FIC Crazier is as Crazy Does
Title: Crazier is as Crazy Does
Characters: Evan Lorne, John Sheppard, Radek Zelenka, Carson Beckett, OCs, Atlantis
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Series:
Written For: badfalcon
Prompt: Lorne thinks he’s crazy
Summary: Evan Lorne has seen and heard a lot of strange things since joining the Stargate program, but hearing things in his head is a whole new level of strange.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: slight for the show and my series (which is currently nameless)
Warnings: Sheppard, Lorne, Marines
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Second Disclaimer Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.
Author's Note: BadFalcon had a thought about sentient Atlantis. I’ve always thought Atlantis was sentient… I just never took the thought quite this far. I’m not sure my ideas about everything quite came though, but hopefully she likes this. Thanks again to illfindmyway for betaing.
“Did you say something, Sir?” Evan Lorne asked.
John Sheppard looked up from the tablet his XO had shoved under his nose as soon as he walked into his office that morning. He knew he shouldn’t have chanced the office, but he wanted his Rubik's cube for the senior staff meeting and Lorne had caught him as soon as he entered. “No?” he attempted. “At least not in the last ten minutes.” He tilted the tablet. “Why am I signing this again?”
“It’s the AARs for the month. They’ve all been approved by team leaders and department heads, you just need to sign off…” Lorne stopped as the same voice whispered in his ear. He shook his head. “You just need to sign off on them,” he finished.
Sheppard nodded, tapping the stylus against the tablet before signing with a flourish. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk, when he was done. “You settling in okay?”
“Yes, sir?” Lorne replied.
“Sound a little surer about that, Major,” Sheppard instructed.
“Sorry, sir. I am,” Lorne answered. “I just…” He flinched minutely as the voice whispered again. “It’s nothing. Are you done signing those reports?”
Sheppard made a last flourish. “That’s that last one, Lorne. Am I free to go?”
“That’s not my decision, sir. Don’t forget…”
“The senior staff meeting at 1030. I was actually on my way there believe it or not when you waylaid me.”
Lorne tucked the tablet under his arm as he got to his feet. “If you say so, sir.”
“Have you thought any more about your gateteam?” Sheppard asked as they headed out the door.
“I’ve got some ideas. I’m not sure which scientist, but I do want a core team of Marines,” Lorne said. “I think I’ve picked them.”
“Let’s meet later to take a look at them? Say 1600?” Sheppard suggested.
“Sounds fine, sir.”
“That’s a good eye you’ve got there, Major.”
Lorne looked up from his breakfast, pulling himself out of the daze he’d fallen into when he’d sat down and pulled out his sketchbook. “Ah. Thanks,” he answered, glancing down to see what he’d drawn. Instead of the flowing lines of the graceful woman who’d been haunting his dreams, he saw an almost perfect rendition of the center spire of Atlantis.
“I mean it, Major, that’s a really good…” Beckett stopped when he noticed Lorne’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing.” Lorne shook his head. “I’m not much of a sketcher.” He frowned at the drawing. “And this isn’t what I meant to draw.”
Indicating the book, Beckett asked permission to look at the picture. Lorne let him turn it around so he could see it better. “Well, for someone who isn’t ‘much of a sketcher’, you’re very good, Major.”
“Evan,” Lorne offered. “My mom is better than I am. I… dabble. But she’s an actual artist.”
“I’d say you inherited at least a bit of her talent.”
“Like I said, this wasn’t what I meant to draw.”
“What were you trying to draw, lad?”
“Just a girl. A woman,” Lorne said. He rolled his pencil in his fingers as he stared at the sketchbook.
“Someone you left behind? Someone back on Earth?” Beckett questioned softly.
“No. I left family back on Earth, but no one special,” Lorne admitted. He glanced at the clock one of the engineers had jury-rigged to tell Atlantis time. “I have to go. I’ve got a meeting.”
Beckett raised his hand in farewell, realizing after the major had hurried away that the sketchbook was still laying on the table. With the major already out of the room, the doctor flipped the book closed, intending to return it later.
Lorne slammed a clip home, the noise comforting as it was echoed around him. “We’re on a time schedule,” he reminded the Marines that surrounded him. “The kids have been missing for two hours. The parents are going to start to panic soon so let’s see if we can find them before we have Athosians trying to search the city on their own.”
“Do we have any idea where to start, sir?” Captain Dawkins asked.
“Living quarters, labs, and the tower have already been searched,” Lorne answered. “We’re concentrating on sections that haven’t been cleared or no one has been in for the last two hours.” He shoved his nine millimeter into the holster. “Move out in gateteams, splitting up as need be. Stay in radio contact.”
Gathering up his own newly formed gateteam, Lorne swept from the room.
Gunnery Sergeant McFadden took the lead for Lorne’s team with Lorne following closely behind and their two sergeants following him. They kept on insisting they weren’t brothers, but Lorne had yet to consistently tell them apart. McFadden claimed it was possible, although Lorne noticed he tended to refer to them as “Wall and Murray” and not one or the other. They had time to adjust still though since Elizabeth had grounded the team until they’d had a chance to get to know each other. They were scheduled to go to the mainland in a few days and then to visit allies a few days after that.
Right now Lorne’s only focus was on locating the missing children.
The calls on the radio faded into the distance as they searched the city, slowly breaking it into quadrants and clearing them. The major couldn’t figure out why they weren’t finding any sign of the missing Athosians.
“Major?” Doctor Weir’s voice came over the command channel. “All of the teams have checked in. We haven’t heard anything from your team recently.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” Lorne answered. “We haven’t found any trace of the kids. We’re still looking.”
“Keep us posted, Major.”
“Will do, ma’am.”
Lorne signed off, looking at his Marines. “We’ve got our orders, boys. Let’s keep moving.”
As they headed back towards the city center, Lorne noticed some of the lights getting brighter back the way they had been heading as they searched. “McFadden?” he called. “You seeing this?”
“Seeing what, Sir?” McFadden stopped, turning to attempt to see what his commanding officer was calling his attention to.
“The…” Lorne looked again, but the lights had faded. “Never mind. Let’s go this way.” He pointed in the direction the lights had been leading, waiting until McFadden headed in that direction.
From behind him, he could hear the two sergeants whispering but he ignored them, deciding that it was better for him not to know.
The farther they moved down the hall, the brighter the lights got, until even the three Marines noticed. “Sir?” one of the blondes asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lorne answered. He paused. “Sergeant…”
“Wall,” the sergeant put in.
Lorne nodded, trying to figure out if there was a way to distinguish him from his partner. He’d need to make sure he could tell them apart when they were out in the field and their tags were removed for safety’s sake. “But they don’t seem dangerous. Opinions?”
“Proceed, sir,” McFadden offered. “But cautiously.”
The second sergeant, Murray, chimed in, “Let us go first, sir.”
Lorne raised his eyebrows at that. “Attempting to be canon fodder, Murray?”
“No, sir, but Wall and I are…” he shrugged “not less important, but it’s our job.”
McFadden motioned to the lights that were blinking more empathically now. “I think Atlantis is getting impatient.”
“Lead the way then, Sergeant,” Lorne decided.
They ended up walking two abreast down the hallway, the two sergeants in the lead with McFadden and Lorne behind them. Lorne indicated the lights, which were now blinking on and then off as they continued in the direction indicated. “Have you ever seen the like, Gunnery Sergeant?”
“No, sir, this is a new one on me. If it is Atlantis, I’ve never even seen her do anything like this for the LC. And she practically purrs like a cat for him.”
“Rolls over and shows her belly,” Wall said over his shoulder. He’d paused up ahead, his P-90 pointed at a room that had lights lit up all around the doorframe. “Think we’re supposed to go in here, sir, but the door’s locked.”
“Guess that’s my cue,” Lorne said, stepping forward. He knew McFadden had the ATA gene. It was one of the reasons he’d chosen the man, so he wasn’t the only gene carrier on the team. Still the other man wasn’t as strong as Lorne.
Resting his hand against the door, he requested it open. When the door proved resistant to the idea, he got firmer with it. Finally the door reluctantly slid open. “I think she’s protesting the LC being gone,” Wall commented as he swung his P-90 so the light illuminated the revealed room.
“Not helping,” Lorne commented as he tried to peer around the taller man.
The sergeant shrugged, shifting a bit so the smaller officer could see, but still blocking the doorway. He could see a glimpse of a blueish room and sheet covered somethings before his view was blocked again. In other words just like every other locked room they’d come across in Atlantis.
Beside Wall, Murray stiffened. “Sir?” he said in a low voice. “There’s something moving.”
“Something like we have air flow?” McFadden asked. “Or…”
“Nope. Something is absolutely alive in there,” Wall said.
Lorne dug around in his pockets, coming up a moment later with the LSD and thinking it on. It lit up immediately with their placement, before he nudged it to expand to the room ahead of them. “Looks like it's something alive, boys,” he commented.
The three Marines exchanged glances before spreading out, entering the room in a standard sweep configuration. Lorne stayed at the door, clicking his radio mic open so he could listen to their quiet comments to each other as he watched them move through the room. This was why he’d chosen them. The three men had been on Atlantis for the first year and knew the dangers. In addition they had the added advantage of knowing how to work together and there weren’t many others that had the training to take on what the Pegasus Galaxy threw at them and keep getting up. Lorne was willing to overlook some of their idiosyncrasies if he got a well-oiled combat team in exchange.
He had to admit there were some hiccups. Murray seemed more likely to blow up the team than what he was supposed to without supervision. (And he’d already been shown the list of ‘things not to explode’ that Wall carried around.) McFadden knew more superstitions than an old country grandmother while Wall took survivalist to a new level. In another life, he might have been one of the cultists seen on the news. Lorne didn’t know them well enough yet to question how they’d ended up in the Marines, but he’d already been warned not to attempt to separate the two sergeants.
“Major?” McFadden interrupted Lorne’s musings. “You should come see this.”
Entering the room, Lorne almost wasn’t surprised when the lights came on in his presence. The three Marines relaxed at the illumination, lowering their weapons as he rounded the still-covered console in the center of the room. Curled up on the other side, fast asleep were the missing Athosians.
Lorne breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, reaching up to open a channel to the control room. “Doctor Weir?” he said. “We found them.”
Lorne poked his head into the engineering lab, hoping he’d find Zelenka by himself and not have to brave McKay to get a moment with the Czech scientist. As far as he knew AR-1 wasn’t back yet, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t missed the announcement while he was on the mainland. Doctor Weir had requested that his team escort the found children back to their parents.
After a moment, he spied the man he was looking for, head bent over something as he conversed rapidly in Czech with a dark haired girl. “Doc?” Lorne questioned. “You got a minute?”
“Ano. Yes. Hello.” Zelenka’s head jerked up and he blinked as he focused on Lorne. “Where did you come from?” he asked.
“If you’re busy, I can come back later,” Lorne explained. “I just had a question for you.”
“Žádný,” Zelenka replied, shaking his head. “We are done here, I think.”
The girl, she didn’t look old enough to be on Atlantis, popped to her feet. “Nothing else we can do until I finish translating this.” Rattling off something in Czech, she waited until Zelenka nodded before gathering up the laptop. “See you later, Radek.” Nodding, she added, “Major.”
“New technician?” Lorne questioned when she was out of the room.
“Žádný. New linguist.” Zelenka motioned for Lorne to take a seat. “Now. Otázka? Question?”
Lorne was used to Zelenka peppering his conversations with Czech and appreciated that most of the time, the other man translated the words. It had actually allowed him to pick up a little of the other language since he’d started spending time with the engineer. “Have any of the gene carriers talked to you about…” Lorne paused as he tried to figure out how to phrase his question so he didn’t sound completely crazy.
“Gene carriers prefer not to talk to me.” Zelenka smiled. “They do not like to be light switches.”
Lorne had to smile at that comment. “So no one has discussed anything they’ve discovered about the gene?”
Zelenka shook his head, frowning as he thought. “Not that I can recall.”
Lorne debated pressing the issue, but realized it would just make Zelenka question why he was asking. “Okay. Thanks, Doc.”
“You are all right?” Zelenka wanted to know. “Maybe Carson can help with your questions,” he offered.
“Nah. It’s not a medical issue. I don’t want to bother Doctor Beckett. It was a good suggestion though.” Lorne pushed to his feet. “You won’t mention this to anyone?”
“Your secret is safe with me, Major,” Zelenka promised. “Besides. I know nothing.”
Taking a cue from AR-1, Lorne decreed that the Marines join him for dinner later that evening. It was awkward at first, but once the Marines realized he wasn’t going to pull rank on them, they began to relax.
Lorne was leaning back in his seat, listening to the two sergeants harass each other about a training incident (and somehow it didn’t surprise him that McFadden had already heard the story and was lending his voice to their lighthearted bickering) when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Cautiously, trying not to draw attention to himself, he turned his head slowly as he tried to get a better look at it.
The woman was bent over one of the scientists as if she was viewing the tablet the man was tapping at. On first glance she blended into the groupings around her, but then Lorne began to notice the inconsistencies. Her clothes, although the uniform was correct, were slightly off-color. Her skin was a different hue than anyone from Earth, but didn’t have the bronze tones of the Athosians. It was almost like she had attempted to combine a few different backgrounds, but hadn’t quite gotten the color palette right. The effect was stunning, but slightly off. Her hair was a deep red that just didn’t exist as natural hair color.
As he tried to get a closer look at her, to see if her eyes matched the inexact color palette, she seemed to realize he was watching her. Smiling as their eyes met, she straightened up, glancing around the mess hall before beginning to saunter towards the exit.
Lorne debated to himself for thirty seconds before he pushed his chair back, the screech echoing around them. The three marines looked over from their discussion, but he waved them off as he grabbed his tray. By the time he’d deposited it in the correct receptacle and made it out of the mess hall, the woman had disappeared. He spent a few minutes looking, searching the people for any sign of her. But the woman had well and truly disappeared.
Major? Major? Major Lorne? Major Evan Lorne?
Lorne fumbled around on his nightstand, finally locating his headset by feel and finally sticking it rightside up in his ear. “Gateroom?” he asked. “Who’s paging me?”
“Sir?” the Marine on duty replied. “I don’t see any pages to you.”
“Find out who called me,” Lorne ordered, attempting to clear the sleep from his brain.
Your Marine won’t be able to discover the caller, the voice said. I think you’re more stubborn than Colonel Sheppard.
“That’s difficult to believe,” Lorne answered unthinkingly.
“Sir?” the Marine questioned.
“Never mind.” Lorne shook his head. “If you didn’t find anything…”
“No, sir.”
Lorne signed off, tossing the headset back onto his nightstand. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair. Are you finished bothering the man on duty? the voice asked.
“It must have been something I ate,” Lorne decided.
This is not something you ate, Major, the voice told him, sounding decidedly tired of attempting to talk to him.
“If it’s not something I ate, why am I hearing voices?” Lorne almost demanded.
You really are more stubborn than Colonel Sheppard.
“Who are you?” Lorne’s words were a demand this time.
Atlantis, replied the city and then refused to speak for the rest of the night, no matter what Lorne entretied or threatened her with. He finally gave up and fell back asleep.
The next morning, Lorne shuffled around his room. Sheppard was technically on call since one of them had to be on duty at all times and Lorne had the evening/overnight shift this week, but he wanted to see if he could locate his CO. He was still trying to figure out why Atlantis, if that’s who it really was, had spoken to him. There hadn’t been another sound from the city for the rest of the night, although Lorne had woken a few times, thinking he heard something.
Finally pulling on clothes, he scooped up his LSD as he headed out of his quarters. Hopefully it wouldn’t take him long to locate Sheppard.
Two hours later, he finally discovered the military commander on one of the lesser used balconies. Sheppard turned as the major stepped out, a smirk spreading across his face. “Took you long enough.”
Lorne held up his LSD, shaking it slightly. “I would have been here sooner, but… It’s not working.”
Sheppard sighed. “It’s working. It’s just.” He tilted his head up, clearly not addressing Lorne for a moment, “Atlantis. Stop hiding me.”
The detector beeped, lighting up for a moment, before going silent again.
“Really? You can just ask it and the city will hide you?” Lorne asked.
“She. And I don’t really ask. She just does it.” The military commander turned, resting his arms against the railing so he was facing his XO. “Obviously you were looking for me for a reason.”
“She.”
Sheppard stared at the other man when it was clear he wasn’t asking a question.
“You said she.”
Sheppard nodded slowly. “Yeees.”
“So. Atlantis? Is. Female.”
“Loooorne. Have you been sampling the scientists’ booze?”
“Colonel!”
“Just checking. It’s a bit early in the morning, but… it is Pegasus.” Sheppard shrugged.
“You’re really not helping. Sir.”
“Sometimes I feel like you’re insulting me when you call me ‘sir’,” Sheppard complained.
“If I was insulting you, you’d know, sir,” Lorne pointed out.
Sheppard smiled. “Just ask your question, Major.”
“I would like to go on record that this may sound a bit crazy, sir, but I have not ingested anything. And I don’t think I’m crazy, just…”
“Dealing with Pegasus?” Sheppard hazarded.
“If that’s true, I’m not aware of a designation for that, sir,” Lorne said stiffly.
“If you’re having crazy symptoms, maybe you should be talking to Beckett. Or even Heightmeyer.”
Lorne just stared at his CO for a minute before deciding to ignore the comment. “I’ve been… seeing and hearing things,” he finally confessed.
Sheppard’s head tilted back and he addressed the air again, “It’s about time!”
“Sir?”
“Atlantis has been talking to you.”
“Sir?” Lorne repeated.
Sheppard looked surprised. “Has Atlantis been talking to you?”
“I feel like if I admit that, you’ll be ordering me to see Heightmeyer.”
Sheppard started laughing and didn’t stop for a good five minutes. When he caught sight of Lorne’s disgruntled face, it set him off again. Finally he calmed down enough that the laughter was just chortles, instead of full on gales.
“That’s really not comforting, sir,” Lorne said when he thought he’d be heard.
“Again with the sounding like you want to insult me,” Sheppard pointed out, grinning at Lorne’s look. “And really? We live in another galaxy. With life-sucking vampires. And you’re worried about a city talking to you?”
Lorne shifted awkwardly, which was so out of character for him that Sheppard’s gaze sharpened. “It’s not just that it… she… it… the city,” he finally settled on, “is talking. She’s…” he almost winced at the word. “I’ve had visions, dreams, I think she showed me where the kids were a few weeks ago.”
“She’s stepping up her game,” Sheppard commented. “All I got was a lot of shouting and yelling.”
“So. Not crazy?”
Sheppard shook his head. “Not crazy. Gene carrier.”
“Does she do this to everyone?”
“Nope.” Sheppard clapped him on the shoulder. “Only we few. We brave and precious few.”
Ano--Yes
žádný--no
Characters: Evan Lorne, John Sheppard, Radek Zelenka, Carson Beckett, OCs, Atlantis
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Series:
Written For: badfalcon
Prompt: Lorne thinks he’s crazy
Summary: Evan Lorne has seen and heard a lot of strange things since joining the Stargate program, but hearing things in his head is a whole new level of strange.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: slight for the show and my series (which is currently nameless)
Warnings: Sheppard, Lorne, Marines
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Second Disclaimer Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.
Author's Note: BadFalcon had a thought about sentient Atlantis. I’ve always thought Atlantis was sentient… I just never took the thought quite this far. I’m not sure my ideas about everything quite came though, but hopefully she likes this. Thanks again to illfindmyway for betaing.
“Did you say something, Sir?” Evan Lorne asked.
John Sheppard looked up from the tablet his XO had shoved under his nose as soon as he walked into his office that morning. He knew he shouldn’t have chanced the office, but he wanted his Rubik's cube for the senior staff meeting and Lorne had caught him as soon as he entered. “No?” he attempted. “At least not in the last ten minutes.” He tilted the tablet. “Why am I signing this again?”
“It’s the AARs for the month. They’ve all been approved by team leaders and department heads, you just need to sign off…” Lorne stopped as the same voice whispered in his ear. He shook his head. “You just need to sign off on them,” he finished.
Sheppard nodded, tapping the stylus against the tablet before signing with a flourish. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk, when he was done. “You settling in okay?”
“Yes, sir?” Lorne replied.
“Sound a little surer about that, Major,” Sheppard instructed.
“Sorry, sir. I am,” Lorne answered. “I just…” He flinched minutely as the voice whispered again. “It’s nothing. Are you done signing those reports?”
Sheppard made a last flourish. “That’s that last one, Lorne. Am I free to go?”
“That’s not my decision, sir. Don’t forget…”
“The senior staff meeting at 1030. I was actually on my way there believe it or not when you waylaid me.”
Lorne tucked the tablet under his arm as he got to his feet. “If you say so, sir.”
“Have you thought any more about your gateteam?” Sheppard asked as they headed out the door.
“I’ve got some ideas. I’m not sure which scientist, but I do want a core team of Marines,” Lorne said. “I think I’ve picked them.”
“Let’s meet later to take a look at them? Say 1600?” Sheppard suggested.
“Sounds fine, sir.”
“That’s a good eye you’ve got there, Major.”
Lorne looked up from his breakfast, pulling himself out of the daze he’d fallen into when he’d sat down and pulled out his sketchbook. “Ah. Thanks,” he answered, glancing down to see what he’d drawn. Instead of the flowing lines of the graceful woman who’d been haunting his dreams, he saw an almost perfect rendition of the center spire of Atlantis.
“I mean it, Major, that’s a really good…” Beckett stopped when he noticed Lorne’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing.” Lorne shook his head. “I’m not much of a sketcher.” He frowned at the drawing. “And this isn’t what I meant to draw.”
Indicating the book, Beckett asked permission to look at the picture. Lorne let him turn it around so he could see it better. “Well, for someone who isn’t ‘much of a sketcher’, you’re very good, Major.”
“Evan,” Lorne offered. “My mom is better than I am. I… dabble. But she’s an actual artist.”
“I’d say you inherited at least a bit of her talent.”
“Like I said, this wasn’t what I meant to draw.”
“What were you trying to draw, lad?”
“Just a girl. A woman,” Lorne said. He rolled his pencil in his fingers as he stared at the sketchbook.
“Someone you left behind? Someone back on Earth?” Beckett questioned softly.
“No. I left family back on Earth, but no one special,” Lorne admitted. He glanced at the clock one of the engineers had jury-rigged to tell Atlantis time. “I have to go. I’ve got a meeting.”
Beckett raised his hand in farewell, realizing after the major had hurried away that the sketchbook was still laying on the table. With the major already out of the room, the doctor flipped the book closed, intending to return it later.
Lorne slammed a clip home, the noise comforting as it was echoed around him. “We’re on a time schedule,” he reminded the Marines that surrounded him. “The kids have been missing for two hours. The parents are going to start to panic soon so let’s see if we can find them before we have Athosians trying to search the city on their own.”
“Do we have any idea where to start, sir?” Captain Dawkins asked.
“Living quarters, labs, and the tower have already been searched,” Lorne answered. “We’re concentrating on sections that haven’t been cleared or no one has been in for the last two hours.” He shoved his nine millimeter into the holster. “Move out in gateteams, splitting up as need be. Stay in radio contact.”
Gathering up his own newly formed gateteam, Lorne swept from the room.
Gunnery Sergeant McFadden took the lead for Lorne’s team with Lorne following closely behind and their two sergeants following him. They kept on insisting they weren’t brothers, but Lorne had yet to consistently tell them apart. McFadden claimed it was possible, although Lorne noticed he tended to refer to them as “Wall and Murray” and not one or the other. They had time to adjust still though since Elizabeth had grounded the team until they’d had a chance to get to know each other. They were scheduled to go to the mainland in a few days and then to visit allies a few days after that.
Right now Lorne’s only focus was on locating the missing children.
The calls on the radio faded into the distance as they searched the city, slowly breaking it into quadrants and clearing them. The major couldn’t figure out why they weren’t finding any sign of the missing Athosians.
“Major?” Doctor Weir’s voice came over the command channel. “All of the teams have checked in. We haven’t heard anything from your team recently.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” Lorne answered. “We haven’t found any trace of the kids. We’re still looking.”
“Keep us posted, Major.”
“Will do, ma’am.”
Lorne signed off, looking at his Marines. “We’ve got our orders, boys. Let’s keep moving.”
As they headed back towards the city center, Lorne noticed some of the lights getting brighter back the way they had been heading as they searched. “McFadden?” he called. “You seeing this?”
“Seeing what, Sir?” McFadden stopped, turning to attempt to see what his commanding officer was calling his attention to.
“The…” Lorne looked again, but the lights had faded. “Never mind. Let’s go this way.” He pointed in the direction the lights had been leading, waiting until McFadden headed in that direction.
From behind him, he could hear the two sergeants whispering but he ignored them, deciding that it was better for him not to know.
The farther they moved down the hall, the brighter the lights got, until even the three Marines noticed. “Sir?” one of the blondes asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lorne answered. He paused. “Sergeant…”
“Wall,” the sergeant put in.
Lorne nodded, trying to figure out if there was a way to distinguish him from his partner. He’d need to make sure he could tell them apart when they were out in the field and their tags were removed for safety’s sake. “But they don’t seem dangerous. Opinions?”
“Proceed, sir,” McFadden offered. “But cautiously.”
The second sergeant, Murray, chimed in, “Let us go first, sir.”
Lorne raised his eyebrows at that. “Attempting to be canon fodder, Murray?”
“No, sir, but Wall and I are…” he shrugged “not less important, but it’s our job.”
McFadden motioned to the lights that were blinking more empathically now. “I think Atlantis is getting impatient.”
“Lead the way then, Sergeant,” Lorne decided.
They ended up walking two abreast down the hallway, the two sergeants in the lead with McFadden and Lorne behind them. Lorne indicated the lights, which were now blinking on and then off as they continued in the direction indicated. “Have you ever seen the like, Gunnery Sergeant?”
“No, sir, this is a new one on me. If it is Atlantis, I’ve never even seen her do anything like this for the LC. And she practically purrs like a cat for him.”
“Rolls over and shows her belly,” Wall said over his shoulder. He’d paused up ahead, his P-90 pointed at a room that had lights lit up all around the doorframe. “Think we’re supposed to go in here, sir, but the door’s locked.”
“Guess that’s my cue,” Lorne said, stepping forward. He knew McFadden had the ATA gene. It was one of the reasons he’d chosen the man, so he wasn’t the only gene carrier on the team. Still the other man wasn’t as strong as Lorne.
Resting his hand against the door, he requested it open. When the door proved resistant to the idea, he got firmer with it. Finally the door reluctantly slid open. “I think she’s protesting the LC being gone,” Wall commented as he swung his P-90 so the light illuminated the revealed room.
“Not helping,” Lorne commented as he tried to peer around the taller man.
The sergeant shrugged, shifting a bit so the smaller officer could see, but still blocking the doorway. He could see a glimpse of a blueish room and sheet covered somethings before his view was blocked again. In other words just like every other locked room they’d come across in Atlantis.
Beside Wall, Murray stiffened. “Sir?” he said in a low voice. “There’s something moving.”
“Something like we have air flow?” McFadden asked. “Or…”
“Nope. Something is absolutely alive in there,” Wall said.
Lorne dug around in his pockets, coming up a moment later with the LSD and thinking it on. It lit up immediately with their placement, before he nudged it to expand to the room ahead of them. “Looks like it's something alive, boys,” he commented.
The three Marines exchanged glances before spreading out, entering the room in a standard sweep configuration. Lorne stayed at the door, clicking his radio mic open so he could listen to their quiet comments to each other as he watched them move through the room. This was why he’d chosen them. The three men had been on Atlantis for the first year and knew the dangers. In addition they had the added advantage of knowing how to work together and there weren’t many others that had the training to take on what the Pegasus Galaxy threw at them and keep getting up. Lorne was willing to overlook some of their idiosyncrasies if he got a well-oiled combat team in exchange.
He had to admit there were some hiccups. Murray seemed more likely to blow up the team than what he was supposed to without supervision. (And he’d already been shown the list of ‘things not to explode’ that Wall carried around.) McFadden knew more superstitions than an old country grandmother while Wall took survivalist to a new level. In another life, he might have been one of the cultists seen on the news. Lorne didn’t know them well enough yet to question how they’d ended up in the Marines, but he’d already been warned not to attempt to separate the two sergeants.
“Major?” McFadden interrupted Lorne’s musings. “You should come see this.”
Entering the room, Lorne almost wasn’t surprised when the lights came on in his presence. The three Marines relaxed at the illumination, lowering their weapons as he rounded the still-covered console in the center of the room. Curled up on the other side, fast asleep were the missing Athosians.
Lorne breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, reaching up to open a channel to the control room. “Doctor Weir?” he said. “We found them.”
Lorne poked his head into the engineering lab, hoping he’d find Zelenka by himself and not have to brave McKay to get a moment with the Czech scientist. As far as he knew AR-1 wasn’t back yet, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t missed the announcement while he was on the mainland. Doctor Weir had requested that his team escort the found children back to their parents.
After a moment, he spied the man he was looking for, head bent over something as he conversed rapidly in Czech with a dark haired girl. “Doc?” Lorne questioned. “You got a minute?”
“Ano. Yes. Hello.” Zelenka’s head jerked up and he blinked as he focused on Lorne. “Where did you come from?” he asked.
“If you’re busy, I can come back later,” Lorne explained. “I just had a question for you.”
“Žádný,” Zelenka replied, shaking his head. “We are done here, I think.”
The girl, she didn’t look old enough to be on Atlantis, popped to her feet. “Nothing else we can do until I finish translating this.” Rattling off something in Czech, she waited until Zelenka nodded before gathering up the laptop. “See you later, Radek.” Nodding, she added, “Major.”
“New technician?” Lorne questioned when she was out of the room.
“Žádný. New linguist.” Zelenka motioned for Lorne to take a seat. “Now. Otázka? Question?”
Lorne was used to Zelenka peppering his conversations with Czech and appreciated that most of the time, the other man translated the words. It had actually allowed him to pick up a little of the other language since he’d started spending time with the engineer. “Have any of the gene carriers talked to you about…” Lorne paused as he tried to figure out how to phrase his question so he didn’t sound completely crazy.
“Gene carriers prefer not to talk to me.” Zelenka smiled. “They do not like to be light switches.”
Lorne had to smile at that comment. “So no one has discussed anything they’ve discovered about the gene?”
Zelenka shook his head, frowning as he thought. “Not that I can recall.”
Lorne debated pressing the issue, but realized it would just make Zelenka question why he was asking. “Okay. Thanks, Doc.”
“You are all right?” Zelenka wanted to know. “Maybe Carson can help with your questions,” he offered.
“Nah. It’s not a medical issue. I don’t want to bother Doctor Beckett. It was a good suggestion though.” Lorne pushed to his feet. “You won’t mention this to anyone?”
“Your secret is safe with me, Major,” Zelenka promised. “Besides. I know nothing.”
Taking a cue from AR-1, Lorne decreed that the Marines join him for dinner later that evening. It was awkward at first, but once the Marines realized he wasn’t going to pull rank on them, they began to relax.
Lorne was leaning back in his seat, listening to the two sergeants harass each other about a training incident (and somehow it didn’t surprise him that McFadden had already heard the story and was lending his voice to their lighthearted bickering) when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Cautiously, trying not to draw attention to himself, he turned his head slowly as he tried to get a better look at it.
The woman was bent over one of the scientists as if she was viewing the tablet the man was tapping at. On first glance she blended into the groupings around her, but then Lorne began to notice the inconsistencies. Her clothes, although the uniform was correct, were slightly off-color. Her skin was a different hue than anyone from Earth, but didn’t have the bronze tones of the Athosians. It was almost like she had attempted to combine a few different backgrounds, but hadn’t quite gotten the color palette right. The effect was stunning, but slightly off. Her hair was a deep red that just didn’t exist as natural hair color.
As he tried to get a closer look at her, to see if her eyes matched the inexact color palette, she seemed to realize he was watching her. Smiling as their eyes met, she straightened up, glancing around the mess hall before beginning to saunter towards the exit.
Lorne debated to himself for thirty seconds before he pushed his chair back, the screech echoing around them. The three marines looked over from their discussion, but he waved them off as he grabbed his tray. By the time he’d deposited it in the correct receptacle and made it out of the mess hall, the woman had disappeared. He spent a few minutes looking, searching the people for any sign of her. But the woman had well and truly disappeared.
Major? Major? Major Lorne? Major Evan Lorne?
Lorne fumbled around on his nightstand, finally locating his headset by feel and finally sticking it rightside up in his ear. “Gateroom?” he asked. “Who’s paging me?”
“Sir?” the Marine on duty replied. “I don’t see any pages to you.”
“Find out who called me,” Lorne ordered, attempting to clear the sleep from his brain.
Your Marine won’t be able to discover the caller, the voice said. I think you’re more stubborn than Colonel Sheppard.
“That’s difficult to believe,” Lorne answered unthinkingly.
“Sir?” the Marine questioned.
“Never mind.” Lorne shook his head. “If you didn’t find anything…”
“No, sir.”
Lorne signed off, tossing the headset back onto his nightstand. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair. Are you finished bothering the man on duty? the voice asked.
“It must have been something I ate,” Lorne decided.
This is not something you ate, Major, the voice told him, sounding decidedly tired of attempting to talk to him.
“If it’s not something I ate, why am I hearing voices?” Lorne almost demanded.
You really are more stubborn than Colonel Sheppard.
“Who are you?” Lorne’s words were a demand this time.
Atlantis, replied the city and then refused to speak for the rest of the night, no matter what Lorne entretied or threatened her with. He finally gave up and fell back asleep.
The next morning, Lorne shuffled around his room. Sheppard was technically on call since one of them had to be on duty at all times and Lorne had the evening/overnight shift this week, but he wanted to see if he could locate his CO. He was still trying to figure out why Atlantis, if that’s who it really was, had spoken to him. There hadn’t been another sound from the city for the rest of the night, although Lorne had woken a few times, thinking he heard something.
Finally pulling on clothes, he scooped up his LSD as he headed out of his quarters. Hopefully it wouldn’t take him long to locate Sheppard.
Two hours later, he finally discovered the military commander on one of the lesser used balconies. Sheppard turned as the major stepped out, a smirk spreading across his face. “Took you long enough.”
Lorne held up his LSD, shaking it slightly. “I would have been here sooner, but… It’s not working.”
Sheppard sighed. “It’s working. It’s just.” He tilted his head up, clearly not addressing Lorne for a moment, “Atlantis. Stop hiding me.”
The detector beeped, lighting up for a moment, before going silent again.
“Really? You can just ask it and the city will hide you?” Lorne asked.
“She. And I don’t really ask. She just does it.” The military commander turned, resting his arms against the railing so he was facing his XO. “Obviously you were looking for me for a reason.”
“She.”
Sheppard stared at the other man when it was clear he wasn’t asking a question.
“You said she.”
Sheppard nodded slowly. “Yeees.”
“So. Atlantis? Is. Female.”
“Loooorne. Have you been sampling the scientists’ booze?”
“Colonel!”
“Just checking. It’s a bit early in the morning, but… it is Pegasus.” Sheppard shrugged.
“You’re really not helping. Sir.”
“Sometimes I feel like you’re insulting me when you call me ‘sir’,” Sheppard complained.
“If I was insulting you, you’d know, sir,” Lorne pointed out.
Sheppard smiled. “Just ask your question, Major.”
“I would like to go on record that this may sound a bit crazy, sir, but I have not ingested anything. And I don’t think I’m crazy, just…”
“Dealing with Pegasus?” Sheppard hazarded.
“If that’s true, I’m not aware of a designation for that, sir,” Lorne said stiffly.
“If you’re having crazy symptoms, maybe you should be talking to Beckett. Or even Heightmeyer.”
Lorne just stared at his CO for a minute before deciding to ignore the comment. “I’ve been… seeing and hearing things,” he finally confessed.
Sheppard’s head tilted back and he addressed the air again, “It’s about time!”
“Sir?”
“Atlantis has been talking to you.”
“Sir?” Lorne repeated.
Sheppard looked surprised. “Has Atlantis been talking to you?”
“I feel like if I admit that, you’ll be ordering me to see Heightmeyer.”
Sheppard started laughing and didn’t stop for a good five minutes. When he caught sight of Lorne’s disgruntled face, it set him off again. Finally he calmed down enough that the laughter was just chortles, instead of full on gales.
“That’s really not comforting, sir,” Lorne said when he thought he’d be heard.
“Again with the sounding like you want to insult me,” Sheppard pointed out, grinning at Lorne’s look. “And really? We live in another galaxy. With life-sucking vampires. And you’re worried about a city talking to you?”
Lorne shifted awkwardly, which was so out of character for him that Sheppard’s gaze sharpened. “It’s not just that it… she… it… the city,” he finally settled on, “is talking. She’s…” he almost winced at the word. “I’ve had visions, dreams, I think she showed me where the kids were a few weeks ago.”
“She’s stepping up her game,” Sheppard commented. “All I got was a lot of shouting and yelling.”
“So. Not crazy?”
Sheppard shook his head. “Not crazy. Gene carrier.”
“Does she do this to everyone?”
“Nope.” Sheppard clapped him on the shoulder. “Only we few. We brave and precious few.”
Ano--Yes
žádný--no