Guess They Were Right.
Chapter Two: Took You Long Enough
Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Stargate Atlantis, the characters on the show, or any ideas related to the show. I only lay claim to Major Emily Shaw, as she is of my own design.
It had taken a little over six weeks to get to where she was now, but the view from her bedroom balcony was so stunning that she, for a few minutes, actually forgot where she was and how she got there.
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Six Weeks Ago
"Ah, Major Shaw, please enter" Samantha said as she entered the board room, a smile stuck on her face in an attempt to mask her own curiosity and nervousness.
"Major Shaw this is General Jack O'Neill and Dr. Elizabeth Weir" Samantha introduced, Emily's hand immediately going to her brow to salute both higher ranking military officials"
"Colonel, General" she said, greeting both of them briskly before standing still at attention by the door.
"At ease, major" the general barked, his voice laced with tenacity and bluntness. She relaxed and strode over to where the three other people were gathered, Emily outstretching a hand to give all of them a handshake.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you" she said politely, shaking everyone's hand before sitting down next to the dark haired woman, Dr. Weir, who still remained silent.
"We're here to debrief you about the assignment you've been chosen for but before that we have some...administrative things to take care of" Samantha said, exchanging a curious look to both of her colleagues. Emily nodded and leaned forward, remainly silent but anxious.
"First of all we are hereby updating you security clearance to top secret, as without top secret security clearance you will not be able to hear about or partake in the mission" the general said in a brisk tone, giving her a pointed look before leaning back in his chair and placing his feet up on the table.
She nodded once but remained silent, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Dr. Weir was analyzing her with undeniably scrutiny.
"Second of all you will be required to stay here in the complex for the next six weeks before your deployment in order to be deemed fit for duty. There will be a series of aptitude, dexterity, coordination, combat, firearm, tactical and physical tests for you to complete over the next 6 weeks in order to verify your abilities as outlined in your application" Samantha said, pulling out a few sheets of paper from a file folder that was in front of her.
Emily straightened up a bit at the last part; application?
"I beg your pardon, Colonel, but did you say application?" Emily asked, wanting clarification. There must have been some misunderstanding; she hadn't applied for this position, she'd been told that she'd be drafted.
"Yes Major, your application" Sam clarified, holding up the sheets of paper she'd just pulled out.
"Is there a problem?" General O'Neill butted in briskly, eyeing her with pointed disinterest.
"Uh, No sir, at least, I hope not. I didn't apply to this position. My commanders told me I'd been drafted" she said slowly, hoping that this information in no way affected her position. She watched as the two military figures exchanged looks while Dr. Weir's eyes remained on her, as they had been for the past five minutes.
"Well, you were a subject of interests to us, but you were never drafted" Sam said slowly, returning her eyes back to Emily.
"God, we haven't drafted anyone since the last world war" the General interrupted, giving a definite eye roll before returning his attention else where.
"What the General means is that after interest was expressed about you, an application was sent to your squadron in...Cold Lake. We expected that you would, if interested, fill it out and then return it. Can you look at this please and make sure all the information written is accurate?" Samantha asked, holding the papers out to her.
She took them hastily and began reading them, thankful to realize that all of the information about her was correct. She'd just finished analyzing her own exceptionally forged signature when she looked up, both Sam and Dr. Weir's eyes locked on her.
"Everything on here is correct, Colonel" she supplied, handing back the pages.
"Then I see no need to alter the offer. I think that it is for administrative business for now, so I guess Dr. Weir can begin the debrief. Dr. Weir?" Sam said, surrendering the power of the conversation to the silent doctor.
Eventually, the woman rose from her side and stood at the head of the table, papers in her hand that she eventually relinquished to Emily.
"Major Shaw, I'm going to apologize in advance for whatever confusion the next thirty minutes might bring. Just know that everything will be explained in due course"
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"Settling in okay?" she heard a voice call from inside her room, causing her to turn around briskly. She saw Colonel Sheppard walking into her room and look around, his attention finally captured as she called to him from the balcony.
"Nice view, isn't it" he commented as he joined her on the terrace, the sun setting on the horizon making a stunning dusk sky full of pinks and oranges.
"Stunning" she murmured in response, taking a small glance to her left to where Sheppard was standing, his green eyes pointed out onto the horizon and the setting sun.
She had to admit, he was extremely good looking. Tall with an athletic build, short, neatly tousled brown hair, and unique green eyes. Her eyes wandered to his nametag and she immediately slapped herself repeatedly in the face in her head. He's your commanding officer! She mentally reminded herself before clearing her throat.
"Is there something you wanted, Colonel?" she asked with unavoidable briskness, turning to face him.
"No, just wanted to see how you were. How's your room?" he asked as she gestured for him to follow her in. They stood at the centre of the room and looked around.
"Well, let's just say this room makes my room back at Cold Lake look like a broom closet" she joked, giving a little military humour she knew he'd appreciate. He laughed along with her and nodded.
"So you were stationed at Cold Lake, Alberta?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest as he waited for a response.
"Yes I was. Flight Leader, Squadron Commander" she said, laying out her credentials. He smiled and nodded in appreciation.
"Must have been hard to leave behind" he commented.
Immediately, Noah's face popped into her head.
"It was. Harder than I thought it'd be" she said, looking away from his eyes and back out the window.
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before he spoke.
"Anyways, I'll let you unpack. We'll debrief you on everything else tomorrow morning" he said before heading towards the door, biding her goodnight before leaving her to be.
She stood at the centre of the room for a few more seconds, thinking about everything that had happened.
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"Wait, are you saying there are actual aliens out there?" she asked in a demanding tone, wanting to make sure that she heard the doctor correctly.
"We prefer the term alternate life forms but yes, there are essentially aliens living both the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies" Dr. Weir responded diplomatically, trying to keep a small smile off of her lips.
"For years now, we've been exploring this galaxy, the Milky Way, here at the SGC. Stargates, the portal devices that we travel through, in this galaxy have seven digits or symbols per say unique to each and every gate; almost like a telephone number. However, about five years ago a scientist here discovered the gate address to a Pegasus Stargates that had eight symbols. Since then, there has been an ongoing mission based in Atlantis to explore that galaxy, potentially unlocking gates to even further, distant galaxies. Your assignment, Major Shaw, is to join the military force at Atlantis as they continue to explore the Pegasus galaxy" Samantha said, cutting in.
"Wait. If they are already there, why do they need more military personnel?" she asked, her eyes going from Sam to Dr. Weir and even to the General.
She watched as the three of them exchanged looks before Dr. Weir spoke.
"We recently lost one of our team leaders. Another major stepped up to assume the role and now we have lots of marines with very few authority figures. We're bringing in another Major, a Captain, and several civilian scientists to join us at Atlantis" Dr. Weir explained again, with such diplomacy that it was beginning to unnerve her.
"Lost?"
Another look was exchanged.
"He died in action"
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Unpacking didn't take that long. Besides the duffle bag she brought with her from home, she had another duffle bag full of new military fatigues and other belongings she sent for while at Colorado. After three hours of settling into her new quarters, her wrist watched beeped to signal it was nine in the evening and almost mechanically, her stomach let out a growl. She'd just taken a step out of her door when she realized she had no idea where the mess hall was.
She remembered the ear piece Sheppard had given her when she'd arrived so she pulled it out of her pocket, slipping it over her ear and activating it by touching it.
"Colonel Sheppard?" she asked aloud, feeling like an idiot.
Silence.
"Sheppard's busy" a gruff voice responded a few seconds later, so clear and loud it was as if he'd been standing right beside her.
"Oh. Uh...alright then. Who is this?" she asked, imaging how psychotic she must look just standing in a hallway walking to herself.
"Ronan, who's this" the gruff voice answered with bluntness and a touch of rudeness. She was taken a bit aback; she didn't even know who the hell this guy was, so why was he being so mean?
"Major Shaw. Look, do you know how to get to the mess hall? I'm new here" she said, looking around the hall once more.
More silence.
"Go straight. Take a left. Then another left. Then a right"
She looked ahead of her and saw a hallway. She would have liked more precise directions, but something told her that if she asked for them, he wouldn't give them.
"Thanks" she said before starting on her way, not surprised to hear silence instead of a 'you're welcome'.
It took her longer than expected, but after several wrong turns and eventually having to ask a passerby how to get there, she found her way to the mess hall. She'd just picked finished picking up an apple, two bananas and a bottle of water when she was startled by someone's voice.
"Took you long enough"
It was the same, gruff voice that had spoken to her over the ear wig and as she spun around, she finally put a face to the name. It was the man on the balcony from this morning whose eyes she'd caught after she'd stepped through the gate. He was so unique and distinct from all the others that even up close, she had a hard time looking away from him. He was a tall, full-of-brute-strength kind of man with long brown dreadlocks, tanned skin and eyes so sharp she couldn't tell whether or not what she saw was kindness or cruelty.
"Well, you didn't exactly hand me a map with you directions there" she said sarcastically, hoping to withdraw a laugh from him.
She didn't.
"I'm Major Shaw, by the way. Emily Shaw" she said, sticking out her hand. He looked down at her hand, up at her, and then repeated that movement once more before replying.
"Ronan. Dex" he said finally, outstretching his own hand as he took her's in a crushing handshake.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ronan. Anyways, it's late and I being debriefed tomorrow so I better get going" she said, looking away from him for the first time as she side stepped away from him to head towards the door.
She'd just reached the doorway when she looked over her shoulder, a little unnerved to find him watching her as she retreated back to the confines of her bedroom.
((Author's Note: Thanks for all the great response! Please keep reviewing, it really means a lot!))
