Chapter Four: A Galaxy Far, Far Away
The next morning Danica got up bright and early to get ready for her first off-world mission. She put her uniform on and went to the mess hall to get a morning coffee to start her day. She walked into the nearly empty mess hall only to spot Doctor Beckett and Doctor Zelenka chatting at a table in the corner of the room. She grabbed a cup of coffee and walked over to them with a smile.
"Good morning." She said.
"Good morning Luv, why on Earth are you up so early?" Carson asked patting the chair next to him for her to sit.
Danica sat down. "Today is my team's first off-world mission." She explained.
"You're crazy, going through that thing." Radek said, shaking his head.
"Probably, it's the soldier in me, always looking for another adventure." She said shrugging.
"Well, take it easy. You don't want to run up against the wraith." Carson said.
"Don't I know? From what I've read they're defiantly not the type of guys you want to have a beer with." Danica said.
"Just watch yourself." Carson said. He sounded a lot like an older brother.
Danica nodded. "Hey, how about Friday night we all meet in my quarters for a game of poker. I have a set." She said.
"I'm absolutely horrible at poker!" Carson said.
"In that case we'll make it strip poker." Danica said with a wink. The look of shock on Carson's face caused her to laugh. "I'm only joking." She said.
"You're on for Friday." Radek said standing up. "Now I've got to go work with McKay on those ships they found." He said.
"Good luck with that one." Danica said shaking her head. Rodney McKay was not an easy man to work with, there was no doubt in Danica's mind about that, and she'd only worked with him for a few hours.
"Luck's not necessary, patience is." Radek said with a bit of a laugh.
"Well, then I wish patience upon you. Don't forget about Friday." She reminded.
"Never." Radek said with a smile as he walked away.
Danica stood up. "Well, I'd better go make sure Michelle's up. Wier will be expecting us soon." She said checking her watch to see the time.
"Good luck, Luv, and I'm serious, you watch yourself. It's dangerous out there." Carson said.
Danica hugged him. "I'll be on highest alert. You won't have to stitch me up, I promise." She said.
"I'd better not." Carson said.
With that Danica left. After refilling her coffee she walked to Michelle's room and knocked on the door, hoping Michelle was awake.
"Hello?" Michelle asked as she stood in the doorway in pajamas.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up." Danica said.
"I needed to get up anyway, with our mission being today and all." Michelle said. "Come on in." She added as she turned around and walked towards her bathroom. "This will only take a minute." She said before she shut the door.
Danica took a seat at Michelle's desk. "Hey, would you be up for a game of poker Friday night with Carson, Radek and me?" Danica asked loudly so Michelle could hear.
"Poker with a bunch of scientists? What could be more exciting?" Michelle asked as she walked out in full uniform. "I think that would be fun, just the thing we need around here." She added.
"I agree. And Carson's horrible at poker, so that's a plus." Danica said as the two began walking towards Wier's office.
After they traveled the maze that was Atlantis, they ended up at Wier's office. Michelle knocked on the door.
"Good morning." Wier said.
"Good morning Ma'am." Michelle and Danica said formally.
"I suppose you two are looking for your first mission." Wier said pulling a file out of her desk.
"Yes Ma'am." Michelle said.
"There's a planet, not too far from here, that the Athosians have told us about. We believe they would be great trade partners. Your mission is to go there and offer them a trade agreement." Wier explained.
"Thank you Ma'am." Michelle and Danica said.
"We're going to give you a three hour period for this one. Be in radio contact if it will take longer." Wier said.
The two girls nodded and left the room. They stood in the gate room waiting for the gate to finish dialing.
"You ready for this?" Michelle asked.
"Absolutely." Danica said.
As soon as the wormhole connected the two women walked through onto another planet.
"So talk to me about Carson, what's going on between the two of you?" Michelle asked as they walked towards the village.
"We're just friends. I'm not even looking for a relationship here, it would be way too complicated." Danica explained.
The village was now somewhat visible from where they were. It looked tattered and old, and there didn't seem to be any sign of people.
"We're supposed to trade with these people? It doesn't even look like they can take care of themselves." Michelle said.
"You don't think there's been a culling here, do you?" Danica asked.
"Oh, I was hoping not." Michelle said. The two picked up their pace, nearly running towards the village. When they got there their worst fear had been true, the city had been recently culled.
"Oh god." Danica said noticing some of the wraith had fed right on the planet, leaving it littered with bodies.
"Anyone still here? Don't be afraid, we've come to get you out of here." Michelle yelled as they started inspecting the houses.
"Anyone in here?" Danica asked as she opened one of the doors. She was shocked to find the house full of children. There were at least 15 of them covering in silence. "It's alright, I'm here to help you. We're going to get you out of here before the wraith come back." She said softly.
"Who are you?" One of the children asked.
"My name is Lieutenant Danica Carter. I come from a place called Atlantis." Danica explained.
"The wraith took our parents!" One of the little girls cried.
Danica wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. She, herself, had lost her mother when she was young, but not in such a devastating way as these kids had lost their parents. "I know Dear, that's why we want to get you out of here." She tried to explain.
"Carter, have you found anything?" Michelle asked over the radio.
The children's eyes got huge. "You know magic?" A little boy said.
"Oh no, it's called a radio. It's how my people communicate when they are not near each other." Danica said holding her radio out to show them.
"Carter, do you read me? Have you found anything?" Michelle asked again causing the children to jump a bit.
"Sorry, I read you, and yea, I've found something." Danica replied. She put her radio back and turned to the children. "How 'bout it? Will you come back to my world with me? We can feed you, get you toys and new clothes, and find you a nice place to stay." Danica said.
The children all looked at each other, then they nodded. "We will go." The boy said.
"Excellent." Danica said.
"What is excellent?" A little girl asked as the children got up and walked towards Danica.
"It means good, very good." Danica explained as she walked the children outside of the house.
Michelle spotted her and came over. "Whoa." She said.
"They're the only ones left. We've got to take them back to Atlantis so we can find a place for them." Danica explained.
"I'll go dial home and tell Mom." Michelle said.
"We'll all go." Danica said not wanting the children to have to stand amongst the bodies of their parents any longer. They all began walking towards the gate. It was easy to tell that most of the kids were scared, Danica couldn't blame them. If it were her in that situation she'd be terrified.
When they arrived at the gate Michelle gave her IDC. "Doctor Wier, this is Captain Johnson." She said over her radio.
"I read you Johnson, is everything going alright?" Wier asked.
"Well Ma'am, it didn't go as well as we'd hoped, but we're requesting to bring some visitors back with us." Michelle said.
"Request granted." Wier said. "You're clear to come in." She added.
Michelle nodded to Danica who walked through the gate with the children.
When they arrived in Atlantis Wier came down from the control room. "Lieutenant Carter, what's all this?" She asked.
"There was a culling not too long ago. They're all that are left. We couldn't just leave them there Ma'am." Danica explained.
Wier nodded. "Take them to see Doctor Beckett so they'll all get checked out then we'll talk to Teyla to see if the Athosians will take them in." She said.
"Yes Ma'am." Danica said. She turned towards the children. "Come on guys, we're going to go see my friend, Doctor Beckett , and he's going to make sure you're all A-ok." She said enthusiastically.
One of the little girls walked up to her, and motioned for her to lean in. "Lieutenant, I have to go potty." She whispered as Danica leaned in.
"No problem, we've got lots of potties." Danica said grabbing the little girl's hand. "And you all can call me Danica, no need to be formal." She added as she led them towards the infirmary. They were nearly there when she spotted the large bathroom. "Anyone else need a potty break while we're here?" She asked. Nearly half of the kids split off from the group and went into the bathroom. When they had all rejoined the ranks Danica smiled at them. "Is everyone back from the potty?" She asked.
"Perhaps I should add school teacher to your jobs around here." Rodney said walking up to the group.
"Doctor McKay." Danica said a bit shocked. "They're survivors from M1Z-987. I'm taking them down to get checked out by Doctor Beckett." She explained.
"Apparently you had to stop for a potty break." Rodney said in his normal snarky tone.
"They are children, Sir. Now, I really should get going, Carson's expecting us." Danica said as she walked away.
Finally the group arrived at the infirmary and they all filed in.
"Great Scot! What's all this?" Carson asked.
"Survivors from M1Z-987, Doctor Wier wanted you to give them a look-over to make sure they're all healthy." Danica explained.
"Ah, no problem." Carson said.
After everyone was situated in a bed Carson began examining everyone, while Danica took down names and ages of the children for reference. Danica had finished taking down information and was telling a story to the children who had been checked out already when Michelle walked in.
"I'll be right back." Danica said to the group as she put Aslin, one of the little girls who had been sitting on her lap, down. She walked over to Michelle.
"We explained the situation to Teyla, and she relayed it to the mainland." Michelle explained.
"And are they going to take the kids in?" Danica asked impatiently.
"Of course." Michelle said.
Danica's face shone with happiness. She turned to the kids to give them the good news when Teyla walked in.
"Teyla, thank you so much for this. These children will appreciate it very much." Danica said.
"It is nothing. The Carterians would have done the same if we were in such a situation." Teyla said.
"Teyla!" Lennon, one of the little boys, said excitedly.
"Hello." Teyla said with a friendly smile.
"Why are you here? Did these people save you too?" Aslin asked.
"Their people did save me and many of the other Athosians, they live in a village not far from here. I've come to take you there." Teyla explained.
"To live with the Athosians?" Lennon asked.
Teyla nodded. "Yes, we'd like to make it your new home." She said.
Aslin looked at Danica sadly. "Will you be living there as well?" She asked.
Danica shook her head. "No, I live here, but I promise I'll visit all the time." She said.
"Promise?" Aslin asked, the look in her eyes nearly broke Danica's heart.
"On my life." Danica swore.