Section 19: In Flight Conversation
**************************************************************************** ********************************************************************
From the bird's-eye view of the ocean, Moya looked like a funky island without any beaches. She was a little gold mountain struggling alone in the great expanse of water. It was a humbling picture, and one that John had not thought about in a very long time. It reminded him of when he was a kid, looking up at the stars and feeling both the weight and awe of the vastness of the universe, wondering where he, John Robert Crichton, fit into the grand scheme of things.
Thinking about it now as the familiar thrill of flight washed through him, John suddenly felt very glad and very thankful to be alive. The bigger mystery of life had gotten lost somewhere in the fight for survival, but now, another crisis averted, John was going to marry Aeryn and they were going to have a baby. That was a miracle if there ever was one.
And as an added bonus, he got to fly the prowler. With a grin of sudden delight, John put his foot to the floor and whipped her into a barrel roll as he hadn't done in years. Like riding a bike, and it never got old.
"Whoa there, hot shot!" Jack called over the comm with a smile in his voice. "Feeling the air a bit?"
"Like life under my wings!" John replied. "Ain't nothing better than a clear horizon for a little flying. How are you doing over there?"
"Good." There was a pause, then, "Does this thing corkscrew?"
John couldn't help but smile. "Never done it in atmosphere."
"Designed for space?"
"Designed to dive head first into the atmosphere," John replied. To the hammond side, he saw his module flying in lazy circles. Battered, beat up, and decked out in Moya's gold, she was a far sight different from the ship he had once hoped to wow the world with. "I was trying to prove that you could use the Earth's gravity to reach an accelerated - "
"Wait, wait, wait," Jack interrupted him with a sigh. "TMI. Skip the details."
"What?"
"Simple words for simple minds," Jack clarified. "None of this scientist mumbo-jumbo. You sound just like Carter."
John smiled and re-explained. "I was trying go fast enough to get out of our solar system using the Earth's gravity as a power source."
"See that wasn't so hard," Jack sounded satisfied. "So how did you end up out here?"
"What is this? Twenty questions?"
"It's a breadbox, and I don't see any license plates out here for the alphabet game."
John shook his head to himself. He had to give the man credit for style - that and the random Earth reference that felt so good to hear. "During the experiment I accidentally opened a wormhole. Got dumped in the Uncharted Territories. Moya picked me up during their prison break. You?"
"The stargate was found in Egypt in the 1920's. Took till Carter and Daniel were born and geniuses for the Air Force to get it to work. Me and Daniel were on the first mission through. Met the bad guys of the universe, our universe anyway, pissed them off, and been fighting ever since."
"Sounds like fun," John commented dryly though it sounded anything but.
"Oh, you know, it has its perks," said Jack lightly. "We get to save the world a lot. Like Buffy really, except with aliens. And that sounds just as freaky when I say it like that." John laughed at that and agreed. "So," Jack went on, "my question. What are your intentions toward Aeryn?"
For the second time, John could only splutter, "What?"
"Your intentions," Jack enunciated carefully, having fun with it. "I heard you were getting married and since I doubt her father has had a chance to grill you . . ."
"You thought you'd do it," John finished. "We're having a baby, if that answers your question."
"A baby?" Jack repeated, and John wasn't sure if he was shocked or not. "That's great!" he finally said. "Congratulations. It's not a shotgun wedding, is it?" he asked playfully.
"Nah, just a long time coming," John replied, glad of the response. Somehow, over the course of the conversation, Jack had not only gotten firmly into the friend category, but had also taken up residence.
"How long have you been together?"
"Define together."
"That bad?"
"Till about, I don't know, a month ago. What about you? You married?"
"Divorced," Jack answered shortly.
"I'm sorry," said John, feeling bad now that he had asked.
"You didn't know," Jack seemed to shrug. "Anyway it was a long time ago. So D'argo said you fish?"
No more questions about family, John gathered as he answered in the affirmative. He wondered what had happened as they argued over the merits of Minnesota and Maine and any number of other fishing spots either had been to. But then again, no family was without its tragedies, on Earth or in this end of the galaxy. So they talked about fishing spots and bass and trout and the best lures to use and how unappreciative their friends were about the best sport in the world.
"He just glowered at me - I mean really glowered - the next time I asked him if he wanted to go," Jack was telling him about Teal'c's reaction to relaxing in a boat. "I think it took him the whole day just to forgive me for asking."
John laughed. "That's about what happened to me when I tried to take D with me on Earth. The only reason he came with me the second time was so we could talk. He wouldn't touch the pole though. Told me he gladly slave away on a farm but wouldn't mindlessly wait for fish to bite."
"D'argo farm?" asked Jack, disbelievingly.
"Yeah. You wouldn't think it to look at him," John thought fondly of his friend and the gentle side of him that was so different from the warrior.
"So Moya was a prison ship?" Jack delicately put forth the question.
"Sing Sing in space," John replied. "I hope that doesn't make you think any less of us," he added. Their own reception on Earth had become even colder when the suits had found out about that little fact.
"I'll admit I was concerned for a while. Rygel said he used to be king of his planet or something."
"He gave you the speech, didn't he?" John said with a sympathetic wince.
"Six hundred billion people?"
"That'd be the one."
"You know he was the only one who told us what he was in for."
"So now you want to know about the rest of us?" John asked with a half smile. "Well D'argo is Moya's only other original prisoner. He was locked up for a murder he didn't commit."
"If he was innocent why did he completely avoid the question?"
John was silent for a moment, wondering if he should say. "Because it was his wife's murder."
"That's rough," said Jack quietly.
"Yeah." But not just rough, horrible. John remembered the feeling of utter loss when Aeryn had fallen to death for a time. He had been lucky and gotten her back, but D'argo had no such miracle awaiting him. Lo'la was gone forever. "My question, right?" John needed to turn the depressing thoughts away.
"Shoot," said Jack, the whimsical note back in his voice.
"Who won the Super Bowl in your universe?"
"Super Bowl?" Jack sounded offended. "Forget football. Now hockey, that's a sport."
Balance achieved once more, John quickly fell into the friendly argument until Pilot called them home.
************************************************************************
*
**************************************************************************** ********************************************************************
From the bird's-eye view of the ocean, Moya looked like a funky island without any beaches. She was a little gold mountain struggling alone in the great expanse of water. It was a humbling picture, and one that John had not thought about in a very long time. It reminded him of when he was a kid, looking up at the stars and feeling both the weight and awe of the vastness of the universe, wondering where he, John Robert Crichton, fit into the grand scheme of things.
Thinking about it now as the familiar thrill of flight washed through him, John suddenly felt very glad and very thankful to be alive. The bigger mystery of life had gotten lost somewhere in the fight for survival, but now, another crisis averted, John was going to marry Aeryn and they were going to have a baby. That was a miracle if there ever was one.
And as an added bonus, he got to fly the prowler. With a grin of sudden delight, John put his foot to the floor and whipped her into a barrel roll as he hadn't done in years. Like riding a bike, and it never got old.
"Whoa there, hot shot!" Jack called over the comm with a smile in his voice. "Feeling the air a bit?"
"Like life under my wings!" John replied. "Ain't nothing better than a clear horizon for a little flying. How are you doing over there?"
"Good." There was a pause, then, "Does this thing corkscrew?"
John couldn't help but smile. "Never done it in atmosphere."
"Designed for space?"
"Designed to dive head first into the atmosphere," John replied. To the hammond side, he saw his module flying in lazy circles. Battered, beat up, and decked out in Moya's gold, she was a far sight different from the ship he had once hoped to wow the world with. "I was trying to prove that you could use the Earth's gravity to reach an accelerated - "
"Wait, wait, wait," Jack interrupted him with a sigh. "TMI. Skip the details."
"What?"
"Simple words for simple minds," Jack clarified. "None of this scientist mumbo-jumbo. You sound just like Carter."
John smiled and re-explained. "I was trying go fast enough to get out of our solar system using the Earth's gravity as a power source."
"See that wasn't so hard," Jack sounded satisfied. "So how did you end up out here?"
"What is this? Twenty questions?"
"It's a breadbox, and I don't see any license plates out here for the alphabet game."
John shook his head to himself. He had to give the man credit for style - that and the random Earth reference that felt so good to hear. "During the experiment I accidentally opened a wormhole. Got dumped in the Uncharted Territories. Moya picked me up during their prison break. You?"
"The stargate was found in Egypt in the 1920's. Took till Carter and Daniel were born and geniuses for the Air Force to get it to work. Me and Daniel were on the first mission through. Met the bad guys of the universe, our universe anyway, pissed them off, and been fighting ever since."
"Sounds like fun," John commented dryly though it sounded anything but.
"Oh, you know, it has its perks," said Jack lightly. "We get to save the world a lot. Like Buffy really, except with aliens. And that sounds just as freaky when I say it like that." John laughed at that and agreed. "So," Jack went on, "my question. What are your intentions toward Aeryn?"
For the second time, John could only splutter, "What?"
"Your intentions," Jack enunciated carefully, having fun with it. "I heard you were getting married and since I doubt her father has had a chance to grill you . . ."
"You thought you'd do it," John finished. "We're having a baby, if that answers your question."
"A baby?" Jack repeated, and John wasn't sure if he was shocked or not. "That's great!" he finally said. "Congratulations. It's not a shotgun wedding, is it?" he asked playfully.
"Nah, just a long time coming," John replied, glad of the response. Somehow, over the course of the conversation, Jack had not only gotten firmly into the friend category, but had also taken up residence.
"How long have you been together?"
"Define together."
"That bad?"
"Till about, I don't know, a month ago. What about you? You married?"
"Divorced," Jack answered shortly.
"I'm sorry," said John, feeling bad now that he had asked.
"You didn't know," Jack seemed to shrug. "Anyway it was a long time ago. So D'argo said you fish?"
No more questions about family, John gathered as he answered in the affirmative. He wondered what had happened as they argued over the merits of Minnesota and Maine and any number of other fishing spots either had been to. But then again, no family was without its tragedies, on Earth or in this end of the galaxy. So they talked about fishing spots and bass and trout and the best lures to use and how unappreciative their friends were about the best sport in the world.
"He just glowered at me - I mean really glowered - the next time I asked him if he wanted to go," Jack was telling him about Teal'c's reaction to relaxing in a boat. "I think it took him the whole day just to forgive me for asking."
John laughed. "That's about what happened to me when I tried to take D with me on Earth. The only reason he came with me the second time was so we could talk. He wouldn't touch the pole though. Told me he gladly slave away on a farm but wouldn't mindlessly wait for fish to bite."
"D'argo farm?" asked Jack, disbelievingly.
"Yeah. You wouldn't think it to look at him," John thought fondly of his friend and the gentle side of him that was so different from the warrior.
"So Moya was a prison ship?" Jack delicately put forth the question.
"Sing Sing in space," John replied. "I hope that doesn't make you think any less of us," he added. Their own reception on Earth had become even colder when the suits had found out about that little fact.
"I'll admit I was concerned for a while. Rygel said he used to be king of his planet or something."
"He gave you the speech, didn't he?" John said with a sympathetic wince.
"Six hundred billion people?"
"That'd be the one."
"You know he was the only one who told us what he was in for."
"So now you want to know about the rest of us?" John asked with a half smile. "Well D'argo is Moya's only other original prisoner. He was locked up for a murder he didn't commit."
"If he was innocent why did he completely avoid the question?"
John was silent for a moment, wondering if he should say. "Because it was his wife's murder."
"That's rough," said Jack quietly.
"Yeah." But not just rough, horrible. John remembered the feeling of utter loss when Aeryn had fallen to death for a time. He had been lucky and gotten her back, but D'argo had no such miracle awaiting him. Lo'la was gone forever. "My question, right?" John needed to turn the depressing thoughts away.
"Shoot," said Jack, the whimsical note back in his voice.
"Who won the Super Bowl in your universe?"
"Super Bowl?" Jack sounded offended. "Forget football. Now hockey, that's a sport."
Balance achieved once more, John quickly fell into the friendly argument until Pilot called them home.
************************************************************************
*