Fic: Diploma 19/25
Title Diploma
Part 19/25
Author Internetname
Rating NC-17
Pairing John/Rodney
Summary Sentinel X/O: Rodney McKay and John Sheppard have figured out how to live the lives they want, and things should probably stay that way.
Warnings Slash
Word Count for Story So Far 31,140
Disclaimer Er...if they were mine they'd still be on TV.
Part One is Here
We can only wonder if Nature, the World, God, the Goddess must keep watch over Sentinels and Guides, as they watch over humanity. The cruelty of one-Guide-one-Sentinel would be intolerable without some sort of safeguard. Is it true that, in fact, many different Guides and Sentinels can bond? Or is it that nature provides?
There are many stories told of Guides and Sentinels appearing just when they should. Is it that they are called? Or is it that a desperate Guide or Sentinel will sense that the time has come to bond or die?
Perhaps there is nothing in a bond but convenience and need. But for me, I cannot help believing that the Guide and Sentinel, being so reliant on the spiritual plane, have found friends with powers beyond ourselves, and it is up to us only to be grateful.
***
Teyla watched Ronon approach and smiled in greeting. He nodded. They had taken supplies from the jumper to make a pleasant campsite, as both preferred to sleep under the stars.
She built up the fire while Ronon set out a few knives and his whetting stone. She had never seen the small one before.
"So," he said, surprising her by speaking first. "You okay with all this?"
"The knowledge that John has found his Guide provides me with the utmost satisfaction."
Ronon looked at her, then slid his stone over a blade. Somehow, the sound seemed skeptical.
"Rodney has recently informed me of an event that, had I needed to continue as Colonel Sheppard's Guide, would have greatly complicated matters."
He frowned.
"It would seem that I am with child."
A blank stare met her words, but it was not judgmental.
"I confirmed it with Dr. Beckett before we left."
"Congratulations. Kanan is the father?"
"You knew that we were..?"
"I could tell, the way you talked about him."
She smiled.
"Yeah, like that." Suddenly, Ronon was up and in her space, hugging her. "You'll be a great mother." And he smiled at her then, broad and open, and she loved him a little more again.
"Thank you," she said, and touched her forehead to hers.
His eyes were mischievous. "You know, Ronon makes a good name, boy or girl."
She laughed, punching him lightly on the shoulder, and they settled. The sunset was orange against the sky, and a little pink.
"I know this will affect the team," she said.
Ronon picked up a fresh knife. "I think what's going on over there is gonna affect it more."
"Tell me, Ronon. Does it not seem as though Dr. McKay's arrival is almost too fortuitous?"
"What do you mean?"
"It is almost as though someone were seeing to John Sheppard's health as a Sentinel."
"You're talking about what that Sandburg guy wrote."
She thought about that, knowing Ronon would not become impatient.
"Several others have pondered the phenomenon of Guides and Sentinels who have appeared at extremely auspicious moments."
Ronon nodded, scraping cold steel against stone.
"It is difficult not to want to attribute Rodney's arrival at this time to some sort of intervention. Before the Lanteans arrived here, I would have considered him a gift from the Ancestors."
"You don't believe in the Ancestors anymore?"
She considered it, enjoying the rosy tinge to the air. She had seen pictures of sunsets on Earth so spectacular they seemed paintings by an all-powerful hand, masterpieces done by artists to whom she had once prayed.
"I respect the idea of the Ancestors, but I know now the Ancients were not gods. In fact, I have joined in some of the Lanteans' contempt for some of what they did."
"The Wraith."
"Yes, and more. I would say they seem like god-children, playing with power they didn't understand. I think I might still plea to them for mercy, but not for guidance."
"So how do you explain it? McKay turning up now?"
"Dr. Sandburg suggested the procedure that allowed Rodney to come here. Perhaps the intelligence at work here is simply his."
"Life on Seteda was simple. I was a soldier. Everyone knew who the enemy was. Guides and Sentinels were somebody else's problem."
Teyla recognized her own times to be patient.
"Sheppard, he holds himself back," Ronon said finally. "I see him sometimes, touching something he doesn't trust, angry because he's doing something more than he wanted."
"John is often angry at himself for things beyond his control," she agreed. "It takes up much of his energy. I cannot help but wonder, now that he does not have to -"
The deliberate snap of a twig brought them to their feet, P-90 in her hands, Ronon's gun aimed straight.
A sleep-mussed Sentinel stood a few feet away. Bare feet, hands in his pockets, T-shirt untucked, Sheppard looked them over as they lowered their weapons.
"So," he said, nodding at her stomach. "Congratulations."
She laughed. "You could hear us?" The cabin was a good quarter-mile away.
"Yeah." John scratched at his hair. "Rodney says he packed white noise generators in the jumper, if you guys want some privacy."
They looked behind themselves to the parked vehicle. Ronon stared at his commander and crossed his arms pointedly. But, Teyla reflected, everything Ronon did was pointed. He was a poet of noises and gestures.
John shrugged, then tilted his head. For the first time since she had met him, his "listening" pose looked easy. "Rodney's waking up." He turned and walked back without making a sound. For a moment, Teyla could have sworn she saw a small gray animal tip-toeing along at his feet. But it was gone when she blinked.
Ronon's smirk was quite plain, however, when she turned back to her team member.
"Oh yeah," he said. "This is gonna be fun."
***
Dr. Weir considered that the "Lead for Genii" project was coming along well, even without the participation of her head scientist and military commander.
The Daedalus had experienced little difficulty in using Dr. McKay's schematics to adapt the Asgard sensors to beam up pure galena from PXJ-328. After that, Drs. Zelenka and Peterson had worked up a highly effective method of processing the lead from the galena.
The current issue on the table was how to deliver the lead to the Genii. Tossing it through the gate might well kill someone on the other side and perhaps be misinterpreted as an attack. Sending it through with a MALP meant losing the MALP. Beaming it down from Daedalus meant exposing their technology. Secretly beaming it down meant they still needed to get the Genii a message about where to find it and would still suggest the technology used.
Going through an intermediary left everyone too exposed. A ramp through the stargate wouldn't work, as objects traveled through the gate in discrete packets. They could roll an unpowered cart through, but again, the heaviness of the lead might turn the vehicle into a juggernaut.
"Ano," Dr. Zelenka said finally, bringing Elizabeth back to the discussion. "If we put the Daedalus into orbit around Genii homeworld, they can scan for life signs. If no one is around, we gate over supply team to stack lead containers. Then they gate back. If emergency happens, Daedalus can beam them out."
"I don't like the risk of tipping our hand like that," Caldwell said. "And what if they booby-trap the gate?"
"What if we send a cloaked jumper with the team?" Peterson suggested, peering at his tablet through his long, dirty-blond bangs.
"I want them to know about the jumpers even less than I want them to know about our beaming technology," Weir said.
"We could use a slow-moving cart, basic power, perhaps steam," Peterson offered next. "Large, unable to hurt anyone and with only enough power to have it stop directly beyond the gate."
"Breaking system is more important," Zelenka argued. "Good push will get wheels through gate. But it must stop before it topples off the stairs and crushes what is beneath."
"What if it didn't topple?" Elizabeth asked.
"Ah, we use caterpillar treads."
"I don't want to show the Genii how to make a tank," Caldwell said.
"Long platform on wheels. We push it through, make sure enough platform is long enough to span steps and meet ground."
"But not so long the back of the platform is still stuck inside the ring," Peterson said.
"Ano."
"Do we have enough data on the Genii platform to measure that exactly?" she asked.
"Yes," Peterson said.
"Then let's go with that for now. We can rig up a similar platform at the Alpha Site for a test run."
Caldwell nodded approval, but it looked unconscious, so she just stood and smiled while meeting broke up. Her next appointment was waiting patiently outside her door. He only stepped through after acknowledging Caldwell. The door closed behind him.
"Please, have a seat Major Lorne," she welcomed.
"Dr. Weir," he said, and they both sat down.
She took a moment, looking around her office. The tribal masks from Olank, the lightly scented candles from a monastery on Primus Rocc, the small photo of her dog, Sedgewick. Major Lorne himself was most like the latter artifact: a piece of home. With his dark-haired, handsome looks and politely easy manner, he was an infinite comfort to her. In fact, his nickname among the American troops was "Apple Pie."
However, his loyalty to Sheppard had been as steadfast and unwavering as she had been warned it would be. She suspected - no, she was certain - if Sheppard ever staged a mutiny, Lorne wouldn't even blink before he'd take Sheppard's side.
"I need your help, Evan."
He looked surprised at the use of his first name, but responded evenly, "Of course, Elizabeth." When she didn't reply right away, he continued in the same calm tone, "I'm guessing this has to do with Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay."
"I would go to Carson," she said. "But I'm concerned about doctor/patient confidentiality."
He nodded, then frowned. "If this is the discussion I think you want to have, I would like to have my Guide present."
"Honestly, I just want to ask a few questions."
"With all due respect, ma'am, you want me to talk about the Alpha Sentinel on this base. As his Beta, I would like to have my Guide present."
"John Sheppard has refused to assume the position of Alpha."
Lorne smiled, and she felt like a child who didn't get the joke. "It's not really something he can refuse, ma'am. The Pride is here for him when he needs us."
After keying her radio, Dr. Weir kept her voice neutral as she asked, "Shen Xiaoyi, please report to my office."
The beautiful Chinese woman appeared so quickly, Weir suspected the ambassador had been waiting in the Gate Room.
She smiled and said all the right things to welcome Lorne's Guide, but she doubted the Guide was fooled. Originally China's official delegate to the International Oversight Advisory, Xiaoyi had voiced her dissatisfaction with the Stargate Program more than a few times. Then, last year, she had come on a mission supposedly to report on the Atlantis Expedition. Elizabeth had smelled plans within plans, and their first real meeting had been adversarial at best.
And then as Elizabeth had been showing Ambassador Xiaoyi to her quarters - dreaming of a hot cup of tea - Evan Lorne had come around the corner, put his arms around the woman, and pleaded with her to be his Guide. They had bonded within the hour, despite the fact that Shen was a lesbian and her career had nothing to do with being an American major's wife.
So, though Evan Lorne was the epitome of familiarity, Shen Xiaoyi baffled her.
"As I understand it," Shen announced as she sat, "you're finally interested in matters that don't concern you."
Part 20 is Here