"So you're telling us that there has been ancients living on earth since you left Atlantis? Ancients that were once ascended, and then chose to….descend?" John Sheppard asked in disbelief.
"How did you think you got the ancient gene? Out of thin air? There had to be Ancients living on earth at one point." McKay said, the ever present sarcastic bite in his voice.
"I know that, McKay. She's saying that they are there now. I thought that it was against their 'rules' to interfere. I would think that living among us lower beings would break that rule."
The lady sitting across from John at the conference table smiled.
"It is what I believe you would called a loop-hole. By descending, we were able to offer guidance when able without the consequences. Of course we had to be careful in what we told to whom. Also, there were other, developments, that we had not foreseen." She said
"You lived on earth, descended?" Elizabeth asked. She nodded.
"Yes, I lived there during the time period of the 1960 through the end of the 90's. I was called Penny, and most think that I died of old age, only my family knows the truth."
"You were married? And had children?" McKay asked.
"Yes, and that's why I am here. When the children of formerly ascended being are born, they are born with many of the same abilities as the ascended beings have. My granddaughter, Taryn, has these abilities. There are few of these humans left on earth; in fact, there may be no others besides my granddaughter. And I believe that she may be of great help to you."
"In what way?" Elizabeth asked
"As I said, the descendants of descended ancients often have the same powers their parents, or grandparents, had. My daughter and her husband were both descended ancients, and had been very powerful ancients in their times. Their daughter, my granddaughter, in turn, is a very powerful being, despite not being ascended."
"Wait, what do you mean by powerful? Powerful how?" McKay asked.
"It would be easier to show you than to tell you, but for a reference point, have you ever read the X-Men comics? My son-in-law loved them. Anyways, she has powers like they did, and several of them. She is telekinetic, she can teleport, and can either freeze matter or speed it up until it explodes, among other abilities. And she is a brilliant surgeon, officially a double-board certified general and cardio thoracic surgeon. She could most definitely help in the fight against the wraith and the replicators, but she could also be of use in the medical department."
"That's amazing…" Rodney muttered.
"What makes you think that she would want to leave everything behind and come here?" Elizabeth asked.
"Taryn has heard stories about Atlantis since she was born, and she figured out pretty quickly that they weren't just stories. Yes, she is a dedicated, brilliant doctor, but she is alone. Her parents were killed in an automobile accident 10 years ago. If I know my granddaughter, nothing will be able to keep her from here." Then she focused her gaze on Rodney. "I will warn you though, not to treat her as a lab rat. That's not why I told you about her, and believe me, she would not be appreciative."
"What? Oh no, of course, wouldn't dream of it. It's just so intriguing…" He trailed off, focusing on his
"Well then, how's bout a little trip back to earth?" John said. "I'll go pack my things."
Waking up at 3 in the morning to find you had fallen asleep on the couch instead on your cozy bed and your neck was now permanently stuck turned to the left sucked. Waking up at 3 in the morning to find your ghost, ascended, whatever of a grandmother standing over you just scary. The moment it registered that someone was peering down at her in her dark living room, Taryn shrieked and instinctively teleported to the kitchen.
What she did not expect to see there were 3 strangers, two sitting at the table, the third half hidden by the open refrigerator door. Once again, instamatics took over her sleep muddled brain, and an energy ball appeared in her hand.
"Taryn, stop, wake up!" Penny cried, appearing in front of her and grabbing her hand. Taryn blinked slowly, seeming to realize for the first time who was standing in front of her. She lowered her hand and the energy ball disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Grams, what's going on? Do you know what time it is?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Trust me, you'll think it's worth it. Taryn, I'd like you to meet Dr. Elizabeth Wier," the woman sitting at the table nodded, " Lt. Colonel John Sheppard," he grinned, "and General Jack O'Neill.' His head finally appeared from inside the fridge.
"Just so you know, I think you have stuff growing in there. That can't be healthy." He came shut the door empty handed.
"Yeah, well, I just got off a week filled with 24 hour shifts and 9 hour surgeries, so I haven't really had time to go grocery shopping lately. But help yourself to anything that looks edible." She muttered.
"Taryn, we have an offer for you, one that your grandmother is certain you will be interested in." Elizabeth said.
"Really now?" she turned to Penny, eyebrows raised. "What kind of offer?"
"One that involves Atlantis." Penny said.
"I'm in." The immediate response and final tone of her voice started them all.
"But, you don't even know what we're offering." Jack said. Taryn shook her head.
"I don't care. It involves Atlantis, which I don't even know how you all know about, so I'm in. Although,
I wouldn't mind details."
"Well, basically, 3 years ago, we found Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy and ever since have had established a joint military and scientific expedition there, of which Dr. Wier here is the leader." Sheppard said.
"You found Atlantis? They found Atlantis?" Eyes wide Taryn turned to Penny. "It's been 10,000 years, and they found it. It survived?" She turned back to Sheppard. "I can't believe it"
"She doesn't seem too surprised to hear Atlantis isn't a myth…" Sheppard muttered.
"It's true. The place is awesome, although I've only been there a few times." Jack said.
"So…what do you need me for?" Taryn asked.
"Taryn, do you remember your mom telling you stories about a race called the Wraith? And the replicators?" Penny asked. At that, Taryn paled.
"The Wraith? The race that forced Atlantis to be abandoned?"
"You've heard of them?" Elizabeth asked, surprised.
"Yeah, well, my Mom used to tell me stories of Atlantis and its history…thought I should know a little family history. I never thought that those races would still exist."
"Yeah, well, we seemed to wake them up after we discovered Atlantis, and now it's turned into an all-out war. Having someone with such a strong presence of the ancient gene, the gene that allows you to control their technology, would give us access to so many more systems in Atlantis. Not only that, but your medical skills and, unique abilities could be invaluable."
"And how long are we talking? I mean, I'm going. You couldn't keep me away if you wanted to. But are you talking weeks, months, years?"
"As long as we're there, you can be. You have more right to be there than we do….you're basically the last heir to it all." Sheppard said. She sat down at the kitchen table, thinking, processing the information.
"So, what do you say? Wanna take a trip to a galaxy infested with life sucking aliens bent on destroying the human race, drop your life here to go there for an indefinite period of time, leave all you know behind…and go for the most exhilarating ride of your life?" O'Neill asked. Taryn stared at him for a moment, and then grinned.
"Are you kidding me? I've dreamt about Atlantis my entire life. I'm in."
"I've gone crazy, I was insane to think I could be ready this fast….just leave everything behind and moving to another freaking galaxy." Taryn muttered to herself. It was roughly 36 hours later; she was the infirmary at Stargate Command going through the standard work up. It was the first time she has actually had any amount of time to really think about what she was doing.
She was 28 years old, one of the youngest surgeons to be double board certified in her fields in the history of medicine. Her life was simple, as work was all she ever focused on. This morning, she had simply e-mailed her resignation in to her chief surgeon. That was after she had stayed up all night trying to decide what she would need to bring with her, how to pack 28 years into 2 suitcases.
Dr. Wier had told her she would receive uniforms for work and any off world missions, but she grabbed scrubs for surgeries, athletic clothing, and stuff for when she wasn't working. But how do you pack an entire life in 2 suitcases? She had grabbed a few pictures of her parents, her laptop and iPod, and a portable hard drive that had all her music, movies, and everything else on it. Then she had pack only two other personal, non clothing items: her violin, and her collection of sketch books. Her mother had drawn, and Taryn had found some of her old sketchbooks just after she died, and she brought those along with some of her own. And with that she was done and on her way to a top secret, underground military base.
"Ok, looks like you're all set. All blood work came back clean. Your CAT scans show extremely high brain activity, but I honestly expected that, given your genetic history and unique abilities." Dr. Lamb said, walking in with her chart.
"That's what I expected to see with a CAT scan, although I've never had one done before." Taryn responded, looking over the results.
"I'll call up to General O'Neill and let him know your all set."
"No need, I've come to collect the patient and bring her to the highly anticipated, eagerly awaited IOA meeting." He said, sarcasm lacing his words.
"Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to enjoy this?" She said, sliding off the bed.
"Oh trust me, you're going to hate it. Just don't take any of their bait, and then go spend an hour or two in the gym with a picture of their faces on a punching bag." He grinned.
"Great, I hate politics, especially stuff like this. Couldn't I just, I dunno, use a mind trick to make them think they've conducted the interview?"
"You can do that?" Jack asked
"I wish…" She muttered. O'Neill just laughed
"Don't worry; they won't keep you from going. The just like to think they're the ones in control of it all, when really, once we step through that gate, there isn't anything they can do." He said. They stopped outside the boardroom, where there were 3 men and 2 women sitting there. They didn't look pleasant. She sighed and shot him a pleading look. He held his hands up and back away.
"Look, this part of it wasn't my idea. Just smile, nod, and you'll be done in no time at all." He gave her a pat on the back and then a gentle shove into the room.
"Miss Smith, please have a seat." The man at the head of the table said. She sat in the closest chair, which happened to be the closest to the door and the farthest away from them. She sat and just looked at them, waiting for the storm.
"My name is Mr. Woolsey. Now, understand the circumstances surrounding your passage to Atlantis are most unusual, even by our standards." He opened a folder in front of him. "I have here your medical school history, and all records of your medical training up until this point."
"What does that have to do with anything?" She thought.
"We understand that you have several abilities, more than we even know about. Now, you graduated from med school astoundingly early, and have such a high level of licensing for one so young. How do we know that you didn't use your abilities to speed the process?" He closed the folder and looked up.
"Are you asking me if I cheated my way through med school, and through my entire career?" She asked. At his nod, she snorted.
"First of all, look at my record. I wouldn't have been able to fake my way through the last 10 years of my life without making someone suspicious. I have performed more surgeries with the lowest mortality rate of any doctor at my hospital. Second, what you don't know is that when I use my abilities, my left eye turns from green to blue. Don't you think that someone would have noticed that at one point? Third, how would being able to blow something up with my mind help me cheat through med school? I can't read minds."
"What exactly are your abilities?" The woman sitting to her right asked.
"Do you want a list? Well then, I am telekinetic, I can move objects with my mind. I can also freeze objects, or speed up matter to the point it explodes. I can teleport, we call it orbing, to any location from any location, and while I can't read minds, I can sense peoples' emotions, their feelings. Basically I can read people really well, and I can also self generate a force field." She chuckled. "We discovered that little ability the first time my mother tried to spank me." She looked up, grinning, but stopped short and the fairly disinterested looks on their faces. "Sorry…."
"That is an impressive list. Now, you realize that where you are going, there are alien races bent on destroying the human race. Have you ever had to defend yourself? Do you have any weapons training?" The man to her left asked.
"Weapons training, no. I do have martial arts training, have since I was young. I'm a 7th level black belt, and have trained in various other hand-to-hand fighting training. I'm going to be on a military base. Don't you think there will be someone there that can provide weapons training as necessary?" She said.
"Well, yes, but you must understand the gravity of the situation there."
"It is the city my mother grew up in 10,000 years ago. Incredible, I know, but it's true. I've heard about Atlantis my entire life, and quite honestly, if you don't let me through, I'll start orbing my way there." She said. Mr. Woolsey nodded, and started to speak, but the same man spoke up.
"Now you realize that at Atlantis, there will be studies being conducted. You are the last of your kind, an anomaly of the human race, and we believe that great scientific advances could be make by studying your genetic make-up."
"I understand the curiosity of me genetics, as a doctor I am curious myself. I will NOT, however, become a lab rat." She said, sitting up and looking him in the eye.
"Of course, of course. But as you said, as a doctor yourself, you can appreciate the implications that it could have on the human race. We will work to respect your privacy, but we will also expect a certain level of cooperation." Mr. Woolsey stepped in, sensing her worry.
"Of course, I can appreciate that." She said. Keep smiling…you can freeze the first scientist that comes at you with a needle once you get there….she thought, giving what she hoped was a convincing smile.
"I don't believe that there is anything else that we need to cover here. We will ensure that you receive the proper training once you are settled in Atlantis. You can go." Woolsey said, abruptly finishing the interview. Surprised at the sudden ending, Taryn stood, and walked out. Sheppard was waiting for her outside the room.
"Well, that was fairly painless. Apparently I get to learn how to shoot a gun once I get to Atlantis. Although, I think I'm pretty set being able to blow stuff up with my mind and all." She said, throwing him a grin.
"You can do that? Now that's sweet. But still, Dr. Wier and myself think that it would best not to broadcast your abilities to the galaxy. We don't need bounty hunters and thrill seekers hunting you down." They were walking towards the gate room.
"Yeah, let's avoid that if at all possible, shall we? Woah…" They stepped into the gate room, and she caught her first look at the Stargate while it was engaged. "That is incredible." She breathed.
"Yeah, well, your people created the Stargate system. Who knows, maybe it was your uncle or something." He grinned at her.
"Actually, it was her great grandfather, but that is of little consequence." Penny appeared in front of her. "Darling, I must go. Enjoy your time at Atlantis, and call out if you need me." Penny stepped forward and kissed her cheek, then disappeared.
The gate activated at that moment, the woosh forcing a gust of wind to into the room.
"Ready to do this?" Sheppard asked walking confidently up the ramp. She grinned.
"Absolutely." She walked up the ramp, and realized that she was about to leave everything that she knew behind her. She paused at the top of the ramp and looked back. General O'Neill was standing up in the control room. He grinned at her and gave her a mock salute. Smiling softly, she turned, closed her eyes, and stepped through the Stargate.