Across The Galaxy
Sometimes he really hated his job. Captain Joseph Garcia had been in the Air Force for 3 years, and for the most part he loved his job. It was only the duty given to him now by the SGC that he hated. His duty was to tell the loved ones of the Atlantis expedition that their loved ones are not coming back. Though, thankfully this will be the last house he visited, and he was with General O'Neill.
When the Atlantis expedition announced that they were going to the Pegasus Galaxy, everybody knew that they might never return. It was decided that after a set period of time their family members would be told that they weren't returning home. Everybody expedition member knew that they only had a year and a half to re-contact with Earth or they would all be considered Killed in Action.
Many of the families he had went to didn't understand. One of the most memorable was McKay's sister's, Jeanie Miller, rant. "How can Rodney be killed in action, he was just a scientist, a Canadian scientist. You have the wrong house not to mention country. I can't believe you Americans would stoop to something like this! Get the hell out!" It had taken them and hour and her husband to get it through her head that they were at the right house and her brother was considered KIA. She hadn't taken it very well. Well, he could understand that because McKay technically wasn't an American, let alone an american soldier.
The tears that followed were then part of the whole ordeal that was hardest to deal with. Then the ultimate question that preceded them was asked. "What was insert expedition member's name doing with the Air Force? Let alone in America." Many of the expedition members weren't part of the military let alone being an American citizen. Most families didn't even know they were working for the military only an old friend, Elizabeth Weir. Apperantly many expedition members, at least on the science aspect, knew her before they decided to go. Talk about a trust factor.
Then, the final part of the process would come, and that made his ears hurt like hell. It was the reply that he was required to give them. "I'm sorry sir/mam but that is classified." Classified. How he hated that word and wished it would rot in hell. He wanted to tell them that there was a chance that their family member could still be alive, only trapped in another galaxy. 'Yeh, like that explanation would fly any better!' He wish they would tell the families what they were working on. The chance to change humanity, not just glory to their country.
Her looked at General O'Neill and notied that he didn't seemed bothered by this. Maybe it was years in the Air Force that harded his heart, which he didn't think was the case because most generals wouldn't go through that much trouble to give this news personally. 'Maybe he just hides it very, very well.' Joseph Garcia then sighed, 'Time to face the music one more time,' and raised his hand to knock. The door then opened to an average woman about 30 years old. She saw the military uniforms and was taken back a bit. Surely she didn't expect us today. Confused she asked "Hello, can I help you officer."
"Is this the family of Major John Sheppard?"
"Just a minute, I'm not sure. This is the Sheppard residence, but I have never heard of a John Sheppard. I just married into the family, so I don't know everybody yet. Let me get my father-in-law."
Mary went back inside. She was a little confused. She had married into the Sheppard family but had never heard of a John Sheppard, but it was the same last name that gave her pause. She might as well ask it could be a distant relative that used Charles or his father as a contact. After all they are military and they don't always have a steady home. Charles turned to his wife. "Who was at the door?"
"It's some military person asking for a John Sheppard. Do you know him?" Mary then sees her husbands face begins to darken while lost in a memory about this "John" person.
Charles then sighed, "My younger brother, you haven't had the chance to meet him.
He is in the Air Force. Let me get dad and see what John screwed up this time."
Then Charles, Mary, and his father returned to the door. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but how can we help you."
"Is this the home of John Sheppard?"
Recognizing the tone in the officer's voice Charles saw his father's shoulder's sag just a bit, and then his voice cut through. "He's dead isn't he?"
Charles was taken back a bit. He couldn't believe his little brother was dead. John may be a screw up but he had some intelligence, somewhere. He turned to the officer while only hoping that John just missed some stupid mission and they were looking for him.
"I'm sorry, but your son had accepted a dangerous mission knowing the possibility that he might never return and the consequences of that. His whole mission team was pronounced missing in action a year ago and their status had changed to Killed in action."
Charles couldn't believe it. Anger then gripped him, "What mission."
This had been the question the Captain had hated every time because he couldn't give the families any information. "I'm sorry but that is classified."
"What do you mean classified? When I was in the air force I had high clearance. I'm sure I can have an old friend on the line to give me clearance. Who will I have to go to?" The father's voice cut through. Anger clouded the grief that was forming.
It was General O'Neil who answered, "I'm afraid that would be the President of the United States. I'm also sorry that the circumstances couldn't be explained to you. You would understand." Then he turned to leave.
"Circumstances! Understand! Who do you think you are? How many people were announced dead? Where is his body? We want a proper funeral!" Charles exclaimed.
"I'm afraid that is also classified. I'm also afraid to tell you that there is no body. Every expedition member was lost." Then General Jack O'Neill left the house.
Charles started to go after him, but was stopped by his wife and father. "There is no point in going after him. He won't tell you anything. He can't without being tried in court."
"But who does he think he is? He didn't tell us anything!"
"He is a general whom just told me to start digging to find the answers."
"What do you mean?"
"He didn't elaborate on the circumstances and implied that knowing them could make a differance."
"How will we get them to tell us? He seemed adament."
"We find the other families and fight and protest to the media. If it is a classified operation then they don't want media attention." With that he went inside leaving his dumbfounded son.
Little did they know that a galaxy away. John Sheppard was sitting in Elizabeth Weir's office. A small relationship had formed between them. It had started when John brought back Colonel Sumner's body. John had known his first instinct was to put him out of his misery, and even now he sometimes regretted not doing it. But he had brought his commanding officer back to die slow and painfully, and on a lot of morphine.
"It's been a year and a half." Elizabeth Weir stated.
"I know."
"It seems so much longer doesn't it? I'm glad our bluff fooled the wraith. Do you think the children of M7G-677 will cope? They let us use their ZPM and we drained it to pull off the bomb over the shield."
"At least they are alive. And Rodney found that one of their jewelry holds Nequadria (sp?). If we find more on their planet then we can make weapons and reactors to power more of the city. Did you hear the scientists might have found out how the ancients fed everyone on Atlantis?"
"No, but I'm sure Rodney will be here as soon as it pans out, and they have a good idea of how to work it." Nodding her head a solemn, a thought filtered from her mouth before she had time to think, "How does it feel to be dead to all your loved ones?"
"I was dead to them long before my decision to come to Atlantis." And with that said John left the room to go and broad on the balcony. Elizabeth could only look at the man she had come to rely on stand and look at the sea. 'I thought I chased away that habit of speaking before I think.' She then had to chase away the feelings and warmth that started to bloom. 'I can't go there,' was what she repeatedly told herself.
Sheppard was out on the balcony thinking about what Elizabeth had just said. He hadn't seen his family on Earth for a long time before he was exiled to Antarctica. They had always thought of him as a screw up, stupid, fly boy. They preferred to give all the praise and attention to his older brother, Charles. Charles was the star in the family and he was just second best. 'However here on Atlantis I have my own place and people to care about and have the sentiment returned.'
Sheppard was not the moron that many people thought him to be. Sure he appeared clueless, but he has an IQ of 150. It was the highest number on the IQ scale, and the average being 100. He still laughed at the look on Rodney's face when he found out he passed the Mensa exam. Luckily they were in grave danger and were just about to loose a ZPM or Rodney would have hounded him for answers. Though, John knew that he wouldn't have given him any, which would have annoyed him even more. Now it is easy to evade the questioning glances because the finding of the information has passed and anything else would look like digging for answers. Rodney still couldn't believe that he had passed the Mensa. However, he would think John was pulling his leg when he found out that his IQ was twenty points above his and he passed the test at the age of 15. The same year he graduated High School.
'Would you actually be proud of me, dad, with all that I have accomplished?' John then laughed at himself for even thinking of a silly question like that. He knew exactly what his dad thought of him, 'a screw up, of the grandest scale.'
The last time he spoke to his father was when he went off to boot camp. "If you go, don't ever think about coming back." He went because he had wanted to find his own place in the world and knew that if he stayed he would always be compared to Charles. He also wanted to fly. Ever since he was a little kid he had wanted to be close to the sky, because he always thought that his mother was up there somewhere watching him.
His mother was his father's second wife. They married because they were in love, and his father had just gotten over his first wife's death. Johns mother wasn't liked by his dad's family and that sentiment is why they don't like John most of the time. Charles mother was the favorite of his father's wives, which was why Charles was often spoiled and John got the crappy gifts and rushed to the side. They never forgot him, they just didn't like to acknowledge him. They were just as happy when his father denounced him when he joined the Air Force.
His mother was a different story. Is father sometimes loved her more than his first wife. That was probably why he was so distraught over her disappearance. Her car was found off a cliff after a very rainy night. The car was smashed and there was no way she could have gotten out. Her blood was also found in the car. However her body was gone forever.
Then the last time John heard from his father was from that phone call in Antarctica. It was that phone call that was the deciding factor of joining the Atlantis expedition. He remembered waking up to that phone call, which got him extremely pissed off. "John, what the hell were you thinking? I had to hear from an old war buddy that my son pulled a career killer. I didn't want you to join the air force because you could have had a degree in anything you wanted, but you wanted to fly planes."
John then cut him off, "Why are you calling? I thought that you didn't want to hear from me since I joined the air force. Well you can go to hell, along with your criticism." And then John hung up the phone.
Then an officer cam into the room and asked if any pilot was willing to make a morning run ASAP. John being the only one up, and wanting to cool down agreed. He knew that being in the open skies would sooth his temper. Little did he know that he would be shot at by a weird missile and offered the change of a lifetime?
John shook his head. If it weren't for his father pissing him off yet again he wouldn't be in this paradise looking out into the ocean. He also wouldn't have even met Elizabeth. He couldn't believe it when he felt himself falling in love with her. She wasn't his type, he found himself repeating over and over again. His type was typically the drop dead gorgeous girls with little brains and no chance at attachments. But, with Elizabeth, there was a drop dead gorgeous woman with intellect and a tongue that could rip even the bravest soldiers a new one. He knew from personal experience. He sighed knowing that she would never give him a second glance, romantically speaking, and it would ruin any professional relationship. That couldn't happen he knew it because if he couldn't be with her than he would rather protect her and be her friend.
AN: Sorry for the reposting. Expect the next chapter sometime this week. I wasn't in the mood to write the second chapter with my grandmother in the hospital. She is doing better now, which is fantastic since the doctors told us she wouldn't make it through the night! Anywho... The next chapter is underway and I want to reedit it before I post it this time. Thanks for the review and I hope you like some of the additions to the story!
