Stargate Atlantis: Child's Play

"Colonel Sheppard."

At first John Sheppard didn't hear the summons. Or rather didn't pay attention to it. He was absorbed in his own thoughts as he strode purposefully down the hallway. His mind was on several things at once, thoughts racing from concerns to missions to recent events.

Vegas.

That nightmare.

"Colonel Sheppard!" The woman's voice was strident, a little breathless as she had to almost race to catch up with his long strides.

John smirked, hearing a trace of annoyance. He abruptly stopped and turned.

Moira O'Meara almost crashed into him but caught herself at the last second and stumbled backwards. She stared a moment. The military commander appeared irate, handsome face set in a scowl, although a flash of merriment danced briefly in his green eyes. There was a jagged scratch above one eye, and it made him appear both dangerous and sexy.

"Yes?" John asked, meeting her gaze. He waited. Waited. "Yes?" he repeated.

"Oh. I…I have that report," she stammered, collecting herself. "The one you wanted. The report you wanted about the, the new species."

"And?"

She frowned. "And I thought you wanted any information as soon as poss—"

"—ible, yes, where? Where is it?"

"In the lab. At least the preliminary results of the DNA analysis and a comparison to—"

"Show me."

She nodded, began to walk the way she had come. John watched her a moment, not following. The lack of a lab coat revealed the sway of her hips as she walked quickly. The khaki pants hugged her rear very agreeably.

Moira stopped. She turned to see that he hadn't moved. "Colonel? I can't show you from way over there," she chastised.

He smiled. "You just did, doctor." He strode to her and they resumed walking side by side. "Ballpark it for me," he suggested, gaze roving over the front of her shirt. The green t-shirt had an interesting Celtic design but it was faded.

"What? Oh. They're human."

"What? What?" He caught her arm, halting her.

She met his gaze. "Human, or rather a species of human."

"What?"

She sighed. "Let me show you." He freed her arm. They resumed walking. They took a transporter down two levels and across the city. They entered a bio lab. "Just give me a minute to bring up the data." She moved to a monitor. She touched it and the machine beeped, flaring to life as she quickly accessed the data. John realized that she had the ATA gene. "It will only take a few moments. I wanted to, to show you first-hand because, because no one will listen."

John was silent. He glanced round the lab but they were quite, quite alone. He neared with slow, silent steps, as if he would spook her but she was intent on her task, leaning slightly as her fingers danced across the keyboard. Her brown hair spilled along her shoulders. She moved a vase out of the way. It contained a single scarlet rose that was almost in full, luscious bloom. Its delicate fragrance wafted on the still air. He licked his lips, suddenly nervous. "I, I had sex."

Moira froze. She didn't know what to say. She turned to look at him. Her brown eyes were full of uncertainty, bafflement. He was silent, awaiting her reaction. "Congratulations, colonel. Do you want a medal?"

He smirked at the sarcasm, biting back a laugh. "Ah, no. I just…"

"Just what? Oh, I see." She turned back to the computer.

"You do? I mean…not that I didn't earn a medal, believe me," he added, feeling the need to brag if just a bit. "I just meant, I just meant it was very…it was just sex. It didn't mean anything. Not here. There. When I was gone I was in an alternate reality. On Earth. Vegas. And I…she thought I was him, me, I mean the me of that reality but he died so I, um, it didn't mean anything. It's not like I impersonated him because he's me, or was me…you can't impersonate yourself, you know. Can you? I mean it's not like I'm seeing anyone here, yet, and I probably shouldn't tell her about this if I was, should I?"

"I wouldn't."

"Ah. So, I just…there." He couldn't rationalize the inexplicable need to tell her. He scratched his head, his hair. He fidgeted as he stood waiting. "Moira?"

"Homo erectus."

"What?"

She glanced at him as she pulled on her lab coat, wrapping herself in science to douse any other emotions or reactions. "The species. Look. Look at the screen," she clarified as his gaze was moving from her face to her name embroidered on the lab coat. For some reason he seemed riveted by that area of the material, or perhaps what was underneath it. She knew it was a foolish thought and she dismissed it.

John was thinking about that scrap of material that was in his pants pocket. The one from the nightmare he had torn from her lab coat, when he couldn't bring himself to kill her until the very last moment. That nightmare that been a nightmare of course, but that scrap of material was real enough and it made him wonder. He also noted the swell of her breast underneath her name on the coat. Finally he looked at the screen. "That?"

"Yes." Moira was staring at him. She turned and opened another window. "The scan of the skeleton matches the species Homo erectus exactly, down to the skull's brow ridge and larger brain capacity, and sturdier build. Of course I have no DNA for a comparison but the DNA did confirm that they are human, a species of human but not our species. Did you know that once there were at least four different species of humans living simultaneously on Earth?"

"No." His voice was quiet as he stepped closer to eye the screens.

"You're probably wondering how I was able to narrow it down to this specific species." Before John could speak she continued. "You're thinking it's just a hominid, aren't you, like Doctor Simmons and the rest, but it's a hominin, clearly."

"There's a difference?" he asked, regretting it as she continued indignantly.

"Of course there's a difference! Hominids include humans and chimps and gorillas, and yes we are all genetically related and have a distant common ancestor before we all diverged through evolution. Hominins are human only, all species of humans whether it be H. sapiens or H. rudolfensis or H. antecessor or H. heidelbergensis or Neanderthals or H. hablis or H. erectus! The point is this! Look at this footage! I could salvage most of it from what I filmed." She opened another screen. "From a comparison of the scans to known fossils and skulls this species is Homo erectus, or a variant thereof that has somehow evolved to this development of the—"

"Whoa, doctor, I'm not arguing with you. Just go easy on the Latin, please."

She glanced at him, smiled at his pained expression. "Sorry, colonel. The point is that these aliens aren't aliens at all, but a species of human. It is plausible that in their galaxy their species won out over ours. Imagine a world where Homo sapiens died out or never evolved at all, and Homo erectus inherited the world. I know what you're thinking. The grey skin? It could have been an environmental adaptation to a different sun, a different atmosphere, or a different gravity that could also explain their heavier build. Of course the mechanical interface is what is most intriguing. It's not an organic implant but a manufactured one fused with the neural centers of the frontal lobe and…colonel?"

John was staring fixedly at the screen. He had been watching the grainy footage of the aliens. "The markings?"

She stared a moment. He seemed to have accepted everything she had said without question. "Um, who knows? A symbol, a tribal symbol or religious symbol I don't know. Indicative of class or rank like the Wraith, or a societal inference or even a company logo, I don't know."

"They're more advanced. The ships, the weapons, the neural implant, the armor, even." He met her gaze. "Do you think this species is more advanced than we are? They must be," he answered before she could reply, "given that they have spaceships and laser weaponry and a level of technology that is compensatory with the Ancients if not more advanced. Do you think they have a language or a—"

"Colonel Sheppard to the control room!" spit out of the PA from the wall.

"Hang on." John tapped his earpiece, gaze moving back to the screen. "This is Sheppard."

"John! We've found a power fluctuation in the third quadrant and when we went to investigate it we found a virtual orgy of laboratories and then—"

"Slow down, Rodney! The third quadrant? Are you sure? That's been sealed off for years."

"Of course I'm sure! I'm standing in it right now! You have to see this!"

"On my way. Sheppard out." He met her gaze. "Sorry about that. If what you say is true then these fuglies should go down like people, right? I mean they will have the same basic anatomy and weaknesses and we can kill them."

"Homo erectus," she corrected, "and yes, although their physiology is more robust and stronger, but yes, they should be able to be killed like us."

He nodded. "Thanks, Moira. I've got to go check on this. Have this report ready to present at the debrief in an hour."

"The…no. I mean I already gave the, the report to Doctor Simmons and he apprises Mr. Woolsey and does the—"

"But he didn't, is that it? Well, I'm asking you to do it in an hour, Moira." He headed for the door.

"Colonel? Colonel, wait! John! John, I can't!" She rushed after him. "John, I mean I just can't—"

He turned to her, smiled. "You just can, Doctor O'Meara. One hour. And find out why the Wraith can't feed on them while you're at it, all right?"

Before she could reply he was gone.