{001}
The crystal white of the Antarctic glimmered beneath them. The sun's rays reflecting off the snow created the illusion that they were flying over a sea of diamonds. Charlie breathed in the pure crisp untainted air that leaked through the cracks of the helicopter. The main rotor above them hummed loudly slicing through the frigid air like a knife. It was cold. Cold enough that even her winter gear and warmers couldn't stop her teeth from chattering.
At the front, Major John Sheppard rattled off to the General his credentials. Helicopters and special operations were his forte; all of which Charlie found impressive. Jack seemed less enthused. Not that he had shown much avidity for the Atlantis Expedition in the first place. Charlie, however, was highly impressed with the team Dr. Elizabeth Weir had put together.
Compared to that of her colleagues, all who held multiple PhD's, Charlie's Master's degree in Archaeology was underwhelming. Although her work ethic and knowledge were equable with the rest of team, having been placed as Head of Archaeology for the expedition made her the topic of many of their conversations.
They were the best and brightest in their fields. Highly published and commended. Charlie was not. Daniel had picked her as the head of the department and Elizabeth agreed. Honestly, it was a lie. She was underqualified academically. Everyone on the expedition knew this. Arguments were made that due to years of experience in the Stargate Program as well as her genetic history; she was the best fit.
"All inbound aircrafts, we have a rogue drone that can seek the target on its own. Land immediately and shut down your engine. This is not a drill. I repeat…"
"Too late," Sheppard stated eyeing the drone that was heading straight towards them. "Hang on!" Charlie grunted. The sharp turn of the helicopter had slammed her out of her reverie and into the side door. She listened intently for O'Neil's orders, attempting to keep the bile down in her throat, as Sheppard zig-zagged through the air.
"Charlie," O'Neil barked at her. "Now would be a great time to help." Sheppard looked over at his commanding officer as if he had lost his marbles all over the 'copter floor.
"What's she gonna do?"
"Never you mind," O'Neil snapped at his pilot. "Just keep that drone from knocking us out of the sky."
Eyes closed; Charlie focused. The pull of the drone's power shrouded her. Called to her. The air rippled around her as she dove deeper into the recesses of her mind, attempting to impart a small amount of her consciousness on controlling the drone. Her stomach rolled. Her concentration lost. The pitch and sway of the helicopter making her feel as if she were seasick.
O'Neil fondly called it 'telekinesis'. A word used in Syfy movies. It was less simple than that. Material manipulation was an apt name for it. There was no waving of the hand to make an object move. There were more variables to take into account. Moving objects, like the drone, were more difficult to manipulate.
"It's coming around behind us!" She yelled into her headset. There was no hesitation. Sheppard yanked the helicopter out of the drone's path.
"Break right," O'Neil ordered. Sheppard banked to the left just as the drone zipped passed their right side. "I said right!"
"Getting to that, sir," Sheppard's jaw clenched as he banked the helicopter hard to the right. Silence followed as O'Neil and Sheppard searched for the drone. The world around them slowed. Sounds faded in the background until Charlie could hear nothing but the deep hum of the helicopter.
"Charlie!" O'Neil yelled her name. She didn't respond. He turned to find her eyes closed in deep mediation.
"Charlotte!" O'Neil barked louder breaking her meditation. "Where the hell is it?" Charlie growled frustrated. Her eyes flew open. Her concentration once again lost.
"I am not UPS you know," her voice taut. "This thing doesn't come with a tracking number and I don't apprec…" Charlie's breath hitched. The pulsing of the drone surrounded her.
"Pull up!"
Sheppard eyed the drone as it beelined for their position. The helicopter rose upwards before he abruptly sent it into a steep nose-dive. Charlie watched the drone shoot out over the top of them; barely missing the main rotor.
"What about now?" O'Neil questioned his pilot.
"Now's good." Sheppard concurred as he brought the helicopter down to land.
"Shut it down!" O'Neil commanded. One by one the switches flipped off before Sheppard had a chance to reach for them.
"What the…" He gaped in astonishment. "Sir? Did you see that?" Charlie smirked as she waited for O'Neil's command to leave the helicopter.
"Wait for it." O'Neil held up a stern finger. Charlie spotted the drone. Once again, she closed her eyes, focusing her consciousness on its power source. Something was different. The energy around the drone was no longer anxious and uncertain. Now it held a modicum of control. Control that was willing it to shut down.
"Get out!" Sheppard screamed as he and O'Neil scrambled to undo their seatbelts and open their doors.
"Wait…" Charlie began. It was too late.
"All I am saying is that you could have warned us." O'Neil scolded her as he brushed the snow away from his boots. Charlie rolled her eyes as she peered over at Sheppard. He was half covered in snow. The pilot chuckled. "Then I wouldn't have gotten all wet and cold. You know I hate the cold."
Charlie sighed quietly realizing that there was no escaping him. Nope. Now she was stuck in an elevator with him. "I tried to warn you. You weren't listening."
"I was too listening," He pouted. "You just weren't speaking loud enough."
Taking a deep breath, Charlie closed her eyes attempting to meditate. Most of her energy had been spent tracking the drone and her stomach was still performing cartwheels. Jack, she could sense, still had more to say. Luckily, the elevator chose that time to come to a grinding halt.
Daniel's infectious smile was the first thing to greet them as they stepped out into the bustling research area that was the Antarctic Station. It was always a relief to see him. For the better part of a year Daniel had come to every dig site she had work on in an attempt to get her to sign a non-disclosure agreement blindly. He would just appear out of nowhere. Two or three times a month he would show up, pick up tools and work.
He never mentioned his own work. Charlie was familiar with his fringe theories though. The two of them simply talked about his life and her work. Daniel was always keen to know what she had discovered or translated. After a while she opened up to him about her life. Rather lack of. She had few friends. No boyfriends. Her father had stopped talking to her years prior. After her mother's death, life had simply revolved around two things; school and work. Daniel's had not been much different.
Realization had hit her one day in Brazil. Life had become boring and predictable. Charlie packed up her meager possessions and joined Daniel on his promising adventure. That was over five years ago and she still didn't regret it. Among the SGC, she found more things than she bargained for. New insight into the world and a family. New planets to discover, tombs to excavate, aliens to study—it was the perfect career.
There were still days, however, that Charlie regretted ever meeting the Asgard. Charlie loved Thor and the Asgards as much as SG-1. They were like family. A routine mission, however, turned everything that she had worked for upside down. An accidental activation of an integrated system changed everything. The control system had been something that even the Asgard had been unable to activate.
Missions were suspended. Research was reassigned. Her hereditary history took center stage. Charlie was keen to know about where she came from, her parents having died when she was young, but she felt as if she had lost a great amount of freedom for the little information she did receive.
Much of her time after that had been spent with Thor and the Asgard. Charlie learned about the history of her ancestors and the abilities she had that lay just beneath the surface. In exchange she allowed the Asgard to study her in hopes that she was the missing link needed for their survival.
There had been many points in her life that were now easily explained. The reason why learning had always come so easy to her. Why she never took long to heal. Charlie wasn't merely a gene-carrier like O'Neil. She was flesh and blood Ancient in human form. What no one could tell her is how.
"Charlie…" Wincing, Charlie's batted at the hand that pinched her earlobe in an attempt to gain her attention. "Earth to Charlie…" Opening her eyes, she bestowed Daniel with her best glare. He was too busy making funny faces at her to care. Charlie giggled. He knew all too well that when she was lost in thought there was hardly a chance of getting her back.
"Sorry," she smiled at Daniel's antics. "What's up?"
"Try and stay with us please," O'Neil commented drily from behind Daniel. "I need you to babysit Sheppard while Daniel bores me to death." Charlie's covered a laugh. Daniel simply rolled his eyes.
"Will do." Her smile brightened as she watched Daniel. He was trying not to act over-enthusiastic. "Knock 'em dead." Daniel planted a kiss on her forehead before leading Dr. McKay, Dr. Weir, and an unenthused O'Neil back to his lab.
Being a military brat had never granted her many opportunities to build friendships. Not like she had now. They were constantly on the move from base to base. From country to country. From school to school. Any friendships she made never lasted long. Her father would get new orders and they would be gone. After a while she had stopped trying.
"So, what was that back there?" Charlie jumped, surprised, as Sheppard snuck up behind her. Damn he was quiet.
"What was what?"
"The whole thing with the missile and the switches."
"Not sure," she shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. Sheppard had security clearance. O'Neil had just happened to forget to tell him about what really went on at the station. "Also, it's called a drone. Not a missile. Large difference."
His hazel eyes bore into her blue ones. Trying to draw some kind of confession from her. She could feel her heart racing as she attempted to act as if she had nothing to hide. Something about him though made her want to tell him everything. As if she somehow knew she could trust him.
They stood in the middle of the room staring at each other. Assessing one another. He was attractive; she had to admit that. Spiked brown hair without a hint of grey combined with chiseled facial features probably made girls swoon. She could see kindness in his eyes but arrogance too. A trait she knew all too well to avoid.
"Okay then," Sheppard shrugged. He dropped his gaze. "I'm going to look around." Charlie exhaled. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath. She stared at his retreating figure in disbelief. She watched intently as he passed table after table with child-like joy on his face. Ancient technology was fascinating. Charlie couldn't blame him for wanting to explore.
Her time with the Asgard had proved fruitful. Ancient technology and knowledge were something everyone at the SGC had been pining after. With Thor's help she learned to access parts of her brain that most humans didn't have access to. Learning for her had always been rather effortless. Now it was beyond that. Slowly, she learned how to incorporate and store information for easier access in her mind. Essentially, a didactic memory.
"Dr. Weir!" Dr. Beckett, Chief medical officer, came scuttling out of the chair room screaming at the top of his lungs. Pure terror on his face. Charlie glanced around the room looking for Sheppard. He was nowhere to be found. Cursing, she hastily made her way towards the chair room that Beckett had scurried out of. The room was bathed in a brilliant blue, the Chair Device activated, Sheppard sitting uncomfortably upon it.
"You look nervous, Major." Charlie teased him smiling. Sheppard scowled. O'Neill was bound to have a field day, but his expression would be priceless.
"Who is this?" Dr. Weir inquired brusquely as she came rushing into the room. O'Neil and McKay were not far behind.
"I told you not to touch anything." O'Neil chastised his pilot.
"I just sat down" Sheppard confessed innocently.
"Major," McKay interrupted. "Think about where we are in the solar system." Mere seconds passes before a large holographic three-dimensional map of the star system appeared above Sheppard's head. Charlie saw Dr. Weir smile in delight.
"Did I do that?"
Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! This has been posted before, you might remember it, but I wanted to do an overhaul. Shorten sentences, add complicated words ;).
Tune in for the next chapter! And please, favorite and review! I love to hear what you are thinking or if you have ideas!