Section 12: Walkabout
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Despite his protests, Rygel did finally lead SG-1 to their rooms. The others branched off into other identical corridors early on, leaving them to the arrogant and disgruntled ramblings of the little alien. Ahead of him, Daniel valiantly tried to carry on a conversation, but he was having little luck.
"But no one ever listens to me! I, who was the best dominar since Rygel the Thirteenth!"
"I'm sure you were an excellent ruler," said Daniel. "But aren't the needs of a ship different than those of an empire?"
Jack tuned them out again. They'd been going on for the entire walk about how Rygel got no respect. Well, Jack didn't get any respect either, but you didn't see him complaining. And did everything have to look the same here? Jack had tried to keep track of where they were in relation to the closest exit, but not only were there no markers at the many junctions but the halls were curved as well, disorienting the hell out of him. All in all, Jack was irritated.
Though to be fair, it probably had more to do with the alternate reality thing than anything else. Teal'c and Carter were discussing it behind him in un-boiled down terms. Something to do with wormhole theory. Jack ignored them too until they reached their rooms.
"So," he said after Rygel left them. The room was as bare and boring as it had been the first time. "Who wants to go exploring?"
"Sir?"
"Exploring, Carter. It is part of our job description." Jack enjoyed the slightly puzzled, more exasperated expression on her face.
"Jack, you do realize that we will probably get lost," said Daniel.
"Teal'c knows his way around, right?" Jack looked at the Jaffa who merely raised an eyebrow.
"I will try to keep track of our movements, however this is a most disorienting place," Teal'c replied.
"Right. No blaming Teal'c if we get lost," Jack nodded. "We can leave our heavy weapons here. I don't think they'll try anything, but be on your guard just in case - what?"
Daniel was staring at him with a confused look. "Nothing. It's just . . . well first you're all gung hoe to find out more about this place and now you're leaving your P-90?"
Okay, so it wasn't his normal MO, Jack could admit that, but really. "Do you see anything interesting to do in this room?" he asked, waving a hand to emphasize the complete boredom surrounding them. "And we'll still be armed in case anything happens. You're forgetting I like these people. They're my kind of people."
"Your kind of people, sir?" Carter asked.
Jack shifted under the combined gaze of his team. He was known for not liking most of the people they met, but these guys were definitely his kind of people. "They're not the smiles and knives type. You probably noticed that they don't exactly hide how dangerous they are. They haven't lied to us, they've kept us in the loop, trusted us with our weapons, and didn't leave their friends in what looked like a hopeless situation. My kind of people. So let's go already."
Not bothering to hide their smiles, Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c followed him out.
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Aeryn wasn't sure what woke her. In the quiet, she listened for a disturbance but didn't hear anything except Moya's normal hum. Beside her, John lay sprawled on his back, his left hand tangled with her right in a mess of loosely bound fingers. He was so peaceful in his sleep for once. Troubled dreams finally gave way to exhaustion and recent good luck. Aeryn knew better than to jinx them by hoping it would last.
She closed her eyes but couldn't go back to sleep. Now that she was awake, her mind was working in overdrive, skittering over the last few days and John's ill-timed proposal. They better have the wedding soon before their luck broke. Aeryn smiled as she thought about their conversation in their cell, wondering if tomorrow was too soon. The wedding would be in Pilot's Den of course. Maybe they should wait until he and Moya were well enough to go back into space.
Thinking about him made Aeryn want to go check on Pilot again. She and John had stopped by before, but now that she couldn't sleep she might as well go. She kissed John lightly then slipped from bed, pulled on her boots, and headed toward the Den.
She was halfway there when voices floated down from tier nine. Pausing, Aeryn listened, smiling when she recognized two of the humans.
"We should have turned right back there."
"If we had, we'd be going in a circle."
"No, we're going in a circle now. We took a left before and a left this time."
"Hello," Aeryn called as they came into view. Jack O'Neill and Dr. Jackson both pulled out of their bickering in surprise.
"See," O'Neill gestured at her while grinning smugly at his friend. "Left."
"Whatever, Jack," his friend all but ignored him. "Aeryn, isn't it?"
Aeryn was pleased he remembered. "Yes. What are you doing?"
"Oh, just exploring," said O'Neill lightly. "Our room was kind of . . . dull."
Aeryn nodded in understanding. Boredom was a constant companion. "Any luck finding entertainment?" she asked doubting they had. After all they seemed more lost than occupied.
"We found this one room with sciency stuff that had Carter going gaga," O'Neill replied.
"Wall to wall paper covered in equations," Jackson clarified for her.
Aeryn nodded again. John's wormhole equations.
"She and Teal'c are still there. I hope you don't mind." O'Neill's tone was almost challenging her to say that she did, testing the limits of their hospitality.
Aeryn shrugged and resumed walking toward the Den, the humans joining her. "It's John's equations," she told them. "I'd be amazed if she could understand it."
"Oh, she'll understand it," said O'Neill. "She's a theoretical astrophysicist. Knows lots of big words and stuff." Aeryn glanced at him wondering what one had to do with the other, but Jack just smiled. "Trust me. She's having the time of her life right now."
"With equations? Half of which she probably can't read?" Aeryn asked in disbelief. At both O'Neill's and Jackson's nod she added, "Strange woman. Though it doesn't really surprise me."
"Why not?" Daniel looked at her curiously.
Aeryn smiled at the concentration she saw on his face and felt her guard slipping. She couldn't seem to not like them; they reminded her too much of John in each their own way. Which was why she really wasn't surprised by the woman's hobby. "Humans are strange." At the double look she got, Aeryn just smiled.
"Strange huh?" O'Neill smiled back. "I guess."
"Of course it's all about cultural context," said Jackson thoughtfully.
"Daniel, shut up," said O'Neill quickly. "She doesn't want to hear about the cultural context of anything. Forgive him," he turned to Aeryn. "He's as bad as Carter when it comes to people stuff."
"I'm sure he is. And I do understand," she told Jackson. "About differing values in different cultures. Living on Moya has been . . . "
"Interesting?" Jackson offered.
"Yes." She might have used a stronger word, but how did you explain this life to people who hadn't lived it?
"So where are we going?" O'Neill asked in the silence that followed.
"To see Pilot," Aeryn answered, glad of the change in subject.
"The one that interfaces with the ship?"
Aeryn looked at him in surprise, wondering what D'argo had told them. "I wouldn't call it interfacing," she said. "He and Moya are symbiotes."
"Ah."
"What?" Aeryn didn't miss the grimace that passed over O'Neill, or the look he shared with Jackson at the mention of symbiotes.
"Nothing, really. Just another cultural difference," said Jackson. "In our reality most of the symbiotes we've encountered - "
"Try to kill us," O'Neill finished.
"Pilot won't kill you," Aeryn reassured them. "And even if he wanted to, he's too weak at the moment." The men nodded, but there was still a wary look in O'Neill's eyes. "And if you so much as think about harming him, I'll shoot you."
O'Neill grinned. "If he's worthy of your loyalty, than I'm sure he's a good guy."
"The best," Aeryn told him solemnly. One of her first true friends on Moya, with them through everything. She would do almost anything for him.
"So does he have a name other than 'Pilot'?"
Aeryn shook her head. "His language is too complex for anyone other than Pilots and Leviathans to understand, so his true name doesn't translate."
"So how do you communicate?" asked Jackson.
"He simplifies his speech for the microbes," said Aeryn. "We're almost there."
Around the next curve was the door to the Den. Aeryn leaned over to hit the door mechanism and led her companions in. From their muted expressions of awe, she could tell they were impressed. The Den was a huge cavern with a ceiling that extended hundreds of metras up and a floor covered in bat dung hundreds of metras below the walkway on which they stood. All around was empty space and in the center was Pilot at his console. At the moment, his purple shell head hung in weariness, closed eyes opening when they three of them entered.
"Aeryn," he breathed happily.
"Hello, Pilot," she smiled. Upon reaching his console, she climbed up and sat next to him. "I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd drop by."
Pilot had a look of soft surprise on his face at her unexpected concern. He really shouldn't have been, but Aeryn knew that was just the way he was: always there, always called upon, and asking nothing in return.
"This is Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson," Aeryn introduced the men behind her who had recovered from their own surprise of meeting Pilot.
"Call me Daniel. It's a pleasure to meet you," Daniel said softly, approaching the console and offering a hand for Pilot to shake.
"Jack," the Colonel waved, nodding to Aeryn as well.
"They're the ones from the unrealized reality," Aeryn continued.
"Yes. O'Neill destroyed one of my DRDs," Pilot leveled a half-hearted glare at O'Neill - Jack - who looked bewilderedly to Aeryn for an explanation.
Aeryn regarded him neutrally, not wanting Pilot to see her amusement. "He said you destroyed a DRD."
"Sorry," Jack had the grace to look sheepish. "I got a little carried away."
"It's all right. Just don't make a habit of it," Aeryn replied.
Pilot shot one last glare at Jack before turning back to the woman beside him. "Why couldn't you sleep?"
Aeryn glanced uncertainly at the humans who watched them a little uncomfortably. Wondering if she trusted them enough. She must on some level, otherwise they would be locked in their room and not chatting with her and Pilot here. And even though they had just met, she found that she liked them. They would find out soon enough anyway, she reasoned, especially if they were stuck in this reality which John said was probable. So justifying herself, she answered in English. "I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about having the wedding before our luck changed. And wondering when that would be."
"I see," said Pilot gently as he extended a claw which Aeryn took gratefully.
"What?" "Uhh. . ." Jack and Daniel both looked a little stunned. Daniel managed to lift his jaw off the floor first. "You're getting. . . uh. . . married?" he asked as politely as he could with a slight hand movement at he two of them.
And suddenly Aeryn imagined what she and Pilot must look like, sitting close together, holding hands as familiar as lovers. She couldn't help the burst of laughter that broke its way free, nor the one that followed. Pilot regarded her strangely and asked what was wrong, but Aeryn didn't have the breath to answer. After a hundred microts, she pulled herself together. It really felt good to have something as simple as a misunderstanding to laugh at after the past few monens - the past cycle even.
"Care to share the joke?" asked Jack who looked a little put out at not knowing what was going on.
"Pilot you know I care for you a great deal, right?" Aeryn turned instead to her friend.
"Yes, but . . . oh." The puzzled look on Pilot's face cleared.
"So you're marrying . . . ?" Daniel looked at her expectantly.
Aeryn couldn't help but smile at his earnestness. "John." She turned back to Pilot. "I was wondering when wouldn't be too soon for you and Moya."
"Anxious?" asked Jack with a sly grin.
"Jack," Daniel frowned at his friend.
"What? I mean who isn't anxious for their wedding day?" he said innocently leaving the rest unsaid.
Aeryn resisted the urge to point out that that was hardly a problem. "Pilot?"
"Whenever you wish, Aeryn Sun," said Pilot. "Moya and I will be proud to attend."
"Thank you. So, tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
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Despite his protests, Rygel did finally lead SG-1 to their rooms. The others branched off into other identical corridors early on, leaving them to the arrogant and disgruntled ramblings of the little alien. Ahead of him, Daniel valiantly tried to carry on a conversation, but he was having little luck.
"But no one ever listens to me! I, who was the best dominar since Rygel the Thirteenth!"
"I'm sure you were an excellent ruler," said Daniel. "But aren't the needs of a ship different than those of an empire?"
Jack tuned them out again. They'd been going on for the entire walk about how Rygel got no respect. Well, Jack didn't get any respect either, but you didn't see him complaining. And did everything have to look the same here? Jack had tried to keep track of where they were in relation to the closest exit, but not only were there no markers at the many junctions but the halls were curved as well, disorienting the hell out of him. All in all, Jack was irritated.
Though to be fair, it probably had more to do with the alternate reality thing than anything else. Teal'c and Carter were discussing it behind him in un-boiled down terms. Something to do with wormhole theory. Jack ignored them too until they reached their rooms.
"So," he said after Rygel left them. The room was as bare and boring as it had been the first time. "Who wants to go exploring?"
"Sir?"
"Exploring, Carter. It is part of our job description." Jack enjoyed the slightly puzzled, more exasperated expression on her face.
"Jack, you do realize that we will probably get lost," said Daniel.
"Teal'c knows his way around, right?" Jack looked at the Jaffa who merely raised an eyebrow.
"I will try to keep track of our movements, however this is a most disorienting place," Teal'c replied.
"Right. No blaming Teal'c if we get lost," Jack nodded. "We can leave our heavy weapons here. I don't think they'll try anything, but be on your guard just in case - what?"
Daniel was staring at him with a confused look. "Nothing. It's just . . . well first you're all gung hoe to find out more about this place and now you're leaving your P-90?"
Okay, so it wasn't his normal MO, Jack could admit that, but really. "Do you see anything interesting to do in this room?" he asked, waving a hand to emphasize the complete boredom surrounding them. "And we'll still be armed in case anything happens. You're forgetting I like these people. They're my kind of people."
"Your kind of people, sir?" Carter asked.
Jack shifted under the combined gaze of his team. He was known for not liking most of the people they met, but these guys were definitely his kind of people. "They're not the smiles and knives type. You probably noticed that they don't exactly hide how dangerous they are. They haven't lied to us, they've kept us in the loop, trusted us with our weapons, and didn't leave their friends in what looked like a hopeless situation. My kind of people. So let's go already."
Not bothering to hide their smiles, Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c followed him out.
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Aeryn wasn't sure what woke her. In the quiet, she listened for a disturbance but didn't hear anything except Moya's normal hum. Beside her, John lay sprawled on his back, his left hand tangled with her right in a mess of loosely bound fingers. He was so peaceful in his sleep for once. Troubled dreams finally gave way to exhaustion and recent good luck. Aeryn knew better than to jinx them by hoping it would last.
She closed her eyes but couldn't go back to sleep. Now that she was awake, her mind was working in overdrive, skittering over the last few days and John's ill-timed proposal. They better have the wedding soon before their luck broke. Aeryn smiled as she thought about their conversation in their cell, wondering if tomorrow was too soon. The wedding would be in Pilot's Den of course. Maybe they should wait until he and Moya were well enough to go back into space.
Thinking about him made Aeryn want to go check on Pilot again. She and John had stopped by before, but now that she couldn't sleep she might as well go. She kissed John lightly then slipped from bed, pulled on her boots, and headed toward the Den.
She was halfway there when voices floated down from tier nine. Pausing, Aeryn listened, smiling when she recognized two of the humans.
"We should have turned right back there."
"If we had, we'd be going in a circle."
"No, we're going in a circle now. We took a left before and a left this time."
"Hello," Aeryn called as they came into view. Jack O'Neill and Dr. Jackson both pulled out of their bickering in surprise.
"See," O'Neill gestured at her while grinning smugly at his friend. "Left."
"Whatever, Jack," his friend all but ignored him. "Aeryn, isn't it?"
Aeryn was pleased he remembered. "Yes. What are you doing?"
"Oh, just exploring," said O'Neill lightly. "Our room was kind of . . . dull."
Aeryn nodded in understanding. Boredom was a constant companion. "Any luck finding entertainment?" she asked doubting they had. After all they seemed more lost than occupied.
"We found this one room with sciency stuff that had Carter going gaga," O'Neill replied.
"Wall to wall paper covered in equations," Jackson clarified for her.
Aeryn nodded again. John's wormhole equations.
"She and Teal'c are still there. I hope you don't mind." O'Neill's tone was almost challenging her to say that she did, testing the limits of their hospitality.
Aeryn shrugged and resumed walking toward the Den, the humans joining her. "It's John's equations," she told them. "I'd be amazed if she could understand it."
"Oh, she'll understand it," said O'Neill. "She's a theoretical astrophysicist. Knows lots of big words and stuff." Aeryn glanced at him wondering what one had to do with the other, but Jack just smiled. "Trust me. She's having the time of her life right now."
"With equations? Half of which she probably can't read?" Aeryn asked in disbelief. At both O'Neill's and Jackson's nod she added, "Strange woman. Though it doesn't really surprise me."
"Why not?" Daniel looked at her curiously.
Aeryn smiled at the concentration she saw on his face and felt her guard slipping. She couldn't seem to not like them; they reminded her too much of John in each their own way. Which was why she really wasn't surprised by the woman's hobby. "Humans are strange." At the double look she got, Aeryn just smiled.
"Strange huh?" O'Neill smiled back. "I guess."
"Of course it's all about cultural context," said Jackson thoughtfully.
"Daniel, shut up," said O'Neill quickly. "She doesn't want to hear about the cultural context of anything. Forgive him," he turned to Aeryn. "He's as bad as Carter when it comes to people stuff."
"I'm sure he is. And I do understand," she told Jackson. "About differing values in different cultures. Living on Moya has been . . . "
"Interesting?" Jackson offered.
"Yes." She might have used a stronger word, but how did you explain this life to people who hadn't lived it?
"So where are we going?" O'Neill asked in the silence that followed.
"To see Pilot," Aeryn answered, glad of the change in subject.
"The one that interfaces with the ship?"
Aeryn looked at him in surprise, wondering what D'argo had told them. "I wouldn't call it interfacing," she said. "He and Moya are symbiotes."
"Ah."
"What?" Aeryn didn't miss the grimace that passed over O'Neill, or the look he shared with Jackson at the mention of symbiotes.
"Nothing, really. Just another cultural difference," said Jackson. "In our reality most of the symbiotes we've encountered - "
"Try to kill us," O'Neill finished.
"Pilot won't kill you," Aeryn reassured them. "And even if he wanted to, he's too weak at the moment." The men nodded, but there was still a wary look in O'Neill's eyes. "And if you so much as think about harming him, I'll shoot you."
O'Neill grinned. "If he's worthy of your loyalty, than I'm sure he's a good guy."
"The best," Aeryn told him solemnly. One of her first true friends on Moya, with them through everything. She would do almost anything for him.
"So does he have a name other than 'Pilot'?"
Aeryn shook her head. "His language is too complex for anyone other than Pilots and Leviathans to understand, so his true name doesn't translate."
"So how do you communicate?" asked Jackson.
"He simplifies his speech for the microbes," said Aeryn. "We're almost there."
Around the next curve was the door to the Den. Aeryn leaned over to hit the door mechanism and led her companions in. From their muted expressions of awe, she could tell they were impressed. The Den was a huge cavern with a ceiling that extended hundreds of metras up and a floor covered in bat dung hundreds of metras below the walkway on which they stood. All around was empty space and in the center was Pilot at his console. At the moment, his purple shell head hung in weariness, closed eyes opening when they three of them entered.
"Aeryn," he breathed happily.
"Hello, Pilot," she smiled. Upon reaching his console, she climbed up and sat next to him. "I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd drop by."
Pilot had a look of soft surprise on his face at her unexpected concern. He really shouldn't have been, but Aeryn knew that was just the way he was: always there, always called upon, and asking nothing in return.
"This is Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson," Aeryn introduced the men behind her who had recovered from their own surprise of meeting Pilot.
"Call me Daniel. It's a pleasure to meet you," Daniel said softly, approaching the console and offering a hand for Pilot to shake.
"Jack," the Colonel waved, nodding to Aeryn as well.
"They're the ones from the unrealized reality," Aeryn continued.
"Yes. O'Neill destroyed one of my DRDs," Pilot leveled a half-hearted glare at O'Neill - Jack - who looked bewilderedly to Aeryn for an explanation.
Aeryn regarded him neutrally, not wanting Pilot to see her amusement. "He said you destroyed a DRD."
"Sorry," Jack had the grace to look sheepish. "I got a little carried away."
"It's all right. Just don't make a habit of it," Aeryn replied.
Pilot shot one last glare at Jack before turning back to the woman beside him. "Why couldn't you sleep?"
Aeryn glanced uncertainly at the humans who watched them a little uncomfortably. Wondering if she trusted them enough. She must on some level, otherwise they would be locked in their room and not chatting with her and Pilot here. And even though they had just met, she found that she liked them. They would find out soon enough anyway, she reasoned, especially if they were stuck in this reality which John said was probable. So justifying herself, she answered in English. "I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about having the wedding before our luck changed. And wondering when that would be."
"I see," said Pilot gently as he extended a claw which Aeryn took gratefully.
"What?" "Uhh. . ." Jack and Daniel both looked a little stunned. Daniel managed to lift his jaw off the floor first. "You're getting. . . uh. . . married?" he asked as politely as he could with a slight hand movement at he two of them.
And suddenly Aeryn imagined what she and Pilot must look like, sitting close together, holding hands as familiar as lovers. She couldn't help the burst of laughter that broke its way free, nor the one that followed. Pilot regarded her strangely and asked what was wrong, but Aeryn didn't have the breath to answer. After a hundred microts, she pulled herself together. It really felt good to have something as simple as a misunderstanding to laugh at after the past few monens - the past cycle even.
"Care to share the joke?" asked Jack who looked a little put out at not knowing what was going on.
"Pilot you know I care for you a great deal, right?" Aeryn turned instead to her friend.
"Yes, but . . . oh." The puzzled look on Pilot's face cleared.
"So you're marrying . . . ?" Daniel looked at her expectantly.
Aeryn couldn't help but smile at his earnestness. "John." She turned back to Pilot. "I was wondering when wouldn't be too soon for you and Moya."
"Anxious?" asked Jack with a sly grin.
"Jack," Daniel frowned at his friend.
"What? I mean who isn't anxious for their wedding day?" he said innocently leaving the rest unsaid.
Aeryn resisted the urge to point out that that was hardly a problem. "Pilot?"
"Whenever you wish, Aeryn Sun," said Pilot. "Moya and I will be proud to attend."
"Thank you. So, tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
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