Fireworks

"Bella! Why are you hiding here?"

"Oh, hey, Lisa." Bella was slumped in a chair at the rear of the observation deck, in shadows. "I'm not. Not really. I'm . . . just thinkin'. Daydreaming. Indulging in a good mope."

Lisa laughed and pulled over a chair. "That's a good one." Then she took a closer look at her friend. Bella was downcast, and her Southern accent was emerging. She usually only did that when she was stressed."What are you thinking? Why the mope? Why now? You're one of the few people here who chose this mission. Because of you we have tomatoes, and for that I am personally very grateful."

Bella sighed. "What I'm thinking is, 'woe is me.' Everyone keeps harvesting the tomatoes before they're ripe. Then they moan that they taste chalky."

She had dropped an end g and stretched moan into three syllables. "What's really wrong, Bella?"

"I'm homesick. The last thing I expected. You know I went through the stones this morning, right?

"Yeah," Lisa said. "Yeah, I did. What happened?"

"Tomorrow is the Fourth of July."

"Oh," said Lisa. "I completely forgot. It's so easy to lose track of the calendar out here."

"I'm getting to that," Bella said grimly. "Hush up a minute."

Lisa gave Bella her full attention.

"Corporal Barnes had her turn at the stones yesterday. She knew I was looking forward to the family Fourth of July party and she told me she'd call my cousin and let her know I'd be there. She memorized the number."

"Wait. Your cousin's cleared?"

"Yep. But Barnes was excited about seeing her brother. Something about a pyrotechnics show they'd promised to coordinate for a wedding? She forgot to call from SGC and when she remembered, she just borrowed a phone from a wedding guest. She told my cousin I was coming today. Fraser was excited. The whole extended family would be there—"

"How many people in your family are cleared?"

"A few." Bella gave her a look that said stop asking questions. "What's important, Lisa, is that when I used the stones this morning I was a day late instead of a day early. It was July fifth on Earth."

"WHAT?"

"You heard what I said."

"So . . . let me get this straight," Lisa calculated. "Barnes went about . . . six o'clock?"

Bella nodded. "Eighteen hundred."

"And she was gone for sixteen hours?"

"Sixteen hours here, yes. Forty-eight hours on Earth. She got back here at ten hundred hours, three hours after I left."

Lisa got to the main point. "Why is it that you're an agronomist and I'm an electrical engineer, and we're the first ones to notice that eight hours pass on the ship for every day that passes on earth?"

"I doubt we are. We're just the first ones to say it out loud. You took physics, right?" Lisa nodded. "Do you remember the relativity of simultaneity? Time dilation?"

"Yes," said Lisa. "It means we're screwed."

"Big time," agreed Bella.

"Why didn't Volker tell us? Or Eli or Rush? You can't tell me they didn't know."

"Lisa, they're deliberately keeping it from us. It's a pact. Remember when Rush said that we'd come across a naquadria planet in about a year? For morale."

"If it hadn't been for your Fourth of July party, which hinges on a particular date . . . Why'd you come home early? Because you noticed that July fourth was missing, whereabouts unknown?"

"Yes. They pulled me back to the SGC. They didn't tell me why, and I didn't ask. If Barnes had called Fraser from the base, I bet we wouldn't know now."

"Maybe they really didn't know until July fourth went missing for you. Time on Destiny and time on Earth feel the same no matter where you are. You wouldn't notice a difference."

"We are so screwed," Bella said again. "If we can't go home soon, my ten-year-old cousin Perry is going to be older than me in ten years."

"My baby brother will die of old age before I get my first grey hair."

"Do we confront them?"

"Not yet," Bella said. "Not until we've calmed down and thought this through."

"Public, you think?" Lisa asked. "What about Ron? I'm sleeping with him. Maybe I talk in my sleep."

"We need to think. Ron is unswervingly loyal to Colonel Young. Do you think Young knows?"

"He does if Eli does, and how can Eli not know?"

Behind them, they heard a throat being cleared. In unison, they turned their heads. Lisa glanced quickly at Bella and a silent decision was made.

They would stonewall. For the moment.

"Dr Park, Dr Cone," the young airman intoned, "Colonel Young wants to see everyone in the gate room."

How much had he heard?

"Shit," said Dr Cone.

"Hits fan," agreed Dr Park.

.

.

Notes

This story takes place between SGU 2x18 "Epilogue" and SGU 2x19 "Blockade," as Destiny is preparing to leave the Novan expedition planet after dropping off the colonists from SGU 2x17 "Common descent." It is a prequel to my first story "Eli's plan." It is meant to stand on its own as a short story and when I complete it, I'll probably combine all chapters into one.

Chapter 7 of "Eli's plan" is under construction.