Title: Loneliness
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Characters: Atlantis, McKay/Sheppard mentioned, Elizabeth, Ronon, Teyla
Summary: Atlantis has been lonely for many millenia, but she is not so alone anymore.
Notes: This is my first SGA fic. I'm not sure it's any good but after doing a 3-day marathon of reading SGA fic, I felt like writing this. Somewhat betaed by my good friend, gothicauthor, who doesn't know the fandom but agreed to read it anyway. Thanks. AU as it doesn't follow canon.
Disclaimer: I have no rights to the characters, places, or objects described in Stargate: Atlantis. However, I do have creative license to write what is in my mind.
Atlantis waits in silence, seeing only the empty corridors and feeling the weight of the sea crushing her. She remembers that her makers, the Gate Builders, created her to be the pinnacle of their technology, their culture, their world; but then, they had left her. Submerged her. For millenia, she waits and waits and only the cold ocean exists around her and the brilliance of the stars remains out of her reach. She can feel her life draining away, her energy, her vitality. She realizes that her power sources are slowly fading away, but it makes no difference since she has put most of herself to sleep. Only the core remains awake but even that is only partial, only enough to preserve the data she refuses to erase even though her power is waning. Slowly, she drifts to dreaming, hoping to awaken one day to a presence that is not her own.
Years pass, then centuries, then millenia. Still Atlantis continues to dream, hovering on the edge of awareness but still sleeping. But one day, the core comes to full awareness; and Atlantis is startled as she sees the Gate ring whirl, and it opens, a sapphire cloud that vanishes, leaving behind a new group of presences. There is someone that feels almost like a Gate Builder, and she realizes that these must be the descendents of her makers. She watches them, wary but hopeful, not wishing to go silent forever. The group wanders, poking and prodding her consoles and walls until they come upon the Chair. They realize it is important and start placing people in it until finally, the one that is almost a Gate Builder sits down; and Atlantis rejoices and quickly awakens the rest of herself, forgetting in her euphoria that her power is not sufficient. Belatedly, she realizes she cannot fully awaken herself and feels the waters flooding in. She cannot do anything and worries, worries that her new occupants will perish even before she can fully show them herself. However, one of new arrivals, the one who appears blurred on her sensors for her makers, manages to preserve the party, and so Atlantis rests, pleased that she will hear sound in her corridors again.
Later, Atlantis starts to catalogue the rest of the party, making sure she can distinguish the different vital signs of the various members by tracking their body heat, taking readings of the air surrounding them, measuring what chemicals they exhale, and learning their daily schedules. She memorizes all the personnel files and discovers the one who can activate the Chair is John Sheppard, the one closest to her makers. To her, he shines with the signature of the Gate Builders and compliments her many different rooms and halls. She is pleased and so she makes his passage anywhere unhindered, a fact that makes others puzzled until they realize it is Atlantis who is allowing him to bypass locked doors and override computer commands. John is their leader, and she wonders if the term "Major" refers to a high ranking position seeing as how others defer to him. She watches Sheppard and his scientist bicker about fractal penguin art and wonders about the significance. As Sheppard and his scientist start to spend more time in each other's rooms, she wonders when they will finally share one. Until then, she waits but shares in their happiness, her beloved sons.
Their leader, but not their true leader, is Elizabeth Weir, a woman who worries much about her people's survival. Atlantis always makes sure to bring up relevant data when she can bypass certain programming of her makers to help Elizabeth, a non-descendent, but Atlantis has only limited capabilities. She watches as Elizabeth struggles over treaties with other races, with pressure from their homeworld, a planet they call Earth, and covering for Sheppard and his scientist as well as others. She does not understand why these relationships:query must be hidden but understands Elizabeth's worry. Elizabeth shields her people as best she can like Atlantis shields the party, now her people as well, from the Wraith and other enemies. Atlantis knows her people will survive well while Elizabeth protects them.
The one who blurs when she tries to see if he is like her makers is Rodney McKay, a man who yells and waves his arms around and speaks strange terms to others while learning how to use her and awaken the parts of her that are sleeping. She is grateful for his work but worries he does not take care of his health enough when he stays in the labs long into the night. He argues much with a man called Radek Zelenka, but they fix old problems and help Atlantis feel as if she is only several millenia old. Sometimes Sheppard comes in to force McKay to leave, and she approves, noting that McKay's blood sugar levels are low and that he is lacking sleep. There is also a time when Sheppard and McKay come back through the Gate, and for many weeks, McKay keeps questioning Sheppard about "Mensa":query. After that, their bickering becomes less about yelling and more about short pauses in their conversation when they look at each other, questioning, and then looking away. Atlantis thinks she is starting to understand what relationships are.
Teyla Emmagen is from outside her walls, her shields, but the same planet as Atlantis. Teyla
quickly fits in with the rest of the party and restores harmony to the party. Atlantis knows Elizabeth is less worried now that the party has an ally, and Teyla makes sure that Sheppard and McKay do not bicker too violently. Atlantis notes that Teyla is skilled with words and sticks, the latter of which she teaches to John. However, she is terrified of the Wraith and her similarities with them. Atlantis cannot help her but witnesses the rest of the team trying to comfort and reassure Teyla. Atlantis is proud of how far her people have come.
The last of Sheppard's team is an outsider from beyond the Gate. He is called Ronon Dex, and at first, her people are wary of him. They do not trust him for they do not know him. But over time, he proves himself; and Atlantis knows that he is loyal to the team, loyal to her people. Eventually, he becomes one of her people and protects the party, protects her people outside of her shields while Elizabeth and Atlantis protect inside herself. She hears a conversation in passing, some comment about knives in his hair, but does not understand why that would inspire such a fearful tone from an individual. He runs with Sheppard in the morning, and likes to poke fun at McKay; but she knows he respects both of them - he just does not like to show it. He also has great respect for Teyla, and all four of them work as a cohesive unit with separate parts.
Atlantis is happy she does not have to worry so much for her people beyond the Gate, but still, she watches. She will not tolerate threats made to her people. She cannot stand any more millenia of silence. She hopes she will never have to sleep again. There is a word, she has learned, of what she fears. She fears loneliness.
The End
- In case you wanted to know more about the fractal penguin art conversation, see below.
Rodney glares briefly at John before hastily packing up his laptop. "You know, for a person who has a Masters in applied mathematics, I would think you would leave me to ogle my fractal penguin art for a little while longer."
John just gives Rodney a small quirk of the lips, a smirk, and waves him out of the lab. "I know perfectly well what a fractal is and personally, I like Nova fractals. I like penguins. But you know, we do have a job. It's called 'saving our dear city and possibly the galaxy as well'. You can ogle fractal penguin art later." He starts to walk down the hallway but then pauses, head cocked to the side. "Wait a minute. You have fractal penguin art? And you haven't shown me? You are a cruel scientist, Rodney McKay."