Chapter 10

Friends

Dr. Radek Zelenka looked around the science department. It was empty of all staff except him. He pushed his glasses to top of his head and rubbed his eyes. He'd been staring at the mathematical problem on his laptop for some time with little progress. He sighed.

Muttering to himself in his native Czech, he closed the computer down, and took it with him. He needed sleep, but he needed food first.

He made his way to the galley. It was too late for hot foods, so he resigned himself to yet another cold sandwich. Just as he was about to turn the corner, a figure shuffled slightly in the periphery of his vision.

He stopped and saw Zara. She was sitting in a chair by the window, and was staring out into the blackness. He wondered what she was looking at so intently, so he made his way over cautiously.

He couldn't see anything. There wasn't even a good view of Atlantis from here! What did she see?

He didn't want to disturb her, so he quietly walked away and met up with other latecomers at the galley.

"I see you're working late." John Shepard remarked as Radek took a seat.

"Yes, yes, Rodney has me working on some calculations." He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully.

Teyla came in and took a seat next to John. Her young son was fussy again, and she hoped a walk would tire him out.

"What is she doing?" Radek nodded towards Zara.

"She's waiting for Commander Adama to come down from the ship, but I doubt he'll be coming this late."

"She's been there most of the day." Teyla added.

"Really?" Radek peered over his glasses now. "Does she have nothing else to do?"

"I don't know. I don't see her much myself, only usually at meals and at night after away missions."

"She's so alone, no friends. She must be very lonely. She doesn't even speak. It's almost as if she doesn't understand any language at all. I know she understands us, but it's as if she speaks another language entirely. I wish there were a universal language that could bring us closer together."

Suddenly, Radek stopped chewing and sat up straight in his chair.

"What?" Shepard asked him. "You okay?"

Radek put down his sandwich and opened up his laptop. His fingers clacked the keys quickly.

John half stood to peer at the screen, but he couldn't see anything from the angle he was at. "What? Will you tell me what's going on?"

"There IS a universal language! Why didn't I think of this before?"

Ronon gazed at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Music!"

With a final tap on the keyboard, Radek turned the device around. It displayed a file of music that had been downloaded from a flash drive brought to Atlantis by a science team member. Radek knew about it, but once he'd discovered it, had hidden it from Rodney. No personal files were supposed to be on the laptops, but people were people, and they liked what creature comforts that could be found so far from home.

He let John look at the file briefly. "Just don't tell Rodney."

"I don't know anything that goes on in your department." John held up in hands in surrender.

"What do you think she would like?"

"What kind of music?"

Radek nodded.

"How would I know?" John shifted in his chair to get a better viewing angle. "How about you start with something simple?"

"What do you listen to?"

"Me? Uh, well, I've been known to listen to Johnny Cash."

Radek clacked away again. "There is one song by Johnny Cash; "Ring of Fire."

John looked pensive. "I like it, but she might not."

"What do you suggest?"

"How about something without words or something maybe kids would like? I am guessing she's more intelligent than we suspect, but still I don't think she'd enjoy anything too loud."

"Something in English, maybe the Beatles?"

"That might work, play something soft."

Radek queued up "In My Life" and walked close enough to where she would hear it.

As the first notes of music floated out of the machine, her head turned. Radek was smiling as he carried it over. John and Ronon struggled with a table. Teyla watched her with bemused eyes.

"We're bringing the party to you." John quipped. Her eyes grew wide with amazement.

Radek set the laptop down on the table and turned it to face her.

She turned her gaze to the picture on the machine. It was a single black and white photograph of the Beatles that accompanied the song. She stared at it, her mouth opened partly in utter awe. She'd never heard or seen anything like this before.

When the song was over, Radek queued up the next one, and the next, and the next.

Some had moving pictures, while others did not.

Finally, Radek turned the machine towards him. "I'm afraid those are all the Beatles songs available. There are others, if you would like to listen to them."

When he looked up, he saw tears in her eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?"

She shook her head no. A genuine smile lit up her face.

"Would you like to hear more?"

She nodded yes emphatically. No one had ever played music for her before.

Radek came around to the other side. "May I sit here?" He wanted to make sure it was all right. He knew she was skittish around people, but she nodded.

"I shall show you how to find music in here. Will that be okay?"

She smiled again, and nodded.

So, Radek spent the next hour showing her how to sample the recordings, and he showed her how to make her own little file of favorites, and he titled it Zara's Music.

"I'll check some of the other laptops, there may be some more music on those. You'll have to give me a couple of days though, okay?"

She nodded.

A few nights later, Zara and Commander Adama were sitting together in one of the lounges when Radek showed up. He wanted to introduce Zara to some more music.

She sat captivated by the enormous amount of music and Adama looked on in amazement.

"She's never taken an interest in our music, in fact, she hates it." Adama declared.

"I have been asking everyone to compile a flash drive of music and to send it to me. This way I can combine all the files and she can sample a bigger variety of musical styles, and eras. Let's try this one."

Radek cued up some Glenn Miller, and as the first few notes floated about, a big smile came over Zara's face. Adama raised an eyebrow.

"Once I find out what styles appeal to her, I can make a file with those that are her favorites. I know a couple of people are heading to Earth via our stargate bridge. I will ask them to bring back as much music as they can, that is, if they have the time and are willing. Also the Daedelus will be shipping out with a new load of supplies for us shortly. I will send a message out and see what else we can find."

"Thank you for doing this. I can see that she's thrilled. It does my heart good to see her happy."

"I cannot take all the credit. It was Teyla who gave me the idea. I will play music for her on the nights that I do not have to work late and when I can get the laptop out of the science department. Rodney doesn't like us to use them for personal files."

"Please do not get yourself in trouble. Perhaps there is a way for Zara to have her own? I have Colonial cubits. I don't know what value they have here, but they should be worth something."

"I have an idea, but I cannot promise anything."

Adama's face turned serious. "I don't want to seem ungrateful, for I am, but I don't want you to go out of your way."

"Óh, no, no, no, it's no trouble. I'm glad she is enjoying it."

"I do want her to learn from her experiences, learn the value of things. I want to know if there's anything she can do for you in return."

Zara's heart froze. Color drained out of her face. She thought Commander Adama was going to rent her out to Radek.

"I'm fine, there's no need, really. If she wants to volunteer, I'm sure there are many departments here that would love to have her as an addition; perhaps botany. I think Zara might enjoy working with flowers and plants."

"She did enjoy our trip to the agro-ship. What do you think; would you enjoy working with plants?'

Zara was taken aback for a moment. After thinking a moment, she nodded. It might be nice to plant some flowers, she thought.

"I'll set it up for her."

True to his word, Radek spoke to department head, and Zara starting working there. At first it was very simple things, like watering the various plants. She was given a schedule and it was her job to know which plant needed a lot of water and which didn't.

When she excelled at that, Zara was given more responsibility. She was now helping to grow food using Hydroponics.

She carefully harvested the fruits and vegetables being grown, after being shown when they had ripened. Then she was given the task of delivering them to the kitchens for meal preparation.

"We're going to expand our selections as soon as new supplies come from Earth." The lead botanist, Katie Brown, told her. "We've collected water from the ocean and desalinized it, so we always have a surplus of fresh water."

Zara cocked her head quizzically.

"We have filtering machines to remove the salt from the ocean water so we can drink it."

Zara rolled that idea in her head a bit and then nodded her understanding. She didn't understand how a machine could do that, but like many other things she'd encountered, she accepted it.

"I think that'll be all the help I need today, you're free to go."

Zara did a double-take. No one had ever said she was "free to go" to her before. She hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Katie could plainly see the confusion on Zara's face. "Did I say something wrong?"

Zara recovered her momentary indecision, and shook her head. She pointed to herself and then to the door.

Katie smiled. "Go ahead."

Zara gave her a half nod/half bow and took her leave. She felt almost happy as she walked down the hallway. She had a few hours to spare. What should I do? She thought as she slowed her pace. Hmmm. She decided to go down to the hideaway in the lower levels.

She crept up on the special room, the one that moved her from place to place. She made sure no one was around and quietly slipped in. She pressed her hand against the sensor in the wall. "Lower level 15."

The panel lit up with lights and she felt a slight vibration in the floor. When the door opened, she was on the requested floor. The dim light spilled into the "elevator". She stepped out and made her way to one of the rooms she'd discovered. It was a "windowed" room where she could look out into the ocean since this level was below the water line. She found it fascinating and soothing.

When she tired, she went to her little hiding place and laid down on the blankets. She could hear the humming of the city down here and it lulled her to sleep