A.N: Wow! Talk about feedback….
Thanks go to: Woodentree, Emma, peanut, Beliese, Shippie, LT, Maethorwen of Atlantis and Dr. Dredd.
And to Shippie (and anyone else out there who was wondering) I'm glad you all liked it, but as to why I ask for five reviews…. This term is one in which four hours of sleep is a blessing, and if I have five people (or more) out there paying attention to what I'm writing, then I know it's worth it to continue. So I'm sorry about it, and please note that I did not offer cake. But if I lived near by you all, I would offer you all cake, and invite you around to tea so that you could tell me where I'm going wrong or right! Anyway, I'm really enjoying this story and want to keep writing :D (for those who were worried!)
Ah well, after this, I have a heap of Assessment tasks to do, (would be so much easier with the gene!) so here comes the next installment of Jeans and Genes!
Chapter 2: Washing day!
The pre-dawn light came gently into her room, slowly bringing her to full consciousness. Today would be busy. First there was a briefing with AT-1, and then there was a check-up with Carson to see how the gene was holding, and then, at some point was that fateful pile of paperwork. It was so tempting just to roll over and attempt to go back to sleep. Sadly, her body would never allow such a thing, and neither would her sense of responsibility. With a slight grumble, she swung her legs off the bed, and walked over to her draws, and grabbed together her clothes for the day. Considering that she was still to have coffee, she didn't notice that she had grabbed a shirt that had not made an appearance in her wardrobe before.
When she stepped into the shower minutes later, the water came down at exactly the right temperature. Her eyes widened slightly at not having to adjust it herself. This gene definitely came in handy. Quickly she washed off, feeling her body fully awaken with the warm water. Slightly reluctant to leave the warmth, she thought of her to-do list for the day. With that, she turned the water off the old fashioned way, knowing she would have no luck with mental commands, and hopped out. Noting the time, she rushed to get dressed. Checking her appearance in mirror, it finally registered on her that the shirt was slightly too large. The beep of her watch alarm made her curse slightly. She wouldn't have time to grab something from the Mess before she had the briefing, and knowing what the doctor would say if she didn't eat, she grumbled, walked out of the bathroom, grabbed her jacket, and headed off to the mess. Hopefully Rodney had gotten his hands on the coffee pot…
It was with jubilation that Elizabeth discovered that Rodney had indeed gotten his hands into the coffee, which meant it was at least three times as strong as the mess usually made it. She must remember to thank him for the invaluable service one day. There was a basket of muffins on the counter, a slight cloud of steam rising off their surfaces. The chef must have made them from the first load of crops on the mainland. To her mind, the morning couldn't get much better. Grabbing one of the muffins in her other hand, she headed off to her office, a bounce in her step.
"So what has the MALP shown this time?" Elizabeth asked, sipping gratefully from her mug.
"Apart from trees, trees and more trees? A possible ZPM, another bunch of ancient technology and another heap of rocks." Sheppard recited.
Elizabeth folded her arms, "Are we sure about this one?"
"Since when have we been able to tell?" Rodney grumbled, "Look, if it can get us a working ZPM, then isn't it worth it? With another ZPM, we'll be able to keep the shield up next time the Wraith decide to pay us a visit."
Elizabeth sighed, "Of course. Teyla, have any of the people in this area encountered any Wraith activity?"
"Not to my knowledge. But that does not mean that we can afford to be lax in our security." Teyla said calmly.
"I can agree with that. The Wraith are still out there, and we never know if we'll encounter some other species hell bent on our destruction." Sheppard agreed.
McKay looked towards her, "The ruins are only a few miles from the 'gate."
"Still, I'd rather you'd take the jumper just to be on the safe side." Elizabeth commented, "So let's say a departure time of 1400. Any objections?" no one responded, "Very well. Dismissed."
"Good to see that ye've turned up, lass!" Carson said cheerfully, fiddling with one the numerous devices that littered his desk.
Elizabeth's eyebrow shot up at the sight of all the devices on the desk, "What are all they for?"
"Ta see how effective the gene is in ye," Carson said, "We know what all these little darlin's are capable of, courtesy of Major Sheppard. Now, the deal is I want ye to try and turn each on, and after ye do that, I'll tell ye what tis for, and then ye can see if ye can control it for it's purpose. Clear?"
"All right. So which one first?" Elizabeth said, eager to get this over and done with.
"Here, try this one." He said, grabbing a device. Elizabeth looked at it as it whirred into life.
"Woah, lass!" He said in shock, "At least wait till I hand it to you!"
"I did that?" she said in surprise.
Carson nodded, "Aye, and even the Major has to concentrate for a good three seconds before he can turn it on without holding it… It took you less than a second."
"So what is it?"
"It's an interface into the city's computer. See if you can find us…" He said, handing it to her. Almost instantly it beeped, "Well I'll be-!"
"What?" Elizabeth said, slightly annoyed.
"Ye just beat the record by around ten seconds!" he exclaimed, turning around and noting something on the piece of paper, "I wonder…"
"I'm getting tired of saying what, Carson."
"Would ye care to come out to the balcony? I have a little idea that I would like to test…."
A small crowd had assembled on the balcony. Carson and Elizabeth stood towards the front of the group, with Rodney and John standing slightly behind them. It was this scene that Teyla battled through the crowds to find.
"What is happening?" She demanded, slightly annoyed.
John turned and smiled, "Carson is testing out the strength of our dear leader's gene. And has enlisted our assistance to the cause."
"It shall be rather interesting to see how this shall turn out." She commented, settling in to watch.
Meanwhile, Carson was instructing Elizabeth, "Now lass, I want ye to think about the doors to the hanger. Try and open them."
The radio in his hand crackled to life, "Doctor, the doors just opened!"
Carson whooped in joy, "Bloody Marvellous! Elizabeth, can ye close 'em again?"
Elizabeth closed her eyes slightly, took a breath before, "They've closed themselves!"
A grin spread across Carson's face, " All righ', now I would like ye Rodney to do the same thing. That is if ye can."
With a shrug, Rodney closed his eyes, focusing hard. The crowd held their collective breath. After a minute, Rodney let out a grumble, "Damnit! I can't get it!"
"Ah well, ye gave it yer best shot. John?"
Following example, John closed his eyes. Within ten seconds, beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead. Ten seconds after that, the radio broke into the silence, "They're opening!"
Applause broke out from the crowd. A small smile broke out on John's face, as he opened his eyes, "Jeez, that was hard!"
"Do ye think ye could close 'em?" Carson asked.
"If you give me a second, then yes!" John replied.
"Never mind it. Now, the next part of the test is slightly more difficult. What I want is for each of ye to try and mentally pilot a jumper to just in front of us here. After that, we'll see what else the pair of ye can do. Elizabeth, can ye think about jumper three?"
Once again, Elizabeth closed her eyes, her face becoming a mask of concentration. After about a minute, the tell-tale sound of a jumper could be heard coming towards them. The crowd gasped as the aforementioned jumper came hurtling towards them, then suddenly stopping right in front of the balcony.
"Well I'll be!" the Doctor exclaimed, "John, can ye think about jumper four and try and do the same thing?"
"I guess. Only thing I'll loose is my pride." After close to five minutes, the jumper appeared heading shakily towards them. It stopped with a huge lurching motion beside the other.
"Well done to the both of ye. Now, Elizabeth, I'd like ta see how far ye control reaches. So I'll ask the major to take jumper three out about ten kilometers. Major, as soon as ye reach the ten kilometer mark, I'd like ye to radio us, and then let the controls go. Then Elizabeth here will bring it back in. then we'll try doubling the distance, and so on."
With a smile, John brought Jumper three back to the balcony, albeit shakily.
An hour later, and six more trips out, everyone was looking at Elizabeth in shock. John, who was still in Jumper three wore an expression of astonishment on his face. They had gotten out to over seven hundred kilometers.
"Are ye sure ye wanna go one more, lass? Aren't ye tired yet?" Carson asked in concern. Elizabeth's light complexion was definitely paler than usual.
She looked at him, determination flickering in her eyes, "I'm going to see just how far I can take this, Doctor. You started me on it, and I'm not about to give up just yet."
Carson shrugged, "Ye heard the lass, John. Fourteen hundred kilometers. Ye know the drill"
As soon as the radio crackled into life, Elizabeth shut her eyes, and for the first time since they had begun the tests, beads of sweat broke out upon her brow. After three minutes, she began to shake slightly.
"Elizabeth?" Rodney asked worriedly, placing a hand on her shoulder. His eyes widened as he felt a slight tugging sensation. Elizabeth's eyes shot open, and the radio crackled to life
"She's got me. It kinda jolted me about a bit, but I'm on my way back" Shepard's voice said over the radio.
Carson looked at Rodney, "Any idea what just happened?"
"I felt a tug or something when I put my hand on her shoulder." He said with a shrug.
Elizabeth spoke, although she kept her eyes shut, "I think I just borrowed some of your strength to bring the jumper home. I'm sorry."
"Sorry!" Carson exclaimed, "What have ye got to be sorry for? This is an amazing discovery! If ye can work on it, not to mention borrow energy off others with the gene, then there's not telling what ye can do wi' it!"
The sight of the jumper came over the horizon. "John, I think we've done enough for now. What do ye think?"
"Well, I'll agree with that, especially considering we're supposed to be going off world in just over an hour." John's voice came back to them.
"Roger that. Park the jumper back in the bay. Maybe we can continue this at some other point in time.
"All right. I'm taking the controls back now, Dr. Weir."
"You can have them Major." Elizabeth said, her eyes shooting open, "Now come back to base, and get ready for your mission. Weir out."
A.N: So what do you think? Stay tuned for next time, and flames shall be studied in great detail, and then used to set Koyla's pants on fire!
P.S: thanks also to Miran Anders and Evilclone!