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Chapter Two: Meet Your Partners: Part One
There were five of them in all. One of them appeared in the gate room. Another appeared in one of the many corridors. A third appeared on the balcony of Dr. Carson Beckett's personal quarters. Yet another appeared in the Jumper bay. A fifth appeared in the infirmary. All of them were unconscious, and all of them appeared human. They were not, however, found at the same time.
The one in the gate room was found first. The woman on the floor was surrounded by a few armed military officers and Dr. Weir. She had shoulder length blonde hair and deeply tanned skin.
The second was found in the infirmary with Dr. Carson Beckett and a few nurses standing around the bed the intruder had materialized on. A few curious patients were also observing the thin, dark-skinned man with his long, light brown hair covering parts of his face.
The third one they found in a corridor not too far from Rodney's quarters. The second man was tall with thick brown hair that reached just below his ears. When Rodney saw him, his eyes grew wide and he walked back to his room and locked himself in.
The woman in the Jumper bay was spotted next by Colonel John Sheppard. She had long, strait black hair and looked as if she could hold her own in a fight despite the paleness of her skin.
The last one to be found was not discovered until the night was so far along that it was about two thirty in the morning.
Dr. Carson Beckett was tired, confused by the sudden appearance of the four strangers, but all-together content with the day's work. He knew tomorrow would be filled with activity, questions, and quite possibly danger, but all he wanted at that moment was to lie down in his warm, comfortable bed and get a few hour's good rest. All thoughts of sleep, however, flew from his mind as he stepped into his quarters and he heard something banging on the door leading to the balcony. He took a few steps toward the sliding door, mentally preparing himself for whatever could be beyond the firmly shut curtains. Of course, as was usually the case on Atlantis, what he saw was the only thing he hadn't been expecting.
What he saw was a woman, maybe a couple years younger than him, with features so sweet not even the current expression of sheer terror could hide the kindness that must have always lined her face. She was beauty in the most basic, most natural, most pure form he had ever seen.
When she began slowly backing away from the glass door, he snapped out of the trance he had fallen into. His hand quickly reached toward the sensor that would open the door. It slid to the side with a soft swish, but the woman didn't move.
"Hello," he said softly in his most gentle tones, not wanting to frighten her further. With the way she was shaking, he almost felt she would shatter if he said it too loudly.
Her worried features relaxed for a moment after he spoke. She seemed to gather her courage before taking a step forward and holding out her hand. "Hello." She said the word with only slightly greater volume than he had.
The good doctor took her hand and lifted it to his lips, tricking himself into believing the hand was too delicate for the rough shaking ritual that was most commonly displayed.
"Where am I?" she asked, pulling her hand back and fiddling with her fingers in front of her.
Carson shoved his hands into his pockets and hesitated only slightly before saying, "You're in the city of Atlantis."
The woman before him blinked a few times, as if trying to digest just what he meant by Atlantis. "Atlantis? As in the underwater city?"
"Well, it was under the ocean before, but now we're up and floating," he said with a reassuring smile.
"We- we're floating now."
"Aye. Your friends are…" He never finished that sentence, partly because he wasn't completely sure they were her friends, but mostly because it was at that moment that she fainted.
He caught her just before she would have hit the floor.
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Rodney found his nights were nearly as productive as his days. Snuggled cozily into his blankets with a smile on his face, he even produced brilliance in his dreams. This was what countless nights had been leading to.
The Supreme Original Rodney stood before a long panel covered with monitors and flashing buttons. He was dressed in a white outfit trimmed with gold, standing in the control room with twenty or so of his most prized McKays squeezed into the room to witness this miraculous occasion. A giant monitor stood to the side of the Stargate, showing the rest of the Rodneys in the gate room what was happening. The Original Rodney grinned and waved as he looked down upon the best helpers he could have ever wanted.
"This is it, my friends. This is the day we have waited for for so long. Today is the day that I, the Supreme Original Rodney McKay, your leader, have solved the biggest problem in the universe. I have achieved the greatest achievement, an achievement so great, in fact, the poor pathetic minds of the universe could not even begin to comprehend it. Citrus, my fellows, is about to be eternally eliminated!"
The giant crowd of Rodneys errupted into cheers, and the twenty McKays in the room clapped joyously. One of the Rodneys that made up his gate room audience screamed, at the top of his lungs, "I love you, Rodney!" and then proceeded to pass out on the floor.
"How could I possibly do this, you may ask. I have done the calculations, I have made absolutely certain of the math, I have invented new technologies, and here is the result." The screen in the other room now focused on two buttons on the control panel closest to the Original Rodney. One was green, one was red, and both were larger than his fist. "This green button, my beautiful, brilliant colleagues, is the key to perfection! Activate the Stargate!" The ring filled with waves of blue. The Supreme Original Rodney raised his hand high in the air, preparing to slam it down on the green button when…
"Cool, man! A red button! Can I, uh, press it?" Without waiting for a response, a long arm appeared beside him, flying toward the red button, then slamming into it.
"NOOOOO!" The Supreme Original Rodney looked into the gate room just in time to see hundreds of lemons flying through the gate and multiple Rodneys falling to the floor with large juice stains on their chests.
Rodney woke up screaming.
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"Is she OK?"
"Why would I care?"
"Hey, look, she's waking up!"
"I'm hungry."
Cassandra groaned as she sat up, opening her eyes just long enough to close them against the intense light. "What happened?" she asked her companions who were all scattered around the room.
"Not sure what happened to you… the rest of us were brought here hours before you," Rick said.
Julliett nodded in agreement. "Some guy with messy hair dragged me down here. There weren't many people around, but from what I saw, this seems to be some sort of secret military base… Actually, it looks a lot like our set, just… better."
"Atlantis," Cassie whispered.
"Are you alright?" asked Rick.
"Yes, I'm fine," Cassie said quickly. "I know where we are."
"Well?" Tia snapped.
"Atlantis."
"We're not on set. Sorry, Cassie," Julliett said, thinking her friend was just hoping.
"Not the set. We are really on the real Atlantis."
"As in the lost city of Atlantis that supposedly existed and supposedlysank to the bottom of the ocean?" Julliett questioned in a 'just to be sure' manner. "OK, I'll bite. What makes you think we're in the real Atlantis?"
Cassandra seemed distracted as she took in her surroundings, noting how bare the room was and the single door made of some sort of metal. "He told me."
"He? Oh… you mean the Scottish man who brought you down here. What was his name?" she asked herself.
"The woman called him Carson," Tia said.
"Right!" exclaimed Julliett. She then returned her focus to Cassie. "And this man told you we are in the sunken city of Atlantis?"
Cassie nodded, then said, "No. We're floating."
Tia rolled her eyes, Rick looked confused, Roy was just listening without any great interest, and Julliett's face was lined in concentration. "Cassie… Are you sure he wasn't, you know, lying?"
Cassandra looked slightly offended.. "Yes, I'm sure."
"How?"
"His eyes, Julliett. His eyes lie about as well as yours do."
"So there's no denying it?" Julliett said with a laugh.
"He truly believes we are in Atlantis, but who knows, he may be insane," Cassie said, smiling.
Julliett smiled back. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do now but wait and hope they haven't forgotten about us."
Everyone in the room nodded.
"So all of you are OK, right?" Cassie asked, worrying as usual.
"I don't know, Cassie, you're the doctor," Julliett said with a grin and a wink.
If any of them had truly accepted that they were in the Ancient city of Atlantis, they would not have taken the news so lightly.
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"You told her what?" exclaimed Colonel John Sheppard.
"That- that we were on… Atlantis. I'm sorry, Dr. Weir, it just… slipped out!" Dr. Carson Beckett had just told Weir, John, and Rodney about his encounter with the stranger on his balcony.
"Great," John said sarcastically, running a hand through his hair. He took a few steps forward until he was right in front of Carson. "You know, we were just going to have Rodney find a way to send them back, but now we'll have to talk to them, spend time with them, get to know them." He took another step closer so they were almost touching and growled, "Do you realize how likely it is that there is another McKay in that room?"
Carson's eyes widened, imagining the terror of such an occurrence. "Aye. I am so sorry, John," he breathed out.
"You will be," John said, stepping back again.
Weir looked at the three men in the room and sighed. "As much as hate to say it, Carson, he's right, now we'll have to go down there and sort this out." She motioned for John to follow her. "We'll find out who they are and then inform their… counterparts, of the situation."
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Weir sat at her desk and watched two of her armed personnel lead the first woman into the room. She was the one John had found in the Jumper bay. She looks confident,Weir thought. "Hello," she greeted, figuring if these people were from an alternate reality and had counterparts on the base, she should attempt to keep things polite.
The woman grinned and took a seat in the chair opposite Weir. "Hey."
Weir smiled slightly, glancing at John, who stood in a corner of the room, leaning against the wall. "Can you tell us your name?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'm Julliett. Can you tell me yours?" Julliett leaned forward and placed her elbows on the edge of the desk between them.
"Dr. Weir. How about a last name?"
"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Weir." Julliett got to her feet, causing John to straiten up and prepare for a fight. "Julliett Smith, at your service," she said with a dramatic bow. She then retook her seat, and John relaxed again.
"Well met, Ms. Smith. Can you tell us where you're from and your rank or occupation?" Weir said.
John was whispering into his earpiece in the corner. He walked to Weir and whispered into her ear that there was no Julliett Smith on Atlantis. Julliett watched the interaction with interest.
"I was born in California, Dr. My friends and I aren't military, so I can't really give you a rank, but we do have an occupation. We're actors, and we are in the middle of filming an episode of 'As the Gate Opens,' a sci-fi drama."
John nearly burst out laughing when she finished. The idea in his head was quite humorous. Weir's eyes widened, thinking not of the humor of the situation, but of the huge breach in security if they were right.
"So this show, what is it about?"
"Channel 50, doc, every Friday at nine, but then again, you might not have TV down here if we really are where your man said we are. But anyway, it's about a large group of scientists and military personnel from across the globe who go through a mysterious ring called the 'Stargate' and end up on the lost city of Atlantis, where they get into all sorts of trouble. The five of us you have here are the stars."
John could be heard chuckling in the corner. Weir turned to him. "I don't see how this is funny," she scolded, rubbing her temples lightly. "I don't believe this," she mumbled, looking back at the comfortable Julliett.
"What? You want an autograph?" she joked.
Weir sent the woman the same look she had just sent John, and then shook her head, having been struck with an idea. "What is the name of your character?"
"Colonel Jane Sheppard," she said.
Now Weir laughed. "Well, John, I guess you get this one."
John, on the other hand, had lost all traces of good-humor. "Wait, are you saying I'm played by a girl? You have got to be kidding me."
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"Hello. Your friend, Ms. Smith, told us about your… TV show," Weir said to the other four visitors. Julliett was standing next to John in the corner, asking him questions. John looked confused, and took the chance to step forward.
"Names and other names, people!"
Cassie and Roy jumped, Rick nodded, and Tia sent him a glare.
"I'm Rick Donaldson, sir, and I play Ronon Dex." Both John and Weir looked surprised, having guessed the other man would say that name above the thin man before them.
"Oh, he'll love this," John said with a short chuckle.
"Tia Erewood. Teyla Emmagan," Tia said shortly. Weir forced a smile to the woman who had shown her rude nature a few times already, something she hoped Teyla could deal with and maybe even fix.
Cassie poked Roy, who was too busy looking around the room to notice that all eyes were now on him. "Hey, it's your turn now," she informed him quietly.
"Oh! Uh, I'm uh, Roy Martins." He smiled and went back to observing the furniture.
"And your character?"
"Me? I'm Rodney McKay!"
The room went eerily silent. Weir turned to John and mouthed, "Did I hear that right?"
John nodded, equally shocked. Then he shook his head and turned to the last one, the woman Carson had found and spilled the beans to. The one with the sweet face.
"Hello," she smiled, "I'm Cassandra Breyuh and I play Dr. Carly Beckett."
Weir was thinking that there were a few similarities between the two of them.
All John was thinking was that he was sure glad he wasn't the only one played by a girl.