Keep It Together - Epilogue
Epilogue
“The year after we declared independence was a hard one. We saw a lot of losses, and we were pretty hard-hit. And before you ask, it was difficult to say goodbye to Colonel Mitchell. He was a great help, and we had no idea what the situation was back on Earth. We didn’t want to lose him, but there didn’t seem to be a choice. In the end, we had to do without him, just like we had to do without a lot of people. But the next year-well, the next year we had a huge win, and we lost more than we ever thought we would.”
~Interview with Elizabeth Weir
Elizabeth crossed her arms tightly across her chest as she watched Cam say his goodbyes. He shook O’Neill’s hand, and hugged Sam Carter tightly with one arm. He shared a manly one-armed embrace with Daniel, and pulled Vala into a tight embrace, whispering something into her ear that made her laugh, her smile relieving the somberness of her expression.
When Cam had finished saying goodbye to SG-1, he approached her. “Hey,” he said. “Sorry to leave you in the lurch.”
“Just come back,” Elizabeth replied. “We can’t afford to lose any more good people.”
Cam hugged her with his good arm, and Elizabeth took a deep breath, smelling soap and sweat. He smelled good, and Elizabeth knew it had been far too long since she’d had a man in her life. “I’ll be back,” he promised. “Just keep some of that ruus wine for me.”
“I will,” Elizabeth promised.
She glanced up to see Jon shaking hands awkwardly with SG-1, and she wondered what was going to happen if O’Neill’s clone came back to Atlantis.
It didn’t matter, she decided. They’d cross that bridge when the came to it.
She stayed until the tel’tak took off, and the crowd had dispersed, and then turned from the pier with a sigh of regret. “Elizabeth,” Daniel called, getting her attention. “We need to talk.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“I think you should call Dr. Beckett, too,” Daniel added.
Elizabeth blinked, searching her memory for a project that Daniel might have been working on that called for such a result. “I’ll call him,” she promised. “Let’s meet in my office in fifteen minutes.”
Daniel showed up early, although that didn’t surprise Elizabeth. She made small talk, asking after Vala, noting Daniel’s hesitation as he answered. She’d read between the lines on SG-1’s bare bones report, but she’d hoped that Daniel would be a little more forthcoming one-on-one, but she understood that the bond between team members didn’t allow for much outside interference.
When Carson joined them, Daniel cleared his throat. “I found a couple of entries on Wraith biology yesterday evening,” he began. “I thought you should know. I sent both of you my translation.”
Carson had come to the meeting empty-handed, so Elizabeth pulled up the file and allowed Carson to look over her shoulder as they read Daniel’s translation. A lot of it was technical and scientific, language that Elizabeth had a hard time parsing. Carson, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have that problem, and she heard his quick intake of breath.
“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.
Carson shook his head. “This information will speed our ability to create a poison that will affect only the Wraith. It also suggests that the retrovirus will be temporary at best.”
Elizabeth frowned. “What does that mean, Carson?”
“It means that we’d be better off coming up with a poison that affects Wraith and not humans,” Carson replied. “Rather than something that turns Wraith human.”
Elizabeth hated the idea of using poison against an entire group of-well, “people” didn’t quite fit, but there wasn’t another label that applied. “I want you to prepare this as a last resort,” she finally said. “If we do this, it will be because we’ve been attacked, and we have no other choice.”
Carson nodded. “All right. You know that we’ll had a hard time disseminating this, even if I come up with a viable solution.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Elizabeth promised. “Just work on it, Carson.”
Carson nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Jackson.”
Daniel didn’t appear to be much happier than Carson was. “Don’t mention it.”
“Get out of here,” Elizabeth said. “Carson, let me know when you have a solution.”
When they’d gone, she wandered over to the window in her office that overlooked the gate room, and she wondered at the vagaries of life, and what she could expect. She hated the idea of biological warfare; it was something that was abhorrent to her. And yet, the idea of having a weapon of last resort against the Wraith was comforting.
They had food now, she thought. Atlantis had many of the things it needed to survive, and they were all working actively to strengthen the bonds they had with other planets. Now, it was just a matter of dealing with the threat that Kolya presented, and finding a way to fend off the Wraith.
And maybe-just maybe-they would find a way to retake Earth.
“The year after we declared independence was a hard one. We saw a lot of losses, and we were pretty hard-hit. And before you ask, it was difficult to say goodbye to Colonel Mitchell. He was a great help, and we had no idea what the situation was back on Earth. We didn’t want to lose him, but there didn’t seem to be a choice. In the end, we had to do without him, just like we had to do without a lot of people. But the next year-well, the next year we had a huge win, and we lost more than we ever thought we would.”
~Interview with Elizabeth Weir
Elizabeth crossed her arms tightly across her chest as she watched Cam say his goodbyes. He shook O’Neill’s hand, and hugged Sam Carter tightly with one arm. He shared a manly one-armed embrace with Daniel, and pulled Vala into a tight embrace, whispering something into her ear that made her laugh, her smile relieving the somberness of her expression.
When Cam had finished saying goodbye to SG-1, he approached her. “Hey,” he said. “Sorry to leave you in the lurch.”
“Just come back,” Elizabeth replied. “We can’t afford to lose any more good people.”
Cam hugged her with his good arm, and Elizabeth took a deep breath, smelling soap and sweat. He smelled good, and Elizabeth knew it had been far too long since she’d had a man in her life. “I’ll be back,” he promised. “Just keep some of that ruus wine for me.”
“I will,” Elizabeth promised.
She glanced up to see Jon shaking hands awkwardly with SG-1, and she wondered what was going to happen if O’Neill’s clone came back to Atlantis.
It didn’t matter, she decided. They’d cross that bridge when the came to it.
She stayed until the tel’tak took off, and the crowd had dispersed, and then turned from the pier with a sigh of regret. “Elizabeth,” Daniel called, getting her attention. “We need to talk.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“I think you should call Dr. Beckett, too,” Daniel added.
Elizabeth blinked, searching her memory for a project that Daniel might have been working on that called for such a result. “I’ll call him,” she promised. “Let’s meet in my office in fifteen minutes.”
Daniel showed up early, although that didn’t surprise Elizabeth. She made small talk, asking after Vala, noting Daniel’s hesitation as he answered. She’d read between the lines on SG-1’s bare bones report, but she’d hoped that Daniel would be a little more forthcoming one-on-one, but she understood that the bond between team members didn’t allow for much outside interference.
When Carson joined them, Daniel cleared his throat. “I found a couple of entries on Wraith biology yesterday evening,” he began. “I thought you should know. I sent both of you my translation.”
Carson had come to the meeting empty-handed, so Elizabeth pulled up the file and allowed Carson to look over her shoulder as they read Daniel’s translation. A lot of it was technical and scientific, language that Elizabeth had a hard time parsing. Carson, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have that problem, and she heard his quick intake of breath.
“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.
Carson shook his head. “This information will speed our ability to create a poison that will affect only the Wraith. It also suggests that the retrovirus will be temporary at best.”
Elizabeth frowned. “What does that mean, Carson?”
“It means that we’d be better off coming up with a poison that affects Wraith and not humans,” Carson replied. “Rather than something that turns Wraith human.”
Elizabeth hated the idea of using poison against an entire group of-well, “people” didn’t quite fit, but there wasn’t another label that applied. “I want you to prepare this as a last resort,” she finally said. “If we do this, it will be because we’ve been attacked, and we have no other choice.”
Carson nodded. “All right. You know that we’ll had a hard time disseminating this, even if I come up with a viable solution.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Elizabeth promised. “Just work on it, Carson.”
Carson nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Jackson.”
Daniel didn’t appear to be much happier than Carson was. “Don’t mention it.”
“Get out of here,” Elizabeth said. “Carson, let me know when you have a solution.”
When they’d gone, she wandered over to the window in her office that overlooked the gate room, and she wondered at the vagaries of life, and what she could expect. She hated the idea of biological warfare; it was something that was abhorrent to her. And yet, the idea of having a weapon of last resort against the Wraith was comforting.
They had food now, she thought. Atlantis had many of the things it needed to survive, and they were all working actively to strengthen the bonds they had with other planets. Now, it was just a matter of dealing with the threat that Kolya presented, and finding a way to fend off the Wraith.
And maybe-just maybe-they would find a way to retake Earth.