Reminder:
"This is spoken English."
"This is spoken Czech."
This is a thought.
Last time: Introductions, introductions, introductions. All the introductions.
Chapter 12. Father of Flight.
It was the strangest thing she'd ever felt before. Her first experience with what Radek called "Asgard beaming technology." First she was in one place, then she was in another. It might have been less throwing if she hadn't been bracing herself so much.
She stumbled forward a few steps when they landed.
"Whoa, miláčku, are you alright?" He held his hand out for hers.
A few others in the area they'd landed in reached out to catch her if she fell.
Anna quickly straightened and made sure her hand didn't go anywhere near his. She wasn't a baby. "I can walk by myself," she said.
"Right, of course. Sorry." Radek straightened and stepped out beside her. "The first step is always the hardest." He was apparently trying to sound reassuring, but it sounded odd coming from him.
Anna looked around and remembered that he had told her that from now on, except when they were alone, she should speak English. She felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment.
"It's pretty disorienting, but do you get used to it. But welcome to the Daedalus. The worst is over." She looked up at a man dressed in a chalkboard blue in the same patched pattern. The only difference besides the khaki was his patches and shirt under his jacket was black instead of blue.
Anna was wearing a similar uniform, except her jacket and pants were a very light blue, her shirt bright white. Radek told her that the colors meant things. The blue he wore said he was part of a science team. Black was for military. It was important to wear the uniforms on the Daedalus, so that the regular crew people could tell the Atlantis crew people immediately. And, of course, Anna. She was easy to spot anywhere, not to mention if she somehow got off to some place she didn't belong. Which was almost everywhere.
"You must be Anna," the stranger with the black shirt said. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard." He glanced at Radek. "Zelenka. Glad to see you back with us."
"I'm glad to be back. Congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant Colonel."
He shrugged, but Anna could see he was hiding a smile of pride. "Oh, you know. I needed some more responsibility." He paused, then grinned. "I guess that's the theme of this trip to Earth, huh?"
Radek chuckled.
Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard looked at her with a satisfied nod. "You're gonna love it, kid."
She wanted to believe that. She smiled, maybe a little half-heartedly. "It will be an adventure."
"It will." Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard watched as they walked by him into the adjoining corridor.
In the last month, Anna had gotten used to the tight, concrete spaces of the SGC. She'd forgone school to learn history from an American archaeologist, biology from a Scottish doctor, and science from a Canadian narcissist. If this was how high school was going to finish up for her, she couldn't have been more pleased. Science and chess clubs after the inane chatting during school hours was driving her insane.
And learning that everything she thought was false—at least, many things she thought were false—were actually true was… something. She hadn't decided what it was yet. The Egyptian gods were actually alien parasites? The entire Norse pantheon were little grey men studying humanity for the answer to their cloning problems?
This was the most exciting moment of her life and she was terrified.
She realized too far into their walk down the hall that, while she hadn't taken Radek's offered hand, she also hadn't let her arm get more than an inch away from his. Most of the way she brushed up against his arm like the hallway was far too small to walk side-by-side.
"You'll be sharing a berthing area with Weir, one of the new medical personnel, and a Lieutenant," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard said as he turned into a large room. People were gathered around chatting, and food seemed to be available somewhere since a lot of them were snacking on sandwiches. "Thought it would be best to assign you to the same bunk as someone you already knew."
"Thank you," Radek said. "That sounds good, doesn't it?"
Anna nodded. She searched the crowd for other familiar faces. She saw Doctor Beckett—the medical doctor. There were lots of doctors around here who didn't know the first thing about medicine and even less about bedside manner. Radek included.
"Yes," Anna answered. She didn't want to say how not-good that actually sounded. Sure, she had known many of these people for a month. A whole month. She wasn't ready to share a room with any of them on the other side of the ship from Radek.
She must have hidden her anxiety well because he didn't react to anything but the word she said. "It's a long trip. You'll probably have time to continue studying with Doctor Beckett."
"What about you and Doctor McKay?" Anna asked. "Will I see you?"
"Of course, you'll see me. But I'll be working with Rodney on the Asgard systems."
"Speaking of Asgard," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard broke in, "maybe you and I could sneak into engineering to see what one of them looks like in the flesh." He winked at her. "They don't usually let me in there. But if I was giving a tour…"
"You'd still be getting in the way." Doctor McKay broke in on the conversation, Doctor Beckett at his heels.
Anna had learned in her short time at the SGC that, even though Radek was fairly unique in his ability to withstand Doctor McKay's ego, Doctor Beckett seemed to somehow appreciate it. On the other hand, Doctor Beckett seemed to appreciate everyone.
Anna smiled a little. "Doctor Jackson told me there was an alien on this ship."
"Has a comparatively bad attitude, from what I'm told," Doctor McKay mused.
"That surprises me," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard said. "I've heard that the Daedalus' engineers are considerably easier to work with." He gave Doctor McKay a pointed glare. Radek grinned.
"Every time anyone says anything, he mutters what I'm sure are Asgard obscenities," Doctor McKay said. "Kind of like you, Zelenka."
"I don't speak Asgard," Radek answered.
"Very funny. I've learned more colorful language in Czech than I ever knew in English. I guess you'll have to watch your tongue now that there are little ears running around, hm?" Doctor McKay said.
"I'm fifteen…" Anna muttered.
"Maybe it's you, Rodney," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard suggested. "A magnet for obscenities."
Radek seemed to agree with that theory, but he didn't say anything about it.
Anna lost track of the conversation, then. Radek and Doctor McKay started talking about something to do with engineering and control crystals. Doctor Beckett excused himself when a group of new medical personnel walked into the mess hall. Only she and Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard stood alone without anyone else to talk to.
"You're excited, right?" he asked her.
She shrugged. "Also nervous. Radek told me that the Pegasus galaxy is dangerous and I've never really been anywhere very dangerous before."
"I would have been stoked to be on a spaceship when I was fifteen," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard said. "And you—I mean, if we're to believe everything Zelenka says about you, you're a chip off the ol' block."
Anna wasn't sure what he was saying. "I'm what?"
"Like your dad," he explained.
She nodded, smiling a little. "That doesn't make me excited," she said. "I know many awful ways to die on a spaceship. That makes me scared. Especially since this ship's name is Daedalus."
"Is that bad? It's not like the Titanic."
"No…" she agreed tentatively. It wasn't quite. "Daedalus was the man who designed wings for his son Icarus to fly. You know how that went?" Daedalus' son Icarus flew out over the ocean too close to the sun, only to tumble into the waves and drown.
"You've been talking to Doctor Jackson," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard said with a grin.
Anna smiled.
"Here's what I think is exciting," Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard said, leaning closer to her. "Sure, our ship may be named after something with a sort of terrifying legacy. We live in a city known the world over for sinking into the ocean."
"How is that exciting?" she asked. It might have been exciting. More likely it was tempting fate.
"It means we get to write our own legends."
#
"Take a left."
On Radek's direction, Anna swung into the open room. It wasn't Engineering's view screen or the giant window on the Bridge, but it was spectacular nonetheless. He stepped up next to Anna, watching her lean forward to look out the window.
She took a deep breath, smiled. "Huh. Wow."
"Isn't it something?"
Anna nodded, pressing her hands up against the window. Soon her forehead leaned against the pane. Earth spun along just below them. Any minute now, the hyperdrive would fire up. Seconds after that, Earth would be so far away it would take a lifetime to get back without the help of a Stargate or the Daedalus.
"It's like a movie," she said. She glanced at him. "Like Alien."
Radek chuckled. "Well, I hope not."
She turned back to look out the window. The Daedalus usually stayed in synchronis orbit with the United States, more or less directly over the Rocky Mountains. Not that it mattered much with the Asgard beam, allowing travel almost anywhere on the whole planet. Still, it would be embarrassing if someone with a particularly powerful telescope in Albania or something noticed their spaceship looking down at them.
Did people on Earth look up often enough?
No one here looked down at Earth anymore.
Radek noticed that, walking the bridge with Rodney, doing some last minute checks. No one seemed to take even half a moment to look at Earth. Wasn't it odd, they were above it in a spaceship? Or was Anna the only one who appreciated how truly fantastical it was? Radek didn't think it was all that interesting. Of course, this was his first time on the Daedalus. But he'd been to another galaxy.
Why did that make a spaceship common place?
"What does the hyperdrive look like?" Anna asked.
"Oh, you mean the machine? Or when we're traveling?"
Anna giggled. "Yes. Both."
"I will show you the machine someday. Someday soon. Outside, the speed at which we're traveling should make everything look, um, slow… and blue."
"Should?"
Radek shrugged, smiled. "This is my first time on the Daedalus, too."
She looked a little shocked. "You've never been on a spaceship."
"No, I've been on a spaceship. Just not this one." Atlantis was technically a spaceship, but better leave that for latter. Puddle Jumpers were perfectly capable of space-travel. Not very long space-travel, but they certainly counted. He'd logged more than his fair share on the rear bench. Or standing on a step stool right next to it. He was too short to reach the control crystal panel otherwise.
"There is more than one spaceship?"
"Well, of course, there are many alien spaceships. Daedalus is not even the first spaceship of Earth. The first one was lost, unfortunately." Too late, he realized that was probably not the thing to say now that they were safely and securely stuck. It was far too late to turn back now, so no reason to scare her. Even if there was legitimate reason to be afraid… "But that was extraordinary circumstances. They are very sturdy ships."
He glanced at Anna. She didn't seem to really take the danger to heart. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not.
Radek felt the Daedalus engines kick on, putting a hum into the floor. He touched Anna's shoulder and pointed at the floor. "Feel that?"
Anna looked straight ahead, obviously not concentrating on what she was seeing. A moment later she looked at him. Smiled. "What is it?"
"It's the engines." He swelled with pride. He'd talked to a few of the other crew people about what flight felt like. Some of them said they couldn't tell the difference between when the hyperdrive was active and when it wasn't. He was pleased be was one of those who could feel it. Anna could, too.
Just in time, he pointed beyond the pane in the hull.
The stars blurred and spun, stretching across space. The light turned blue.
"Goodbye, Earth," Anna whispered.
Goodbye, Earth.
Radek wondered when he would be back next. Perhaps Atlantis would last for years, and he'd get to stay. Perhaps it would be over before anyone was really ready for it to be. There was plenty of discovering to do in the meantime.
And not just for him. Anna's smile seemed almost involuntary as she watched the blue stars streak by. She was in for plenty discovery of her own.
It was just up to him, now, to not miss it.
Next time: I don't know how it works in your family... but I also don't know how it works in my family.
