Visions From the Past
Chapter 1 - The Beginning
By: Lorrie Ellis The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Stargate: Atlantis". The characters belong to MGM, The Sci-Fi channel, etc. but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)
Flashback
John popped the clutch and slammed the floor shift of his Mustang GT into 4th, watching the speedometer jump to 60 mph in less than a second. He laughed as the boy in the passenger seat let out a rebel yell. "Oh man, is this ride ever sweet! I can't believe this was a graduation gift." He exclaimed.
A traffic light at the intersection of First and Main forced John to tap the brakes and slam the shift into 1st. A Z28 Camero pulled up along side, the driver revving the engine.
The passenger in John's car nodded to the driver and then began to laugh. "What are you doing?" John asked.
"Just having a little fun, bro." The passenger replied.
"Not with another car, man. You know I had a couple of beers at the graduation party." John stated.
"You're fine. You had two, I had six. But, I tell you what, you're not gonna be fine if you're not ready to go when this light changes."
The light changed from red to green and the two sports cars squealed tires as they laid fresh rubber on the asphalt of the empty 3:00 a.m. street.
"Whew-Whew!" John's passenger shouted as they picked up speed, leaving the Camero in their dust. "Man, again I say, this ride is sweet!" He unbuckled his seat belt and pulled his upper body through the sunroof.
"Jay, get back in here!" John shouted, pulling at the young man's shirt.
"Hey man, look at me, I'm flying!"
At that instant, time stood still for John. He watched in slow motion as the Camero he had been racing with just minutes before, t-boned the Mustang in the passenger's side door. He held tight to Jay's shirt, but felt his body lift as the car's impact and then his world went black.
Present day, Atlantis 3:00 a.m.
John bolted to a sitting position, looking quickly around the room, trying to get his bearings. He looked at his hands, half expecting to find the piece of Jay's torn shirt still in his hand. He closed his eyes tightly and fought back threatening tears. "Why now, John?" He questioned himself, but deep down, he knew the answer. It was 3:00 a.m., June 12 . . . the anniversary of the accident; the day his world was turned upside down forever.
John lay in bed for a few minutes, but decided that there was no point. He couldn't possibly go back to sleep now. He dressed and headed towards the gym. When he arrived there, he was somewhat surprised to find Ronan there working out.
"Shepherd." Ronan greeted as the Lt. Colonel entered the room.
"Ronan." John replied.
"What got you up so early?" The Seteden warrior asked.
John slightly shook his head. "I woke up and just couldn't get back to sleep."
"Me either." Ronan stopped lifting weights and took a seat next to John on one of the benches in the center of the room. "Shepherd, do you ever think about the past?"
Now John was beginning to wonder if Ronan could read minds. "Why do you ask?" He questioned.
Ronan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess, sometimes I miss the way things used to be, you know? On my home world, before the Wraith attacked, I had a mother, a sister, friends and . . ." A smiled covered his face as he thought of his fiancé', "my woman."
John smiled back at him. "You were married?" He asked.
"I was going to be." Ronan nodded and then let his head drop. "She was killed in the final battle, just before I was taken by the Wraith. Later, I found out that all of my relatives were dead."
John's thoughts returned to the dream he had earlier and the great loss he had experienced that summer. "I can sympathize with you buddy. Not that I've ever been engaged, but I do know what its like to loose people you love."
"I thought that you might understand that." Ronan replied.
John looked puzzled. "Why did you think that?"
Ronan shrugged. "You want to spar?"
"Sure, why not?" John said, picking up the two stick weapons, favorites of Teyla's.
At 6:00 a.m., Teyla, Rodney and Dr. Weir were joined by John and Ronan in the cafeteria. "So, what's good on the menu this morning?" John asked.
"The menu is as usual, Colonel." Teyla replied with a warm smile, which both John and Ronan quickly returned.
"Well, you two certainly look chipper this morning." Rodney said as he took a seat.
"Yeah, that's what two hours of sparring will do for you." Ronan said.
Rodney's mouth gaped. "You've been up since 4:00?"
"3:00 for me, actually." John corrected.
"More like 2:00 for me." Ronan added.
Elizabeth stared at the two team members. "Well, I guess it's a very good thing that we don't have any off-world missions scheduled for today."
Rodney quickly chewed the food in his mouth and shook his finger in Elizabeth's direction. "Ah, yes, but we do have an extensive exploration of the caves found on the mainland. You know, the ones with the Ancient writings, and we need Col. Shepherd, or at least his ATA gene."
John smirked. "Well, unfortunately, where it goes, I go.'
"John, if you're not up to this today, we can reschedule it." Elizabeth stated.
"Ah yes," Rodney remarked, "if the Colonel is having sleeping troubles, let the rest of us and our schedules suffer."
John polished off his orange juice. "I'm fine. Let's go."
"Well, I have to get my staff together and my equipment and . . . " Rodney stammered.
John stood up. "Just let me know when you're ready to head out."
Rodney gathered his team of scientists and his equipment and headed towards the jumper bay to load up. "OK, where's Shepherd?" He asked as he check around, seeing everyone except the Colonel.
"I believe he and Dr. Weir are in her office." Teyla offered.
"Oh, I see." Rodney said, tapping his watch and then tapped his radio. "Excuse me, Dr. Weir, Colonel Shepherd, minutes are ticking."
"Rodney, we're on our way." Elizabeth replied calmly.
John laughed. "What is it with him and this need to explore that cave today?
Elizabeth chuckled. "I don't know, but he does seem pretty insistent, doesn't he?"
"Guess we'd better not keep him waiting much longer, he might burst a vessel or something." John smiled.
As they rounded the corner, Rodney cocked his head. "Nice of you two to join us, now let's move out."
John surveyed the barrage of equipment Rodney had packed into each scientist's pack and the portable equipment he had several of his team ready to push out. "Rodney." He said in a patronizing tone. "Do you think you have everything, or should we have someone strap the kitchen sink to their backs?"
Rodney's face was stoic. "Oh, laugh if you must, but any of this equipment may prove to be invaluable out there."
"Fine, you can account for the weight distribution in the jumpers then."
Rodney looked around at the equipment. "Yes, yes, yes, well, I guess we could leave this." He pointed at a large piece of equipment. "And maybe this and this." He offloaded two more pieces. "But that's it. The rest of it has to come with us."
John shook his head. "OK, OK, let's just get moving." He checked his P90, and then stepped into the jumper. "Let's move out!" He ordered.
TBC