in regard to those left behind by Wraith," Teyla said. "Over dinner, perhaps?"
"I shouldn't, but... well, it is a consultation..."
"We are speaking of the welfare of one of my people," Teyla said. Surely that took precedence.
These Tellurians did nothing like normal people.