"We have begun shifting the Pe'aoli to the ships," the Asgard commander of
one of the freighters told Thor.
"That was quick," Shawn said.
The Asgard turned his attention to the boy. "Indeed."
It had only been about an hour since Jack and Sam had left the ship, but to Shawn it felt like much longer. He didn't like having them down on the planet and away from the safety of the Destroyers, although he understood they had to be there. It had been all he could do to keep himself from nagging Thor to send him down so he could be with them. He'd known the answer would definitely be no, so he hadn't even asked. Jack would have sent him right back up the minute he materialized.
Worry made the boy antsy. He paced. He kept asking Thor how long it had been. He drummed his fingers on the arm of Thor's Command chair. He made a clicking noise with his tongue against his front teeth. All in all, he was annoying the hell out of Thor without intending to. Something he did fairly well, anyways.
"Perhaps you would like to return to the Simulator?" Thor asked, almost hopefully.
Shawn shook his head. "I'd better stick close. You know, in case they need me."
"Are you, perhaps, hungry?"
"No, I already ate. Thanks."
"Tired?"
Shawn shook his head, drumming his fingers on the chair once more, absently.
Thor sighed.
~*~
"How many people do you have up on the ships now?"
"1,709."
"That's all?"
"It has only been two hours, Shawn." Thor said. "The Pe'aoli are doing very well to have that many already on board. Especially since we told them they would have much longer."
Shawn sighed.
"Are you hungry, yet?" Thor asked.
"No. Thank you."
"Do you need rest?"
Shawn shook his head, but he was beginning to wonder if he was annoying Thor. "Would you like me to leave you alone for a while?" Shawn asked politely.
"You are free to roam the ship," Thor told him, glad the boy was interested in doing something other than standing there and making annoying noises. "Please do not do anything reckless."
"Stay out of trouble, you mean?" Shawn asked.
"Indeed." The elevators that led to the other levels of the ship were all locked down to prevent any unauthorized access to the bridge, so the Asgard didn't need to tell him to stay away from the other levels of the ship, and there was very little the boy could get into on the bridge level.
"Okay. You'll call me if Jack or Sam calls?"
"Yes."
"Swear?"
"What?"
"Promise?"
"Yes."
Shawn left the bridge, and Thor gave a relieved sigh as the door closed behind him. He'd never, as long as he lived, ever, bring another child with him anywhere he went. Not even if the High Council forced him to. Not even if it was just a trip from one end of a solar system to the other.
~*~
"How many is that, Carter?" Jack asked as another family and a stack of belongings vanished with a beam of light.
"I've lost count, Sir." Sam admitted.
Jack scowled, but decided it didn't matter. They'd just grab people until there wasn't anyone left to grab. He looked at the sun, which was just coming up over the horizon, and did some mental calculations. They'd been on the planet for about three hours, and had cleared out entire sections of the city. Other sections were packing as quickly as they could, and farmers had rushed to their steadings to get things ready there.
"Sorry." Sam said.
"Nah, it doesn't matter." Jack told her. "I lost track a long time ago."
~*~
Shawn walked through the main corridor from the bridge. Now that he knew what the markings said, he knew as he passed each door what the room's purpose was. He walked to the fifth room, the one where he and Jack had eaten their ice cream, and entered it. The shoehorn things that they had used to eat with were ship components, Shawn knew now, grinning as he picked on up. Thor wouldn't have liked that they'd used them to eat with, but Shawn supposed that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He put it back in the drawer they'd gotten them from, and then started looking through the drawers again, this time with more interest, since he knew what everything was, and what it did.
He had just closed one when the markings on another one caught his eye. It had been one of the drawers Jack had looked through their first time around. Stargate components. Shawn opened it up, just to see what kind of replacement parts were in there, but it wasn't anything too interesting. It did remind him of something else, though. Thor's ship had a Stargate. Because of his new knowledge, Shawn knew exactly what a Stargate looked like, but he'd never seen one first hand. He closed the drawer without taking anything out of it, and went to the door. He really wanted to see this thing.
Because of the Simulator, Shawn knew exactly where to look. The Asgard ships were all the same, after all. They had no need to make things different, because the originals worked so well there was no sense in messing with a model that was so efficient. The bridge and the Stargate were the two most important areas of a Destroyer – if you didn't count the shuttle bays. And since there wasn't anyone else on the ship, the shuttles weren't going to be used, so they certainly didn't count. Grinning excitedly, Shawn ran down the hall, his tennis shoes making no noise as he made his way unerringly away from the bridge and towards proper room.
"That was quick," Shawn said.
The Asgard turned his attention to the boy. "Indeed."
It had only been about an hour since Jack and Sam had left the ship, but to Shawn it felt like much longer. He didn't like having them down on the planet and away from the safety of the Destroyers, although he understood they had to be there. It had been all he could do to keep himself from nagging Thor to send him down so he could be with them. He'd known the answer would definitely be no, so he hadn't even asked. Jack would have sent him right back up the minute he materialized.
Worry made the boy antsy. He paced. He kept asking Thor how long it had been. He drummed his fingers on the arm of Thor's Command chair. He made a clicking noise with his tongue against his front teeth. All in all, he was annoying the hell out of Thor without intending to. Something he did fairly well, anyways.
"Perhaps you would like to return to the Simulator?" Thor asked, almost hopefully.
Shawn shook his head. "I'd better stick close. You know, in case they need me."
"Are you, perhaps, hungry?"
"No, I already ate. Thanks."
"Tired?"
Shawn shook his head, drumming his fingers on the chair once more, absently.
Thor sighed.
~*~
"How many people do you have up on the ships now?"
"1,709."
"That's all?"
"It has only been two hours, Shawn." Thor said. "The Pe'aoli are doing very well to have that many already on board. Especially since we told them they would have much longer."
Shawn sighed.
"Are you hungry, yet?" Thor asked.
"No. Thank you."
"Do you need rest?"
Shawn shook his head, but he was beginning to wonder if he was annoying Thor. "Would you like me to leave you alone for a while?" Shawn asked politely.
"You are free to roam the ship," Thor told him, glad the boy was interested in doing something other than standing there and making annoying noises. "Please do not do anything reckless."
"Stay out of trouble, you mean?" Shawn asked.
"Indeed." The elevators that led to the other levels of the ship were all locked down to prevent any unauthorized access to the bridge, so the Asgard didn't need to tell him to stay away from the other levels of the ship, and there was very little the boy could get into on the bridge level.
"Okay. You'll call me if Jack or Sam calls?"
"Yes."
"Swear?"
"What?"
"Promise?"
"Yes."
Shawn left the bridge, and Thor gave a relieved sigh as the door closed behind him. He'd never, as long as he lived, ever, bring another child with him anywhere he went. Not even if the High Council forced him to. Not even if it was just a trip from one end of a solar system to the other.
~*~
"How many is that, Carter?" Jack asked as another family and a stack of belongings vanished with a beam of light.
"I've lost count, Sir." Sam admitted.
Jack scowled, but decided it didn't matter. They'd just grab people until there wasn't anyone left to grab. He looked at the sun, which was just coming up over the horizon, and did some mental calculations. They'd been on the planet for about three hours, and had cleared out entire sections of the city. Other sections were packing as quickly as they could, and farmers had rushed to their steadings to get things ready there.
"Sorry." Sam said.
"Nah, it doesn't matter." Jack told her. "I lost track a long time ago."
~*~
Shawn walked through the main corridor from the bridge. Now that he knew what the markings said, he knew as he passed each door what the room's purpose was. He walked to the fifth room, the one where he and Jack had eaten their ice cream, and entered it. The shoehorn things that they had used to eat with were ship components, Shawn knew now, grinning as he picked on up. Thor wouldn't have liked that they'd used them to eat with, but Shawn supposed that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He put it back in the drawer they'd gotten them from, and then started looking through the drawers again, this time with more interest, since he knew what everything was, and what it did.
He had just closed one when the markings on another one caught his eye. It had been one of the drawers Jack had looked through their first time around. Stargate components. Shawn opened it up, just to see what kind of replacement parts were in there, but it wasn't anything too interesting. It did remind him of something else, though. Thor's ship had a Stargate. Because of his new knowledge, Shawn knew exactly what a Stargate looked like, but he'd never seen one first hand. He closed the drawer without taking anything out of it, and went to the door. He really wanted to see this thing.
Because of the Simulator, Shawn knew exactly where to look. The Asgard ships were all the same, after all. They had no need to make things different, because the originals worked so well there was no sense in messing with a model that was so efficient. The bridge and the Stargate were the two most important areas of a Destroyer – if you didn't count the shuttle bays. And since there wasn't anyone else on the ship, the shuttles weren't going to be used, so they certainly didn't count. Grinning excitedly, Shawn ran down the hall, his tennis shoes making no noise as he made his way unerringly away from the bridge and towards proper room.
