Reminder:
"This is spoken English."
"This is spoken Czech."
This is a thought.

Previously: Radek had to actually learn how to shoot a gun responsibly, because he's on Major Lorne's team now (since last chapter)! Yay…


Chapter 67. Spring and Summer.

"Have fun on the mainland." Radek stood in front of the doorway. He looked ready to leave, but he made no move to go out the door. He looked strange, not wearing those khaki-and-blues she was so used to. The darker blue looked downright out of place.

He spun to look at her. "You are going to the mainland today, right?"

Anna nodded. "With Doctor Beckett and Teyla. I think Elizabeth is going, too." And Radek was going offworld. It was an exciting moment, and a harrowing experience for him.

He was probably thinking about clipping the P-90 to the heavy vest. Probably wondering if the people they were going to visit were friends with the Genii. Would there be terrifying wild animals on this planet? At least there was oxygen.

"I hope you have a good time. It's springtime where the Athosians are living, isn't it?" Anna barely had the time to nod before he asked, "Do you need a coat?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. It's summer where you're going, isn't it?"

He didn't look too pleased with that. "Which means that, even if we aren't going to be running for our lives from Genii weapons fire, we'll be sweating from the sweltering heat." He paused and looked around, suddenly zeroing in on his tablet, the text briefing still displayed. "I think it's even a jungle."

Anna smiled a little. "It's a mountain forest and it's the equivalent of June. It should be nice."

Radek didn't look pleased at her shooting down his attempt to overstate how awful this was. As if he needed to exaggerate. Everyone knew that offworld recon was, for scientists, not the ideal situation. Even if it did prove their importance.

"Right. I think that's everything." He smiled at her, spread his hands, and looked down at his new jacket. It was practically brand new, still crisp and with visible folds. "What do you think?"

"You look like a member of a reconnaissance team," Anna said with a smile.

"I never believed looks could be so deceiving." He smoothed out his jacket. "I will see you tonight, probably."

"I'll walk with you," Anna said. "Time to go to the Jumper Bay, anyway. And I wouldn't want to miss your first step through the 'gate with your new team."

Radek shrugged, like he didn't care either way. Maybe he did. Anna tried to covertly find out about Radek's new team yesterday, mostly by watching them eat their meals, engage in training exercises, and… well, she might have followed them just a bit. They didn't seem to notice, mostly because everywhere they went were places that Anna tended to be herself. Except the men's locker room. She was pretty sure she didn't want to know what went on in there anyway, no matter how telling it would be.

Major Evan Lorne was, of course, the head of the team. He seemed consistently irritated by scientists, and Doctor McKay in particular… but that was common. It wasn't like Doctor McKay only annoyed the military members of Atlantis. He had an easy smile and seemed likeable enough. His team seemed to both respect and like him. He was more thoughtful than Colonel Sheppard, but he was far more inclined to action… That was from the mission reports. Anna skimmed most of the available ones yesterday.

Major Lorne's second-in-command used to be Stevens, but since Stevens' death, Lieutenant Christopher Reed had taken over the position. Reed was imposing, with a square jaw and black hair. He always seemed to be laughing. He seemed to get along well with everyone… except for the ladies of Atlantis. Anna had only been watching them specifically for the last few days, and he had a bad habit of flirting with no less than four women a day. He avoided the military women, probably because most of them looked like they could tie even Reed in a knot and walk away without breaking a sweat. Still, the scientists seemed to regard him as mostly harmless—a little annoying at worst.

Lieutenant Jakob Coughlin didn't seem to say a lot, even though his English was excellent. He was just as large as Reed, broader, pretty generic-looking with brown hair and blue eyes, and with a less forgiving sense of humor. Anna didn't know much about the American stereotype for Germans, but Coughlin wasn't trying to dissuade anyone from them. The most Reed ever got from Coughlin in response to any number of his jokes was a bemused grin, a twist to his eyebrows that distinctly said, Why am I being seen in public with this idiot? Kind of like how Radek looked around Doctor McKay, sometimes. Coughlin followed Lorne around like a puppy dog, and he always seemed to have a dime-store western in his jacket pocket.

Anna didn't know whether to share any of this information with Radek or not. Likely, in a few hours, he'd know all that and much more.

He was nervous, though. His hands were shaking. He tried to hide it, but she noticed just before he put his hands in his pockets in the transporter to the 'gate room. She tried to think of something to say that would maybe help.

She couldn't think of anything.

So she just looked at him and offered a sympathetic smile. "Hopefully it won't be too bad."

He sighed and stepped out of the transporter. "Yes. I hope it won't." He hesitated. "It won't be. I'm sure of it."

Anna didn't accompany him down to the 'gate, instead watching from the Control Room balcony. He fumbled a little with the flak jacket, but no one seemed to take any notice. He looked so strange with the vest and the P-90 clipped to it. He looked so strange standing with a reconnaissance team—made the whole picture look a little off.

Major Lorne and his team seemed to notice that Radek's awkwardness rubbed off on them. Major Lorne looked around in confusion, like he was searching for something out of place, or maybe like he'd forgotten something, and then called his team together for last minute instruction. She distinctly heard Lorne tell Radek to, "Not leave my sight or there will be hell to pay." Radek nodded with gravity.

Toward the end of the instructions, Reed reiterated the importance of Radek staying within their line of sight. He might have said something like, "I will track you down and literally drag your ass back to the 'gate." It may or may not have been in jest.

Elizabeth stepped up next to Anna to watch them go through the 'gate. The blue flickered across the floor, the team's collective shadow disappearing into the light. Then it shut off, and Radek was off on his first recon mission.

Anna was inexplicably worried.

Elizabeth put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's a simple mission. He'll be fine."

"I know," Anna said. "I'm not worried about the mission. I'm not actually worried."

But Radek was worried. And probably not about being shot at, since Anna was pretty sure this mission involved a welcome feast. People who were scared for their lives didn't have welcome feasts. No, Radek was worried about something else. Anna wasn't sure what.

Being with the team, maybe? Being offworld while everyone was distinctly aware of his place in the lab. Radek had to feel like they would be watching his every step, watching his back because he couldn't really do that himself. Waiting for something to go wrong. Keeping a solid tally of missteps, mistakes, and disasters to bring to Elizabeth at the end of the month just to say, "I told you. He's not cut out for this."

That would be Anna's biggest fear, anyway.

"Are you ready to go?" Elizabeth asked.

Anna nodded. She'd left her coat back in her room, but Radek hadn't said anything about it when they left. They joined Doctor Beckett and Teyla in the Jumper Bay. Doctor Beckett had all of his medical supplies and a healthy stock of candies, even though adults at the Athosian settlement seemed to outnumber the children two-to-one. But adults liked candy, too.

Doctor Beckett smiled when he saw them coming. "Alright, I think that's everyone." He fished a red Jolly Rancher out of his jar and put it in Anna's hand. He gave Elizabeth a blue one. "Everyone take your seats."

Anna was surprised when Doctor Beckett didn't insist on their putting on the seat restraints. On the other hand, if he crashed the Jumper, it wasn't likely to make any difference. Elizabeth and Teyla insisted that Anna sit in the copilot seat, while they stayed in the back compartment. Anna stayed quiet while Doctor Beckett took the Jumper up out of the bay. They were securely over the ocean when Anna turned to him.

"Is it hard?"

"What?"

Anna looked at his hands on the controls, the floating lighted display in front of the window that disappeared a second later. "Piloting."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, it's pretty difficult."

Anna still hadn't gotten a Puddle Jumper piloting lesson, but she figured that would come someday. Someday, maybe when Sheppard was feeling better. "Is John better?"

"Oh, aye," Doctor Beckett nodded with a smile. "Not significantly, yet, but the treatment started working almost immediately. I've got Doctor Cole monitoring his condition. It'll be a slow recovery, but it'll be full."

"Good," Anna said. She still wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with him in the first place, but she understood they almost lost him. Ronon, Teyla, and Doctor McKay were in for a lot of downtime, as far as going off world was concerned.

They were both very quiet. Anna thought she heard Elizabeth say Radek's name in the back. She strained to hear, but Teyla spoke in low tones after that, and she couldn't hear anything. Probably wondering how he was doing, like Anna was wondering.

"So, you planning on visiting any friends on the mainland?" Doctor Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Anna answered. She thought about Iskaan and Panin. She hadn't brought her violin, but it was apparently a very busy time for the Athosians, so they wouldn't have time to play, anyway. "Iskaan told me that when I visited around my birthday, they'd be planting. I can probably help." If "planting" was as easy as it sounded.

"Oh, it's that time of year, is it?" Doctor Beckett winked. "Spring time. Love is in the air."

Anna gave him a disinterested glare. "Is it?"

Doctor Beckett shrugged. "Well, you'll certainly be hearing the birds sing about it. The bees, you know, pollenating the plants and whatnot." He cleared his throat awkwardly.

Anna sighed and nodded. Maybe that was all he meant. The birds and the bees.

Doctor Beckett shook his head. "I'll tell you what, these disparate seasons less than an hour away is terribly confusing."

"It's summer where Radek is right now," Anna offered.

Doctor Beckett was right… it was strange to think. Since Atlantis never had any weather to speak of, rain or snow or otherwise, they followed Earth's calendar. However, the planet itself seemed to be offset by a season. When it was winter in the US, the Athosians were ready to plant. Summer in the US meant the Athosians were harvesting, getting ready for winter.

"I hope he's doing well," Doctor Beckett said. He sounded ever so slightly concerned.

Anna sighed. It was well enough Radek had no idea how much hope Anna was putting in his doing well at his new job. He was nervous as it was. Still, Anna hoped to one day follow in his quivering footsteps, offworld and beyond.

"Me, too," Anna said finally. "I really hope he is."

#

"Relax. Nothing is going to kill you." Reed kicked his chair back next to Radek and propped his feet up on a nearby bench.

"I don't think something is going to kill me," Radek said. "Nothing but you, actually."

Radek didn't take him at his word when he threatened to shoot him (non-lethally, of course) if he went wandering off, but didn't want to test it. He stayed within full view of the buffet table and took a leaf of lettuce while Reed helped himself to a handful of what looked like sausage. Everyone looked at Radek like he was eating the garnish, but he couldn't stand to eat anything heavier at the moment.

Coughlin smirked, looking around every now and again like he expected a velociraptor to spring from the nearby trees at any moment. "Then you really don't have to worry," he deadpanned in his clipped accent. "I don't think he's killed one thing since we got here."

"Hey, I'm pretty sure I killed two Wraith drones when they were on Atlantis," Reed said. "The odds someone else was shooting them at the exact same time is—"

"Pretty damn good," Coughlin broke in. "There were three recon teams there and twelve drones. Everyone was shooting at something."

"Except McKay," Reed put in. "He was shooting at the ceiling."

Coughlin nodded, lifted a nearby glass of spring wine in what seemed like surprise at Reed's outright disrespect to what might have been a superior. Superior in what, hard to tell with McKay. "Jawohl."

Radek smiled and Lorne chuckled. Reed held his peace then, and contemplated the round of what looked like salami in his hand. He sniffed it. "What do you suppose this is?"

Coughlin's expression screwed into one of surprise and revolt. "All I know is it smelled disgusting."

Radek frowned in the direction of the mystery meat. None of the items on the table smelled particularly good to him, but he figured that was just nerves. Coughlin didn't look like the type to be put off eating by anything like that, especially not nerves.

"Learn to like it," Major Lorne spoke up, approaching the table. "These people are basically the Pegasus galaxy's preeminent ranchers. The village elder, or whatever, Tamlen, will be coming back to Atlantis with us to work out a deal with Elizabeth tonight. With any luck, they'll be providing our diets with some much-needed local protein."

"Oh, nice." Reed didn't take his eyes off his food. "Buy local, save the galaxy." He glanced up. "I think that's why the Wraith are winning."

Major Lorne sat on the bench next to Radek. He took once glance at the leaf in his hand and nudged him with his elbow. "I think you stole some of the rabbits' food, Doc."

"That is not what those were," Coughlin whispered. "Those ugly little hairless rat-things?"

"Ugly?" Reed looked a little hurt.

"They had teeth growing out of their nostrils," Coughlin said, hooking two fingers next to his nose as demonstration.

"Does it really matter how ugly it is if it tastes good?" Major Lorne put in.

Reed leaned back on the table behind him, finally taking his eyes off his meat. He was about to take a bite when his jaw dropped. Coughlin took immediate notice and followed his gaze. Major Lorne did the same, followed by Radek.

"Welcome, welcome, guests. Major Lorne?"

Radek did a double-take as soon as he saw her. She was tall, with silky black hair, and a complexion kissed lightly by the sun. He could easily say he'd never seen a woman quite like her, willowy and delicate-looking, but she obviously possessed no mean amount of strength, either. In short… she was definitely not unpleasant to look at.

But this was an offworld mission where the sole purpose was diplomacy. Staring—especially—Radek cast a glance at Major Lorne to figure out what he should do. He should be in his lab. But he wasn't.

So when Major Lorne stood, Radek stood up, too. Reed and Coughlin followed suit. Major Lorne looked a bit lost for words. "Yes, I'm Major Evan Lorne," he offered. "Thank you. You must be Tamlen."

She nodded gracefully and offered her hand. Major Lorne took her hand, hesitated for half a moment as though he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it, and finally kissed her middle knuckle.

Tamlen nodded as if that was precisely the right response. "I hope our season's bounty has been to your liking," she said.

"Oh, yeah, yeah," Major Lorne said with an enthusiastic nod. "Plenty. Very nice." He cleared his throat and turned his eyes away from Tamlen to the long tables with all sorts of food piled up on it.

It was all Radek could do to keep from snorting in hysterical laughter.

Tamlen looked a little disappointed that he didn't have anything else to say about it.

Radek didn't know what he was doing when he pointed at a white meat on the table in front of him. The animal's enclosure wasn't included in their guided tour of the town, but he'd know pigeon anywhere. He'd never eaten pigeon before. He hadn't even tasted this one. In fact, seeing a cooked pigeon even made him the slightest bit sad. Still, someone had to rescue this delicate moment. Why the universe had deigned Radek fit for this task was beyond him.

"The squab is delicious."

Tamlen smiled at him, while Reed mouthed the word squab to Coughlin. Coughlin responded by whispering, "Jungtaube." Reed looked mystified.

"I'm pleased you like it," Tamlen said, apparently oblivious. "Please, everyone, let's eat and get to know one another."

Reed looked like he very much liked that idea.

Radek was about to break away and get something a little more substantial to eat before his growling stomach gave away the lie that he'd tasted some of it. Major Lorne grabbed his arm, though.

"Oh, no you don't, Doc," he said under his breath.

"What did I do?" Radek whispered back.

"Nothing." Major Lorne looked around conspiratorially. "But Tamlen likes you. You'll be doing some of the talking this time out. I'd apologize, but, I mean…"

"I'm not a diplomat," Radek hissed. "I only know about pigeons because I used to raise them. I've never even eaten pigeon."

"Then fake it."

Was he serious? He knew who he was talking to, didn't he? Radek never spoke to anyone outside of Atlantis. Certainly never anyone important like potential trading partners. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say?

"You usually have to experience something before you can imitate it, Major."

It was too late. Major Lorne pulled Radek along next to him and joined Tamlen at her table. Radek's heart hammered in his throat. He hoped he didn't trip over his tongue too badly or make an irredeemable fool of himself. He hoped Tamlen was interested in homing pigeons, the place where his knowledge of animals of any kind began and ended. He hoped he didn't screw this up.

He wished Reed would just drag his ass back to the 'gate.


Next time: You got what now? Did I say that's what I wanted?