Birds of a Feather by wabbitseason (G)
Title: Birds of a Feather
Author: wabbitseason/ wabbitseason
Words: 1228 words
Rating: G
Spoilers: Takes place after "Duet" but before "Condemned"
Summary: Written for the Create your own challenge using the prompt combination of Lorne, Cadman, bird.
Author's Note: I borrowed the idea with approval of Kusanagi teaching Lorne from wickedwords's "The Jumper Lesson". I watched some footage recently for work of Marines waiting to board troop carriers and all of them used the same turn of phrase -- "waiting to get on the bird". It occurred to me Cadman might use it too and feel a little self conscious around Major Lorne. We actually don't know in canon if Cadman has the ATA gene.
Major Evan Lorne leaned back in his chair. His meetings with Lt. Col. John Sheppard always ran longer than expected. Always one more thing they'd forgotten to allot for, one other issue that needed attending. And Lorne was usually the one making the final arrangements.
"We need pilots trained and soon," Sheppard said. "The Wraith aren't going away and we can't always count on me being around to come to Atlantis' rescue."
Fortunately Lorne had also learned to predict his new commander's requests. "I thought you might suggest that. I took the liberty of putting together a list of likely candidates from the last batch from the Daedalus." He had broken the list down into categories. "The first group already have some flight training. I thought they'd be our first priorities."
"Five steps ahead of me already?" Sheppard grinned.
"Better too soon than too late," Lorne said sheepishly.
"Agreed," Sheppard said. "We can divvy up the training among the current pilots."
"Even McKay?" Lorne wrinkled his nose. He had been lucky Dr. Kusanagi had been available to teach him the ins and outs of the jumpers. She had been patient and hadn't been too patronizing when he asked a simple question. Some of the alternatives were a little too scary to contemplate.
"It'll do him some good," Sheppard admitted. "He's spent too much time holed up in his lab since the dart incident. Although I'll have to find someone else to train her." His stylus had underlined a name twice. Lorne didn't have to guess which one.
"Lt. Cadman doesn't have a lot of flight time," Lorne offered. "Her ATA gene isn't nearly as strong as some of the others. We could wait until she was really needed."
Sheppard said, "We don't have that luxury, Major. We train them all now."
"That means someone has to teach her then," Lorne said. "I don't envy that person."
"Good, that means you can get started immediately," Sheppard replied.
"Sir?" Lorne thought he'd misunderstood. "But I just learned myself, I..."
"And you appear to have picked it up without any problems," Sheppard said. "Have fun and have her back by dark."
Lorne nearly asked if he meant the Lieutenant or the puddlejumper, but he had learned his lesson about being a little too flippant with his new commander. He should have known he'd get stuck with the assignment. Cadman was a good officer and damn good at her job, but she was also what his Ma used to call a bit of a wild child. At least they would be staying planetside. After all, how much trouble could they possibly get into in a puddlejumper?
###
Lt. Laura Cadman found the shuttle bay nearly empty. Why had Major Lorne asked her to meet him down here anyway? Cadman wished she could get a crack at flying one of these shuttles. Assuming she would get the chance. She'd responded well to the ATA gene therapy, but the Ancient gene was a chancy thing. No one could predict how the puddlejumpers would respond to her. They might just turn their nose up at her.
The puddlejumpers sat in their various compartments, waiting to be taken out. Cadman cocked her ear, just listening to the huge room. She'd trained herself to notice any unusual sounds in the background. That training had saved her butt more times than not. She'd recognized the dart from long hours of listening to files.
For such a silent room, she kept hearing this loud hum. Cadman tried to pinpoint their location, but finally realized the distinctive hums emanated from the puddlejumpers. Could the jumpers tell someone with the ATA gene was in the jumper bay? This must be what Dr. Beckett meant when he said he could hear Atlantis. Some of the hums were faint when she approached. She stopped beside the jumper with the strongest hum. This one was just raring to go.
"You're a lively one, aren't you, girl?" Cadman asked.
"I see you found the shuttle bay all right, Lieutenant."
Cadman whirled around to attention. "Yes, sir. No problem, sir."
"At ease, Lieutenant," Lorne indicated the puddlejumper behind her. "You've been up yet?"
"No, sir, I haven't had the distinct pleasure," Cadman admitted. "All of my offworld missions have used the gate thus far." She circled the puddlejumper for closer inspection. She'd seen prettier planes, but this one was sleek and compact, like a grooved silver tin can. "I've heard she's a wicked ride though." A impish grin crossed her face. Apparently the jumper approved because she felt the hum stronger than before.
"Nothing quite like it," Lorne admitted. "Sure beats the hell out of the C-130s I've flown. I haven't logged that many hours in her yet, but she's really something in the air. " He continued. "Lt Colonel Sheppard wants to get all available pilots trained ASAP. You're on the list of flight candidates."
"Thank you, sir," Cadman wasn't getting her hopes up. She'd still probably get palmed off on one of the science geeks, if she received any training. She cringed at the thought of having to spend hours with McKay babbling at her ear again. Once was quite enough. "Truth be told, sir, I'd really love to take a crack at flying this pretty bird."
"Do you really think you're up for it, Lieutenant? This isn't some little training plane."
Cadman replied. "If you just give me a chance, I bet I can make her fly."
"No one makes a puddlejumper do anything it doesn't want to," Lorne said. "She may look pretty simple to figure out, but she's complex and she demands respect. Do you understand?" Cadman nodded. "Fortunately for you, it's your lucky day, Lieutenant," Lorne nodded. "Care to take her up for a spin?"
"Right now?" Cadman was stunned.
"No time like a present," Lorne opened the jumper's rear hatch. "After you, Lieutenant?"
The puddlejumper lit up when they both entered, bigger than it looked on the outside, but smaller than expected. Lorne took the pilot's seat, motioning Cadman to take the co-pilot's chair.
"First thing we need to see is if she responds to you," Lorne began. Before he could go any further, the heads up display flew up in front of them. "Okay, I didn't do that."
Cadman shrugged. "I was just wondering where all the gauges were."
Lorne hid a smile, "I guess we have part of our answer. Put your hands on the controls."
Cadman followed his orders. She had heard the hum, but she was still surprised at the jolt she felt coursing through her fingers, the love and delight expressed in a few flashes. She had been asked to touch a few other Ancient devices after the gene therapy, just to see what the strength of her gene was, but nothing had responded as easily as this one had. "Oh wow." She breathed. "I've never been in a bird like this one." But this was a lot more than some Marine troop carrier she waited to board. This bird had a mind of her own, an independent streak that reminded her of herself. Flying her would be a constant challenge. "Sorry about that, sir," Cadman added, remembering she was flying with an Air Force guy, not a fellow Marine. "Force of habit."
"It's okay. Somehow I don't think she quite minds," Lorne said.
Author: wabbitseason/ wabbitseason
Words: 1228 words
Rating: G
Spoilers: Takes place after "Duet" but before "Condemned"
Summary: Written for the Create your own challenge using the prompt combination of Lorne, Cadman, bird.
Author's Note: I borrowed the idea with approval of Kusanagi teaching Lorne from wickedwords's "The Jumper Lesson". I watched some footage recently for work of Marines waiting to board troop carriers and all of them used the same turn of phrase -- "waiting to get on the bird". It occurred to me Cadman might use it too and feel a little self conscious around Major Lorne. We actually don't know in canon if Cadman has the ATA gene.
Major Evan Lorne leaned back in his chair. His meetings with Lt. Col. John Sheppard always ran longer than expected. Always one more thing they'd forgotten to allot for, one other issue that needed attending. And Lorne was usually the one making the final arrangements.
"We need pilots trained and soon," Sheppard said. "The Wraith aren't going away and we can't always count on me being around to come to Atlantis' rescue."
Fortunately Lorne had also learned to predict his new commander's requests. "I thought you might suggest that. I took the liberty of putting together a list of likely candidates from the last batch from the Daedalus." He had broken the list down into categories. "The first group already have some flight training. I thought they'd be our first priorities."
"Five steps ahead of me already?" Sheppard grinned.
"Better too soon than too late," Lorne said sheepishly.
"Agreed," Sheppard said. "We can divvy up the training among the current pilots."
"Even McKay?" Lorne wrinkled his nose. He had been lucky Dr. Kusanagi had been available to teach him the ins and outs of the jumpers. She had been patient and hadn't been too patronizing when he asked a simple question. Some of the alternatives were a little too scary to contemplate.
"It'll do him some good," Sheppard admitted. "He's spent too much time holed up in his lab since the dart incident. Although I'll have to find someone else to train her." His stylus had underlined a name twice. Lorne didn't have to guess which one.
"Lt. Cadman doesn't have a lot of flight time," Lorne offered. "Her ATA gene isn't nearly as strong as some of the others. We could wait until she was really needed."
Sheppard said, "We don't have that luxury, Major. We train them all now."
"That means someone has to teach her then," Lorne said. "I don't envy that person."
"Good, that means you can get started immediately," Sheppard replied.
"Sir?" Lorne thought he'd misunderstood. "But I just learned myself, I..."
"And you appear to have picked it up without any problems," Sheppard said. "Have fun and have her back by dark."
Lorne nearly asked if he meant the Lieutenant or the puddlejumper, but he had learned his lesson about being a little too flippant with his new commander. He should have known he'd get stuck with the assignment. Cadman was a good officer and damn good at her job, but she was also what his Ma used to call a bit of a wild child. At least they would be staying planetside. After all, how much trouble could they possibly get into in a puddlejumper?
###
Lt. Laura Cadman found the shuttle bay nearly empty. Why had Major Lorne asked her to meet him down here anyway? Cadman wished she could get a crack at flying one of these shuttles. Assuming she would get the chance. She'd responded well to the ATA gene therapy, but the Ancient gene was a chancy thing. No one could predict how the puddlejumpers would respond to her. They might just turn their nose up at her.
The puddlejumpers sat in their various compartments, waiting to be taken out. Cadman cocked her ear, just listening to the huge room. She'd trained herself to notice any unusual sounds in the background. That training had saved her butt more times than not. She'd recognized the dart from long hours of listening to files.
For such a silent room, she kept hearing this loud hum. Cadman tried to pinpoint their location, but finally realized the distinctive hums emanated from the puddlejumpers. Could the jumpers tell someone with the ATA gene was in the jumper bay? This must be what Dr. Beckett meant when he said he could hear Atlantis. Some of the hums were faint when she approached. She stopped beside the jumper with the strongest hum. This one was just raring to go.
"You're a lively one, aren't you, girl?" Cadman asked.
"I see you found the shuttle bay all right, Lieutenant."
Cadman whirled around to attention. "Yes, sir. No problem, sir."
"At ease, Lieutenant," Lorne indicated the puddlejumper behind her. "You've been up yet?"
"No, sir, I haven't had the distinct pleasure," Cadman admitted. "All of my offworld missions have used the gate thus far." She circled the puddlejumper for closer inspection. She'd seen prettier planes, but this one was sleek and compact, like a grooved silver tin can. "I've heard she's a wicked ride though." A impish grin crossed her face. Apparently the jumper approved because she felt the hum stronger than before.
"Nothing quite like it," Lorne admitted. "Sure beats the hell out of the C-130s I've flown. I haven't logged that many hours in her yet, but she's really something in the air. " He continued. "Lt Colonel Sheppard wants to get all available pilots trained ASAP. You're on the list of flight candidates."
"Thank you, sir," Cadman wasn't getting her hopes up. She'd still probably get palmed off on one of the science geeks, if she received any training. She cringed at the thought of having to spend hours with McKay babbling at her ear again. Once was quite enough. "Truth be told, sir, I'd really love to take a crack at flying this pretty bird."
"Do you really think you're up for it, Lieutenant? This isn't some little training plane."
Cadman replied. "If you just give me a chance, I bet I can make her fly."
"No one makes a puddlejumper do anything it doesn't want to," Lorne said. "She may look pretty simple to figure out, but she's complex and she demands respect. Do you understand?" Cadman nodded. "Fortunately for you, it's your lucky day, Lieutenant," Lorne nodded. "Care to take her up for a spin?"
"Right now?" Cadman was stunned.
"No time like a present," Lorne opened the jumper's rear hatch. "After you, Lieutenant?"
The puddlejumper lit up when they both entered, bigger than it looked on the outside, but smaller than expected. Lorne took the pilot's seat, motioning Cadman to take the co-pilot's chair.
"First thing we need to see is if she responds to you," Lorne began. Before he could go any further, the heads up display flew up in front of them. "Okay, I didn't do that."
Cadman shrugged. "I was just wondering where all the gauges were."
Lorne hid a smile, "I guess we have part of our answer. Put your hands on the controls."
Cadman followed his orders. She had heard the hum, but she was still surprised at the jolt she felt coursing through her fingers, the love and delight expressed in a few flashes. She had been asked to touch a few other Ancient devices after the gene therapy, just to see what the strength of her gene was, but nothing had responded as easily as this one had. "Oh wow." She breathed. "I've never been in a bird like this one." But this was a lot more than some Marine troop carrier she waited to board. This bird had a mind of her own, an independent streak that reminded her of herself. Flying her would be a constant challenge. "Sorry about that, sir," Cadman added, remembering she was flying with an Air Force guy, not a fellow Marine. "Force of habit."
"It's okay. Somehow I don't think she quite minds," Lorne said.