I do not own Stargate, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, nor do I own any of its characters. I make no profit off this story excepting in my own personal pleasure of writing it. This is set AU after the end of Season Five of Stargate Atlantis. It completely disregards the Legacy book series, so please no flames that it's ignoring those. Also a few characters may go a bit OOC, because I feel like it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
AN: Sorry for the Delay in this chapter. I kind of got a plot for another Atlantis story stuck in my head last week and so I ended up doing a bit of writing for that one. I apologize.
AN: More new perspectives! Also, Science! And a bit more fluff, sorry, some of it is being carried over from the last chapter.
Chapter 17: Someone Else's Shoes
Woolsey had thought that after all he had seen over the past year and a half, he had become a bit immune to surprises. He was clearly mistaken as he was basically thrown for several loops in the course of a single morning. Before negotiations with the Tok'ra, Nox, and Jaffa could continue, he found himself being cornered with several adults in succession, most of them holding some admittedly adorable looking young wraith.
The most startling encounter had been the first, Ronon, with a human boy that Dr. Cassie Frasier had warned him Ronon would likely request permission to adopt. That hadn't been the shocking part. Ronon had spent nearly all of the past seven weeks helping care for the orphaned children of Earth. This was something that Woolsey actively encouraged because the man knew what it felt like to lose everything and felt the children would relate to him well because of it. No, the shocking part was that between Ronon and Liam was a five-year-old wraith child that Ronon had named Cooria. Apparently, Ronon wanted to adopt both boys. Liam had apparently been in whole-hearted agreement, for all that he had met his 'brother' barely an hour before.
Cooria had a sharp eye and clung to the hands of Ronon and Liam tightly, even when Woolsey asked for a moment to speak with Ronon for a moment in private. It had taken Ronon's reassuring the boy that he wasn't going to disappear for Cooria to relinquish his hold on Ronon. After that came a very… very peculiar conversation with Ronon. When Woolsey expressed a concern that Ronon had shown a previous extreme hatred for Wraith, Ronon had countered with another bit of shocking information, that he had received therapy to help him move past his anger towards the wraith.
Woolsey had still been reluctant until Ronon suggested allowing Dr. Frasier, a therapist who was also uniquely qualified for assisting a child born outside of Earth culture, to supervise his care for Cooria at random intervals without warning. Apparently, Dr. Frasier had made the suggestion as she believed that Woolsey wasn't as familiar with Ronon's choice to change his perspective on the Wraith and thus would be more reluctant. This suggestion, along with the assurances that Sheppard supported Ronon's choice to adopt Cooria and the knowledge that Ronon had very recently saved Todd's life, had Woolsey giving a tentative agreement to the arrangement, provided that he didn't see any signs of mistreatment of Cooria going forward. Woolsey silently made a note in his calendar to speak with Dr. Frasier.
The conversation with Teyla and Kannan over the two toddlers they wished to adopt, named Orrilin Aiden and Serwen Rodney Emmagan by Teyla, tentatively of course before he gave permission, was far less tense, though no less surprising. Teyla had already spoken to him of her and Kannan having the intent to adopt a child, should they find one among the orphans that seemed to fit well with them. This, along with the knowledge that Teyla had a far more flexible view on the Wraith and was an excellent mother to Torren made Woolsey's answer far easier, even if they had decided on two children instead of the anticipated one. There was no doubt in Woolsey's mind that the two boys would grow up to be fierce fighters but the most mild-mannered people as well, just like their new parents.
The third set to arrive was probably more startling than it should have been. Dave and Julia Sheppard were Sheppards after all. They also wanted to adopt a pair of wraith toddlers and had gotten Gen. Sheppard's approval. This was a fairly easy decision to make, like with Teyla and Kannan. After all, the Sheppards had also been neck deep in caring for the orphans, as well as working to organize the severely needed school system, an art therapy program with the help of Mrs. Abigail Lorne, who happened to be an art teacher, and Col. Lorne himself, the martial arts lessons with Ronon and Col. Romanov, and cooking classes for the teens with the help of the mess hall staff, who were both teaching and using the teens as additional hands to help meet the increased demand of so many mouths to feed.
Honestly, Woolsey suspected that it was more the Sheppards' efforts with the help of their various cohorts that had done more to prevent a mass swath of teen suicides than the therapists, though they were certainly doing their jobs and then some at the moment. So, no, Woolsey had no concerns about allowing the care of the toddlers to fall to the Sheppards, who had settled on the names of Cathasach Richard and Faolan James Sheppard for the two boys. They were distinctly Irish, and Dave explained they meant Vigilant for Cathasach and Little Wolf for Faolan, both names that Woolsey could hardly argue weren't suitable. The choice for more modern middle names was simply so that the boys had easier names to go by if they chose, if they didn't like the more traditional ones, though James and Richard were old names as well.
At that point Woolsey had already started recording the adoptions in new files, getting the spelling of the name Cooria had been surprisingly easy for Ronon, as the man had apparently taken the time to learn to read and write in English, so he could roughly translate the spelling from Satedan to English. The same applied for Teyla and Orrilin and Serwen. He hadn't expected to have to have it spelt out by the Sheppards, but those names were certainly mouthfuls.
Thus, it was that when Halling arrived after the departure of the Sheppards, Woolsey couldn't help asking, "Let me guess, you also want to adopt a very cute wraith child?"
"The thought had not crossed my mind before you brought it up, but I admit I am not entirely opposed to the idea. However, that is not what brings me to your office. There is a matter of import that must be discussed with you regarding the relationship between the Lanteans and Athosians," Halling began, before launching into a long winded explanation of customs covering the absorption of one civilization into another and the Athosians' desire to formally become Lantean.
That was something that had absolutely floored Woolsey. As it had turned out, Ronon had already long joined Atlantis before Woolseyhad been given command of the city, though he wasn't officially considered a citizen of Atlantis before the destruction of Earth through the IOA's rule book out the window. Thus, Woolsey had had no notion of the practice or that the Athosians would consider it with the people of Atlantis. Still, he could only see the benefits to the arrangement. The amount of help the Athosians had provided over the years had likely meant the difference between success and failure for the Expedition and if the Expedition had failed, the outcome of the fall of Earth would have been a very different matter, as Ata had said it would have occurred, regardless.
Thus, Woolsey agreed that as long as O'Neill and Sheppard also gave their approval, it was a matter that could be easily settled given the presence of Teyla and Halling within Atlantis anyway. Halling seemed genuinely happy with this response and said he would speak with O'Neill when the opportunity had arisen, but Sheppard had already given his approval. It should have occurred to Woolsey that the Athosians would bring the matter to Sheppard first. There was a level of respect and awe they seemed to regard him with that bordered on worship. Woolsey wasn't certain if it was because of all the man had seemingly accomplished or because they felt he was the second coming of the Ancients. Personally though, Woolsey suspected that it was a combination of the two. Halling then left to go discuss with Teyla the matter of the negotiations and what had already been discussed.
The next group was waiting just outside his office with Halling's departure and Woolsey was being to wonder if there was a line forming. Still, he allowed Rikki's group to enter and present their 'brilliant idea' that was a rather good idea when it came down to it. While Rikki had been the one to lead the way into his office, it was Dr. Tom Richards that presented the idea.
He pointed out that their organization of the orphans, as a whole, had been a good short-term idea, as it allowed for greater control on the short notice, however, it could use a lot of refining. Namely, there were a lot of teens who didn't particularly like kids who were currently responsible for them. There were also a lot of kids who needed far greater emotional support than the teenagers could provide.
Woolsey couldn't argue with these points, so he nodded for them to continue. Richards then suggested something that likely should have occurred to them a while ago and likely only hadn't because they were so busy trying to ensure that everyone survived that they hadn't thought about how the children were living. The idea was something akin to a cross between the Big Brother/Little Brother program that had been in place in the US on Earth and adoption.
If they took a census of all the young adults and older teens, to determine if they would willingly agree to take on the care of a child while they weren't in lessons or therapy. Get their hobbies, interests, skills and the like recorded, then match them up with kids. It sounded simple enough, though it wouldn't be easy to implement. The lovely thing though was that it was something that he could bring up with the Nox and they would likely jump on that like an untrained puppy on a juice steak strip on the floor. They would even do most of the work for them.
Woolsey told the group to write up the concept and how it could be implemented, and he would present it to the people who would be best at organizing it, i.e. the Nox and the Sheppards. The group left happy, Woolsey felt a bit relieved that they hadn't requested permission to adopt any of the wraith children because while they had good hearts, that lot were scientists through and through, they were so absorbed in their work most of the time that they forgot to feed themselves, never mind another, smaller dependent. Also, most of them were fair to young to adopt any children at all.
Woolsey's hope that the previous two conversations meant he had spoken with all the people that wanted to adopt was dashed when Keller and McKay came in with a seven-year-old wraith child, one that Keller had already named William and William looked at McKay like he was the best thing since the age of dinosaurs. Woolsey would have been reluctant to agree to them adopting the boy if Keller hadn't immediately explained that Kannan had agreed to watch William for them while they worked, and he wasn't in therapy or lessons. Woolsey didn't bother with arguing. Keller was as stubborn at McKay was in her own way. McKay had even seemed oddly proud with William, stating outright that the boy had the potential for brilliance, he just needed the education and opportunity to shine.
After Keller and McKay, Vala came in with Mitchell and Jackson, asking for permission to help with the orphan wraith kids. Woolsey was baffled by this even as he agreed, given the need for more volunteers. Mitchell departed with Vala and that was when Jackson explained that they had had to talk Vala out of trying to adopt one of the kids outright. He and Col. Mitchell were convinced that it was predominantly the pregnancy hormones talking and making Vala want to adopt anything small and cute and that her short attention span meant that if she wasn't genuinely serious about it, her attention would soon shift to something else.
With this clarification, Woolsey gave a nod of understanding. However, he realized, it was almost time for the negotiations to continue and so he had to scramble to make it to conference room before others started showing up. He failed as O'Neill, Sheppard, Todd, Teyla, and Halling had all beat him there. At least it was his people present and not the other groups.
Once matters with Woolsey had been settled, Rodney had taken charge of William for the day. Jenn had to go through eight retrovirus treatments for the day, so she wouldn't be avalible until that evening, and even then, it would be extremely late when she finished. So, Rodney figured he could make the day an easy enough one. He would take William through checking on the various projects that his people were running, so the boy could see all the wonderful scientific discoveries in the making. Then, he figured he would join Ronon and his two new kids on the quest for family suites. Rodney might like William, by there was no way he was sleeping in the same room with him and Jennifer. There were so many issues with the idea, starting with the fact that the boy was seven.
Oh, Rodney knew that the kid would probably come to them with nightmares, but that didn't mean that he couldn't have his own room. Plus, Rodney and Jenn needed their private time too. Rodney just needed to find the perfect little two-bedroom suite for them. One with a balcony, nice little kitchen, and stunning view. Jenn would like that, especially if it was near a transporter in case of a medical emergency.
William watched in wide-eyed fascination as Rodney spoke with several members of his staff. He started with Kusanagi, who was working on organizing and taking over Kavanagh's work, after his untimely death. Rodney felt more than a little sympathetic as the woman was already incredibly busy, but she was the best person for figuring out where Kavanagh had been in his project to backwards engineer the transporters in the hopes of creating a network that would allow for far faster travel between the city and mainland. It was genuinely a pain to have to fly people back and forth, never mind that the children that ended up living on the mainland would also need a way to get to the city for their school lessons.
After his check in there, he headed to Jeannie's lab, where she and Lee were covering the much more vital task of analyzing the data on the conversations occurring between John and Rikki while why were in the control chairs, preforming the data transfers. Given the importance of the project, as it gave a monumental amount of information on how the Neural Interface worked, the two of them were given a much more secure lab.
Jeannie looked more amused than anything about Rodney's companion, but didn't comment, instead, telling him that they would have a report on the data when they finished compiling it. Lee just gave Rodney a glare, but then, Rodney was certain the man hadn't forgiven Rodney or the rest of their team for legit stealing the Jumper he had been studying to get back to Atlantis to rescue O'Neill and Woolsey. Or for having Elizabeth play him in order to get their hands on the key card needed to do so.
Next on the list was Rikki and the rest of his minions. He was pleased to see the group hard at work. Rikki and Tom were, it appeared, assembling a staff weapon, though it didn't look like a normal staff weapon, so Rodney figured it was the newer model. Meanwhile, Amelia, Sebastian, and Jeffery were all working diligently on computers.
"Well, my favorite little minions, what updates do you have for me?" Rodney asked. This was always the least disappointing room to check on because he didn't have to yell at anyone here. They all actually double checked their work before bringing it to him, though Jeanie and Lee did that as well.
Rikki looked up and smiled, "Oh, perfect timing. We need permission to go to the mainland to test the two different models we have designed. As you know, we have the modified Jaffa Staff Weapon and then Tom and I created a new, much more improved version that we've dubbed the Lantean Staff Weapon. We think we've finally worked out the correct counter-balances for the weights so the staff is as perfectly balanced like the originals are."
"Great, wonderful. Finally, some good news. William, take Rikki as an example. She always makes sure she double checks her work and she isn't an idiot who does things without asking permission when she knows she needs to," Rodney patted the boy's back.
"What is a Jaffa Staff Weapon," William asked, clearly curious.
Rodney nodded, the question, was of course a reasonable one from a child that had never encountered them before, "Rikki, you want to show William the original." It was the kind of question that an intelligent person would ask for clarification.
Rikki grabbed the starting weapon that she had been basing her designs off of. Once she brought it over, Rodney took it and held it for William to see, "This is a Jaffa Staff Weapon. It's a powerful, if outdated, weapon that discharges a plasma blast from this end. They use this other end to act as a counterbalance for the heavy head, but also it doubles as a club, that they can use to temporarily stun someone by whacking them with it. Now, this one is heavy, and it isn't as accurate, as powerful, or as versatile as the new versions that Rikki's been working on."
"Oh, that's smart to make it more accurate. There's no point in firing a weapon if it isn't going to hit what you want it to," William responded.
"That is an excellent point. Now, Amelia, Sebastian, Jeffery, what have you three been up to?" Rodney turned his attention back to the three interns. He was giving them the benefit of the doubt, given that Rikki and Tom weren't useless, and he doubted those two would be friends with idiots who were useless.
"Well, I think I have a decent idea for a dissertation," Amelia smiled brightly. "I'm sure you've noticed the annoyance and complaints that those who are training on the Jumpers are mostly being used to shuttle people back and forth from the mainland when they should be trained on more complex combat maneuvers if they are capable of them, right?"
"Yes, Kavanagh was working on recreating the transporters to resolve the issue," Rodney huffed.
"Which is all well and good for people in small groups, but it's not going to do much good for larger loads, like harvests and other supplies. I was thinking for my dissertation, I could create the designs for fully functional transport ship, kind of like a cross between a Jumper and a pontoon. Big enough to transport harvests and stuff, it flies like a Jumper, but it doesn't require the ATA gene. The idea is for it to be easy enough to learn to fly that just about anybody can do it, but it's only planet side," Amelia looked hopeful.
"A little mundane, but definitely worth it and definitely not a cop-out since you'll be creating something completely new. You're approved. Do it. If it will stop people from bitching about transportation, it will be worth it long term," Rodney nodded.
"Right, well, my idea's a little more… exciting, but way more complex too and I definitely need your approval to even touch half of the stuff I need for it," Sebastian presented his idea next. "I was thinking of creating a new kind of ship that can go through the gate. One that's a lot more versatile than we've got right now. See, from what I understand, we've got Jumpers, that can only be operated by people with the ATA gene. We've got darts, which while anyone can use them and they are maneuverable as it gets, are really difficult to fly if you aren't trained carefully on them or capable of flying anything, like Gen. Sheppard. We've got Death Gliders, that aren't as difficult to fly, but their fire power leaves something to be desired in our current combat level, especially with a threat like the Naari headed our way eventually. There's also the F-302s, which have a decent fire power, but they aren't actually designed to fly through the gate.
"So, the idea I had was a ship with the carry capacity and cloaking of a Jumper, the ease of flying of a Death Glider, the maneuverability of a Dart, and the fire power of a F-302, and it can also fly in space and is submersible," Sebastian finished and looked hopeful.
"If you can get it to work, though you are aware that it's going to take you like, at least a few years to work out how to mesh it all together, right?" Rodney asked.
Sebastian shrugged, "As long as I get it done before the Naari show up and we can use it with efficiency, it will be worth it."
Rodney nodded, "You will run every portion of your designs past Tom and Rikki before it reaches me, understood?"
"Yes. No messing around, no unnecessary risks, I will quadruple check my calculations and designs for flaws before bothering Rikki and Tom with it, and I know that other work might come first, depending on the situation at hand," Sebastian nodding in agreement.
"Good. Well, Jeffery, you've had over a month to adjust to the reality of learning that nothing is as you thought it was in the sciences, what brilliant idea for your dissertation do you have for me?" Rodney asked.
Jeffery looked uncertain, "Well, I was thinking of creating new kind of beaming tech based off the wraith dart tech. If it could be miniaturized, or at least be made more compact and compatible with our Jumpers or the Death Gliders, than we could use it for rescue missions. No need to land and wait for someone to climb in when you can just scoop them up and bring them back through the gate quickly."
"Hmm… not a bad idea, practical, but not easy or simple by any means. Again, no cutting corners, no taking unnecessary risks. Walk every stage by Rikki, Tom, and me," Rodney smirked. It seemed like this day would be a nice day. "See, I knew you three could come up with much better dissertations than your original ideas. You just needed the right inspiration. You would have been wasted on Earth."
William seemed happy to follow Rodney from the lab. The boy was content to observe and only ask questions when he needed clarification. It was nice to not be stuck dealing with an idiot child. Not that Maddie or Torren, the only other children he dealt with on a regular basis were stupid, it was all the rest that were. They didn't understand that you couldn't play with important scientific equipment or interrupt when brilliance was occurring.
Jenn smiled as she officially took over for the day from Carrie. Carson would be joining her shortly and working with her as they gave the retrovirus to eight different wraith in one day. There had been a bit of debate over who would go when, though they would have to do multiple wraith at a time, since the process, by necessity, would take several hours. There was no rushing the process. As it was, she had to deal with the complex issue of River, who she would genuinely avoid giving the retrovirus if it was possible. The problem being that while animals could do in a pinch to prevent outright starvation, if the wraith had fed on a human recently enough. Pregnant wraith, according to Todd, required substantially more life force. River simply wouldn't survive to term. He would either miscarry or starve before then.
Jenn had ordered the room that they had used for Todd's transition prepared for up to four at a time. They would have to rotate the scanner over the wraith, but since it was thankfully the portable one, it wasn't too big an issue. Hawk was accompanied by River, who wanted to remain by his side for the duration of the procedure. Jenn allowed it, since it wasn't exactly a surgery and while the transition was painful, she suspected that Sheppard's presence for Todd had done wonders to help him through it, for all that they weren't bonded yet.
The other three wraith to go first were two of the younger wraith, though one was definitely the oldest of that lot at 87-years-old, according to him, and Bran, who had insisted on going before his mate as well. Keller was beginning to wonder if the dynamic between Sires and Carriers was really about dominance and submissiveness or just a seriously wired in protective streak in the Sires that their Carriers instinctively indulged. Or it could be a side effect of the bond, since John wasn't Wraith, but seemed to behave exactly the same way as Hawk and Bran were when it came to Todd's safety.
It also made Jenn wonder if perhaps there was some sort of brain chemical release, or at least that was why she insisted on getting blood samples from all the bonded wraith plus John. The nice thing about Ancient tech was that unlike a Mass Spectrometer, the Ancient machine designed for isolating and determining different components of blood work seemed to look for everything. She wasn't even certain how it identified them, but she was certain that by the end of the day, she would know if there were any weird brain chemistry going on.
Jenn smiled brightly at her patients as they were secured to the beds, "Sorry about this, but I assure you that is its predominantly for your own safety. The retrovirus can cause some pretty severe pain, or at least it did with Todd, and since we don't have painkillers designed for Wraith… for obvious reasons… there isn't much we can do about it, but prevent you from thrashing about too much and minimize any damage that your body would then be forced to heal."
Bran and Hawk nodded sagely, while the younger wraith, that really needed names, looked a bit more frightened but Jinto and Wex had come to play emotional support for them, which Jenn found rather amusing. The wraith seemed to have bonded with the teens and they had spent part of the night before, once things shifted away from the interesting stories about John, conspiring in whispers. There were many a glance at Teyla and Ronon, but the conversation was left to the teens and young wraith.
Once Jenn had run them through the preliminary scans, she and Carson began administering the first phase of the retrovirus. In truth it was three different retroviruses, but it was too complex to explain as although they each did different things, they all worked in conjunction and needed to be done in the right order to minimize bodily distress. Jenn started with Hawk, then moved on to Bran while Carson administered it to the other two. Their vitals were monitored carefully, Jenn and Carson walking between the different beds. She was pleasantly surprised to note that the younger two were exhibiting extremely low levels of stress from the transition, which in a way made sense, they had not grown accustomed to feeding on humans yet. Still, the interesting part was that Bran and Hawk weren't showing much stress either.
In truth, they didn't seem like they were under any significant stress at all, especially compared to Todd. When questioned, they all admitted that while they weren't particularly comfortable, it wasn't exactly painful either. Though, Bran and Hawk admitted that if felt more like a mild ache, after a bit of pressing, so it might have been slightly more for them than the two unnamed wraith.
Once the time limit was up for that part of the transition, the scans all read out exactly what Jenn wanted to see, so she happily moved on to the second phase. This part was somewhat painful for the four wraith, however, once again, there were far fewer stress indicators in them than there was during Todd's transition. It also didn't appear to take quite as long for the enzyme sack to be eliminated. Jenn couldn't help being a little intrigued by this.
On the one hand, Todd had been much older than any of the ones on the medical beds now. Todd was around 10,500 years old, give or take a few decades. According to Bran, he was 469 years-old, young enough to still be keeping a closer track on his age, apparently. Hawk was a bit older at somewhere around 1,200 years. However, that meant that Hawk was more than eight times younger than Todd. Bran was something like twenty-two times younger than him. The next oldest in transition was 87 and the youngest one to go so far was 37 and that meant that Todd was over two hundred times older than both easily.
Of course, that wasn't the only isolating factor. All four in transition were sires, while Todd was a carrier, which could also be a factor. Jenn was fairly certain that she could rule out the being bonded altering the impact of the transition speed or pain levels, or at least mostly, because the younger two weren't bonded at all. Still, she wasn't going to complain about anything that made the transition less painful for her patients. She smiled brightly as they came through the second phase without showing much distress at all and ran the scans to confirm the enzyme sack was gone.
The true test of endurance would be the feeding hand and the switch over for the body's systems. As she injected first Hawk and then Bran, they were the first to be checked after she finished checking the other two and allowed Carson to give them the final stage. River and Arthur looked a little upset, and it was obvious why. Their readouts had shown a significant spike in stress, which Jenn suspected correlated to a spike in pain.
"I'm sorry, this was the most painful part for Todd as well. Though, he was in a lot more pain than you. It's unfortunately going to take the longest amount of time as well," Jenn explained while trying to be as sympathetic as possible.
River and Arthur simply nodded somberly as they sat in the chairs beside their mates. Jinto and Wex had taken to distracting the other two by telling stories that they had been told by John to them. They were, understandably distorted a bit in the retelling, but Jenn found it amusing. The only break in this was a brief period where Sheppard himself came to talk to the boys in the hall. Both looked somber, but they seemed to lower their voices and give the Wraiths some sort of information that Jenn simply didn't have time to investigate.
Fortunately, like the second phase, the distress from all four that were transitioning ended sooner, taking just over three hours. That meant that the total transition time for them took six hours instead of eight. The scans, however, showed that they were fully transitioned and that their bodies were functioning similarly to Todd's.
Jenn sent a few nurses to get the prepared, light broth for the newly transitioned wraith, "We're going to start you off with something light for your stomach, so that we don't overwhelm you. If you can keep this down, then in a bit, we'll have something a little more solid for you. In the meantime, check out your hand."
As she said this, she started undoing the restraints for them. Hawk was the first released and he immediately did check his feeding hand, a barking laugh was released almost immediately afterwards. He showed it to River who almost beamed with a smile of delight, or as much as any that Jenn had seen on a wraith.
"I have to admit, I'm a bit relieved that it wasn't as strenuous on you lot as it was on Todd. Now, that could be because he's older, or because he's a carrier. If it's the first, than that does significantly reduce my concerns for River and his child, given the fact that less stress on the body will significantly reduce the dangers to the baby. If it's the second, well… we'll have to see. I'm really, hoping it's the first though," Jenn admitted.
The younger two wraith looked at her hopefully, "Once we have eaten, will we be permitted to find quarters and move about?" They were rubbing their hands that once held the feeding apparatus but while it looked like they might be a bit sore, they weren't showing signs of significant pain. They shared looks with Jinto and Wex that made Jenn wonder what they were up to, but she didn't bother pressing, instead telling the truth.
"Not just yet. I want to keep you under observation for a few hours. Mr. Woolsey has likely already arranged for temporary quarters for you all. Also, Dr. Jackson, who's running the anthropology department stopped by earlier. He said that he and the others would be happy to help you pick out names for yourselves. Once you do, I'm going to need them, for your medical files," Jenn explained.
"So, we may truly choose our own names?" The older one asked.
Jenn nodded, "I know that you weren't given that option at the colony or the hive, but yes, you'll need at least a first and last name. For humans, a first name is generally a name given to you by your parents when you're born, though some choose another when they get older. The last name is a family name, it's the name that gets passed down to your children, well, either your last name or your partner's last name will be given to your children. We use the two names to help distinguish and identify people more easily. Some people however have more than two, they can have middle names, for example, my name is Jennifer Ophelia Keller. Ophelia was my grandmother's name, so it was given to me as a middle name."
By this point the nurses had returned with the broth and handed out the bowls to all of them. The use of a spoon was a novelty to all of them as was drinking something like broth. Most likely because it had been a long time for them since they had eaten anything rather than feeding. Thus, it was slow going, even as Jenn got the other four set up on the medical beds, having those who had completed the transition settle on chairs as they ate.
She then began the process over again. She paid particular attention to Arthur's and River's readouts during the first phase. Arthur, after all, had just given birth, and River's pregnancy had Jenn particularly concerned. However, despite her concerns, like the first four, there was little sign of destress from any of the second group. River's levels were fractionally higher than the others, but Jenn hoped that was mainly because of the Wraith's worries about his unborn child, or perhaps the retrovirus's transitioning the baby as well. Either way, when the first hour was up, the scans came back excellent.
Jenn's relief carried her through the other two phases. While River's transitioning did end up taking longer than the other three in the second and third phases, there was absolutely no indication of stress to the baby. In fact, the scans registered that the baby's DNA was taking in the retrovirus as well, which was the most optimal option in Keller's mind. It was, in truth, perfectly reasonable, given that the retrovirus was also transitioning the unborn child, that River's third phase took almost five hours. His transition was almost ten hours long, but Jenn didn't care as she took the final scan, smiling brightly.
The first set had all had two solid meals by this point, as well as determined their names, and the other three from the second set were eating their second official meal, but first one that was solid. Jenn chipperly informed the mated couple of the good news though, "Well, it looks like River and the baby have both had a successful transition. I can't tell you how relieved I am by this."
Hawk nodded and his relief was clear as well. Todd and John had come to check on the transition of the second group, after their meeting. The Nox representatives were also present and talking with those who had already transitioned and were giving their own form of examinations on the group.
Lya came over and gave the couple a polite bow, "If I may, I have some experience as a healer. May I examine River? I wish to confirm that the child is well."
The two wraith were clearly uncertain what to make of the Nox but reluctantly Hawk nodded, "Provided that it is nothing invasive."
"My people can sense if there is something wrong through a natural gift we are born with. Some of us choose to hone this gift. It will be this I will be using, and I assure you that no harm will come to either your mate or your child," Lya responded, clearly unoffended by Hawk's sense of distrust.
Hawk didn't seem happy but waved for Lya to proceed. He was tense the entire time that Lya's hands hovered over River's abdomen with her eyes closed. When they opened, she smiled, "Your child is quite healthy, and Dr. Keller is correct in her belief that the retrovirus has changed her so that she will never need to feed as you have been forced to do until recently. I wish you and your mate great happiness. We are quite impressed with your retrovirus, Dr. Keller. It is clearly designed to aid these people with as minimal pain as possible. That it safely allowed a still developing infant in the womb to transition speaks highly of the efforts you put into ensuring the safety and health of those receiving it. It is gratifying to see such care for those that others would consider the enemy through a need that is no fault of their own."
With that, she and Ohper departed, looking extremely happy. Jenn couldn't help smiling indulgently, "Sorry about that, the Nox are a strictly pacifist species. They were concerned about your wellbeing, which is why we allowed them to do a physical examination of you guys. If we do, they have little reason to complain. Now, I want to keep River overnight for observation. If his pregnancy shows no signs of any problems, we'll take up the same practice we have with Todd, daily scans, but otherwise he'll be free to do whatever it is that is his skill set."
"I was a scientist on our hive. We were called Clevermen," River supplied.
"Ah, well that puts you under Rodney's jurisdiction. What about you, Hawk?" Jenn couldn't help asking with a yawn.
Although she had taken the time to get some food in during the transitioning, it had been a long day and Jenn hadn't exactly gotten the best night's sleep the night before due to sharing a tiny bed with Rodney and William. She just hoped that Rodney hadn't spent the whole day in the labs, leaving William to get bored. Carrie had returned and Jenn left the couple to give her the good news. Carrie, like Jenn, really wanted to see the success of River's case as it meant that possible future cases that weren't far enough along to safely deliver had a better probability of success as well.
Jenn also shared her theory that it had been Todd's age that made the transition more painful, rather than his status as a Carrier or any other reason. This was supported by the fact that Arthur, who was only 296, had shown greater distress than the 87-year-old, but less than Bran, River, and Hawk, who were all older than him. Carrie said she would review the assessment, but she hoped it was correct, because if that was the case, they should be able to safely transition the younger children without any risk.
Once the initial transition had been finished for him and he had finished the 'broth' given to him, the 87-year-old wraith had allowed himself to be shuffled off to the side of the infirmary a bit. He was shortly approached by a man with sandy-blonde hair, a bright smile, and a tablet like he had seen the other doctors carrying about, "Hello, I'm Dr. Jackson. I told Dr. Keller earlier that I would come help you guys pick out names. This here is a rather comprehensive list of human names from Earth, along with some Satedan and Athosian names that have been supplied by Ronon and Teyla, though, those aren't as comprehensive as the ones from Earth.
"Now, from what I understand, the Wraith seem to choose names for each other based on their actions, traits, and personality. With that in mind, I was thinking that what we could do was help you find names with meanings for what you either wish to be, or maybe some trait you want to possess or even respect, something like that. That way, we have a balance of respecting your traditions and give ourselves something that we can actually use rather than the mental names that according to Gen. Sheppard the older wraith have."
The wraith shared a look with the other one who had transitioned at the same time as he had. He shrugged. It made as much sense as any and it wasn't as if he was losing some sense of identity by choosing a name. Jinto had explained that Athosians had picked names for family members or similar reasons to those that Dr. Jackson had explained. Jinto's name apparently meant 'breathes like the wind' so, he could assume these Earth names had something of similar value. He didn't know exactly what his choice would be though.
Daniel spent the morning with the few wraith children that didn't already have someone adopting them. He, and Vala, since she insisted on joining, spoke with the kids and explained the point of names and why they were important. He then went through the complex process of helping them pick out their names. He was mildly amused to find that most of the children wanted to choose the surname Jackson after exposure to him, but he successfully diverted them to something they could take pride in when they were older.
Though there were far less children than he had initially anticipated, it took Daniel a while to finish with the group, entering their names into their base file for Keller, along with a picture of them and their assigned number, for Woolsey's insistence of keeping everything consistent and organized. He had heard Woolsey muttering about getting the Athosians numbers as well, since they were officially becoming Lanteans.
By the time he was done with them and left them in the care of Cam's mother and grandmother, the first group of wraith had finished transitioning. Thankfully, two of them already had names, curtesy of Sheppard giving them a comfortable approximation from their Wraith names, so the other two were the only ones he had to work with for now.
If he had thought that getting seven kids to settle on a first and last name was difficult, it proved to be infinitely more so for the two that he was working with. They were both much older and had gone far longer without any sort of name beyond being called 'Progeny' or 'Adolescent'. The younger of the two was easier than the 87-year-old. He wanted a name that stoked fear into the enemy of his people, who, apparently were Sheppard, Wex, and Jinto, a sudden loyalty that was a bit baffling to Daniel, but he went with it, searching the database for names that meant terror, to be feared, or something along the lines.
Daniel let the 87-year-old consider his options for what he wanted his name to represent while listing out the various names that suited the 37-year-old's wishes. Eventually, he settled on Egil Terrorborne. Egil being Old Norse for awe and terror. It was a basic name in terms of meaning but not one that was going to be replicated immediately and one that was understandably wraith in a way.
The 87-year-old finally stated he wanted to honor his heritage while respecting human customs. Daniel shrugged and gave out a bunch of different names that had the meaning of various predators, but none seemed to satisfy the wraith. Finally, Daniel muttered out of spite, "Well, Hunter is an acceptable name if you want, even if it is a bit on the nose."
Of course, that was the name that the wraith decided suited his wishes best. He easily agreed that Wraithson was a suitable surname and Daniel felt exasperated over the dismissal of his efforts to help Hunter pick a unique name only to pick a name that he would be sharing with another person in the city, since an 9-year-old also had that name. Still, it was at least a task that was over with. He then turned his attentions to the other two unnamed wraith.
These two had thankfully been listening in to Daniel's attempts to aid the older two in finding names. As a result, they both knew the sentiment that they wished their names to convey. It was a mercifully simple process for finding the name that appealed to the two of them. The youngest settled in a Latin name, Sophus, and giving himself the last name Ravenwing, to remind himself to always be clever. The other chose Aries Bloodborne in recognition for his intent to be a warrior who fought the cause of his new home on Atlantis. Daniel smiled at them and couldn't help feeling he had done a good job.
Sure, over time, he suspected that the Wraith would begin adapting to including more names or find that Athosian or Satedan or some other culture that had more fitting names. However, for now, without the ability to communicate names the way that the Wraith and Sheppard did, they could at least give them names that fit into that same value of meaning some particular thing.
Katie sighed as she entered Richard's office, hoping that she could temp him into getting dinner. He wasn't there, but she supposed that she shouldn't be too surprised. Richard was a very important and busy man. One that she knew was in meetings most of the day performing negotations. The truth was she had always been drawn to his type. Most people didn't see the similarities between men like Rodney and Richard, but Katie saw it clear as day.
They were both men who were passionate about helping others in the best way they could, given their skills. Rodney was a brilliant scientist, probably the smartest man in two galaxies, and he threw himself whole heartedly into saving everyone he could with that science. Richard, while not a scientist, was brilliant in his own way. He was a strategist, a lawyer with a silver tongue, who could seek out the opposition's weaknesses and use them for his side's advantage with an unerring accuracy. This also made him a masterful negotiator and politician. He used this to fight for the betterment of all people and Katie couldn't help but admire that about him.
The second similarity was in that it took time to get to know the two men before a person saw the fullest extent of their true colors. Rodney hid behind his prickly manners, but he was utterly sweet and endearing if you managed to get past his thorns. Richard had hidden behind protocol and rules, however, underneath that was a bit of a rouge maverick type. He would fight fiercely, in his own way, to ensure that those he cared about were safe, even if it meant that he had to ignore the rules he felt were useless. He had proven himself more than up to the challenge when presented with the reality that Wraith were not as they seemed on the surface, fighting to give Todd the protections he deserved while on Earth from those that would have turned him into a science experiment if given the opportunity.
The third similarly was probably the most obvious, when people thought about it. Both of them needed a bit of managing. Someone to help smooth down the sharp edges that kept others at bay. Someone who knew when they were working too hard and hadn't gotten enough to eat or sleep.
More than anything, this was what drew Katie to these kinds of men. They needed someone to be the strength behind them, to bolster them, care for them, and keep them grounded so that they don't lose there way. Katie found it so easy to fall for the type of man who was so passionate about their work that they would be lost in it if someone wasn't there to pull them out and make sure their basic needs were cared for.
Katie had only realized in hindsight that as much as she had loved Rodney and wanted to be the strength supporting him, like a trellis supporting a hearty, healthy vine, helping it stay that way, she wasn't really needed. Rodney had Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon to keep him healthy and going. Those three knew Rodney far better than Katie had and if truth be told, so did Keller now. But Richard though, he had thrived with his relationship with Katie and it made her adore her boyfriend all the more for it.
So, she made a point of ensuring that he took little bits of time to relax, to unwind, and if the unwinding involved a nice dinner and sex afterward, well, all the more enjoyable for Katie too. There was nothing she liked more than being needed, and Richard needed her. Which was what had brought her to his office, to ensure that he got food and relaxed after a hard day of treaty negotiations with the Tok'ra and Jaffa.
She was less concerned about the Nox causing undue distress. There had been several who had already visited her botany labs and presented her with seedlings and seeds for the hydroponics labs to be cultivated. They assured her that the plants were excellent sources of nutrients and proteins, which they were sorely in need of, given the limited supple of animals that had been retrieved from Earth during the evacuation or before than or traded for since returning to Pegasus.
The Nox were friendly and only wanted to help and do their part while recognizing their nature as pacifists. Richard would have no issue helping them find a balance of maintaining their peaceful natures and finding good use for them. No, it was the Tok'ra and Jaffa who would prove more stressful, more demanding.
Thus, Katie plopped herself into Richard's chair, certain that when he was done with the meetings, he would return here, where she could promptly whisk him away to her quarters, though she hoped to persuade him to make it their quarters soon, where she had already prepped a nice, healthy, refreshing meal and set up things for a massage for Richard, to help with his tension. Whiles she waited, she scanned her eyes over Richard's normally immaculate desk and frowned at the paper file, an actual paper file which was unusual on Atlantis even before Earth's destruction, sitting haphazardly in the middle of the desk as if someone just tossed it there.
Katie made the snap decision to glance at it to determine how important it was. If it was very important, she would place it neatly in the center of the desk and inform Richard of it when he entered. If not, than she would tuck it away just enough that it wouldn't immediately catch his eye, drawing him from the office quickly enough that he wouldn't notice it and let him deal with it in the morning. When she opened the file, it was immediately obvious why there was a hard copy file instead of just an electronic one. It was the list of those who were part of Cole's group. It was the list of traitors.
Katie hesitated, as she looked at them. It was the names and their assigned numbers, meaning that it was likely the list that Woolsey needed to delete their names from the list of who were considered citizens of Atlantis. It was important, but not pressing. Still, Katie couldn't help her curiosity a little. After all, it wasn't like the attacks were any secret.
She wanted to know who had chosen to follow a cowardly man on a racist and homophobic agenda. A part of her wanted to memorize every name, look them up, memorize their faces, and ensure that if she ever encountered them off world, that she would know she was right to put a bullet straight between the eyes of those who would harm her home, and more importantly, her man. Because above all, they had hurt Richard.
Oh, they hadn't succeeded in killing him, but mostly because they hadn't known that Richard spent most nights in Katie's room these days. They would have killed him, and they had certainly caused him a high level of undue and awful stress. Never mind that they held evil and awful ideologies about race and sexuality, and she suspected gender as well.
So, she gave into the impulse. It wasn't as if she would ever be given the opportunity to deal with them anyway. Katie only went off world to worlds that needed help with increasing crop yields, revitalizing their fields, or to study local flora that have potential uses that would benefit Atlantis, like medicinal properties, like the Enchuri plant that was used to cure Kirsan Fever.
Still, she wanted to know who the traitors were. It was the principle of the thing. She didn't want to risk thinking of these people as friends when they were the enemy, even if she never saw them again. So, she read through the names, committing each name to memory as if it were a plant carrying deadly toxins that would kill on contact. She froze a quarter of the way down the list. That person, she actually knew. As did the next one. The two were a couple, Abby and James Stewart, that had owned a plant nursery on Earth and thus had been assigned to Katie to help in one of the hydroponics labs to get seeds to seedling stages before they were transported to the mainland for the farmers. They had been at an agricultural store when it's contents and people were beamed up to the Odyssey, sending the people on through the gate.
They had also been enthusiastic about Gen. Sheppard's marriage to Todd. They had asked Katie all she knew of the General, having read some of the summarized stories of Atlantis and the SGC that were provided by Dr. Jackson. They were fascinated by his heritage and have even almost zealously compared him to Jesus, especially after the whole hidden hologram from his mother had been revealed. Katie had assumed that the couple were supplanting their shattered belief in the Christian faith with one in the Ancients, as they had been devoted Christians before learning the truth that it had been the Ancients to create humans.
It made absolutely no sense that they would join Cole's group, as far as Katie could determine, unless they had been faking to gather information on Gen. Sheppard. Though, why they would do that, Katie didn't know, given that most of the General's history had been made public, sans some suspected Special Ops that no one was certain of, but a lot of the people from the original expedition claimed had to have existed.
Katie shook her head and continued and then gasped at the name of another person she knew only a little. She only recognized the name because the person was friends with the Stewarts. Jess Franklin had made regular visits to the Stewarts and Katie knew she had overheard them discussing with a great deal of excitement Todd Sheppard's pregnancy. She would have sworn these three were the last people she knew who would wish harm to John Sheppard or his mate and unborn child. The last name she recognized because she had known Dr. Simpson for years.
Simpson was another person that was completely illogical. Katie had been friendly with the woman, who knew that Katie's brother was married to a Lakota woman. In fact, they were two of the people on Katie's list, their three children were the others on her list. Simpson had even met and been perfectly friendly to Katie's sister-in-law, Willow. Furthermore, up until the General had bonded with Todd, Katie could have sworn that Simpson had been infatuated with Sheppard. Only a conversation after the fact told Katie that Simpson just had extraordinarily strong respect and a borderline hero worship of him. She had been, in point of fact, absolutely delighted for Sheppard's marriage, after Richard had informed people that it was some sort of Wraith soulmate thing.
Katie had been happy for Sheppard. He was a good man and deserved to be happy. The only thing that gave Katie pause was that she also knew that Simpson had absolutely loathed Sheppard's ex-wife. If Sheppard and Todd were an adorable couple to be admired, the ultimate relationship aspiration, Nancy Sheppard was the horrible woman who was a failure of a wife and mother. Of all the people who had been attacked, the only one that Katie could see Simpson wanting dead was Nancy Sheppard.
Katie just barely finished reading the list when Richard came in and frowned at seeing her reading the file. She didn't bother concealing what she had been doing. Honesty and trust were vital to a healthy relationship, "I was just checking to see if it was important or if I could hide it from you for the night to make you get some food and relaxation. I couldn't help but reading it when I realized it was the list of traitors. I hope we catch them and make them pay for what they did."
Richard's expression was of fond exasperation, "I suppose at least it wasn't anything you didn't already know about, but you really shouldn't be reading things on my desk, regardless of good intentions."
"I know. I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself, Richard. That said, as much as it might add to your work, there's something odd I noticed about this list," Katie admitted. She didn't have any intention of keeping secrets from Richard. It was bad for the trust of a relationship as much as lying was.
"Oh, and what is that?" Richard asked, looking at the list of names himself.
Katie pointed out the people she had identified, "The Stewarts were assigned to my hydroponics labs and this Jess Franklin, she visited them quite a bit. I overheard more than a few conversations they had. They basically revered Gen. Sheppard. Abby even compared him to a more proactive Jesus to myself a few times while asking me questions about him since it's well known that I used to date Rodney and Rodney and the General are close friends. Also, Dr. Simpson doesn't make any sense either. She practically hero-worshiped Gen. Sheppard. She provided my orientation when I arrived on the second wave to Atlantis and one of the first stories that she told us was about how Gen. Sheppard handled the Genii invasion force that first year. At first, I thought she was infatuated with him, but when he married Todd, I realized she more viewed him as if he were some sort of superhero."
"Are you saying you don't think these four could be involved with Cole? Are you sure they weren't pretending just to get information from you? As you said, your prior connection to Sheppard through McKay is well known," Katie knew Richard wasn't rejecting the idea, just investigating, like any smart person would.
"While I'm not saying it's impossible, Dr. Simpson was extremely… devoted to Gen. Sheppard, or at least her idea of him, well before Cole's arrival on Atlantis and the formation of his group. There were even times when I was half convinced that she was implying he was secretly an Ancient that un-ascended to help us fight the Wraith," Katie explained a bit more.
"So, you think it's the opposite, that if she's with Cole's group, it's because she intends to help Sheppard? If that's the case, why wouldn't she warn someone about the attack on Todd or the intended attack on the top people in the chain of command?" Richard pressed.
"I'm not absolutely sure about the attack on Todd, though, she knows as well as anyone who's been on Atlantis for a while that the Wraith are very difficult to kill and are stronger than most humans, so she might have thought that he wouldn't have been in real danger, especially if she didn't know about the use of stunners. As for Sheppard, Simpson has… well this is a bit awkward, but she's always seemed to attribute an almost godlike quality to Sheppard. I wouldn't be surprised if she thought that such an attack wouldn't succeed on him on principle," Katie shrugged. "As for the others, it's possible that they were faking it, but their… fervor makes me thing that isn't the case."
Richard groaned softly, "So… if they aren't acting against us, or at least against Sheppard, what would their motives be for joining Cole's group?"
Katie shrugged, "I couldn't say. Maybe they wanted to sabotage them somehow?"
"Dr. Zelenka did manage to get the gate address of the world they gated to from here. He said it's the Jurassic World," Richard was clearly thinking out loud.
"You mean the one that everyone thinks the Ancients tried recreating dinosaurs and their plant life on? I liked that world, it has some spectacular flowers, when you aren't encountering the t-rex that seems to have its territory near the gate," Katie smiled a little. There had been some truly fascinating plants there that helped the Botany labs advance their understanding of the patterns of evolution of plants.
"Yes, and Simpson, as the one who, according to security feeds, dialed the address, would have been well aware of the t-rex," Richard confirmed. "Especially since she's the only one who has any experience going off-world regularly."
"Maybe she and her group intended on stranding Cole's group on that world. It would certainly be an efficient method of getting rid of them. I doubt any of them know the Pegasus gate addresses yet," Katie pointed out a little gleefully. She almost liked the idea of Cole and his band of traitors being eaten by the t-rex on the Jurassic World, even though it apparently more resembled the Cretaceous period in creatures.
"Why do you sound like you hope Cole gets eaten by a T-rex or velociraptor?" Richard switched gears at the tone of her voice.
"Because it's a fitting punishment for a man who would attack someone who is pregnant and attempting to do the right thing, both by his species and for his family and love," Katie promptly responded. "Also, the velociraptors aren't anywhere near the gate on that world. The paleontologists who explored that world said they were located on a completely different environment on a different continent."
Richard couldn't help smiling a little indulgently at the fact. Then his gaze shifted back to the file and he sighed, "I will keep what you are suggesting under advisement. If you circle the four who you think are… Sheppard enthusiasts… I will bring the information to Bates and have him look through the security logs to see if he can't track their movements a bit. I was going to have him track the whole lot of this group anyway, to see if we might have sleeper agents laying in wait to attack when are guard is down."
Katie smiled brightly at him and immediately grabbed a fountain pen from its holder and neatly circled the names before returning the pen. Then she firmly closed it, "Now, since I suspect that list was for you to retract their status as Lanteans, it can wait until morning. You have been in meetings all day. You need food, a nice message, and a lovely glass of wine to unwind." She hooked her arm through his to pull him along with her.
"You can't go snooping you know, there is some sensitive information I do have to attend to immediately on occasion," Richard responded mildly even as he let Katie draw him from his office and locked it behind him.
"And if it were important enough that you needed to deal with it immediately, I wouldn't interfere. However, it isn't, and your health is important too, sweetheart," Katie responded brightly again as she guided him to the transporter and immediately pressed the area for her room.
Richard opened his mouth to provide further half-hearted protest before his stomach growled and he snapped it shut, knowing well enough that his body was agreeing with Katie, even if his tendency towards being a workaholic made him protest. She smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek as a reward for knowing when he was beat.
AN: I haven't picked names for the other seven wraith children because they aren't directly connected to major characters or the plot. Yes, the baby that Arthur and Bran have has a name. It will be revealed in one of the future chapters. Though, that depends on when it becomes relevant the main plot, so patience please.