13: Community Spirit
Evenings in the SGC were often quiet, with the night shift staff taking their places and the overall amount of people going about their business within the facility reducing somewhat. At about half past seven, a team did depart through the stargate, but once that commotion was over things went quiet again. From what John had gathered, SG-9 was being sent off on some survey mission somewhere. An otherwise routine assignment, which seemed odd since a large chunk of the galaxy was being torn apart by war.
John had been enjoying a late dinner in the cafeteria when he had received the call from General Janssen. The General wanted to see him, and so, after finishing off his steak, John wiped his mouth with a napkin, tidied up his fatigues and gulped down a glass of lemonade. He assumed the General wanted to discuss the last mission, especially in light of the reports he and the other team members had submitted regarding their jaunt on Chulak.
John made his way through the barren grey-green corridors, before he traversed a flight of steps into the conference room. From there, he crossed the room to the General's office. The door was open, and as a courtesy he knocked lightly on the jamb. The General was speaking into a telephone, one of the main landlines that connected directly to the higher authorities in Washington DC. He looked up as he spoke, motioning for John to come in. He did so, taking a seat in one of the two vacant chairs before the desk.
Janssen spoke a little more, the conversation sounding a little heated. John realised, after a moment of listening, that the General was talking to someone from Homeworld Command. Evidently, the people running that organization had a different idea on things to those running the SGC. Inter-agency rivalries were nothing new, although this one had the potential to become serious. Homeworld Command had never gotten over having so much of their funding diverted to the SGC, and they had been making increasing noise about it over the past several months. Especially in the wake of this galactic war, as they were firmly in the 'non-intervention' camp. Any attempt to intervene threatened to bring the ire of the Calsharans to Earth, and none of those in charge of Homeworld Command wanted that.
"I'll call you back, Director," Janssen said, his voice firm. "We can discuss this in detail later, once we have all the facts." Before the man on the other end could speak further, Janssen slammed the handset down. He leaned back in his chair and emitted a long, drawn-out sigh. John smiled, one brow quirked in curiosity.
"Problems, sir?"
"There are always problems, Colonel." Floyd Janssen looked tired. He often did. He settled his gaze upon the Colonel and made an attempt to appear more relaxed. It only slightly worked. "It's honestly ridiculous. That Director of Homeworld Security, Banachek? He has had it in for us since the SGC was brought back to full capacity. It's pointless, since they get almost as much money as we do. But I suppose you lose a few hundred million in funding it's just standard procedure to hate the people it went to."
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, I did." The General seemed grateful for the change of subject. "I need your opinion on something, Colonel. It concerns our allies, the makalvari."
"The birds?"
"Yeah, them. Although you probably shouldn't call them that to their faces." Janssen gave a light shrug, as if his warning was not entirely serious. He probably could not care less if John called any of the makalvari 'birds'. "We got a message from them about an hour ago. From that Captain, Kav'rak. He says they have intel to share. They decrypted the data-pad we gave them."
"They did?" John frowned. It had been only days since they had given the bird-people that data-pad. Decrypting it so fast was both suspicious and impressive. Presumably, they had a much better understanding of Calsharan computing than anyone on Earth did.
"They want our help. Turns out they found something on there that could affect everyone."
"Help?" John frowned. "After all this time of barely tolerating us, now they want our help? Doesn't that seem just a little bit fishy to you?"
"Yes, it does. That's why I'm asking you. Kav'rak claims that there are likely Calsharan secrets to be uncovered, especially technological ones. Again, this is simply his word I'm going on here. We'd need to do our own intelligence gathering."
"You want to know what I think?" John was surprised, if a little flattered, that the General had turned to him for a second opinion. They had been working together for eighteen months, and although John had had his uncertainties about Janssen to begin with, he felt that the General had come into his own since this whole thing had started. It would not have been easy, dealing with the politics here and those that went on with the various alien peoples they had dealings with. It was not surprising that Janssen always looked so tired and sometimes came across as jaded. He dealt with other people's problems on a daily basis and it would have made for some truly draining work. John did not envy him, and he also had no intention of ever ending up a General faced with similar duties.
"You know my opinion on the birds, General. A bunch of arrogant, smarmy aristocrats. They might have the technology and the military to back them up, but socially it's like they never got past the 1800s. They can't be trusted. The lizards have been pushing them back and they're getting desperate."
"You think we shouldn't help them?"
John shook his head. He disliked this politicking, regarding not only the makalvari, but all those other alien races out there they had to deal with. He was a man who preferred a straightforward approach, even if that meant storming the front gates and going in guns blazing. Diplomacy was not his strong suit.
"No, I think we should. They're desperate and they want our involvement. That's probably really hurt their pride, so they wouldn't be coming to us if things were going all fine for them. I'm saying we need to be careful, because whatever they have for us they wouldn't be giving us unless they were working some other angle."
"That's what I was thinking," Janssen said. "Captain Kav'rak explained that the Calsharans were working on a very powerful weapon. You could argue that the makalvari want our help, since a new and powerful weapon could affect us all."
"You could also argue that the birds want it for themselves."
"If so, would they invite us along?"
John shrugged. That was a good question, one he had no solid answer for.
"I think they want to take the heat off of themselves, so they get us involved and hope the lizards shift some of the attention to us." This notion came to mind more or less on the spot, and he was surprised at how likely it sounded. The General nodded his head in agreement. "Superweapon or not, we'll be drawing more attention to ourselves."
"The Calsharans already attempted to strike Earth, with the Broadsword before your team's efforts stopped them. They will try again, regardless of our involvement in the war."
There followed a long pause. Neither man could really think of anything further to add on the matter. There were, as with anything, the positive and negative aspects. If Captain Kav'rak was being truthful, then maybe it was worth looking into. John realised that even if the bird was full of lies, they would be foolish to ignore it completely.
"I'll arrange a meeting," the General said suddenly. "We should see what our avian friend says. If we don't like it, we'll send him on his way. Doing so will probably damage our alliance with his people, and I can tell you that the IOA sure won't like that."
"They won't, sir?" John frowned.
"They want this alliance to be successful," General Janssen answered. "They want us exchanging knowledge and technology. The makalvari are clearly a little further along technologically than we are. The IOA sees them as a worthwhile ally."
"But they don't want us involved in the war?"
"Not directly, no. Woolsey will have to sit in on any meeting with Kav'rak. He'll relay everything to the IOA committee, and they'll probably have the final say on what we do."
Politics and bureaucracy, both things John had no patience for. He was a soldier, all he needed were some bad guys to fight. None of this sitting around, meeting and discussing and trying to appease all sides involved. He knew that Janssen hated it as much as he did. Still, the man persevered. If he ever left the SGC, there was no telling what kind of General would take his place. Likely a stooge for either the IOA or NID. At least Janssen could be counted on being supportive of the people and work being done here.
"Sometimes I wonder why I joined the Air Force," John remarked, half-jokingly. "Seems you can't point a gun at someone without having to fill out a bunch of forms."
"Checks and balances, Colonel. Checks and balances. The military answers to the people, at least in this part of the world."
"You should visit the Calsharan home-world some time, General." John recalled his brief visit to that planet, several months ago. That had been before the war had started. "Everyone running the show there has done a stint in the military. It's a requirement."
"I can see the sense in that." Janssen nodded his head again. "Still, I don't make the rules. If there's nothing else, Colonel, then you can be on your way. I'll let you know how things go with the makalvari."
John gave a curt nod as he rose from his chair. He was about to depart, but he stopped for a moment, something else coming to mind then.
"General, do you know where Sergeant Tarasovna's gone?" He could only assume she had gone off-base to make the most of the couple of days off they had been granted, but she had not bid him farewell as she usually did in such cases.
General Janssen looked up and met his gaze.
"Natalia has gone with Aithris, off-world. Why?"
"She did?" John supposed there was no harm in that. From what he had heard, those Nomads were doing a lot of building at their settlement. Having a combat engineer on hand might be helpful.
"I understand it was a last-minute decision on her part. Was there something you needed from her?"
"No, not really." John offered the General a salute that was perhaps a little too casual, before he turned and left the office. With at least two of his team members heading off on personal trips, he supposed he may as well do the same. There certainly was not too much to do around here.
The world on which the Nomad settlement was located was a vibrant 'garden' world, not too dissimilar to Earth. A young and brilliant yellow sun had descended low over a blue sky. The stargate was located on a grassy clearing, with a smattering of grey prefabricated metal structures some distance away by a gravel trail that led away from the stargate itself. Beyond those buildings were rolling hills and thick rainforests, with snow-capped mountains situated far upon the horizon. Evening was taking hold, and the blue sky was gradually morphing into the deep purple of twilight.
Natalia stood for a moment at the foot of the stargate, the wormhole deactivating behind her. Aithris took the few steps down from the raised stone platform. A pair of armed Nomad soldiers in sleek blue-grey body armour stood near the DHD, weapons trained on the new arrivals. Upon seeing that it was Aithris, they relaxed, their long chrome energy weapons powering down.
There were some distinctly human devices present. A set of sandbags further down the trail and off to the left had become the home of a machine gun nest, in which another two Nomad soldiers kept watch on the stargate. The machine gun was a bulky fifty calibre model, kindly provided to them by the United States military.
A simple box-shaped guardhouse was behind the machine gun nest. Like most of the structures in the settlement, it was made of a simple sturdy metal and polymer material that allowed for hastily erected and usually temporary structures. Some of the evacuation ships the Nomads had used to escape Sanctuary formed part of the settlement ahead, and from them the buildings had spread out, with more permanent dwellings under construction along the growing town's fringes. A few farms had also been established, tilled by automated machines. From here, Natalia could see a field of some kind of exotic green alien vegetable far off to the left, to where part of the clearing had been fenced off.
"Come on, Natalia," Aithris said. He turned to her, motioning for her to follow. She started after him, keeping pace as they headed for the town.
"Did your people choose this world?" Natalia asked him. High above, far off against a scattering of stars, lay a ringed world. A gas giant, no doubt vast in size, but far enough away from this world to be little more than a small sphere in the sky.
"It was one of several originally considered for the location of Sanctuary," Aithris explained. "That was until someone made the decision to settle on a world with no stargate, a decision no doubt driven by the discovery of the Ancient AI construct that was to be found there."
Natalia recalled their run-in with the Ancient Artificial Intelligence, deep underneath the Nomad city. It had been a digital copy of the Ancient inventor, Janus, who had in turn explained a number of things that had provided some light on an ancient and dangerous enemy. A galaxy being torn apart by conflict would be a ripe hunting ground for the 'Void Demons'.
"This village is hardly a comparison to the city we had," Aithris said, and Natalia detected an element of sourness in his voice. He had lost a world, a home and many of his people; she had attempted to help him through that loss, but it was not easy. Aithris was not one to be free with his true feelings, presumably a result of the training he had undergone from a very young age to become the warrior he was now.
The pair made their way along the gravel trail before coming to the edge of the town. Either side of the trail was taken up with construction materials and half-erected homes. Nomad civilians milled about, some dressed in outfits they had brought with them from Sanctuary. It was easy to tell, as the silken material they were made from gleamed in the twilight. Others wore more recently tailored tunics and the like, utilising fabrics either provided by the humans of Earth or refined from whatever plants they had found on this world. Alien cotton, of some sort. Those that were out on the road eyed the pair carefully, particularly the human who accompanied Aithris, yet there was no hostility present. A simple curiosity, for the Nomads here were not likely to be hostile towards the very humans who had helped them establish this new home.
"My mother has a home nearby," Aithris said. "We'll stay with her."
"What does a Nomad do for fun around here?" Natalia glanced at him, offering him a warm smile. Aithris seemed a little confused by her intent with the question, and he motioned for the prefab homes they walked by.
"I am sure we can find something for you to occupy yourself," Aithris replied.
"I'm not imposing, am I?"
"Imposing?" Aithris shook his head. "No, not at all. My mother will be more than happy to have you around. Even more so if you're with me." Now he smiled, the pointed canines at his top front row on full display. Despite the teeth, Natalia found the smile carried a certain endearing quality to it.
Aithris' mother, Livona, lived in a modest rectangular grey home towards the town centre. It was identical to most of the other houses near it, although each had small gardens out the front, even the odd deck, attempts to make the temporary dwellings a little more like actual homes.
Aithris stopped at the front door and knocked on it whilst Natalia waited a few paces behind. The door swung open a few seconds later, revealing the slim form of his mother, dressed in a loose-fitting blue gown. Most Nomad females were slimmer and shorter than the males, and in Livona's case her son's muscular frame practically dwarfed hers. Her violet eyes lit up noticeably when she saw her son, and Aithris stepped forwards and took her into his arms, the pair sharing a loving embrace whilst Natalia stood back and watched, feeling a little awkward.
"Aithris, it is so good to see you." Livona drew back from the hug, her eyes meeting with those of her son. She smiled broadly, overjoyed that he had come. "I did not expect you back so soon."
"I told you I would take every opportunity I could to visit," he said. "And here I am."
As an 'advisor' to the former ruling Nomad council, Livona had gone through the same training as Aithris had and, from what Natalia knew, she was a very good fighter because of it. She also knew that the reason Livona had been accepted into the council was because of her unique prescient abilities. This Nomad woman could see the future, usually in flashes that lacked any real context. And for this, she had been captured by the Calsharans months before and subjected to all manner of chemical drugs and the like to spur on these visions and provide the Calsharans vital intelligence. Rescuing her had become part of SG-1's mission at that time, and both Daniel and Aithris had liberated her from the Calsharan city of Varondaar.
Aithris had not inherited her abilities, lacking the apparent defect in the brain that had caused them in his mother. A one in one-hundred million abnormality and not one that had repeated itself in any other Nomads. It was a blessing and a curse, for Livona had seen her fair share of horrible things before they had occurred. She had no way of affecting the outcomes she saw, and any attempt to do so often only caused the very events she foresaw. Natalia thought she could see a hint of the tortured soul underneath this otherwise warm exterior, particularly in her eyes, in which there was a weariness that suggested a tremendous weight upon her shoulders.
Aithris stepped into the house before he turned around and motioned to Natalia.
"Mother, you have met Staff Sergeant Natalia Tarasovna?"
"Yes, we've met." Livona's smile vanished, her expression turning to something distinctly more stern. Natalia managed a smile, despite the apparent hostility she now detected from the Nomad woman.
"Livona?" Natalia put out a hand to shake, a gesture that the Nomads presumably did not recognize. Livona looked at the hand, frowned some more, and then nodded for the human to follow.
"Come in, Sergeant."
Natalia retracted the offered hand, feeling even more awkward now. She closed the door behind her, shutting out the cool evening breeze. The inside of the house was lit by the odd fluorescent globe. The walls were mostly bare and grey, wires snaking along them and connecting to the various lights and appliances present. Some were of Nomad make, yet amongst them were some items of human design. A stove top for one, located in the dining area off to the right. To the left were a few other, smaller rooms. The one nearest the front door was Livona's bedroom, and the one after it was the mostly bare bedroom that Aithris likely used during his stays here. Beyond that, there was a bathroom and laundry area, all packed into a small prefab structure that was not intended to be permanent. It was at least a comfortable temperature within, the climate control system working as intended.
The dining and kitchen area had a small circular table inside, surrounded by four chairs. Livona already had dinner on the stove, some kind of soup that had a pleasant smell to it. Natalia followed Aithris into the second bedroom, and here the Nomad threw his pack down onto the floor. There was a cramped adjoining bathroom attached to this room, barely large enough to fit the shower and toilet within it.
"You can take the bed," he said. "I'll set up something on the floor here."
Natalia was flattered by the offer. However, she shook her head.
"No, you take the bed. It is your place, after all. I will sleep on the floor." She looked about the room, finding it a little small. She would have to lie in the narrow space beside the bed and left-hand wall. There was a window at that wall, the blinds drawn over it, slivers of the waning evening light seeping inside.
Aithris looked about to argue the point, only to stop himself. Instead, he walked for the wardrobe at the far wall and pulled it open. There were bedsheets and pillows and cushions within, and he bundled a bunch of them up into his arms before he passed them to her.
"Make yourself comfortable, wherever you want," he said. "I'll meet you in the kitchen."
"Sure." Natalia watched him leave before she began to create her makeshift bedding for the night, once she had set her bag down in one corner. Her bedding involved a lot of cushions lined up to form a 'mattress' of sorts, with the sheets going over it and the pillow topping it off at one end. All the while, she could hear Aithris speaking with his mother, both using the common Nomad language. As such, Natalia could not understand a word, but she could gather enough from their voices to imply what they were feeling. Something had upset his mother to some degree, and Natalia wondered if it was her presence that had done it. Aithris, on the other hand, sounded placating, reassuring.
After a few minutes, Natalia stepped out and headed into the kitchen. Aithris was seated at the table, waiting on his mother to dish out the soup. Both looked to the Sergeant as she entered, and Aithris motioned for her to sit down. Outside, the sun had set, night-time taking its expected hold over the land.
"My mother has prepared a soup using some of the native vegetables," Aithris said, as Natalia sat down. "She's a great cook and has gotten even better as she's grown older."
"I hope I'm not intruding…" Natalia started, but Aithris cut her off.
"As I said before, it's no problem."
Livona nodded her head, even if her expression suggested some level of discontent. Nonetheless, she did a good job of hiding it, and so greeted the human with a surprisingly warm smile. She put a bowl of the steaming soup before her, spoon included.
"As far as we know, the vegetables here are safe to eat for your kind and mine," she said. She sat down across the table from Natalia and watched her, no doubt awaiting her to sample her cooking. Natalia took up the spoon, got some of the red-tinted soup onto it and put it past her lips. It was hot, yet the taste she detected was suggestive of tomatoes mingled with something mildly spicy. In all, not a bad flavour.
"Some of these local vegetables are a little too bland, for my liking," Livona said. "But we'll have enough of our own growing here soon enough we won't need to rely on the native species."
"This is good, Livona." Natalia was sincere in her praise. "My mother used to make similar things, when I was a child."
"I was surprised to see you, Sergeant," Livona said. "I did not expect anyone from the team would come here outside of an actual assignment. This settlement, it is not the most exciting holiday destination."
"Well, I consider your son a friend. And friends spend time together, don't they?" The question was an innocent one, although Livona frowned slightly when she heard it.
"Friends should be good for my son. He's always preferred the company of himself, from what I have seen."
"He's fit into the team very well, I think." Natalia turned to Aithris, who had a mildly amused look on his face. "Better than I'd expect any non-human could have done."
"And yet, you keep him within your stargate facility."
"He would turn heads out in one of our cities. That's why we let him come here. He's not our prisoner."
"That's right, mother." Aithris leaned forwards a little, catching his mother's attention. "I have the freedom I need. Maybe one day I will be permitted to walk freely amongst human society, but for now I must content myself with my visits here. That is not to say I am unable to leave the SGC. I have been permitted, under escort, to walk the forests of Colorado."
"Colorado?" Livona appeared a little confused by the name.
"It is the place on Earth where the SGC is located. It is a beautiful landscape of forests and rivers and hills. Not too different from here, I would say."
"What is your position on the team, Sergeant?" Livona returned her attention to Natalia, eyeing her curiously. "I know your rank suggests you are not a full-fledged officer, not like Colonel Sheppard, but it also suggests a significant level of experience."
"My role?" Natalia gave it some brief thought. "I am a combat engineer. I build things, and I also blow them up. It's more of a frontline support role, less of a frontal combat position. At least, that was until recently. Now I get shot at as often as the others on the team do." She added this last part with a smirk. It was odd, being able to find some amusement in her near brushes with death. They certainly had not been amusing when they had been happening.
"You build things?" Livona's expression lit up then, and she appeared pleased for the first time since Natalia had walked in through the front door. "We are building much around this settlement."
"Yes, I've seen it."
"There is something to be said for building something with your own two hands," Livona said. "It has always been more of a male thing, of course. But I help out where I can."
"It's a very 'male' thing where I'm from, as well." Again, she smiled. "You might say I'm a rare breed."
Livona appeared to gauge her then, as if taking her in from top to bottom, searching for anything that stood out for whatever reason. She abruptly gave a curt nod, before she turned to Aithris and said something to him in the Nomad language. Aithris gave a short chuckle, turning to her where their eyes met for an extended moment. Natalia wondered what his mother had said to get such a reaction, for it had to have been the first time she had heard him actually laugh. Sure, he smiled occasionally, but full-blown laughter? Not since she had known him, which was going back nearly eighteen months. He was relaxed here, at ease, far from any fighting. And the relaxed atmosphere had wrapped itself around her as well, and she felt all the better for it.
Sometime later, Natalia went to use the shower in the bathroom. This left Aithris with his mother in the dining area, and here certain questions nagged at his mind.
"What is your problem with her?" He asked Livona, doing so in a manner much blunter than he had intended. She turned to him, surprised. They once again spoke in the Nomad tongue, even though Aithris felt doing so was a bit rude when in the presence of their guest. He wanted no secrets between them, as it had been secrets that had torn his family apart and seen so many of his people killed.
"My problem?" Livona was taken aback by the suggestion. "I haven't got a problem with her."
"You do, mother. I see it clear as day and so does she. You hardly even know her."
The look that came across his mother's face then was a grave one and Aithris was startled by it, and further imbued with a determination to bring the truth out of her. Even when she had first encountered Natalia on Sanctuary months ago, she had seemed apprehensive of the woman. Sure, she tried hiding it and otherwise did a good job of doing so, but Aithris knew his mother all too well. There was something there, something about Natalia Tarasovna that she did not seem to like. No other human caught this kind of ire from her, so why should a woman who had had his back more than once in the past receive it instead?
"I trust Natalia with my life," Aithris added. "And she trusts me with hers. We're a team, and she is my friend. If you have a problem with her, then tell me what it is."
Livona appeared increasingly troubled, and her eyes went downcast. She stared at the kitchen benchtop in front of her, partway through washing a bowl. With a sigh, she turned off the tap and looked to her son.
"You know I see things others do not," she told him. "And they are not necessarily good things."
"What is it?" Aithris' expression went grave. "You saw her die?"
"Please, Aithris, not now." Livona shook her head. She wiped at her eyes with one hand, and Aithris saw then that tears were welling up within them. He wrapped an arm around his mother, drawing her close, leaning in to put his face by hers. She wept quietly, yet she did not tell him why. She was not ready to do so, it seemed. He would not push the point; he simply made her promise that she would treat Natalia with the respect she deserved. It was nothing against the woman personally, what Livona felt. It was what she was reminded of when she saw her, and Aithris could only assume it had to do with a vision she had had. Again, she did not tell him what, and he knew better than to linger on what it may have been and whatever future it foretold. They were here, together as a family (such as it was). Worrying over a future that could have been years away was no way to live, and he had done his best to remind his mother of this on more than one occasion.
Aithris retreated to his room shortly afterwards. Natalia was asleep on her bedding on the floor, sheets up to her neck. He made sure to settle in quietly, lying back on the firm mattress with his mind wandering and sleep out of reach. Had his mother seen Natalia's death? Or had she seen his in a vision, and that Natalia was involved somehow? No answers were forthcoming and in all honesty, he did not really want to know.
There was some significant activity the next morning. Natalia woke up, dressed and went through the usual routine of breakfast and tidying herself up. Aithris was outside, the sun having risen from over the distant mountains, casting the forested valley in a pleasant warmth. Several other Nomads were walking down the gravel road outside, headed for some far corner of the settlement. Natalia saw them, a mix of the old and young, noticing some of the women were going with them. Aithris turned to her as she emerged from the house, his expression lightening up when he saw her.
"Good morning," he said. He sounded pleased enough, although Natalia detected a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Something was on his mind and he was doing his best to hide it. She was about to ask what, before he spoke again. "They're building a new warehouse on the settlement's edge, for food storage. I was going to go help out."
Natalia noticed that some of the male Nomads did have some tools with them. Very human ones at that, just more equipment supplied to them by the SGC. It was an unusual sight, seeing a bunch of aliens with human-made hammers hanging from branded toolbelts that Natalia could find in any hardware store in the USA.
"Looks like a lot of people to help out," she commented.
"Everybody pitches in."
"Who's paying for it?" An innocent enough question. Aithris just smiled when he heard it.
"Like I said, we all help each other out. Come on, I'll show you." He stepped off of the front porch, with Natalia following. They started down the gravel road, going to the eastern edge of the settlement where a handful of buildings were under construction. Foundations had been laid for most, with the food warehouse having been deemed the most crucial and hence the first to be erected. Natalia noticed some of the females were off to one side of the site, setting out tables adorned with breakfast and glasses of water. A group of six Nomad males in various hand-tailored clothing, loose shirts and trousers, were gathered near a pile of timber lengths. They talked somewhat loudly in the Nomad language, apparently arguing over the finer points of warehouse construction. One of them, the oldest of the bunch, looked up as Aithris neared.
"Aithris, I did not know you were here." He spoke in the Nomad tongue then, before he saw Natalia and promptly switched to English. It was practically fluent, and Natalia was impressed by his grasp of the language: "And you, I do not know you. Not that it matters, the humans of Earth are always welcome here. This town would not exist were it not for your help."
"This is Sergeant Natalia Tarasovna," Aithris said, stopping a short distance before the group. "I was showing her around. She's on my team, SG-1."
"You and Aithris are doing good work out there, from what I hear." He held out one hand to shake. Natalia took it, startled by the Nomad's powerful grip. "My name is Horastus."
"Natalia's a combat engineer," Aithris added. The older Nomad released her hand, one brow-ridge quirking in a curious manner.
"Does that mean you build things?" He asked her. "Or do you simply blow them up?"
"I do a bit of both," Natalia answered, giving a sheepish smile.
"Well, we could always use the extra help. Of course, we don't expect you to trouble yourself. You will have our respect either way, Sergeant Tarasovna."
Natalia looked to Aithris. He curled his mouth in a way that suggested a shrug of sorts. It was up to her. Natalia looked about the site, where the foundations had been set, the ground underneath having been cleared previously. Some of the others were already preparing the wall frames previously constructed, most made from thick timber beams. She saw no ladders, which suggested that these Nomads intended to build the warehouse in the old-fashioned way, specifically climbing up the frame.
Natalia nodded her head. She would help, even if manual labour was not what she had been planning on this trip, not to mention unpaid labour. Even so, there was no denying the welcoming nature of these Nomads, ordinary civilians at that unlike the government types whom she had met on Sanctuary. This was the everyday Nomad, or Varalan (for 'Varalan' had been the name of their original home-world, destroyed long ago).
Natalia noticed a handful of children near where the women were. Those women were presumably the wives, daughters and sisters of the men working here, all of whom were gathered over at the breakfast table. Aithris noticed the direction of her gaze, and he spoke to her in a quiet voice whilst the men before them began to disperse to their assigned tasks:
"There aren't many children left," he said, his voice sullen. "Even fewer now." Nomad birth-rates had declined sharply, and it was this apparent increase in infertility that had drawn the late Overseer Torrant to side with the ancient enemy, the 'Void Demons'. It was what had drawn that enemy to Sanctuary, and it that had led to the destruction that had seen their numbers becoming far fewer. The Nomads were a dying race, reduced to only twenty thousand, perhaps twenty-five thousand, living in a single town. Despite the hardships, they remained a close-knit community, and Natalia could see this in the way the dozen or so males went to work. Aithris joined them, as did she.
What followed was an exhausting day under the warmth of the alien sun, yet a day that Natalia would remember for a long time to come. She could not deny how welcome she felt here, with the Nomads treating her as one of their own regardless of her obvious non-Nomad appearance. Heavy wall frames were lifted, stood up with several of them on either side, ropes in the hands of some to keep the frame upright whilst it was bolted into place. Floor bearers were laid, and Natalia with a borrowed hammer found herself helping in the overall placement and fixing of these pieces. Aithris was there with her the whole time, one of the few present to have within them the nano-technology that allowed for faster healing and enhanced coordination. Only those with places in the ruling Council had received such implants, and Aithris put his enhancements to good use, helping with the heavier items whenever he could. None complained, they simply worked, the floor and wall frames falling into place over the course of the day, all while the alien sun warmed them and caused Natalia to work up a sweat. By the time midday arrived, she had rolled up her sleeves and tied a cloth over her forehead to keep the sweat from trickling down her face.
By the end of it, the warehouse's frame was in place. Natalia found a spot to sit down, not far from where the wives and sisters had laid out food over the course of the day. Downing a glass of water, she was joined by Aithris, who stood beside her and regarded her with a warm and satisfied expression.
"You okay?" He asked her. It was not the first time today he had asked her that. Natalia simply nodded her head.
"You didn't have to get involved," he added. "That said, I'm grateful for the help. We all are."
"It's fine, Aith." She looked to the others, some of whom were still working on various points of the warehouse frame. "This place, this community, it reminds me of where I grew up. Small-town Russia, where everybody knew each other and weren't afraid to help one another. You don't often get that in the big cities." Musing over home, she found herself feeling nostalgic for that small town, little more than a speck on a map, made all the more smaller by the large country it was situated within. Joining the Army had been her way out, a means to make something of herself. Back then, she had never thought she would find herself travelling to other planets, yet here she was.
She watched Aithris, realising then that she had been staring at him for an extended moment whilst her thoughts had wandered. He looked a little bemused and Natalia let out a laugh.
"Sorry, I was daydreaming."
"Maybe one day you could take me to your town?" Aithris asked her. He sounded serious about this. Natalia shrugged, unsure of just how that would ever happen.
"I wouldn't rule it out," she answered. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up. You'll be lucky if they ever let you out of the United States."
"One day," Aithris said, as if that settled it. Apparently, he was certain it would happen. Natalia rose to her feet, feeling a little peckish. Horastus came over then, his eyes set on Natalia.
"Sergeant Tarasovna?" She turned to him. "There is not any real way we can pay you for the help you gave us, but know that whenever you come here to our village, you will be welcome in our homes." The offer was delivered with a genuineness that surprised Natalia and yet, it gave her a warm, pleasant feeling. These people had lost so much and here they were, essentially offering her a place in their community. Again, she was reminded of home and she smiled, a grateful smile at that.
"Thank you," she said, and she meant it deeply. Her gaze floated back to Aithris, and she dared hope then that he was looking at her with much the same feelings as she looked at him. Normally so stoic, there was a brief moment there that she sighted the much more vulnerable Aithris, one she had only ever glimpsed a handful of times since his home had been destroyed. It was that Aithris she wanted to know much more about.
