A/N: This is a continuation of my earlier SG fanfic Midnight Blue. While reading it is not absolutely necessary, it is encouraged for full understanding of the part II. I've decided to call the series Shades of Blue, for obvious reasons. It just makes it easier to have a common name.
The story I am trying to tell here is one that I've told myself a great many times, with each iteration being different from the previous ones. This version is just as new for me as it is for my readers. It makes it much more fun to write, knowing more-or-less where I want to go, but not being sure if the story will lead me there. I may be surprised myself.
If you read it, please leave a comment. It makes it that much easier to keep writing when I know that people are actually reading. If you don't like it, or you have any kind of criticism, please do not hesitate to tell me, either. Especially when it comes to language - I'll appreciate any and all remarks pertaining to its correctness and will try to fix the problems immediately. I don't currently have a beta so all mistakes are on me.
Please note that this story is supposed to be compatible with the canon, but by that I mean only the TV shows/movies. I haven't read the books.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Stargate universe or franchise and I derive no financial profit from writing and publishing my story. This is purely for entertainment.
Warning: this will be long. The previous part, Midnight Blue, ended up being 319 pages long, and Azure has the potential to be even longer.
I encourage you to go on YouTube and check out the song from the epigraph. It's amazing.
Without further ado... please enjoy.
AZURE
Is it enough to have some love
Small enough to slip inside a book
Small enough to cover with your hand
Because everyone around you wants to look
Is it enough to have some love
Small enough to fit inside the cracks
The pieces don't fit together so good
With all the breaking and all the gluing back
And I am still not getting what I want
I want to touch the back of your right arm
I wish you could remind me who I was
Because every day I'm a little further off
But you are, my love, the astronaut
Flying in the face of science
I will gladly stay an afterthought
Just bring back some nice reminders
And is it getting harder to pretend
That life goes on without you in the wake?
And can you see the means without the end
In the random frantic action that we take?
And is it getting easy not to care
Despite the many rings around your name
It isn't funny and it isn't fair
You've traveled all this way and it's the same
But you are, my love, the astronaut
Flying in the face of science
I will gladly stay an afterthought
Just bring back some nice reminders
I would tell them anything to see you split the evening
But as you see I do not have an awful lot to tell
Everybody's sick for something that they can find fascinating
Everyone but you and even you aren't feeling well
Yes you are, my love, the astronaut
Crashing in the name of science
Just my luck they found your upper half
It's a very nice reminder
It's a very nice reminder
And you may be acquainted with the night
But I have seen the darkness in the day
And you must know it is a terrifying sight
Because you and I are living the same way
[Amanda Palmer, 'Astronaut (A Short Story of Nearly Nothing)']
Chapter 1, part 1.
The day was unseasonably warm. The clear sky was the color of pale azure and a light breeze was jostling the still bare tree branches. The conditions could not have been better for landing, and it was indeed very smooth, even for a Boeing. The plane was only halfway full and the passengers filed out in an orderly fashion, sent off on their way with the flight attendants' smiles and polite goodbyes. It was pleasant to feel the cool wind on the face after the stuffiness of the aircraft.
Alice Boyd adjusted the strap of the bag on her shoulder and descended the steps onto the tarmac, the jetway sitting unused to the left. She followed the other passengers through the nearby glass door into the airport's building, but while most of them turned to get their registered luggage, Alice walked forward, straight to the exit. She carried all of her essentials in the one carry-on. She stepped through a gate into the arrivals area and began scanning the small crowd in front of her. It wasn't long before she noticed him.
"Jake!"
"Allie!" Her brother waved to her from few paces away, his face split in a huge grin. They looked nothing alike: Jacob was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and bulky frame; Alice was small and slim, and looked as if a stronger wind could blow her away. Her eyes were bright green, while Jake had pale gray ones with specks of light blue. About the only thing they shared in common was red hair, although Alice's was long and coppery orange, while her brother's military buzz cut was deeper auburn. He was wearing a utility uniform, with its camouflage pattern contrasting with everyday clothes of everyone else in the building, including Alice; she had a light blue blouse and dark jeans on, with a short black leather jacket.
Jake enveloped her in his signature bear hug and then gestured for her to give him the bag. Alice shook her head and they began walking towards the exit to the parking lot.
"Aren't cammies prohibited for wear outside the base for you leathernecks?" She inquired curiously.
"Official business, sis. I'm your assigned escort to the base." Jake shot her a bright grin.
"Uh-huh. More like my assigned driver." They were at his car. Alice put her bag in the back seat and got in on the front passenger side. Jake was already turning the key in the ignition.
"Belt," he reminded her unnecessarily, as she was already fastening hers. She rolled her eyes as the car started and turned right towards the main road. "So, how's mom?"
"Good. She's happy to finally be home. Ohio wasn't bad, but it took some time to get used to the weather there."
"I bet. When was the last time mom left California?"
"Before dad's death, I think."
"She didn't really like it at the base in Dayton, did she?"
"She never said anything, but yeah, at first it was difficult. You know, all the new experiences all at once, plus it reminded her of dad. But she got used to it."
"Yeah, it helped that she made friends there." Jake had been a frequent visitor at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where Alice and their mother spent the last three years. Eileen Boyd was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia coupled with depression. She had been diagnosed when she was Jake's current age; Alice had been but a small child then. Their mother was mostly fine when they were growing up, but everything changed when their father died. Alice was fourteen at a time, Jake seventeen. Eric Boyd had been a Navy pilot; he crashed his fighter into the deck of a carrier during a storm on the open sea. After that, life became just a little too difficult for his widow; she held on as long as her children were home, but not a year later Jake enlisted to the Marine Corps and Alice went to college as an early entrant. Soon thereafter, Eileen was admitted to an inpatient treatment center where she resided until she was released three years ago. At the time, Alice made the decision to put her career on hold and was granted authorization to get a degree at the Air Force Institute of Technology. She brought her mother with, to help her reintegrate into society. Eileen would need to stay on her meds and keep regular visits with her doctors, but she was now well enough to lead a completely self-sufficient and independent life. So after Alice got her diploma, they both traveled to L.A., where their family house still stood. Alice got a couple weeks of leave to help mother put her affairs in order at home and get her settled in before she was called up to Colorado Springs to talk about her next assignment.
"Have I told you?" Alice wondered aloud as they left the last of the city residential buildings behind them and turned onto the road leading up to the Cheyenne Mountain. "About the offer that big studio made mom?"
"To draw concept art for their upcoming superhero movie?" Jake smiled, speeding to overtake a slow-moving truck in front of them. Alice frowned; double solid line was dividing the single lanes in either direction. "She told me herself. She sounded pretty excited about it."
"As well she should be. It's a big deal. It's her first real contract since she's got back in the game. I'm really glad it's coming to her now. I was a little worried to be leaving her alone, but she is better when she works on a project."
"She'll be alright. If nobody else, Aunt Helen and Aunt Moira are going to take care of her."
"Our old neighbors welcomed her, too. The Starrs made a homecoming barbecue in her honor." Alice snickered.
"Only in L.A.," Jake agreed with the sentiment. It was still February; it had been quite cold in Ohio when they were leaving, but in SoCal the mean temperature was around sixty degrees. Not much more than here; but that was quite unusual for Colorado.
For a moment, they were silent. Alice looked out the window; they were now pretty high above the valley, the city sprawled at their feet. The road was meandering, turning this way and that as they climbed uphill. They passed the sign that advised that all public traffic had to turn right towards Broadmoor, one of the more remote areas of the city, located at the foot of the mountains. They continued straight after another board told them that access was restricted for official government business only. What little traffic they've seen now disappeared completely; they were alone on the road.
A minute later they pulled up at the security checkpoint. Jake showed his access card to the guard who looked him in the face intensively.
"I've been coming to work in here for over four years," Jake complained. "Still he acts like I'm some newbie."
"It's his job," Alice reminded, handing in her own Common Access Card. The security waved them in and Jake zigzagged with ease around the cones and sped up the driveway. It took them a couple minutes to arrive at the parking lot in front of the proper entrance. Jake pulled up in a spot between two nicer cars. They both got out and Alice opened the back door to grab her bag, but the marine was faster; he snatched it right from under her hands. She puffed, but let it go. They both walked towards another security station where a van stood ready to take them inside. Another guardsman checked their credentials again and got onto the van with them. They were quickly enveloped in the dark shade of the tunnel and pulled up next to the first set of steel and concrete composite doors to the main building under the mountain. The airman followed them inside and left them only at the final hand-scan checkpoint, before they entered the elevator and began moving down beyond the NORAD and SGC administration areas on levels 1 to 4, all the way to level 11, where they had to switch to a second elevator that took them to level 25.
Alice had been in the Stargate Command only once before and she had been pretty out of it, having sustained a serious injury. She unconsciously rubbed her left shoulder; it had since healed nearly entirely, but at the time she had been convinced she would lose much of its motor function. It turned out not to be that bad; in the end, the permanent damage was less than five percent. She now always knew when a change of weather was coming, but other than that, she regained full use of the arm.
Jake led her to a locker room, where she could change into a uniform. He waited outside while she put on the light blue shirt, the midnight blue slacks and jacket, and a tie tab. Then she adjusted all her ribbons; she had eight to date: Air Force Training Ribbon, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, USAF Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon, National Defense Medal, Air and Space Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Air Force Combat Medal and a Purple Heart. Above them she fastened her pilot wings, since she still technically was a pilot, although she hasn't flown anything in three years. On the right side of the jacket she put a shining name tag. She brushed her hair and pinned it in a neat bun above her neck. She then checked herself in the mirror and satisfied that she looked proper enough, she exited the locker room and handed her bag to Jake. Now that she was in uniform, it would look wrong if she were carrying it around while escorted by an enlisted subordinate.
"Where now?" She asked as he led the way. "I don't even know whom I am supposed to be talking to."
"I wouldn't know," Jake admitted. "But I am to take you to the briefing room." He looked at his watch. "We're right on time." They had to take the elevator again, down two more floors. Alice privately thought it was kind of a drag; the elevators were not very fast. Not to mention it was pretty depressing inside this mountain, only gray walls and artificial light all around, with no windows and no natural air. What if someone was claustrophobic? They wouldn't be able to work in this base, for sure. Alice didn't have any phobias – unless one counted social ineptitude – but she didn't think she'd enjoy working here much, either.
It wasn't until they walked into the briefing room, which had full view of the Stargate, when Alice remembered that in a way, this base had the best window on Earth. She smiled to herself at this thought.
Jake put her bag on the floor next to the table and gestured around broadly.
"So this is where we talk before and after every mission," he said proudly. Alice snickered. Jake had wanted to join an SG unit ever since he was assigned to the base, but for the first three years he had been stonewalled, remaining the enlisted leader of the on-base squad of marines supporting the Air Force Security Forces. It wasn't until a little less than a year ago that his request was finally granted and he became a member of SG-5, a marine combat unit that went through the Gate mostly as support for other teams.
"Nice view," Alice remarked, gesturing to the window through which the Stargate could be seen. "The stairs lead down to the control room?" She remembered seeing the room lined with computers through the reinforced glass when she came through the Gate from Tegalus, three years ago, after the spaceship she had served on, the Prometheus, was destroyed over the planet.
"Yep. And that door right there leads to the CO's office. He's not in, as you can see." The galaxy map on the wall of the briefing room was made of see-through glass which had the base commander's office on the other side, so indeed one could see clearly that it was, at the moment, empty. "Most people have their offices on level 25 or above," Jake continued, pointing his finger upwards.
"Do you have an office?" Alice wondered. Office was something she associated more with officers, nomen omen, but perhaps any member of an SG unit had its own?
"Not really. I have desk in a shared working area on 25, though," Jake admitted. "Team leaders all have their private offices, some other people too. For example Doctor Jackson has one on level 18, although his is more of a lab, really."
"So Doctor Jackson is still in the SG-1? I heard about Colonel Carter."
"Yep, Colonel Mitchell, Doctor Jackson, Teal'c and Vala continue to kick ass out there!"
Alice shook her head. That Vala Mal Doraan would become so trusted and central to Earth's efforts against the Ori as to become a permanent member of SG-1 was still beyond her. She had met her twice in the year-and-a-half Alice spent as a space-fighter pilot aboard the Prometheus, and formed a rather negative opinion of Vala. And then the woman went and saved them all at her own peril. To have misjudged someone so blatantly was still a record for Alice.
"Well, I think it's time I leave you alone, sis," Jake announced, checking his watch. Alice did the same. It was exactly half past noon.
"Alright, thanks for the tour, Staff Sergeant, now go back to your duties!" She quipped. Jake grinned, stood at attention and saluted. Alice returned the salute, smiling too.
"Aye, aye, ma'am!" He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Alice alone. She wandered towards the window to look at the Stargate. It was still now but she remembered well how it looked like when activated; the shimmering blueish surface of the event horizon rippling like water under a breeze.
Alice more felt than heard someone enter the room. He spoke before she had the chance to turn around.
"Enjoying the view?"
Alice faced him and automatically stood at attention upon seeing two silver stars on his epaulets. He was in his mid-sixties, his hair was more gray than dark and he had impressive eyebrows which gave him a strict appearance. He walked inside the room.
"At ease, Captain." He approached the coffee pot sitting on a small table in front of the galaxy map. "Want some?" He lifted the pot, sloshing the liquid inside.
"Yes, thank you, sir." Alice had already had one coffee in the morning, before she set off for Colorado, but she felt she could use another burst of energy. The general poured two cups and handed one to Alice. She thanked him again and waited until he sat down to take a seat herself.
"My name is Major General Hank Landry," he announced unnecessarily, as Alice had already guessed it.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir," she said, quite honestly.
"Your brother is in one of my SG units. He's a good kid." The general was watching her like a hawk; she felt uncomfortable under his stare.
"Yes, sir." She didn't know what else to say so she kept silent.
"Colonel Carter told me your research into smart-learning computers was vital to deciphering and understanding some of the top tech we've inherited from the Asgard," he continued, sipping at his coffee, his eyes never leaving her face.
"I'm not sure what you mean, sir. Inherited from the Asgard?" She frowned. Asgard technology was all over the BC-304s, the Earth-made battlecruisers, but those were gifts given to them as thanks for helping the Asgard in their fight against the Replicators.
"You don't know about that?" The impressive pair of eyebrows on general's face went up. "How the Asgard decided to give us all their knowledge before they destroyed their entire civilization?"
Alice didn't reply, too shocked to speak. The Asgard destroyed their civilization? Why? How? What the fuck has been happening since I left?
Landry continued to stare at her until Alice could gather her wits.
"I didn't have the need-to-know for SG reports while at AFIT, sir," she explained meekly. "I had some limited clearance for scientific data flowing from both SGC and the Groom Lake facility, but that was about all. I mean I know what happened to the Ori, although without any details," she amended. "But not much beyond that."
"Well, you're gonna have some reading to do, then." The general put away his cup, already emptied. Alice was only a few sips into hers.
"Does that mean I'm going back to flying for the Stargate Program, sir?" No matter how shocking was the other news, her new assignment was the most important information for her at the moment.
"That will depend on you." He checked his watch. "Where is this woman?"
It was Alice's turn to raise her eyebrows. What woman? The commander stood up – prompting Alice to jump to her feet as well – and walked to a phone on the wall.
"General Landry here, get me Doctor Lam… Carolyn, you were supposed to meet me in the briefing room. What? Is he gonna be okay? Then transfer him to another doctor, we have enough of them there, don't we? And come on."
He replaced the receiver and turned around.
"Sit down, Captain." He returned to his own seat, too. "I need Doctor Lam here, I can't explain it to you as well as she can."
Explain what? What was going on? She was confused.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I don't understand."
"You wouldn't. I haven't told you anything yet." He picked up his empty cup and looked into it as if he was hoping there'd be some coffee left.
"Would you like me to…?" Alice offered, half-rising, but he waved her down.
"Don't bother. I drink too much coffee anyway." He put the cup back on the table. "So before we start talking about your future assignment, Captain, let me fill you in on the latest happenings." He paused for a moment, considering. "The Ori have been defeated. Goa'uld are no more. We got rid of the Replicators. The Jaffa Nation spans many worlds and although it will take them more time to make it work properly, they are our allies and friends. About the only bigger issue in the Milky Way remains the Lucian Alliance, the haphazard band of smugglers and mercenaries that take advantage of the power vacuum left by the Goa'uld and the Ori. However, we have vastly superior weapons and shields on our ships, and they are not a threat to us."
Alice nodded. The bit about the Lucian Alliance was new to her, but otherwise she had known all of this.
"At the same time, in Pegasus, the situation continues to decline. The Wraith are fighting with each other, while the population of humans dwindles; some fall prey to the Wraith, others die of the effects of the Hoffan drug. The Wraith are desperate to find new sources to feed upon." He looked in the same searching way into Alice's face again. She dropped her gaze to avoid his stare. "A little over a month ago, the Wraith found a way to reach Earth."
"What?!" Alice looked up in alarm. This couldn't be true. After the Goa'uld, the Replicators, the Ori, would they have to contend with the Wraith now too?
"It was only one hive ship, and we were able to destroy it," Landry continued calmly. "But the Wraith won't stop until they either get here, or they're dead."
Alice took a deep breath. It wasn't so bad. Was it?
"If one ship made it here, why others won't follow immediately, sir?" She asked, because she couldn't stand not knowing.
"Their hive ships don't have the capability for inter-galactic travel. The one was modified with a ZPM, that's how it was able to reach us." He was silent for a moment. "They got the Ancient Control Chair. We've moved it from Antarctica to Area 51. They sent Wraith Darts on a suicide mission and succeeded in destroying it."
"What about the base personnel?" Alice had lived in the Groom Lake base for over a year and a half, it had been her Permanent Duty Station when not deployed aboard the Prometheus. She knew many people there.
"There were some fatalities," Landry acknowledged. "But the Chair was in a remote area and only those working directly with it were caught in the blast. Twenty-six people in total."
"I'm sorry, sir." But she felt relieved to know that most had survived.
"There is one more interesting twist in that story." Landry's lips formed a smile, but it was not a happy nor amused one. "The Atlantis followed the hive to try and stop them."
"I don't understand, sir."
"The city is a ship, too. It can fly. It came here after the hive. It's currently parked at the pacific coast in San Francisco."
"Atlantis is here?" Alice felt that if they were cartoon characters, her jaw would have dropped to the floor just now.
"Cloaked, of course. Been here for over a month. There were some problems, it needed a lot of repairs. Those are still not finished, but we expect they should be over within a month or two. After that, we intend to send it back to the Pegasus galaxy, to continue the fight with the Wraith."
A horrible suspicion began forming in Alice's mind. They wouldn't send her there, would they? She was a damn fighter pilot! She had been hoping she'd be assigned to the Odyssey or some other BC-304. Maybe even the George Hammond, Colonel Carter's new ship which was about to launch for the first time. But not Atlantis. How was she supposed to keep an eye on her mother if she was three million light years away? It was different than deployments on a battlecruiser; a ship had to dock every now and again, or at least stay on Earth's orbit for a while.
"Ah, Doctor Lam, finally!" Landry stood up again, and Alice rose as well. She turned around to see a woman in a white lab coat, with civilian clothing underneath. "Captain, this is Doctor Carolyn Lam, the SGC's Chief Medical Officer. Carolyn, this is Captain Alice Boyd. I believe you two have met."
Alice looked at him in surprise. She had excellent memory, yet she couldn't remember ever seeing that face, although she did know of her position at the Stargate Command.
"I wouldn't call it that," the doctor said entering the room and holding out her hand. "You were unconscious on my operating table at the time."
Alice shook her hand and smiled. "Oh, so you are the one I have to thank for my arm." She nodded to her left.
"I mostly assisted, doctor Pau was leading the surgery," Lam admitted. Alice nodded. Doctor Pau had been her primary physician for the injury.
"Let's sit," Landry interrupted and gestured to the table. They took their seats. "Doctor Lam, will you please explain to Captain Boyd about the ATA gene."
Lam nodded. "Captain, do you know what the Ancient Technology Activation gene is?"
"I presume it's the gene that allows certain people to access and use Ancient technology," Alice replied, trying to keep her voice polite, but it seemed that her worst fears were about to turn true.
"That's right. The body of a person possessing the gene produces certain enzymes and proteins that interact with the cells in the individual's organism, including the nervous system and brain, which permits to operate the Ancient systems by touch and thought." She flipped open a file folder she was carrying; Alice hadn't noticed it previously. "Doctor Beckett of the Atlantis expedition has developed a gene therapy to implant it in those who aren't born with it. It is, unfortunately, only successful in about 47% of the cases, and even those are not always permanent, and their ability to operate Ancient technology is limited."
Alice didn't move, anticipating already what was coming next.
"About two years ago we've began scanning all Stargate personnel's DNA samples on record for the presence of the gene. As you were no longer part of the Program, yours wasn't checked. However, your brother's was and it turned out that he possesses the gene naturally."
Alice blinked quickly. She wasn't sure now where Lam was going with this.
"Do you know what an allele is, Captain?"
"Of course, a variant of a given gene."
"The ATA gene is in itself a very simple one, and it is passed along the line according to the Mandelian inheritance model. That means that there are exactly two alleles of the gene, and each allele is in dominant or recessive relationship to another. There is no co-dominance."
Alice nodded. It meant that the phenotype of one allele would mask the contribution of another.
"Do you mean to say that the dominant allele is what allows for the operation of the Ancient technology?" Alice asked. Her curiosity was piqued now.
"No, not exactly. The very existence of the gene in one's DNA is enough for the ability to operate the Ancient technology to manifest itself. However, we believe that the dominant allele indicates the strength of that ability in an individual."
"I see."
"It is a little more complex than that, it appears that difference in strength exists even between people with the same relationships of the alleles, but as a rule those with recessive alleles are always less capable in operating the Ancient technology."
"We currently know of only three people in the Program that have this ability as a dominant trait," General Landry put in, betraying that he understood much more than he claimed to. "That is Doctor Beckett himself, Lieutenant General O'Neill and Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard."
Alice frowned. There were hundreds of people working for the Stargate Program now. Was it really that rare?
"And my brother…?"
"Has two recessive alleles," Doctor Lam finished. "So he's able to operate the Ancient technology, but nowhere near the efficiency of Colonel Sheppard, for example."
"He refused to join the Atlantis expedition," Landry added. Alice looked at him in disbelief. Her brother, always so ready for action, and he refused? That was unlike him. "He preferred to stay on Earth."
There was something weird in the way Landry said that, but Alice couldn't figure out what, or what it meant. She filed it under consider later and moved on to the more immediate problem.
"But you didn't check my DNA, did you?"
"Not at the time. But we've been scanning the DNA of most of the Air Force personnel on record. It takes time to do so, and we get a few positive results every once in a while, but not everyone is fit to go off-world. With your imminent return to the Program, we bumped you to the top of the queue." Lam handed over the folder she had previously opened. Alice looked at the single sheet inside.
"Two dominant alleles," she said aloud. So there was it. She had been doomed by her own genes. This meant that both her parents had to have one dominant and one recessive allele, to allow for this combination: her brother with two recessives, and herself with two dominants. She suddenly remembered something. "My grandmother's maiden name was Sheppard."
This visibly surprised the two others.
"You're related to John Sheppard?" Landry's eyes bore into her face like drills again.
"I don't know. All I know is that my maternal grandmother's maiden name was Erin Sheppard. As far as I know she was an only child, but it's possible her father, my great-grandfather, had siblings. I would have to ask my mother."
"It would make sense," Doctor Lam noted. "Being related to someone with a strong gene makes the probability of your own gene manifesting strongly go up, too."
Alice silently cursed herself. She should've kept quiet about it. Although, to be fair, she didn't think it changed the situation much.
"Well, ma'am, it's a rather common name. It's probably irrelevant."
"The point is," General Landry interjected. "The Atlantis expedition sure could use someone with your ability."
"But we don't know yet if I have that ability." Alice felt it was a desperate attempt, but she had to try. "I mean… we haven't checked that, sir."
"We will." The CO nodded curtly. "But from what Carolyn tells me, it's all but guaranteed that you will be able to operate the Ancient technology better than most of the others."
Alice didn't reply, but looked away, towards the window, through which the dark shape of the Stargate loomed, suddenly much less appealing than before. But I'm a pilot. I want to fly fighters. That's what you've trained me for. And from what you've told me, now it would actually make a difference. I bet we would see a lot of action against that Lucian Alliance.
"So here's the deal, Captain. The City of Atlantis is going back to Pegasus within the next month or two, depending on how the repairs go. The Homeworld Command would like you to go with them." Landry paused; Alice was still looking at the window. "However, the Atlantis expedition is a volunteer-only assignment. Your brother has refused. You have that possibility too. If you do, we will find a place for you somewhere else."
Alice sighed and shifted her gaze towards the CO. His mouth was a straight line, and his eyes were focused on her again.
"Before you decide, you should know what you could be getting yourself into. I will make all the reports available to you right away. You have two days to read them and reach a decision."
"Yes, sir." Alice nodded solemnly. "May I ask in what capacity would I be going there, sir, should I agree?"
"I didn't say?" General Landry allowed himself a small smile. "A Jumper pilot, of course."
Alice blinked very fast. She knew, vaguely, what Puddle Jumpers were, and they may have not been classic fighters, but at least she'd be flying again.
Landry watched her for a moment longer.
"Alright, that's all for now, Captain. You'll be assigned a guest quarter on the base while you familiarize yourself with the reports from Atlantis. Airman, show the captain the way." He gestured at the Security Forces guy standing guard at the entrance to the room. Then the general stood up and said to Alice: "Dismissed."
Alice jumped to her feet, picked up her bag and walked out, preceded by the airman. She handed him the bag to carry and he led her along the corridor to the elevator and up to the level 14. Most of the personnel of the SGC had their quarters on levels 12, 13, 14 and 15, while senior staff and SG units had theirs on level 25. VIP rooms were also located there, however standard guest rooms were situated on level 14. That's where the airman brought her. He put her bag on a table inside the room and left her alone, closing the door as he exited. Alice looked around.
The room was small and gray. The walls of concrete were bare; there was a double bed with two nightstands on one side, and a desk with a chair on the other. A small flatscreen fixed above a dresser, a single armchair and a slim, tall closet complemented the furniture. Alice sighed. It was far from perfect, but at least she only had to be there for two days. Jake was spending most of his time in such conditions. True, he also had an apartment in town, but she knew he usually only went back there for the weekends. Somehow it looked much worse to her than her old cabin on the Prometheus; maybe because they did have windows, even though they only showed the blackness of space.
Alice unpacked her bag, hung up her spare uniforms in the closet and left her laptop on the desk. She then removed her jacket, making sure she got all the ribbons, pins and badges off of it first. Another set was on the shirt underneath – the name tag and the pilot wings, and on the epaulets she had the two silver bars of a captain. With that done, she had successfully changed from the Service Dress Uniform to the Blue Service Uniform. She was ready to go explore the base.
After two hours of walking here and there, she had arrived at one conclusion: it was huge. Countless people worked there day and night; not only SG teams or scientists, but medical personnel, technicians, Security Forces, aides, cooks, stewards, maintenance people and even accountants and other paper-pushers, who were mostly staying on the top levels 1 through 4. There were huge storage areas, housing everything from foodstuffs to weapons and ammunition, and underground lakes – tanks full of water and diesel – in case power from the outside world were to be cut. One level held an enormous computer mainframe, another – an assortment of MALPs, UAVs and FREDs. Thankfully, at some point, Alice arrived at level 22, where the main kitchen and the mess were located. It was there that Alice spotted her brother again and let out a sigh of relief. Here comes the cavalry.
Jake was sitting at a table with two other people, one of them already known to Alice, so she approached them without her usual awkwardness.
"Hey, Jake, look," Robert Dawson said, nodding towards Alice. She had met him three years prior, when they spent a week at Boyds' house during Christmas break. Jake had presented him as his friend, but Alice guessed that there was more between them. To this date, however, Jake never confirmed her theory.
"Allie, come sit with us!" Jake exclaimed as he turned around to see. "Luis, this is my sister, Captain Alice Boyd. Allie, this is my team-mate, Corporal Luis Garcia. And you remember Robert, of course."
Alice waved at the young corporal to keep his seat. "Of course. Nice to see you again, Robert."
"Likewise, ma'am." He didn't forget they were both in uniforms and on the base now.
"So, Jake, how does it work here? Who do I have to beat up to get some food?"
Jake grinned at her. "I'd love to see you beating up any of the boys on steward duty, doll."
Alice rolled her eyes at him and strutted towards the side of the room where heated containers full of different foods stood manned by uniformed stewards. Jake followed her to help her get her bearings. Five minutes later they were back at the table, Alice with a full tray; Jake had been adding items to it all the way.
"Haven't you had enough?" She sighed, exasperated, when he snatched half of it towards his own plate as they sat down.
"Never, sis!" He answered, his mouth already chewing something. Alice shook her head and dug in, too; she was hungry, having eaten for the last time before departing for the airport in Los Angeles.
"Not bad," she said, meaning the food. "And it's free, too?"
"Oh yeah. Everything here is free," Robert answered because Jake couldn't talk at the moment. "Has to be. It's already a pretty difficult place to live at, would suck if you had to pay for food or gym time and stuff."
"You're still with SG-15, Sergeant?"
"Yes, ma'am. Wouldn't change this assignment for the world." Alice caught a brief exchange of looks between him and Jake and suddenly knew why Jake refused to join the Atlantis expedition. Wow. It's that serious. It made her sad that her brother still hadn't chosen to say anything to her, but as always, she held her tongue on the subject.
"What about you, Allie? What did they tell you?" Jake managed to swallow a big mouthful and could speak again.
"Oh, well… They want me to go to Pegasus with Atlantis."
Jake nodded shrewdly. "I thought it might be that. I figured if I had the gene, you'd have it too. What did you say?"
"Nothing yet. I've been pretty out of the loop recently so they want me to go through the Atlantis mission reports first, before I make any decision. General Landry told me about the hive that reached Earth and everything… that was pretty shocking."
"Yeah, sorry, sis. I couldn't tell you." Jake sounded guilty.
"You weren't allowed to." Alice shrugged. "I understand."
"But what are you going to do?" Her brother could be persistent when he wanted to.
Alice sighed. "I don't know yet. I don't want to go."
"Then don't go."
"It's not that easy." She shook her head and put the fork down. She lost her appetite. "I can't just refuse and expect good treatment on the next assignment."
"What's that bullshit?" Jake frowned. "You mad or what? They can't manipulate you to go. Plus, it'd be pretty stupid on their part not to use your big brain and nimble fingers."
"Euh, Jake, you make it sound dirty," Alice complained while Dawson and Garcia laughed out loud.
"What else are big brothers for?" Jake said lightly and grinned at her. It did succeed at lifting her spirits a bit. But she knew it wouldn't be an easy decision. She had a lot of thinking to do.
