The two arrived in the small room, after passing through several of Atlantis' wide corridors.
"Yeesh, this place is humongous!" Nova commented. She squinted. "And a little chilly, too. Hi Colonel! Hey Ronon!"
Ronan stared at the two girls as they walked up worrying about both of their fighting skills. "There you are!" Colonel Shepperd replied to Nova's hello. "You two ready?" Sibel turned to Nova and saw her squint.
Nova took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Maybe. I haven't sparred in...well, since Sibel left the Dojo for mythology." She opened her eyes and glanced over at Sibel, smirking. They were both better at fighting than Ronon or Sheppard could have guessed.
"That really was a long time ago, wasn't it? Strange..." Sibel said as they entered the sparring room and took off her Stargate team jacket. She then took out some fingerless leather fighting gloves. She looked back at Nova, who was staring at her.
"I didn't think you even still had those." Nova whispered, then mischievously pulled out her own pair, black suede. "Guess I'm not ten steps ahead of you after all." She cracked all eight of her fingers simultaneously, followed by her neck and back, then began stretching out her leg muscles.
"Well, it's not as though I was bitten by a radioactive spider," Sibel chuckled as she began stretching. She bent all the way backwards and came back up. "Nova, would you like to start or me?" She began pulling her hair back into a neat ponytail.
Nova pursed her lips, glanced at Sheppard, smiled, and said "No, I think you should start. I've got a gut feeling. You know the one."
Sibel smiled and stretched back one more time as she watched Shepperd take off his team jacket. "How long ago did I leave my Dojo, Nova?" Sibel giggled.
Nova's smirk turned into a wicked grin. "Mmmm...about four weeks ago." Then added, under her breath, "Before we boarded the Daedalus and were stranded for three weeks..."
"That was terrible... I hate spaceships, they make me eat too much ice cream," Sibel said as she stepped into her basic Tai Chi fighting position with one arm in front and the other in back. She clenched her fists then then relaxed them flat. She smiled as Shepperd got into his fighting position then they began to spar, dodging and blocking each others punches and kicks.
Nova sat down next to Ronon, and watched the practice fight. "Pretty impressive, no?" Sitting down, her and Ronon came eye-to-eye.
Ronon shrugged. "She's not bad."
Sibel bent backward as she dodged a punch. She bent her hands backwards quickly and flipped over. She then threw three punches and a back-kick in perfect synchronization as she had been taught. The sweat was flying off of her brow as she did not know how long they had been sparring. He blocked very quickly and had practiced often so far as she could tell.
Thirty minutes, to be exact, Nova thought, looking at her watch. She sighed, boredom beginning to take a hold. Sheppard didn't look like he'd hold up much longer; his defense was getting sloppy, and his attack weaker. Sibel, on the other hand, looked perfectly peachy. Aside from the fact that she was dripping with sweat and had a maniacle glaze to her eye.
Sibel's thought pattern was starting to race, not sure what to do next she let Shepperd force her to come closer to the wall. She ran towards the wall kicked it and tackled Shepperd to the ground. Holding his wrists down, she knew that the fight was over, for now. She smiled as she let go of one of his wrists to brush some loose hair out of her face.
"YES! Sibel, YES!" Nova was up on her feet, screaming and clapping like it was a show or something. Ronon looked confused by Nova's behavior, and Sheppard was, for the moment, at a loss for words. He was sure he'd done that maneuver a million times before, successfully, how had she...
Sibel stood up, "That was fun!" She reached out her hand to help Shepperd up. As she helped him up she couldn't resist staring at Nova who was clapping and screaming like crazy.
Nova realized that she was causing a scene, and cleared her throat. "Sorry. Just been so long since I've seen you kick somebody's butt. It's refreshing!" With the word 'refreshing', she stretched her arms way over her head, then sighed and put them back at her sides. "Gosh, ya get stiff watching a 30 minute spar, sitting on a hard floor."
"30 minutes?! Really?" Sheppard asked as him and Sibel looked at each other. Sibel simply shrugged as she took off her gloves. She walked over and sat down on the floor. "Your turn Nova!" Sibel exclaimed.
Sheppard all but collapsed next to Sibel, bravado being the only thing that kept him from moaning in pain. Nova's expression had been exact; he'd gotten his but kicked.
Nova walked into the middle of the room, facing Ronon. He was at least twice her weight, but no more than two inches taller than her. 'I can take him,' She assured herself, though she was sure her insecurity showed. She was really more clumsy than she was dangerous.
Sibel watched Nova seeing her slightly insecure look on her face. She turned her head and noticed that Shepperd was staring at her. When he realized that they were both staring at each other, they looked away. she turned back to Nova and yelled, "Aller aller aller!!!"
Nova perked up, as a wave of adrenaline hit all of her veins at once. With barely enough thought to strategy to keep her from, oh, say, dying, she attacked the burly man, attempting first to kick his legs from underneath him.
Sibel watched quietly so as not to distract her dear sister. She watched as the fight progressed becoming more violent by the second. She knew that Nova could protect herself physically just fine, but she hoped that if she did lose - which was nearly impossible - that she wasn't damaged mentally. She smiled as she thought of her victory and how Nova would look when she did beat the large man.
Sheppard actually looked somewhat nervous. "Is she always that...violent?" He asked, quietly.
Sibel looked at him with wide eyes, "You have no freaking idea. If you ever watched her play WarRock, maybe then you'd understand..."
Sibel's comments about the video game were confirmed by Nova's sudden "Die, DIE!" Then a movement so fast, it was barely visible. Ronon found his face pressed up against the wall, his right arm twisted so far behind his back, it looked like it might snap off. Nova was breathing, heavily, several wet, sweaty strands of dark hair clinging to her face.
Sibel jumped up, "Nova, you can let him go now. He's not an evil space warlord from Buzz Lightyear." Sibel watched as her sister pressed Ronan firmly against the wall.
Nova continued to breath through clenched teeth, then realized what she was doing. She jumped back, letting Ronon free. "Sorry." She mumbled, pushing her hair out of her face--only to have it fall back. A smile crept across her face.
"Well done, my young.... um... I was thinking about saying grasshopper but you'd probably tackle me... How about... Praying Mantis," Sibel said to her sister as she watched her help Ronon up.
Nova smiled. "Thank you, master Sibel." She looked at Ronon--who looked shocked and somewhat appalled. "Don't worry, big guy. My cousin in the marine corps once told me that I have, um...well, I forget what level hand-to-hand he said I have, but he said it was a good thing."
"Try six?!" Sheppard said, standing up as well.
"Nah, five." Nova replied, then paused. "Well, I was only 16 at the time..."
Sibel giggled then looked at Nova in the eyes, "I want a cookie." She grabbed her jacket and walked out of the sparring room.
In the mess hall, the two girls giggled quietly to each other over a small tray of desserts.
Nova took a bit of jello, swallowed, and then said "Soooo..."
"Soooo what, Mrs. I beat Ronan Dex?" Sibel chuckled to herself as they sat alone at the table.
Nova smirked. "Soooo...you and the colonel? Hmm...?" She took another bite. "I sense sparkage."
"Uh huh. Well you're the one who's in a sparkage triangle" Sibel giggled, "I will admit, he's very good looking." She watched Sheppard walk into the mess hall then immediately turned when they caught each other's eyes.
Nova giggled again. "Sparkage triangle? That's new. And how do you mean? And yes, he is very good looking. And a nice guy." She took another bite of jello.
"Let's see... First there's the out-there-Rodney McKay. Then there's the sweet and Scottish Carson Beckett," Sibel smirked then nearly froze when the three whom they had spoken about walked up to the table, "Whoa... creeepy."
Nova smiled. "Creepy in the good kind of way."
"What is?" Sheppard asked, looking slightly confused.
Nova raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Oh, nothing." Sibel giggled as the three all sat down.
"Nova, I have some Iratus bug specimens in the Infirmary if you would like to take a look at them with me later," Beckett began, "Sibel you can come too if you'd like." Sibel's eyes opened wide, and she shook her head violently.
"Iratus bugs are worse than bees... and you do not want to know what happens when a bee is in the room with me."
McKay got a funny look on his face, as him and John exchanged glances. Nova was suddenly not-so-overly-confident.
"Um, yeah, that would be perfect! It'd give me a good start, at least." She said.
"Um, Colonel Sheppard?" Sheppard looked at Sibel. "You aren't allowed to have pets here, right?" Sibel asked.
"Um... No. Why do you ask?"
"Heh, no reason, I was just curious," Sibel said as she stood up, "Well, I'm going to go change, I'm still sweaty from sparring." Sibel ran away from the table and back to Nova's and her's room.
The table suddenly felt very crowded to Nova, the three men sitting awkwardly, waiting for someone else to start a conversation. Nova cleared her throat. "You know, I'm a little hot myself, I'll be back in five. Don't go away!" She zipped away from the table, and was at the door to hers and Sibel's quarters within moments.
Sibel hid the small crate as she heard the door open. "Um.. Hi," Sibel smiled sheepishly as she kept the crate hidden behind her.
"Sibel..." Nova had that 'mother who knows what you're up to' tone about her. "What did you do? Who did you bring?"
Sibel frowned as she closed the door and opened the crate so that Nova could see. Inside, were two baby kittens.
Nova groaned, loudly. "Si-bel-la!" She glanced back inside the crate, then up at her sister. "How do you expect to keep them hidden? They're kittens. They need special love and attention!"
"I know!!! That's why I brought them!!! It will educate them about other universes... you know?" She took the two kittens out and set them on her bed. They began wrestling with each other and fumbling over the covers. "How could I have possibly left them! They're kittens! We just got them and they're barely two weeks old. They're just too sweet to leave back on that evil smelly earth!" Sibel sat down and picked up her kitten whom she hadn't named yet.
Nova stared, at first maliciously, at the playful bundles on the bed. Then, she broke. "Well, all right, if you say so." She then sat down and picked up the other kitten, giggling as it batted at her loose hair.
"I don't know what to name my kitten yet, Nova. There are so many names and choices!" Sibel whined as she pet the cute kitten's ears. She looked at Nova whom was playing with her kitten. "What do you think I should name it? Or how should I name it?"
Nova stared a minute. "...how about, after like, some Indian spirit or something? I heard a really cool name just the other day..."
"What name? I'm simply curious," Sibel stared at the ceiling for a moment then her eyes opened wide as she stared at the wall, "I know what I'm going to name her..."
"T'akaya!" Nova shot, then realized that she'd interrupted. She cleared her throat. "What are you gonna name her?"
"Pretzel!" She said as pet the cute lightly speckled tabby. She looked at Nova, "What are you going to name yours?"
"I...don't know." Nova stared, and then smiled. "Mittens. Look, she's got three mittens!...How is it that black cats always have three black socks, and one black foot? Have you noticed that?"
"I have, it's very odd!!" Sibel jumped as she heard the loud beep meaning that someone was at her and Nova's door. "What do we do?!"
"Um, uh, THE BATHROOM!" Nova shot up off of the bed. Her head violently slammed into the top bunk. "G--OW!" She moaned, then grabbed Pretzel and and Mittens, and dashed toward the small bathroom.
Sibel wiped off her clothes trying to rid them of the cat hair. She quickly rushed over to the door hoping that Nova had hid them well. She opened the door and saw Colonel Sheppard standing in front of her. "Oh.. Um. Hello!" Sibel said nervously and slightly shocked.
A muffled "Shh, no, get under there!" Came from the bathroom, then Nova came out, closing the door behind her. "Ahh, Sibel, I couldn't find it."
"Oh really? Um.. Darn," Sibel said trying to calm herself down.
Sheppard gave them both an odd look before he spoke, "What were you looking for?"
Sibel stared at him with wide eyes then spit out, "Feminine care!"
"Products! Yes, nothing for you to worry about." Nova cleared her throat. "Well, Dr. Beckett invited me to have a look at a specimen, I'd better be going alright ciao!" She pushed past Colonel Sheppard, smiling sheepishly, and was gone.
"Dag nabit!" Sibel thought to herself, then spoke aloud to the Colonel, "Did you need something, Colonel Sheppard? Um... I mean, John. If you don't mind, it's simply easier to say!"
"You kind of ran out of the mess hall and left your notebook behind," He replied as he held it out to her.
She took it lightly, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." John replied. He was silent for a few moments, obviously lost for words, but still standing in the doorway anyway.
Sibel smiled shyly and her and the colonel sat quietly for who knows how long. Sibel's eyes opened widely as she saw Nova's kitten start to sneak past Colonel Shepperd. She turned around and saw the bathroom door open.
"Are you alright?" John asked concerned.
"Um, um... no!!!" Sibel lunged for Nova's cat and picked it up, she pushed the Colonel into the room and closed the door behind him. She picked up the other kitten who was clawing at her leg and she set them both on the bed.
John stumbled into the room under Sibel's forceful grasp, then glanced at the two tiny animals on the bed. "This is...why you were asking me...?"
"Yes..." Sibel said quietly waiting for John's disapproval. She saw him look at the kittens then glance back at her.
John wasn't sure what to say. "That's..." But before he could speak, he turned to the side and sneezed. He sniffed. "..I'm a little allergic."
Sibel's eyes opened wide, "I'm sorry I didn't know! I just couldn't leave them at home all alone! We just got them a few days before we came here!" Sibel flounced on the bed and set Pretzel in her lap. She stroked the small kitten but stayed quiet afraid that someone else might hear the conversation from the outside.
John sat down next to Sibel and stroked Mittens, hesitantly. "They're..." he shrugged. "Cute..."
Sibel looked at him, "You won't tell anyone? Even though you're not supposed to have pets on Atlantis?"
He smiled. "Nah, I think we can keep this our own little secret." He looked up at Sibel.
Sibel was ready to cry but didn't, "Thank you!" she nearly screamed. She gave him a hug then picked up Mittens. She put the two kittens back into their box and they started playing with each other. She sighed and decided to go see what Nova was up to, and to tell her sister about the incident that just occurred. Sibel blushed at the thought of a powerful man like the Colonel keeping her secret.
Nova was found looking at bug pieces through a magnifying glass in a small lab several hundred yards away from the girl's quarters. Dr. Beckett was sitting at the table across from her, pointing at various things and voicing his thoughts. Nova heard footsteps and looked up. "Oh, hey Sibel!" She smiled. "This is amazing, you wouldn't believe all of the medical discoveries these little crawly guys provided!"
"Really? May I give it a look!" Sibel said as she walked over. Nova scooted to the side a little so her sister could see, and saw John come in behind Sibel and smile. "Whoa! Tubular, man," Sibel said as she stepped away from the counter.
Nova laughed. "Totally. Hi colonel!" She looked back through the glass, and poked at the bug a little with a pair of tweezers, then wrote in her memo pad, muttering to herself.
Sibel whispered into Nova's ear, "Mittens caused some trouble while you were gone." Sibel motioned with her head over to John who was smiling at the two girls.
Nova's expression changed. She glanced up at John, questioningly. He winked, then gave Sibel a pat on the back. "Well, I'd better tend to some things. See you guys later." And he jogged away.
Sibel blushed when John touched her back. She bent over and whispered into Nova's ear again, "He says it's our little secret." Sibel saw Nova et a funny smile on her face, "What?!" Sibel said as she backed up a little bit.
"Nooothin'." She looked at Sibel, then back at the bug. Her expression twisted. "Doctor, where did you find this specimen," she poked a different carcass with her tweezers. "And where'd you find this one?"
"Well," he began with his adorable Scottish accent, "We found it on one of the dark wet planets. It was one a strange looking flower that glowed green."
"Whoa, seriously?!" Sibel said as she took out her notebook.
"And the other one?" Nova asked, glancing back and forth. "I'm just wondering, because they have a slight physical difference." She pushed the magnifying glass forward. "See the way the thorax connects to the abdomen on this one?" She switched the specimens. "Now look at this one."
"Yes.. I'm not sure what it means though," He said as he walked away to document it. "Nova, what kind of bug does that look like to you..." Sibel asked nervously awaiting her sister's answer.
Nova squinted. "...it's...a bug. It looks like a parasitic beetle...rhino...thing. What does it look like to you?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's just that all bugs creep me out," Sibel said as she backed into Rodney McKay. She quacked like a duck and fell over. Rodney jumped.
Nova looked up. "Hi Dr. McKay." She said, smiling. "Care to look at these Iratus bug samples that Dr. Beckett's letting me study?"
Sibel looked at her sister then looked at the samples. "Could that little difference mean gender Nova?" she asked as Rodney McKay returned the hello.
Nova squinted again. "No, this is the gender difference, here." She pointed again with the tweezers."
Rodney looked through the glass. "I don't see any difference."
Nova rolled her eyes. "I've been studying bugs for six years. That makes me an expert."
Sibel giggled when she heard Nova dis Rodney. She looked around and saw Radek Zelenka walk in. She hadn't met him yet but she heard that he was second next to Rodney McKay. She decided to introduce herself after she was done watching Nova. She could have sworn that Nova was going to hit Rodney in the arm or leg for his ignorance.
"Well, sor-ry. Why does it matter, anyway?" Rodney asked, scowling.
Nova gritted her teeth, the muscles in her jaw visibly flexing. "Why does anything matter? Because it's the study of something, and when you study something, all the details matter. Especially gender. It helps me determine the differences in behavior."
"Don't all bugs act the same?"
"Rodney! I need your help with something." Zelenka cut in before Nova could get an answer out.
McKay rolled his eyes. "Radek, yes. Don't you always? What?"
Radek scowled at him, "I found an odd reading on another planet. Oh are you looking at the Iratus bug samples?" Radek asked as he walked over.
"Yes, we are, and it shouldn't matter," Rodney said.
"Actually, it does, I need Miss Sudenkorento and Miss Callimaeve to come as well. The readings are coming from the planet that we found these samples." Radek replied. Sibel smiled widely and nearly squealed when she and Nova looked at each other.
"Does this mean we get to go off-world?!" Sibel asked.
"Yes." Zelenka told them. "Colonel Sheppard is getting the extra gear right now."
"O-M-G!" Sibel nearly screamed as she ran out of the room to her and Nova's quarters. She ran into the room and got out her Stargate Command computer. It would be the first time that she got to see the universe. The only planet that she had visited was Earth, and the one that Atlantis rested on now.
Nova followed shortly, grabbing at her jacket, which she had yet to wear. "DUDE! This is so exciting! Off-world, after being cooped up here for...THREE WHOLE DAYS!" she paused. "Actually, that's not very long..." She shrugged, and pulled her jacket on. "The sleeves are too short." She mumbled.
Sibel nearly fell over again as Colonel Sheppard appeared at the door. She noticed that he looked very stunning in his off-world gear. Nova gave her sister a smug look.
Colonel Sheppard handed the girls a set of tactical vests. "I'm assuming you've both handled a basic firearm before..." He said, hesitantly handing over a set of AR-15s. "Both of these vests have extra 40-round clips in them, and they're loaded. You are not to fire unless necessary. Got it so far?"
Nova nodded, gracefully slipping the tact. vest on and slinging the gun carefully around her shoulders. "My dad carried an AR-15 from the day I was twelve. And he wasn't shy about letting me use it." She slid the clip in and cocked the gun, then turned the safety on.
Sibel stared at her sister, "Yeah, you nearly shot my ear off!" Sibel slipped into her own as well. After the two girls were ready, they followed Colonel Shepperd to the Jumper Room. "Ooooo, cool." Sibel said as she looked around the large room. She began humming Somewhere Over The Rainbow when everyone was there and about to get into the Puddle Jumper.
Nova grinned and hummed along with Sibel, glancing around at the team.
Sibel giggled then looked at Nova, "Imagine how Rob would feel if he saw you here right now," Sibel tried to laugh quietly but began squeaking. She covered her mouth then stared at Nova who looked like she was about to burst up laughing as well, thus making Sibel have a giggle-fit.
Nova couldn't help herself; Sibel's giggle fit made her laugh. She followed the rest of the team onto the jumper; Colonel Sheppard, of course, Ronon, Rodney, Zelenka, and the obvious Sibel and Nova. She was surprised that many people could even fit into the jumper, let alone that the tiny little thing could fly like that.
Sibel looked around the puddle jumper as they flew towards the gate room. She was so excited to visit a new planet she could barely contain herself. Then she looked at Colonel Sheppard as they went through the open gate. They emerged onto a dark, damp planet.
Nova grabbed Sibel's arm, as the light from the gate disappeared and the darkness enveloped them. She was both excited and terrified, as girls often are.
The next thing they knew, Nova and Sibel were exiting the puddle jumper into the dark world. Sibel and Nova looked around, both of them trained their eyes to see better in darkness, "Thank you Vitamins A and D!" Sibel thought aloud.
Nova shuddered. "It's cold," She mumbled. "Have you been here before?" She pulled her jacket closer to her body. Dark, chilly dampness ebbed into the group, and everyone was feeling it's effects.
"Only once, but it wasn't a pleasant visit," Colonel Sheppard shrugged remembering the time he was nearly transformed into an Iratus bug/human hybrid. Sibel looked around and saw a pretty purple flower. She ran over and stared at it.
As Nova's eyes adjusted better to the dimness, she found she could see her own breath. "It's probably necessary, if this planet has a lot of bugs on it, then it makes sense; Insects need cool damp places to pupate." She took her hair down out of it's bun and shook it around her neck and shoulders, making for more insulation. "What'd you find, Sibel?" She asked. McKay leaned his back against the Jumper, arms crossed, while Sheppard followed Nova over to where Sibel was crouched, and Ronon just stood, bored.
"Preeeetty," Sibel stared then looked around, "Whoa. This place is crazy," she said as she looked at the dark sky, "What happened last time you were here?" Sibel asked Colonel Sheppard.
The Colonel shifted his weight on his feet. "Well, I ran into a virus that...kinda...changed me."
"Physically, you mean." Nova cut in.
John stared at her. "Beckett tell ya that?"
Nova smiled and shook her head. "No, I've been reading mission reports. Since Landry got us involved...or, since Sibel got us involved, really. Started all the way back at the first time the 'gate was opened in the 1945." She said, smiling.
"...and you remember all this?"
Nova's smile grew. "Well, I'm a scientist. We have a special knack of sorts for remembering things." She turned to Sibel. "Clues?"
Sibel looked around, "Well, Radek said that there was strange readings... You people should search for those readings while Nova and I should document some of the plants. Some bugs are attracted to certain plants so..." Sibel looked at Sheppard who looked somewhat worried.
"You sure you two are gonna be okay?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
Nova put one hand on the barrel of her gun. "Please. Just because we're scientists, and just because we're female, doesn't mean that we need military at our backs on a strange, dark, insect-infested planet!"
"What she said!" Sibel said gently holding her large dragon necklace, "No matter how much I hate bugs..." She looked over at Ronon, who was staring at everyone but keeping silent, "Is he okay?" she asked John.
"He always does that," John replied, in a low tone.
"Oh," Sibel walked really close to Ronon, stood on her tip toes and stared at him. He took one finger and pushed her forehead away. She smiled then grabbed Nova's arm and was about to walk away with her sister off into the forest.
Nova glanced over at the bored astrophysicist leaning against the puddle jumper, Rodney, then at Ronon, and then proceeded to walk away with Sibel. "Have fun, boys!" She called over her shoulder, then turned away watch her step. When the two were out of ear shot, Nova's smile turned into a giant smirk of death. "Ravishing when they're all dressed up, no?" She asked, throwing her glance over at the growing-smaller Colonel Sheppard.
Sibel giggled loudly, "Just plain sexy you mean!" She laughed. The two began having fun talking about the adventure they were having. They found different plants of all shapes and sizes. Sibel wasn't watching where she was going and slipped. She quacked as she fell over and then looked at what she slipped on. It was a large pile of orange goop, larger than the ones that Rodney had described in the puddle jumper.
"Ewwwww!" Nova groaned, stepping back, then forward again to help Sibel up. What do you suppose that--" She paused when she heard a throaty clicking-rattling sound. It sounded suspiciously like beetle wings. Giant, beetle wings.
"Um, what was that?!" Sibel said as she looked around nervously clutching onto her sister.
"I don't know," Nova replied, equally as nervous.
Sibel grabbed for her flashlight and flipped it on. An Iratus bug at least TWICE the size of the ones that Dr. Beckett had shown them was scuttling toward them.
"O-M-G O-M-G O-M-G!" Nova shrieked, as the two panicked.
"What do we do?!" Sibel asked.
"Um, scream?"
"We already did that!"
"Um...um...RUN!"
Sibel and Nova began running through the forest as quickly as they could. Nova was trying to get the rest of the team on the radio but the strange energy readings that Zelenka had discovered earlier must have been interfering. "I can't contact the team!"
"Just keep running then!" Sibel yelled to her sister. She heard Nova stumble and she stopped immediately. She ran over to her sister.
"Oh, crap! Ow! I think I sprained my ankle!" Nova exclaimed.
Sibel looked around nervously then helped her sister up. "What are we supposed to do?! I don't think that they heard us scream! How do they follow prey, Nova?!"
"God, I don't know!" Nova replied, standing up and limping. The scuttling grew louder. "I think they just chase it!" She screamed, clutching Sibel's jacket so hard her knuckles were white. "JOHN! RODNEY! RONON!" She used her loudest voice, limping as fast as she could away from the sound of little insect feet as it grew closer.
Sibel looked around and saw a large rock; she helped Nova as quickly as possible limp over to the rock and hide behind it. They were sitting on the ground breathing as quietly as possible. Sibel looked around the rock and saw nothing. She sighed then felt a tug on her shoulder. She turned back and saw the Iratus bug right in front of the two girls. They both screamed as though they were in a horror movie when they heard gun shots. The bug was dead now and John was gasping about 20 feet away from running. "Holy crap, we must have screamed really loud, Nova."
Colonel Sheppard finally arrived at the rock, panting. "I won't, because I didn't." He said. Rodney was shortly behind.
"You know," John panted. "You are armed. You could have done that yourself."
"We're fine, thanks." Nova said, glaring. She glanced over at Sibel, who was as white as a ghost. Rodney also arrived at their position.
"What the hell happened?" He asked, looking like he expected to see dead people everywhere.
"Oh my gosh... my worst fear just came true. I giant man eating bug just chased my sister and I through the forest and she sprained her ankle.... worst luck ever," Sibel said as she tried to stand up. She touched the rock and felt strange grooves in it. She turned around and looked at it.
"You sprained your ankle?" Rodney asked, sounding intrigued, and Nova was irritated at the lack of concern in his voice.
"Yes, it's a bad habit that I have while running in the dark." She turned around and looked at the rock, too.
"Oh for Pete's sake," Sibel said as she turned around and looked at Rodney, "I swear, I'm going to kick your butt if you don't show concern at one point in your life!" She turned back to the rock and started feeling the grooves. "I can not believe that I am going to do this," Sibel said as she took out a small knife. She looked at Nova who was staring intently at her.
John looked over at the rock, and then took two steps back. "Not me," He mumbled, and shuddered.
Rodney wrinkled up his forehead, and in contradiction to Colonel Sheppard, took two steps forward.
"You didn't happen to get a cut when we were running, Nova, did you?" Sibel asked nervously.
Nova examined her hands and felt along her face. "Nope." She said, then glanced at Sibel closely. "Did you? And why?"
"You remember how we naturally have the ancient gene?" Sibel began, "Well, I was talking to General Landry about it and he handed me a report about an ancient device that needs ancient blood to activate it. Problem is it actually needs BLOOD. Not just touch," Sibel said with her phobia of knives in the back of her head.
Nova paused. "Um...well, I'm not masochistic, but...you don't like cuts, and..." She glanced up at Rodney. "I don't think he's going to do it." She looked at the rock, turning paler.
"Dang it! Beckett's not here and I don't think that we want to come back again. This must have been the weird energy reading," Sibel started then looked at Ronan who was entirely confused about what was happening. "Can you punch Rodney, Nova?"
Rodney took a horrified step backward. "Hey!" He shouted.
Nova rolled her eyes. "Tempting as that sounds, I don't think I can get enough blood out of it for it to be worth the effort. Seeing as how I really don't want to come back here..." She pulled a sanitary alcohol pad out of her tac vest, and a knife out of her khaki pocket. "I'll cut my hand. Would you..." She took one glance at Sibel and realized that she couldn't ask her to do it. "Rodney!" She said.
He hesitated. "...Y..Yes?"
"Come here."
"Why?"
She glared. "I need you to cut me."
"Me?!"
"Just do it!" She cleaned off a spot on her hand with the napkin, then wiped off the knife.
"Nova, I doubt that Rodney would survive even seeing your blood. Get Ronan to do it, he's more manly. And he knows what is fatal and what's not," Sibel said still terrified of knives.
Nova looked at Ronon. "No way, he reminds me too much of my uncle Danny. He's got big, strong hands, and I've got little girly scientist hands." She paused. "Even if I DID nearly beat the--"
"I didn't have to let you win." Ronon protested.
"Ah, he speaks!" Nova said, sarcastically. She looked back over at McKay, then at Sheppard.
Sheppard shook his head. Nova growled. "Well, I'm not cutting myself!"
"You know what, forget it," Sibel said to her sister as looked at her fingernails. She ripped some of the skin off of the cuticle and continued ripping it until it was about an inch long. She shook her hand to try and get the blood flowing then dripped some of the blood into the grooves of the rock. She held her finger as she watched the blood that was on the rock slow through the cracks. She jumped back as the rock started glowing and bumped into the Colonel whom she didn't know was so close behind her. She turned to Nova, "I need to clip my cuticles anyways."
Nova was staring at her with disbelief, and she put the knife back into it's sheath and stared at the rock. Colonel Sheppard didn't seem the least bit annoyed with Sibel's standing mere inches in front of him.
The rock split apart and Sibel quacked again in shock and she fell backwards into Sheppard who caught her once again. The rock pieces started hovering then began circling around each other. They organized themselves on the ground in a pattern then sunk into the dirt.
Nova glanced over at Rodney, almost expecting him to have an answer. "What...was..."
"Don't ask me..." He replied, staring.
Suddenly the ground below began glowing blue and the dirt fell away. They were transported into a dark room where they couldn't tell how big it was. When the lights came on suddenly everyone was nearly blinded by a large yellow light in the middle. It was like a large planetarium made of light. Sibel stepped forward and little stars surrounded the entire group to form the entire Pegasus galaxy in detail. It was like walking through a bottle of glitter or stepping on the path that the sun makes on the ocean at sunset.
Nova stared up at the lights and found herself instantly transfixed. "Oh, my..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. "What do you suppose the purpose of this is?" She asked.
"It's gorgeous that's what it is!" Sibel exclaimed as she ran forward to the largest planet in the middle of the room. She smiled widely as she realized what it was, "This is the original planet!" She told the rest of them as she pointed to the model.
"Original planet for what?" Rodney asked, his interest suddenly piqued. He also made his way out into the middle of the room. "That's where we found--"
"The city." Nova joined in. "And then..." She laughed. "I can't take all this in at once!" She turned around, but fell on her injured ankle. "Ooh, ow, I'm okay!" Surprisingly, Rodney offered a hand to help her back to her feet. "Thank you." She said and used him for balance. "Sibel, I've got to get back, this ankle is getting bad, and I can feel it swelling." She murmured, quietly.
Sibel laughed, "Yeah, I would much rather prefer that but I couldn't wait! I'm a very impatient person," She smiled.
The group arrived back on Atlantis, and Ronon helped Nova off to the infirmary. Zelenka and McKay both walked off to the lab, arguing and agreeing on several different things.
"Tomorrow, we can go back, if you wanted to." John said, once the others were gone. "I'm sure the other guys can get some recording equipment together, or..."
Sibel smiled at the sweet Colonel, "That would be good. I'm not sure all of the information that device holds or even what!"
"Well then, tomorrow it is!" He said, and slapped his thigh.
In the infirmary, Nova insisted that her ankle didn't need bandaging. "It's just a sprain!" She protested. "A little bit of ice and I should be good to go!" Ronon had left about five minutes ago, bored with Nova's persistence.
Sibel walked into the infirmary to visit Nova who was extremely frustrated with all of the men in the room. She sat down in a chair and took out a piece of paper. She handed the piece of paper and a pencil to Nova, "Draw something," Sibel smiled.
Nova sighed, and took the paper. She grabbed a magazine and used it to steady the paper, then started sketching out the beginnings of a fairy. "And I'm drawing because...?"
"Because it will calm you down," Sibel chuckled then whispered to Nova, "I'm thinking about a story I'm going to write, you want to help?"
"Aren't you always?" She answered, grinning. "Of course I want to help--ow!" She flinched away from a particularly tight layer of ace bandage.
Sibel smiled, "So, which one would you rather have, McKay or Beckett?" Sibel laughed.
Nova flushed bright red, fearing that the doctor heard Sibel's comment. If he did, he showed no indication. "What makes you ask that?" She whispered back.
"Well, obviously you tease me about liking the Colonel, so I am simply curious as to what your ideas about a man in your life are," she chuckled again not knowing that after she had whispered the comment the Colonel came in and began talking to Beckett.
"Well, if you really are curious, Beckett's the ideal man." She whispered back, becoming giggly. The pain killers were setting in.
Sibel giggled along with her goofy sister. "Well, what do you like about him?"
Nova was barely whispering now. "He's sweet, he cares about people. He's smart, he knows how to take care of himself...and other people. He's a good person."
Sibel smiled widely knowing that this was the first time Nova hadn't liked a celebrity sci-fi tv actor. Shepperd walked up behind her and she didn't notice it but Nova stopped blushing from before. "That's the sweetest thing Nova!"
Nova's sheepishness was replaced by smugness. "And what of the colonel?" She asked.
Sibel bit her lip then she said, "Classic hero figure, what else is there to say!"
Nova giggled. "Hi John!" She said, looking behind Sibel and smiling.
Sibel's eyes opened wide and she couldn't turn around. She stood up and walked towards the wall, she hit her head against the wall several times before she sat back down.
John stared at Sibel. "...Are...you okay?" He asked, looking at her sideways.
"She'll be fine." Nova assured him. "She does that now and again." Then she mumbled "Of course, so do I..."
"Usually you hit your head against the desk though, but at the moment, all I have is your leg in front of me....." Sibel stared for a moment, "Actually!" She hit her head against Nova's leg bone.
Nova instinctively pulled her leg back as Sibel's forehead hit her kneecap. "Ow!" Her foot hit the leg of the chair and she cringed. "My leg does not make a good desk.
Colonel Sheppard stared at them, dumbfound.
Sibel looked around and realized that she was hungry. She took two cookies out of her pocket and handed one of them to Nova.
"Oh, thank you!" Nova said, and took the cookie from Sibel's hand and took a big bite. "Mmm...chocolate chips." She said with a sigh. "And...raisins? Is this your way of making me eat fruit?"
Sibel's eyes opened wide, "THERE WERE RAISINS IN IT?! Now I have to sue them for false labeling...."
Nova froze. "Wait..." She looked at the cookie apprehensively, then studied it closely. "Yep, those are definitely raisins." She took another big bite. "They're kinda good, actually."
"I still need to sue them!" Sibel looked up and noticed the Colonel staring down at the two girls.
"Well, there's a meeting in just a few minutes so I decided to come and let you two know. And what did you mean by 'Classic hero figure'?" He smirked
Nova smiled. "Five minutes, got it." She looked over at Dr. Beckett. "Am I clear to go?" She giggled.
"Of course, dear," He replied, smiling.
Sibel giggled and whispered to Nova, "He called you dear."
Nova's heart went 'thump' and she smiled. "I noticed." She whispered. "It's rude to ignore a question from a commanding officer." She was about to motion toward John, but he was already out in the hallway headed toward the briefing room.
Sibel slapped her sister on the leg and ran out of the room after the Colonel. Once she caught up she just continued walking with him to the meeting room.
Nova stood up, slowly, and carefully balanced her weight. There...the pain was bearable, at least, thanks to the medication. She slipped her boot back on and then tried her weight on that; Okay, that hurt a little bit more. She took a deep breath and started after Sibel and Sheppard.
Sibel walked happily beside the Colonel slowly waiting for her sister to catch up. She adored her sister and unlike many siblings they never disagreed. Well... on most things. They never really fought though, they got along perfectly well most of the time. They would argue about little fangirly things like which character in Spongebob is the best, and would be a better husband between Hugh Jackman and David Duchovney.
Nova caught up with them at the briefing room door, and inside McKay, Zelenka, and Ronon were already seated. Nova leaned on her sister, and sighed, then started humming "Somewhere over the Rainbow".
Sibel hummed alone with her sister as she helped her into her seat. She sat down and the Colonel took a seat next to her. She whispered to Nova, "What would you think if I died my hair dark red...?"
"I think that would be totally random of you to do, why?" Nova replied, but she was smiling.
"I don't know. I've always wanted red curly hair! Not like... orange red though, like DARK red!" Sibel replied. She looked at the Colonel and smiled. He flashed a smile back and the meeting started.
The group gave Colonel Carter a few Reader's Digest-like comments on their experience, then agreed to file mission reports within the next 48 hours. On their way back out, Nova gave a heavy sigh. "Wowww, I'm exhausted!" She admitted, and then yawned. "I think it's time to hit the hay. I dunno about you," She glanced at Sibel, then at John, then back at Sibel again. "But I'm outta here. Wake me in the morning!" She said, then shuffled off toward the girl's quarters.
"Well, I'm nocturnal and I'm proud!" she yelled at her sister who was limping away, "I'm going to go for a run, would you like to come?" she smiled.
"Um, a run.." John thought back to the previous run he'd taken with her and Ronon. Finally, he said "Sure." He hoped that with Ronon not there, she would pace down a bit.
