Title: I Walk
Alone
Author: SlayersGrl
Summary: A late night walk around the
city becomes something of an introspective journey for Dr. Weir.
Disclaimer: Stargate:
Atlantis belongs to the brilliant minds of people other than myself…
Author's note: This story was inspired by Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". I wrote this during one of my lunch breaks about a month ago, but I only recently found the paper I had written it on and decided to post it.
As she walked down the long deserted corridors of the ancient city, she couldn't help but admire the wonder of it all. Elizabeth still found it hard to believe that she had been chosen to lead this expedition of a lifetime. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined herself thousands of light years from home in an alien city leading a group of scientists and military personnel.
She paused in her contemplation to nod in acknowledgement of one of the men standing guard. The personnel who worked the late shift were used to her almost daily wanderings by now and never questioned her.
After she turned the corner, she sighed to herself. She suddenly realized that she knew almost nothing about the man. Sure, she knew his name and his military qualifications. And she knew his character well enough to know that he'd a make a fine officer one day. But what about the little things, like his favorite book or sports team? Or where he grew up? Or what his family was like? That was one of the things she disliked about being in charge. She couldn't get to know her people as well as she'd like.
It wasn't even the fact that she didn't have the time. She had enough conversations with these people on a daily basis that she could probably make the time. Her problem was that she couldn't let herself get too personal. At the end of the day, she was the one responsible for making the tough decisions and issuing the harsh orders. She had to remain aloof from the others in order to maintain a clear position of authority.
It sometimes made for a lonely existence. But if being lonely every once in a while meant that critical orders were carried out when they needed to be, then she figured a little sacrifice on her part was okay. She needed to perform her job as professionally as possible so others could do theirs.
There were times when she wished she could share her responsibilities with someone else. But it wouldn't be fair. This was the job she signed up to do and she was going to do it.
Her mind finally paused in its self-examination to realize that she was standing just outside the control room. She couldn't help but smile. Without even realizing it, she had managed to arrive at the one place she needed to be: leading her people to uncover the hidden secrets of the forgotten city in hopes of one day returning home. And she planned to guide them every step of the way.
Her path was a lonely one, but enough people followed her footsteps to make the journey worthwhile.
