Mi Nombre es Evan - August 22nd
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 22
Title: Mi Nombre es Evan
Author:hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/SG:A
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Stargate people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Faith faces a sudden change in dynamic with Major Lorne.
Notes: Part 22 of Faith Sheppard - Links Page
Seasons: Post-series/Season 2
Word Count: 2610
Faith considered that she may have been the only person on Atlantis who didn’t have clothes that were a little nicer than normal. Lorne was dressed in dark gray slacks and a nice blue button-up shirt. She looked around. “Where are we going?”
“A surprise.” He grinned and led her through to a balcony. It was dim but it had a great view of the lowest spire and the ocean. Stars twinkled over the vast ocean.
Faith smiled and leaned against the railing. “Fourteen hour nights and I don’t think I spend enough time actually looking at the stars.”
“The view reminds me of where I grew up,” he admitted.
“Where’s that?”
“San Francisco.”
She shifted a little. “California. Spent a few years around LA, myself.”
“That where you grew up?”
“No,” she modulated her voice. “Boston.”
He chuckled. “When you say it like that it’s easier to tell. Those the only places you ever lived?”
“New York for a couple years between Boston and LA. Cleveland for a bit before here.” She turned her head to him. “You?”
“Nope, started training for the Air Force and had a few deployments before joining the SGC a few years ago.”
“Colorado Springs was nice,” she said. “I made the drive between the Mountain and Denver a few times while we were on Earth for a couple weeks.”
He nodded.
“Any siblings?”
“An older sister, she’s got two boys, ages three and one. She an adjunct art history professor at Stanford.”
“John’s alma mater,” she said with a smile.
“Really?”
“Hard to imagine?” Faith asked.
“What was his major?”
“A secret he guards very closely,” she said.
“You don’t even know?”
“No,” she grinned. “My other half-brother, Dave, is easier to get to know. He’s got an MBA in business from Harvard.”
“No slouches in the brain department.”
“Nope, I’m the dumb one - GED.”
“Don’t you know a few languages?”
“Latin, a bit of Ancient and Wraith, Russian, and Czech - which isn’t that impressive because Russian and Czech are fairly close and Ancient and Wraith are Latin derivatives.”
“The best I can do is mi nombre es Evan,” he replied.
Faith laughed. “Don’t you have to finish a set of basic language courses as part of your Air Force Academy training?”
He looked at her in surprise. “You know about that?”
“I have a friend with a strange addiction to college brochures,” she explained. “I may have picked them up from time to time.”
“Did you ever think about going to one?”
“No and neither did Willow really. We had too much to do.”
“Right, the Slayer.”
“Finally caught up on some of that?”
“I had a few questions when no one who had been on Atlantis before the Siege was surprised when you were declared fully healed and found fighting with Ronon days after being shot,” he admitted.
“Who gave you the scoop?”
“Lieutenant Cedars and Greggs.”
“They would definitely have some idea.”
“Cedars found a few reports that supported what she told me.”
Faith tilted her head. “You went through a lot of trouble to learn about me.” She looked down as she came to a conclusion. “Of course you did, you’re second in command. And Bates hated me.”
“That’s not it,” he said quickly. “Yes, I am second and I did have to try and decipher Bates’ notes and reports that strongly contradicted the reports from most of Atlantis.”
She took a moment and tried to get control of her face. “So this was just about figuring out the truth of it?” She pushed away from the balcony. “Of course you have questions.”
“That’s not it,” he told her. “I have questions but they a- this isn’t an interrogation.”
She kept her smile in place as she nodded. This wasn’t a slight against her, she knew that, this was about keeping Atlantis safe - which included John and Haly and her friends. “What do you want to know?”
“Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.”
88888888
“What do you mean it didn’t go well?” Laura demanded as she threw her cards down.
“I mean, it didn’t go well,” Faith bit out.
“But your dress was so nice,” Katie told her.
“Susan,” Laura said, “I think you’re going to have to break the ‘no analysis at poker’ rule.”
“Oh please,” Faith said. “I don’t need this to be shrinked.”
Susan put down her glass and considered. “I think the question is, was this her first date?”
Faith closed her eyes, grimacing.
“What?!” Katie exclaimed, her voice going up an octave.
“That’s not possible,” Laura said.
“When exactly would I have had time?” Faith asked.
“Are you a virgin?” Katie asked in a near whisper.
“No!” she snapped. She immediately regretted it as Katie winced and shrunk back slightly. She tried to gain control of her fractured emotions. “Sex was a tool I learned to use when I was younger,” she said, leaving it a bit vague, though she saw Susan swallow. “I only ever had one serious relationship and it was screwed up from the beginning by both of our issues. So while I’ve gone to the sheets a lot, I haven’t actually dated someone.”
Susan and Katie were giving her sympathetic looks.
“Well, they would be lining up to date you,” Laura told her. “You just have to get out there and do it.”
“I don’t know that I want to,” Faith told her truthfully. “I have my work and my friends and Haly and John. Poker nights. Maybe dating’s just not worth it.”
88888888
Evan blinked at the orders he had been handed by Elizabeth.
“Ma’am?”
“Faith is a good medic and you seem to work together well. Which is better than she’s ever managed with any of the other team leaders.”
Evan stared at the tablet screen. Was there a way to refuse that didn’t start with the phrase - there was a really disastrous dinner? It had started so well and she had been dressed to kill. Then his position in Atlantis had interfered. From what he had learned, Bates had made her life a living hell. John had stepped in as much as he dared, often randomly assigning her to other teams when it was time for her to serve on Bates’ team. Even Carson had run interference, citing a need for her to remain or help him with another health check on the Athosians.
His deep dive into her background, trying to decipher his predecessor and the person Bates had labeled ‘Atlantis’s biggest security risk.’
He scrambled for an idea. “Doesn’t another team have need of a natural ATA gene?”
Elizabeth frowned. “Possibly, but it’s not the gene that concerns me.” She folded her hands and leaned forward on the desk. “Faith is aware how strong and how fast she is. Most in command, her brother included, don’t tend to be able to balance the need to have her follow orders with the breadth of her skills.” Her green gaze pleaded with him. “Something that you both proved to be able to do on Olesia.”
Great, he thought. “Of course, Dr. Weir,” Evan found himself saying. “We’d be happy to have her on the team as often as she can be spared.”
She grinned. “I’m glad to hear it. Why don’t I call her in and we can let her know.”
His moment of hesitation proved too long, Elizabeth had already contacted her.
It was only a few minutes before Faith entered, Haly on her heels.
“Hi,” Haly said to him with a bright smile.
“Hi, Haly,” he replied.
Haly looked at Elizabeth and waved. Elizabeth smiled back.
Faith took the seat next to Evan, not looking at him. “What’s going on?”
“Colonel Sheppard and I discussed it and decided you would be Major Lorne’s fourth team member. It allows you a team and him an assigned fourth while granting flexibility to you and the team depending on the need.”
Faith stilled a bit. “Oh!”
Haly clapped. “Missions!”
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Faith said. “I’m happy for the opportunity. I should go tell Carson.”
Elizabeth frowned a bit as Faith and Haly left the office.
“Thank you, Dr. Weir,” Evan said before leaving as well. He left the office and went down the stairs.
He was halfway down an empty corridor when he turned to find Faith waiting for him.
“Faith,” he said.
“Major Lorne, I just wanted to make sure that in light of the news today, we could forget about dinner the other night.”
“I-”
“I’m sure wiping the slate clean would make this all much easier.”
“Of course-”
“Good.” She turned on heel and was gone before he could take more than a step.
Evan sighed. He had a few options, but only one that would get him the answers he was looking for. He changed course and found John in the cafeteria, just finishing up lunch with Teyla and Radek.
“Colonel,” Evan said when he was close enough. “I was hoping I could discuss something with you.” His eyes darted to the other two. “In private.”
“Sure.”
Evan turned on heel and found the closest quiet room and stepped in. John followed and the door closed behind them.
“Is this about Faith being added to your team?” John asked. “Because that was all Elizabeth, though I agreed with it.”
“No, not about the team assignment, sir. Sergeant Bates had a very negative opinion of Faith, I’m trying to get to the bottom of it.”
John sighed. “I had hoped that Bates’ prejudice left Atlantis with him.”
“I’m just trying to understand.”
John leaned against the wall, waving Evan to sit on a couch. “Bates had a legitimate complaint when we first arrived, when we knew nothing about her except the file that General O’Neill had given Colonel Sumner.”
“Before it was discovered she was your sister.”
“Not even that. You’ve seen what Faith can do. We’ve got Marines who can barely keep up with Ronon, but Faith goes toe-to-toe with him without any trouble.” He gave an exaggerated look of annoyance. “From what I’ve seen, they are at it as often as they are medically cleared.”
“Right.”
“In the beginning, most didn’t know about her abilities. She openly discussed her past, her scars. She generally didn’t lie, vague a bit but is normally a sledgehammer.” He grinned a moment. “Not your best negotiator unless lives are on the line. However, early on, the only information we had was that she was a political move, the President assigned her to the Atlantis Expedition as a way to not have to pardon her or jail her.”
“Pardon her?”
“When Faith was eighteen - as the Slayer, she accidently killed a man thinking he was a vampire. The incident was a big thing, led to some bad choices, and after nine months in a coma, she woke up and eventually turned herself in. She served just less than three years when she broke out to save a friend. She saved the friend and the world and then went to Cleveland with one of the friends to start training other Slayers.” He shifted. “When the opportunity to pardon her for the murder and the fugitive thing presented itself, the President chose Atlantis instead.”
Evan nodded.
“All we had was a file that said she was a murderer and a fugitive and not much explanation.”
“And this was the basis of Bates’ entire crusade against her?”
“Yeah. Our DNA relation convinced him that I was unfit to handle the situation.”
“I don’t share the sentiment, sir.”
“Well, thank you,” John said wryly. He sighed. “Since you’re going to be her team leader, there is something that you should probably know. As far as I know only Beckett and I know, but it still crops up from time to time.”
Evan shifted.
John clenched his jaw. “Faith suffered abuse when she was a kid. While the details aren’t easy to get from her, she has quite a few scars and old breaks that all show they occurred before she was a teenager.”
“Just physical?”
John shook his head. “No,” he let the sink between them before continuing, “I’m telling you this because she sometimes shuts down when triggered. She hides it well, and she has a lot of things the does to brush things off.”
“How often has this happened?”
“Just twice as far as I know. Neither time were anything that even approached inappropriate behavior.”
“Is she seeing anyone for this?”
“As a superior on Atlantis, I don’t care as long as Heightmeyer is clearing her after major events and missions. Which has all been on the up and up.” He straightened. “As her brother, I don’t know that dredging up the past would fix it, especially given how much trouble she goes through to make it so it doesn’t bother her.”
Evan nodded.
John headed for the door.
“What were the incidences, if I can ask?”
“A dinner invite from someone unexpected. And a full-body pin to the floor where she couldn’t move.” John left the room.
Evan sighed and sat back. That explanation at least explained Bates. It even touched on some of the things that didn’t make sense about his reports.
The rest of it…may have unintentionally answered his question about how things had gone from fine to disastrous in the blink of an eye. And why Faith had rapidly told him that it didn’t matter and made him agree to forget it all in light of their new dynamic.
88888888
Faith took the pilot seat out of habit.
Evan cleared his throat.
“Need a cough drop, Major?” she asked with a teasing grin.
“Co-pilot seat, Faith,” he told her.
She moved seats. “You flyboys are all the same,” she told him. “John taught me how to fly and then never lets me.”
“I’m sure you’ll get more chances,” he replied as he readied for takeoff.
Faith looked at the other two members of Lorne’s team Purell was a Marine and former member of Bates’ team. Stevens was new to Atlantis, having arrived when Caldwell did during the Siege.
“I don’t know,” Purell said, “she might fly it straight for a Wraith hive.”
“Daedalus finally left,” Stevens agreed, “no one to keep her or Colonel Sheppard from destroying more Jumpers.”
Faith threw her head back and laughed. “I have destroyed one Jumper. The fact that Sheppard has only brought back two-thirds of the Jumpers he’s taken out…you’d have to take that up with him.”
The Jumper zipped down and dropped into the Gate room. Haly was standing in the control room waving her her arm wildly in goodbye.
Faith waved back.
Evan grinned as the Jumper spun and they glided through the Stargate. As soon as they cleared the space Gate, the engines popped out and they moved through the system.
“Let’s see if there is anything worth exploring,” he said as he navigated. They mapped the system and stopped over each planet and large asteroid to scan.
They were circling around when Faith put out a hand. “Woah, stop.”
Evan halted the Jumper. “What?”
“The Jumper, it senses something.”
“What?”
“Switch seats with me.”
He stood and let her take the seat.
Her hands went to the controls. “What do you sense?” she whispered. She closed her eyes a moment. The HUD popped up.
“We’re close to something,” Evan said as he took the co-pilot seat. “We just scanned that area, there was nothing.”
“It’s not that something is there now, it’s that something was there, something it remembers…”
“It remembers?” Stevens asked.
“Radek’s theory is that the AI that runs the ATA interface is much…more.” She maneuvered the Jumper towards the marker on the map.
“How can you tell that when the Major or Colonel can’t?” Purell asked.
“We haven’t figured that out yet,” she replied.
Title: Mi Nombre es Evan
Author:hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/SG:A
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Stargate people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Faith faces a sudden change in dynamic with Major Lorne.
Notes: Part 22 of Faith Sheppard - Links Page
Seasons: Post-series/Season 2
Word Count: 2610
Faith considered that she may have been the only person on Atlantis who didn’t have clothes that were a little nicer than normal. Lorne was dressed in dark gray slacks and a nice blue button-up shirt. She looked around. “Where are we going?”
“A surprise.” He grinned and led her through to a balcony. It was dim but it had a great view of the lowest spire and the ocean. Stars twinkled over the vast ocean.
Faith smiled and leaned against the railing. “Fourteen hour nights and I don’t think I spend enough time actually looking at the stars.”
“The view reminds me of where I grew up,” he admitted.
“Where’s that?”
“San Francisco.”
She shifted a little. “California. Spent a few years around LA, myself.”
“That where you grew up?”
“No,” she modulated her voice. “Boston.”
He chuckled. “When you say it like that it’s easier to tell. Those the only places you ever lived?”
“New York for a couple years between Boston and LA. Cleveland for a bit before here.” She turned her head to him. “You?”
“Nope, started training for the Air Force and had a few deployments before joining the SGC a few years ago.”
“Colorado Springs was nice,” she said. “I made the drive between the Mountain and Denver a few times while we were on Earth for a couple weeks.”
He nodded.
“Any siblings?”
“An older sister, she’s got two boys, ages three and one. She an adjunct art history professor at Stanford.”
“John’s alma mater,” she said with a smile.
“Really?”
“Hard to imagine?” Faith asked.
“What was his major?”
“A secret he guards very closely,” she said.
“You don’t even know?”
“No,” she grinned. “My other half-brother, Dave, is easier to get to know. He’s got an MBA in business from Harvard.”
“No slouches in the brain department.”
“Nope, I’m the dumb one - GED.”
“Don’t you know a few languages?”
“Latin, a bit of Ancient and Wraith, Russian, and Czech - which isn’t that impressive because Russian and Czech are fairly close and Ancient and Wraith are Latin derivatives.”
“The best I can do is mi nombre es Evan,” he replied.
Faith laughed. “Don’t you have to finish a set of basic language courses as part of your Air Force Academy training?”
He looked at her in surprise. “You know about that?”
“I have a friend with a strange addiction to college brochures,” she explained. “I may have picked them up from time to time.”
“Did you ever think about going to one?”
“No and neither did Willow really. We had too much to do.”
“Right, the Slayer.”
“Finally caught up on some of that?”
“I had a few questions when no one who had been on Atlantis before the Siege was surprised when you were declared fully healed and found fighting with Ronon days after being shot,” he admitted.
“Who gave you the scoop?”
“Lieutenant Cedars and Greggs.”
“They would definitely have some idea.”
“Cedars found a few reports that supported what she told me.”
Faith tilted her head. “You went through a lot of trouble to learn about me.” She looked down as she came to a conclusion. “Of course you did, you’re second in command. And Bates hated me.”
“That’s not it,” he said quickly. “Yes, I am second and I did have to try and decipher Bates’ notes and reports that strongly contradicted the reports from most of Atlantis.”
She took a moment and tried to get control of her face. “So this was just about figuring out the truth of it?” She pushed away from the balcony. “Of course you have questions.”
“That’s not it,” he told her. “I have questions but they a- this isn’t an interrogation.”
She kept her smile in place as she nodded. This wasn’t a slight against her, she knew that, this was about keeping Atlantis safe - which included John and Haly and her friends. “What do you want to know?”
“Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.”
88888888
“What do you mean it didn’t go well?” Laura demanded as she threw her cards down.
“I mean, it didn’t go well,” Faith bit out.
“But your dress was so nice,” Katie told her.
“Susan,” Laura said, “I think you’re going to have to break the ‘no analysis at poker’ rule.”
“Oh please,” Faith said. “I don’t need this to be shrinked.”
Susan put down her glass and considered. “I think the question is, was this her first date?”
Faith closed her eyes, grimacing.
“What?!” Katie exclaimed, her voice going up an octave.
“That’s not possible,” Laura said.
“When exactly would I have had time?” Faith asked.
“Are you a virgin?” Katie asked in a near whisper.
“No!” she snapped. She immediately regretted it as Katie winced and shrunk back slightly. She tried to gain control of her fractured emotions. “Sex was a tool I learned to use when I was younger,” she said, leaving it a bit vague, though she saw Susan swallow. “I only ever had one serious relationship and it was screwed up from the beginning by both of our issues. So while I’ve gone to the sheets a lot, I haven’t actually dated someone.”
Susan and Katie were giving her sympathetic looks.
“Well, they would be lining up to date you,” Laura told her. “You just have to get out there and do it.”
“I don’t know that I want to,” Faith told her truthfully. “I have my work and my friends and Haly and John. Poker nights. Maybe dating’s just not worth it.”
88888888
Evan blinked at the orders he had been handed by Elizabeth.
“Ma’am?”
“Faith is a good medic and you seem to work together well. Which is better than she’s ever managed with any of the other team leaders.”
Evan stared at the tablet screen. Was there a way to refuse that didn’t start with the phrase - there was a really disastrous dinner? It had started so well and she had been dressed to kill. Then his position in Atlantis had interfered. From what he had learned, Bates had made her life a living hell. John had stepped in as much as he dared, often randomly assigning her to other teams when it was time for her to serve on Bates’ team. Even Carson had run interference, citing a need for her to remain or help him with another health check on the Athosians.
His deep dive into her background, trying to decipher his predecessor and the person Bates had labeled ‘Atlantis’s biggest security risk.’
He scrambled for an idea. “Doesn’t another team have need of a natural ATA gene?”
Elizabeth frowned. “Possibly, but it’s not the gene that concerns me.” She folded her hands and leaned forward on the desk. “Faith is aware how strong and how fast she is. Most in command, her brother included, don’t tend to be able to balance the need to have her follow orders with the breadth of her skills.” Her green gaze pleaded with him. “Something that you both proved to be able to do on Olesia.”
Great, he thought. “Of course, Dr. Weir,” Evan found himself saying. “We’d be happy to have her on the team as often as she can be spared.”
She grinned. “I’m glad to hear it. Why don’t I call her in and we can let her know.”
His moment of hesitation proved too long, Elizabeth had already contacted her.
It was only a few minutes before Faith entered, Haly on her heels.
“Hi,” Haly said to him with a bright smile.
“Hi, Haly,” he replied.
Haly looked at Elizabeth and waved. Elizabeth smiled back.
Faith took the seat next to Evan, not looking at him. “What’s going on?”
“Colonel Sheppard and I discussed it and decided you would be Major Lorne’s fourth team member. It allows you a team and him an assigned fourth while granting flexibility to you and the team depending on the need.”
Faith stilled a bit. “Oh!”
Haly clapped. “Missions!”
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Faith said. “I’m happy for the opportunity. I should go tell Carson.”
Elizabeth frowned a bit as Faith and Haly left the office.
“Thank you, Dr. Weir,” Evan said before leaving as well. He left the office and went down the stairs.
He was halfway down an empty corridor when he turned to find Faith waiting for him.
“Faith,” he said.
“Major Lorne, I just wanted to make sure that in light of the news today, we could forget about dinner the other night.”
“I-”
“I’m sure wiping the slate clean would make this all much easier.”
“Of course-”
“Good.” She turned on heel and was gone before he could take more than a step.
Evan sighed. He had a few options, but only one that would get him the answers he was looking for. He changed course and found John in the cafeteria, just finishing up lunch with Teyla and Radek.
“Colonel,” Evan said when he was close enough. “I was hoping I could discuss something with you.” His eyes darted to the other two. “In private.”
“Sure.”
Evan turned on heel and found the closest quiet room and stepped in. John followed and the door closed behind them.
“Is this about Faith being added to your team?” John asked. “Because that was all Elizabeth, though I agreed with it.”
“No, not about the team assignment, sir. Sergeant Bates had a very negative opinion of Faith, I’m trying to get to the bottom of it.”
John sighed. “I had hoped that Bates’ prejudice left Atlantis with him.”
“I’m just trying to understand.”
John leaned against the wall, waving Evan to sit on a couch. “Bates had a legitimate complaint when we first arrived, when we knew nothing about her except the file that General O’Neill had given Colonel Sumner.”
“Before it was discovered she was your sister.”
“Not even that. You’ve seen what Faith can do. We’ve got Marines who can barely keep up with Ronon, but Faith goes toe-to-toe with him without any trouble.” He gave an exaggerated look of annoyance. “From what I’ve seen, they are at it as often as they are medically cleared.”
“Right.”
“In the beginning, most didn’t know about her abilities. She openly discussed her past, her scars. She generally didn’t lie, vague a bit but is normally a sledgehammer.” He grinned a moment. “Not your best negotiator unless lives are on the line. However, early on, the only information we had was that she was a political move, the President assigned her to the Atlantis Expedition as a way to not have to pardon her or jail her.”
“Pardon her?”
“When Faith was eighteen - as the Slayer, she accidently killed a man thinking he was a vampire. The incident was a big thing, led to some bad choices, and after nine months in a coma, she woke up and eventually turned herself in. She served just less than three years when she broke out to save a friend. She saved the friend and the world and then went to Cleveland with one of the friends to start training other Slayers.” He shifted. “When the opportunity to pardon her for the murder and the fugitive thing presented itself, the President chose Atlantis instead.”
Evan nodded.
“All we had was a file that said she was a murderer and a fugitive and not much explanation.”
“And this was the basis of Bates’ entire crusade against her?”
“Yeah. Our DNA relation convinced him that I was unfit to handle the situation.”
“I don’t share the sentiment, sir.”
“Well, thank you,” John said wryly. He sighed. “Since you’re going to be her team leader, there is something that you should probably know. As far as I know only Beckett and I know, but it still crops up from time to time.”
Evan shifted.
John clenched his jaw. “Faith suffered abuse when she was a kid. While the details aren’t easy to get from her, she has quite a few scars and old breaks that all show they occurred before she was a teenager.”
“Just physical?”
John shook his head. “No,” he let the sink between them before continuing, “I’m telling you this because she sometimes shuts down when triggered. She hides it well, and she has a lot of things the does to brush things off.”
“How often has this happened?”
“Just twice as far as I know. Neither time were anything that even approached inappropriate behavior.”
“Is she seeing anyone for this?”
“As a superior on Atlantis, I don’t care as long as Heightmeyer is clearing her after major events and missions. Which has all been on the up and up.” He straightened. “As her brother, I don’t know that dredging up the past would fix it, especially given how much trouble she goes through to make it so it doesn’t bother her.”
Evan nodded.
John headed for the door.
“What were the incidences, if I can ask?”
“A dinner invite from someone unexpected. And a full-body pin to the floor where she couldn’t move.” John left the room.
Evan sighed and sat back. That explanation at least explained Bates. It even touched on some of the things that didn’t make sense about his reports.
The rest of it…may have unintentionally answered his question about how things had gone from fine to disastrous in the blink of an eye. And why Faith had rapidly told him that it didn’t matter and made him agree to forget it all in light of their new dynamic.
88888888
Faith took the pilot seat out of habit.
Evan cleared his throat.
“Need a cough drop, Major?” she asked with a teasing grin.
“Co-pilot seat, Faith,” he told her.
She moved seats. “You flyboys are all the same,” she told him. “John taught me how to fly and then never lets me.”
“I’m sure you’ll get more chances,” he replied as he readied for takeoff.
Faith looked at the other two members of Lorne’s team Purell was a Marine and former member of Bates’ team. Stevens was new to Atlantis, having arrived when Caldwell did during the Siege.
“I don’t know,” Purell said, “she might fly it straight for a Wraith hive.”
“Daedalus finally left,” Stevens agreed, “no one to keep her or Colonel Sheppard from destroying more Jumpers.”
Faith threw her head back and laughed. “I have destroyed one Jumper. The fact that Sheppard has only brought back two-thirds of the Jumpers he’s taken out…you’d have to take that up with him.”
The Jumper zipped down and dropped into the Gate room. Haly was standing in the control room waving her her arm wildly in goodbye.
Faith waved back.
Evan grinned as the Jumper spun and they glided through the Stargate. As soon as they cleared the space Gate, the engines popped out and they moved through the system.
“Let’s see if there is anything worth exploring,” he said as he navigated. They mapped the system and stopped over each planet and large asteroid to scan.
They were circling around when Faith put out a hand. “Woah, stop.”
Evan halted the Jumper. “What?”
“The Jumper, it senses something.”
“What?”
“Switch seats with me.”
He stood and let her take the seat.
Her hands went to the controls. “What do you sense?” she whispered. She closed her eyes a moment. The HUD popped up.
“We’re close to something,” Evan said as he took the co-pilot seat. “We just scanned that area, there was nothing.”
“It’s not that something is there now, it’s that something was there, something it remembers…”
“It remembers?” Stevens asked.
“Radek’s theory is that the AI that runs the ATA interface is much…more.” She maneuvered the Jumper towards the marker on the map.
“How can you tell that when the Major or Colonel can’t?” Purell asked.
“We haven’t figured that out yet,” she replied.