When the doors swish closed behind them, blocking out the chaos of the Gateroom, Weir continues, "I'm sorry Colonel Mitchell, but Colonel Sheppard is currently on a mission. He's due back tomorrow. In the meantime, I can introduce you to his team. I'm not sure where everyone is right now, but I know Teyla is in the workout room."
As they walk through the halls of Atlantis, Weir maintains a rolling conversation.
"The members of Sheppard's team are very close. They're a bit on edge at the moment with him off-world without them. He's conducting a basic trading mission with our new allies on M3-559. This mission presented an ideal opportunity to test the skills of some of our newer arrivals out in the field. The less-experienced men were attached to a veteran patrol team as a training exercise. Since the deployment was larger than usual, Sheppard insisted that he needed to go along. The man can be a bit paranoid."
Noting the strain underlying the light-hearted comment, Mitchell asks, "How long have they been gone?"
She cringes, "Three very long days; they're due back at midday tomorrow."
When they arrive at the gym, Mitchell is instantly caught off guard by the fluid combat style of a beautiful, scantily dressed fighter. The petite woman is fiercely and aggressively thrashing her much larger opponent. Mitchell watches in awe, noting angry tension in the way she holds herself.
Weir drolly murmurs, "As I said, everyone's a bit on edge at the moment."
With a dry swallow, Mitchell asks, "So, this is one of the members of Sheppard's team?"
"Yes, that is Teyla Emmagen, the man she is fighting is Anton, one of her people from Athos. They live on the mainland now. Even though she continues to live in the city, Teyla is still their leader."
"She's amazing; I've never seen this fighting style."
"Yes, Teyla is the champion among her people. You should watch her and Colonel Sheppard fight sometime. It's quite a sight, and always draws a crowd."
Gesturing toward the circling fighters, Mitchell blurts, "Shep can do that?"
"He asked her to teach him shortly after she joined his team. Believe it or not, he's really taken to it, and can actually manage to outfight most of the Athosians, including Anton there."
Witnessing the lashing movements of the tree-like man, Mitchell finds this hard to believe.
Weir continues, "Granted Teyla can still kick his butt any day of the week. He's bested her once or twice, but there were unusual circumstances involved..."
They watch silently while Teyla and the man continue to spar. Remembering his own unpleasant time among the Sodan, he's amazed that Sheppard can hold his own against this woman. More than a bit intimidated at her intense expression, Mitchell wisely decides to let them continue uninterrupted.
Somewhat sheepishly, Mitchell tells Weir "Well, they look busy and I wouldn't want to intrude."
She smiles, but lets him off the hook, asking, "So, where to next Colonel Mitchell?"