Chapter Two – Getting to Know You
Bright and early the morning after her arrival, Alora set to teaching Dr. McKay how to build a ZPM. Dr. Weir met with her for over two hours that afternoon to decide how to allocate Alora's time so that all the changes she was suggesting got equal attention. A schedule was soon worked out and Alora was going to be spending four hours in the morning with one person and four hours in the afternoon with another. This allowed her to spend several hours each week with each department, although she would be spending the most time with Dr. McKay. Alora made only one request, that she be allowed one afternoon off per week.
It was Alora's first afternoon off when she sought out Teyla. She found the Athosian woman in the commissary finishing her lunch.
"May I join you?" Alora asked.
"Of course," Teyla said graciously, "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if you had some time this afternoon for a workout session," Alora said as she dug into her salad.
"I do, there is a room on level fifteen in Section A that I have used previously to train Colonel Shepherd," Teyla answered.
"I know where that is, what time would be convenient for you?" Alora asked.
"I am available for the rest of the day beginning at 1400 hours," Teyla answered.
"I will meet you there," Alora said as Teyla got up from the table to dispose of her tray.
At 1400 hours Alora entered the room Teyla had mentioned dressed in the black t-shirt and gray pants similar to all personnel but her hair was tightly braided to her skull and her feet were bare. Teyla was already there dressed in the tight fitting top and split skirt she wore when training with Colonel Shepherd.
"What type of workout did you have in mind?" Teyla asked.
"I believe the training you have been giving Colonel Shepherd would be fun," Alora said as she entered the room.
Meanwhile Colonel Shepherd entered the commissary to find Rodney having one of his several meals of the day.
"Hey, have you seen Dr. Valencia?" Colonel Shepherd asked.
"Uh huh," Rodney mumbled between bites of his meal.
"I overheard her ask Teyla for a training session this afternoon, I think they said 1400 hours in the training room in Section A," A female scientist said from the next table.
"Oh no," Colonel Shepherd said then took off for the room he was all too familiar with.
It took him a few minutes to reach the semi-remote room and he was almost breathless when he palmed open the door. The sight that greeted him was almost as surprising as Alora's arrival. Teyla and Alora were circling each other like a pair of boxers with batons in their hands rather than gloves on them. Neither woman acknowledged his entrance and he stepped back when they both exploded into action. He had seen Teyla in action before with other Athosians, but what he was witnessing was much faster and far more powerful. Alora matched Teyla blow for blow, effectively blocking Teyla's attacks and counterattacking when openings in Teyla's defenses allowed. Colonel Shepherd watched them for over twenty minutes when Alora found the opportunity she was looking for and disarmed Teyla in one lightning fast move. With Alora's batons cris-crossed in front of her neck, Teyla stepped back and acknowledged defeat with a slight bow.
"You are a fine warrior Teyla, you do your people and your ancestors proud," Alora said with a bow of her own.
"Thank you Alora, I would be happy to spar with you any time," Teyla said.
"So, you ladies getting along?" Colonel Shepherd said from the doorway.
"Yes Colonel, we are," Teyla said.
"I didn't know you could do that," Colonel Shepherd said to Alora. "That something you picked up during your time with the glowy ones?"
"Nope, something I learned growing up," Alora answered as she returned the batons to Teyla, "But for us it was a form of exercise and self-discipline, not necessarily for battle. Although, it was used more than a few times to settle disputes between two individuals."
"Cool, well I just wanted…" Colonel Shepherd started.
"To make sure I didn't get hurt," Alora said as she approached him, "Don't have to be telepathic to see that. Don't worry, I'm tougher than I look."
Alora exited the room and made her way to her quarters leaving Colonel Shepherd and Teyla in the training room.
"Do you ever get the feeling she's holding something back?" Shepherd asked Teyla.
"Of course, she told us as much herself at the first meeting," Teyla answered.
"Not technological stuff, something personal," Colonel Shepherd said quietly.
The next morning Colonel Shepherd knocked on the doors to her quarters. A couple of moments later she emerged dressed and ready to go.
"I thought we might grab breakfast before our jumper training," Colonel Shepherd said.
"Sure."
When they arrived in the commissary, they found Dr. Weir already enjoying her meal. Once they had gotten their own trays, they joined her.
"How are you this morning Dr. Weir?" Alora asked.
"I'm well, and you?" Dr. Weir asked.
"Very well. Are we still scheduled for our meeting this afternoon?" Alora asked.
"As far as I know, unless something comes up," Dr. Weir answered.
Less than an hour later Alora sat in the co-pilot's seat of a puddlejumper as Colonel Shepherd lifted it up into the sky above the city.
"This is Jumper One, we are away and beginning our patrol," Colonel Shepherd informed the Control Tower.
"We read you Jumper One, see you in a few hours," Dr. Weir's voice came over the communications system.
"Alright, what are we going to do first?" Colonel Shepherd asked.
For the next two hours Alora instructed Colonel Shepherd on the use of the Jumper's systems that they hadn't accessed yet. Colonel Shepherd was a fast learner and Alora found her with more time that she needed so she requested a little joy ride. Colonel Shepherd relinquished control to Alora and immediately she began a steep climb to take them out of the planet's atmosphere.
"I take it you've missed this," Colonel Shepherd said when he saw the look on Alora's face.
"Yeah, I haven't flown one since we evacuated the city, we didn't take any with us back to Earth so as to prevent any impact on the development of humanity on that planet," Alora explained.
"So what exactly did you do? What was your job?" Colonel Shepherd asked.
"I guess you would call me a mechanic, I was part of the team responsible for maintaining all our technology. During the last year of the siege I was tasked with researching the archives for 'less advanced' methods to accomplish the tasks we would need to survive. When we arrived on Earth I coordinated the construction of our first settlement." Alora explained. "Once we'd settled into our new way of life I helped maintain the equipment, but like all the other members of the younger generations my primary job was as a parent."
"You had kids?" Colonel Shepherd asked.
"Yeah, you sound surprised," Alora said.
"Well," Colonel Shepherd said, "You just don't look like most moms."
"This is what I looked like when I was the equivalent of 30 Earth years," Alora said, "And although I still looked good, I didn't think recorporealizing as s 262 year old would have been wise."
"Probably not." Colonel Shepherd said, "So how many kids did you have?"
"Twenty-two," Alora said as if it was a common thing.
"Wow," Colonel Shepherd said.
"You've got to remember that we lived quite long lives," Alora said.
"Yeah, how exactly did you do that?" Colonel Shepherd asked, "And don't tell me good clean living."
"No," Alora answered, "We cheated a little bit. We had a device that continuously regenerated our cellular structure, it slowed down the aging process almost completely. Our numbers were so decimated by the Wraith that we needed to extend our life-spans to bring up our population."
"Hence the 22 kids," Colonel Shepherd added.
"Yup," Alora said as she put the Jumper into a dive that would take them back into the planet's atmosphere.
"Atlantis this is Jumper One, we're returning to base," Colonel Shepherd announced to those in the Control Tower.
"Welcome home Jumper One,"
Alora expertly piloted the Jumper back to Atlantis and set it down gently in the bay. She dropped the door on the back and followed Colonel Shepherd out of the craft.
"Oh hey," Colonel Shepherd said as he and Alora split to go their separate ways.
Alora stopped and turned to him to see what he wanted.
"What did you guys call this planet?"
"Eloy," Alora answered with a smile then turned and went on her way
A/N: Eloy is Latin for "chosen"