Note: Wow, the weeks have passed by quickly of late. I hope everyone remains safe and well. I know that some of you reading are key-workers, and I send a huge thankful hug for all your vital work. Here is a small offering to keep this fic going as we move into Day 19 of the story...
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DAY 19 – Briefing
Chapter 18 – The Assembly
Carson took a deep calming breath as he checked over his things one last time. It felt like it had been an age since he'd last worn his uniform, let alone put on a tac vest again. He ran his left hand down over the reasonably comfortable but unyielding vest, feeling the bumps and dips of various items in the pockets that he'd added what felt like an age ago...from before the accident.
'Accident' didn't seem the right word, considering the dramatic and devastating consequences, but it was the most accurate technical description really. No one had known the destructive properties of that Ancient device and all the lives it had taken with two small tumours, the last of which had exploded across the room from him. All those who had died in that room had been because of him, his choice to try to save a life, but had only ended up losing more. He worked hard not to follow those dark lines of thought anymore though, because it was 'counterproductive' in the words of the military trauma counsellor who had been sent from Earth just to treat him. He still felt strange being on the patient side of things, needing help rather than helping others, but he understood it was an important part of his recovery. He had seen plenty of his own patients through similar paths of recovery both physically and psychologically, and he knew it worked. It was just uncomfortable being on the vulnerable side of it all.
But, when things threatened to overwhelm him, when he wanted to just beg Colonel Carter to let him go back to Earth and just disappear to a small cabin in the Highlands back home, he always turned his mind back to the wise words of that angelic Elite that had arrived at his Infirmary bedside and helped pull him back from the emotional brink. Carson had written down on a piece of paper everything he could remember that the man had said to him and had stuck the list up on the wall in his Infirmary side room that remained his current 'quarters'.
He'd forced himself to read those wise words many times this morning before he headed up here.
Now, stood looking down the Ancient staircase to the floor of the Gate Room, Carson repeated the one line from the list that had become his daily mantra: 'get to work, Healer'. He'd lost people under his care who had been his responsibility, but he had to keep going to save others. To honour their loss.
Not that today's trip off-world was to somewhere that he expected to have to use his doctoring skills, still it would be his first trip through the Gate since the accident. It felt like a milestone, but also somewhat overwhelming. He was not officially back on duty yet, though he had been undertaking some research work with Jennifer, and the two of them were co-writing a paper on the treatment ointment the Elite Healers had applied to his burns. His recovery was excellent, and though the left side of his upper body and head felt sensitive and looked red and scared still, he knew he was doing very well. It was too soon to return to duty properly, but today was important.
Besides, he had been personally invited by the Elite to today's Alliance briefing. Today was the day that Atlantis would finally be given the necessary information on the Elite's research into the new enemy named the Skerti. Carson was particularly intrigued by today's briefing since his Alliance scientist 'pen pal' – as John called her – was the Lead researcher into the recovered Skerti body. Imseti had not been able to share any specifics, but it was clear that she was excited for him to find out what she had discovered and that it might even inform future research into the Wraith as well.
He was very much looking forward to meeting Imseti today, which was another motivation in helping him pull his uniform back on for this mission.
He just wished he didn't feel so nervous about leaving the city. He'd never enjoyed Gate travel – the realities of what it did to the human body unnerving – but he could feel that his heart rate was up and his still healing right arm felt uncomfortable today in the plastic brace around his upper arm. He shifted his right arm in the thin sling around his tac vest. He could use his right arm, but resting it in the sling helped reduce stress on the upper part of his arm. It was probably just uncomfortable because he was feeling stressed, which pushed up blood pressure and increased inflammation in the body. It was understandable.
He'd been through something life-changing and he was anxious. It was understandable and he'd gone through the exact same explanations to countless patients over the years, but...
He took a deep breath, drawing on the techniques he'd learnt years ago to help him keep calm during surgery, focusing on steady counts for each of his in and out breaths to increase activity in his parasympathetic nervous system and calm his body down.
He could do this. It was just a briefing.
There were no Wraith, no enemies, and it was only for a few hours.
He could do this.
Down the far end of the Gate Room, the Gate started to light up. It was time to go then.
Letting out a noticeably still shaky breath, he started down the grand staircase, taking each step carefully. He'd found he'd started doing that all the time now – everything he did was slow, measured, and careful.
Rodney and John were stood at the foot of the stairs and were engaged in their usual bickering friendship. The two of them had also been personally invited today – John to represent Atlantis' military and Rodney to represent science. Colonel Sumner hadn't been too cheerful at just the three of them heading to the briefing, but John clearly had every faith in the Elite and his opinion had won out.
The final step reached, Carson stepped down to the Gate Room floor and John looked round with an encouraging smile. "You all ready to go, Doc?" He asked. Despite the fact that the Gate address they'd been given for the briefing was a complete unknown to them, John looked relaxed. Carson hoped he would absorb some of that by sticking close to the man today.
"I'm ready," Carson confirmed as he slid into the opening space between John and Rodney's shoulders.
"It'll be fine, Doc," John added, clearly proving that Carson wasn't hiding any of his anxiety.
"You sure you're okay for this?" Rodney asked carefully as the Gate turned loudly across the room. Rodney had been pretty protective over the last few days since the invite had come in.
"I'll be fine, Rodney," Carson smiled back at him. "Thank you." Rodney didn't say anything back, just kept pulling a worried frown. "We're going to be among allies," Carson added, which had been another fact that he'd been repeating to himself all morning. "It should be a very interesting day."
"Yeah, as long as some people remember to behave themselves," John added pointedly to Rodney as the Gate activated in a glowing rush.
Carson felt his heart rate increase again, so he focused on Rodney's insulted look at John's comment.
"Don't you start," Rodney objected.
Carson looked to John. "Did I miss something?"
"Carter gave him another talking to," John smiled. "Reminded him that there are going to be representatives there from every single member of the Alliance and that he's going to be representing Earth, the IOA, and the entire Milky Way galaxy today and that if he doesn't play nice she'll take his toys away."
Rodney spluttered his protest. "You were in that meeting as well; she was talking to you too."
"Yeah, sure she was," John gave Carson a pointed look and Carson managed to smile back. The distraction was helping a little, but sudden movement in the balcony overlooking them drew their attention. Colonel Carter was leaning on the railing and smiling down at them.
"You're all clear to go," she reported, which she could easily have done over the radio, but she liked the more personal touch style of leadership. It was a style that Carson really appreciated and remained deeply grateful that she had been assigned to them after they'd lost Elizabeth during the siege; far better than the gruff Colonel Sumner.
"We'll see you later," John grinned up at her, clearly looking forward to today's mission.
"I want you all back here in five hours, as planned," Carter reminded them.
"Yes, Ma'am," John added cheerfully as he headed forward, leading the way towards the glowing event horizon, Rodney quickly following.
Carson held back for a beat though and looked back up at the Colonel. She smiled at him, her look full of all the necessary encouragement and understanding that he needed. He smiled and nodded back up to her. He was determined not to let her down today.
He strode after John and Rodney, the two looking back as he caught up with them.
When they were barely a metre from the glowing surface of the Gate, John decided to add "Just remember there's gonna be loads of big military types there, so we need to keep our cool and not piss anyone off."
Carson had no doubt that was intended for Rodney, but he still nodded, picking up on the faintest edge of concern in John's voice now. Perhaps he wasn't quite as relaxed about this trip as he'd let on, or perhaps it was just Rodney's behaviour he was worried about. Either way, John had timed the warning just right so that Rodney had no time to object before they stepped into the wormhole's event horizon.
A bare half step behind the other two, Carson let out a long breath as he stepped into the watery glow. As always, he felt the faintest instinct to panic at stepping into what looked so much like water and therefore suffocating, but the bizarre sensation of wormhole travel hit almost immediately. As always, it felt like he was being stretched and swirled around, and then suddenly he was stepping out onto a new world in one whole piece. Though, it was instantly apparent that they had been delivered into a room rather than onto the surface of a planet, and sharply bright lights blinded him for a few moments before the lights dimmed. He blinked quickly and forms started to take shape in front of him, revealing security guard looking types stood in a line opposite, a rocky wall behind them. One of the group was stood further forward than the rest and he smiled politely.
"Greetings, Representatives from Atlantis. Ambassador Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard," the lead man nodded to John. John and Rodney were stepping down towards the man and Carson realised that the Gate was set up on a raised platform. "May I please scan your Beacon?" The lead security guard asked John.
"Sure," John answered as he waved his wrist and its newly installed Elite tech over the offered pad.
As Carson stepped down off the raised platform, he heard the Gate shutdown behind them. Glancing back round, he saw that all the walls were rock cut, and a glance up to the ceiling confirmed that they were underground. He suspected reasonably deep underground too considering the faint damp and heaviness he could feel that was very reminiscent of the caving he'd done as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award at school.
"Thank you, Ambassador," the security guard continued to John. "Please can you all proceed through the tunnel to the right, where there will be an inspection station waiting for you. All items brought with you are to be presented and will be scanned and inspected."
"Sure, thanks," John smiled as he led the way into the tunnel.
"What was with the bright lights?" Rodney complained the second they were alone in the rocky tunnel.
"It's a specific light frequency that disrupts Wraith vision," Carson explained, knowing the answer from his conversations with Imseti about her Wraith research.
The tunnel began to turn to the left and then widened up ahead. There were various tables set to the sides, behind which stood the now recognisable security staff, and there were various groups of other representatives stood at the tables having their things scanned. It was all very much like going through customs at the airport.
"How do you know about the anti-Wraith lighting?" Rodney asked as John led them towards a free table where a security member was waving them over.
"From the Elite scientists I've been communicating with," Carson supplied as he subtly studied the other groups of visitors as he following John.
"We should install them in Atlantis," Rodney insisted, his voice noticeably lower than usual.
"I've already suggested as much to Colonel Carter," Carson replied to him.
"No one told me," Rodney complained, but he looked away and said nothing more as they reached the customs table.
"Greetings," the security guard smiled at them. "Please present all items onto the table, including weaponry."
Carson glanced at John to follow his lead. John pulled out his sidearm and set it on the table before starting to take of his tac vest. Carson hadn't worn his sidearm today, but he was going to need to take off his tac vest, which was no simple thing. He drew his right arm out of its sling and unzipped the front of the vest, wondering how he was going to get the thing off without making a scene. Surprisingly though, Rodney was abruptly helping, drawing the vest down off Carson's arms.
"Thank you, Rodney," Carson smiled gratefully as Rodney set the vest on the table for him. It seemed Rodney was continuing to be very thoughtful and helpful. Carson was almost getting used to it.
As the customs guard started going through all their vests, Carson rested his arm back into the adjusted sling and glanced around at the other tables with interest. There were three people at each table, which suggested that the other worlds had also sent a military, science and medicine representatives. There was quite a variety of hairstyles and outfits, and several of them were glancing back at Carson and his table with obvious curiosity. One particular table drew Carson's attention where three large muscular males were stood at their table, and the youngest man was looking directly at Carson with an almost aggressive stare.
Carson looked away from the intense dreadlocked man.
"They're Satedans," John abruptly supplied from Carson's left and Carson glanced round at his friend. "The lead guy was the Commander of the Ballista warship part of the big Alliance Military Fleet. I can't remember his name right now," John nodded politely over towards the Satedans, but Carson didn't glance back round. "Teyla'll remember his name," John concluded as he looked back to the customs table.
Carson nodded, though decided not to point out that John had used his new wife's first name. He didn't usually do that, and it was only because the lovely lady had insisted Carson use her first name that he knew it. He'd made sure not to get involved in any gossiping about the new marriage, since it was pretty clear that John and the lovely Teyla Emmagan were very close. Rodney, Ford, and the equally lovely Lieutenant Cadman – Laura –all had their theories on John's relationship with his wife, but it was none of Carson's business.
"Thank you," the customs guard interrupted Carson's thoughts. "You may reclaim your items. Please now follow the tunnel on through to the auditorium."
With Rodney's help, Carson pulled his tac vest back on, wishing he hadn't had to wear the thing in the first place, but Colonel Carter had insisted. After all, the vests provided invaluable protection, but they were not easy for him to pull on and off right now. His tac vest on, Rodney having zipped it back up for him, they were ready to leave the table, and, again, John led the way, moving with obvious confidence despite not having here before that Carson knew. Carson was happy enough to follow his lead, and followed, Rodney at his side, between the last customs tables towards the tunnel ahead. As they walked, Carson noticed that the representatives at all the tables were all looking round to watch them pass. The looks didn't look noticeably hostile, but they were all very obvious.
"Get used to that here," Rodney muttered from Carson's right. "The looks and whispering. It's him," Rodney pointed at John as they entered the tunnel finally away from the stares. "He's an Alliance celebrity."
"Oh, yes, I had heard," Carson recalled, a wave of relief accompanying the explanation. The looks were curiosity not aggressive then. "And very popular with Alliance ladies too, I heard," he took the chance to tease John. Laura had told him how various groups of women had tried to get John's attention at the big Athosian Conference some weeks back.
John looked back at him and Rodney. "Not just in the Alliance," he played along.
"Kirk," Rodney muttered.
Carson chuckled, feeling a little bit more relaxed himself now. The tunnel now turned to the right and there was light up ahead. Another slight bend to the right brought them to the entrance of what had to be the auditorium. Carson couldn't see much behind three people stood in the entrance, but there was the unmistakeable sound of many voices chattering in a large space.
Moving closer, the three at the entrance appeared to be the welcoming party, and Carson recognised two of them immediately. The tall man on the left was an Elite warrior who Carson had met several times, though he could not recall his name, and beside him, was the scientist Silvar, who had visited Atlantis to study the Skerti recording. And beside the two men was a middle aged woman with a large smile.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard," the Elite warrior greeted John with a smile.
"Honoured Elite Halling," John smiled back as the three of them reached the welcome party.
Silvar smiled directly at Carson. "Doctor Beckett, I am so pleased you could make it today."
Carson was a little surprised at the kind comment, though perhaps it was more that Silvar was surprised that Carson had come at all. He felt acutely aware of the left side of his face and his arm in its sling. "I didn't want to miss it," Carson smiled back, making himself focus on being polite and not getting lost in his own insecurities.
The woman beside Silvar stepped forward though, drawing his attention instantly to her wide and smiling eyes. "Doctor Carson Beckett?" She asked excitedly.
"Yes," Carson confirmed.
"I am Imseti," she gestured to herself with both of her hands.
Carson grinned at her, his 'pen pal' in the flesh. "I'm so pleased to meet you," he replied happily.
She reached forward for his free left hand and she gripped his hand in both of hers like they'd known each other for years. "Thank you for being here, I know that you have been concerned about your injuries. How is your right humeral fracture?" She asked, her eyes going to his right arm brace.
"Mostly healed, it's just muscle weakness now," he admitted, lifting his right elbow to show her that he had good mobility in the limb despite the faint discomfort.
"Good, good," Imseti smiled, still holding onto his other hand. "I am truly looking forward to discussing our findings on the new enemy with you, and, if you have time, perhaps we can discuss those latest Wraith serum manufacture results."
"I'd love to," Carson agreed readily. "We finally managed to synthesise the proteins in Atlantis."
"Excellent," Imseti grinned. "How did you-"
"There will be plenty of time later to confer and discuss technical details," Elite Halling interrupted.
"Of course," Imseti let go of Carson's hand and quickly stepped back into line with the Elite and Silvar. "I do apologise, Honoured Elite." Then her eyes met Carson's again and he exchanged another smile with her.
"I look forward to conferring with you too, Doctor McKay," Silvar added into the faint pause. It was a far more professional greeting, but Carson far preferred Imseti'.
"I am very much looking forward to it," Rodney stated in a weirdly polite rote like way that Carson barely stopped himself from glaring round at Rodney in shock. To his left, Carson swore he could feel John restrain himself as well.
"You may sit anywhere in the auditorium," Silvar continued, indicating the way past him, Halling and Imseti, "all technical details, scans and research results are provided on an electronic pad for you to take away with you. Please collect a pad each from the table round to the right of the auditorium floor."
"Thanks," John smiled.
"Thank you for attending today," Elite Halling nodded to John.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," John replied casually as he led the way past the greeting party and finally into the auditorium.
The second they were away from the greeters, John looked round at Rodney with a questioning frown. "I'm very much looking forward to it?" John repeated Rodney's former comment with disbelief.
"I was being polite," Rodney countered.
"I guess it'll take time to get used to it," John teased, but Carson's focus slid away to the massive room they'd entered.
It would probably be more accurate to describe the auditorium as an 'amphitheatre'. The seating was set up and backwards in a huge semicircle rising many floors high so that the place surely could seat at least a thousand people. Glancing down to lower levels, Carson could see that the seating was rather like the old lecture halls he'd attended at University, with a small desk panel running along each level for the attendees to rest their work on.
Idly following John and Rodney, Carson glanced to the left to see what all the seating faced, to find that it was simply a raised dark platform set in front of what appeared to be an entire wall of computer screens! The screens were working together though, currently displaying a massive schematic of a Wraith Hive. Carson paused to watch the turning ship. He was becoming reasonably well versed in Wraith biology, but Wraith tech was not one of his strengths, but even he could see that the displayed Hive was malformed.
Dropping his gaze from the turning ship, he ran his eyes over the narrow raised stage below it, spotting a few more familiar faces including the lovely Teyla and...
Carson froze as he recognised his dark-skinned Elite angel who had visited him in the Infirmary. He was here, in the flesh again. On the very day that Carson had taken his first mission off-world again. He'd wanted the opportunity to speak to the Elite man again, to thank him for his intervention, but he'd not expected to run into him so soon.
"Carson?" Rodney's voice caught Carson's attention and he glanced back round to see that he had fallen way behind and John was already at a table holding stacks of Alliance electronic pads, while Rodney was looking at him worriedly. "You okay?" Rodney asked.
"Yes," Carson quickly shook off the strange sense of coincidence in seeing his angel again. "I just recognised someone I know," he explained as he headed towards Rodney.
"Someone else you know?" Rodney asked with a grimace of confusion. "How do you know so many people here?"
"Guys," John arrived, two pads held out for them. "I've set them to the English translation." Carson took his with his left hand. "Speaking of knowing people," John gestured with his chin off to the right, and Carson looked round to see a man and woman approaching. The man was grinning widely as he stretched his hand out to John as they arrived.
"It is good to see you, Lieutenant Colonel," the man shook John's hand enthusiastically.
"Guys, this is Inifee," John grinned. "He's the Elite's best pilot."
Inifee waved off the compliment. "What's flying through tornados to pilots like us?"
John laughed and stretched his hand out to the woman. "Seeal," He smiled at her. "This is Seeal," he repeated unnecessary to Carson and Rodney. "She also works for the Elite."
Carson recognised the name, but couldn't recall where from. John's reports on his adventures in the Alliance had held a ridiculous amount of detail and people's names, and Carson hadn't read any since the accident.
"Inifee, Seeal, this is Doctor Beckett; he's Earth's top medical healer and our expert on everything Wraith," John introduced.
"Well, no, there's plenty of excellent doctors on Earth," Carson quickly corrected, feeling more than a little embarrassed at the exaggerated introduction as he shook Inifee's hand with his left hand, and then Seeal reached out her hand to him. He shook the tall serious looking woman's hand, aware of her gaze running over the scarred and healing left side of his head with unemotional interest. Her gaze reached his eyes and she shook his hand with an exceptionally strong grip and then smiled politely at him as she let go of his hand.
"And this is Doctor McKay, he's one of our resident geniuses," John now introduced Rodney.
"A genius in which field?" Seeal asked Rodney as she shook his hand.
Rodney noticeably winced at her handshake and made a show of shaking out his squeezed hand. "All of them," he boasted back.
One of Seeal's black eyebrows arched up with either amusement or judgement. "Well there's no shortage of geniuses in this room," she replied. She spoke with a more noticeable accent than Carson had heard from the others he'd met from the Alliance, but then, he supposed, most of those he had met had been Elite warriors.
"There sure are a lot of people here," John was looking around the room, though Carson noticed John's gaze shifted to and from the small stage where Carson had last seen Teyla.
"Including three Genii, by the way," Seeal added pointedly to John.
"Where?" John snapped his formerly wandering attention back to Seeal.
"Sat way back in the top left up there," she turned and pointed up to the far back of the raised amphitheatre seating.
Carson looked along the top row of seats and immediately spotted three Genii uniforms. He'd not considered that the Genii would be here today. He imagined that couldn't be all that pleasant for John.
"Anyone we know?" Carson asked John.
"Yes," John muttered darkly. "The one on the far left is General Maloo. He was the guy who was first in line for Honoured Elite Emmagan's Political Marriage."
"Before you tempted her away," Seeal added with no small amount of tone in the words. Carson pulled his attention down from the distant and watching Genii to see that Seeal was looking at John with a teasing pointed look.
John pretended to ignore her. "Looks like Maloo survived Kolya's coup then. Shame," John muttered as he purposefully turned his back on the seating and the watching Genii.
"He was part of it," Seeal replied.
"Really?" John looked at her sharply.
"Please, you think Kolya's the kind of man who doesn't fill his powerful roles with his trusted favourites who helped him?" Seeal asked.
"Good point," John agreed.
"They're not going to try anything here, are they?" Rodney asked worriedly glancing up at the Genii and back.
"Not in front of the Elite," Inifee was the one to reassure Rodney, stepping slightly closer, forming the five of them into a huddle. "Besides, rumour has it that the Elite have threatened the Genii to keep a very specific large distance away from anyone from Atlantis." The choice of the top back seats made more sense to Carson now.
"Rumour?" Seeal asked Inifee doubtfully. "Where'd you hear that? In the Sythus canteen?"
"Sure," Inifee shrugged with a grin.
"As long as the Genii keep out of the way," John concluded. "I didn't expect to see you two are here today," he asked Inifee and Seeal, clearly changing the subject away from the subject of Kolya and the Genii.
"That's because we were there," Seeal indicated the displayed turning Hive ship.
"Really?" John asked with clear interest.
"In a ship skimming right along the Hive's belly," Inifee supplied with an excited smile that only a pilot could appreciate.
"And right in the middle of the crossfire between it and the Fleet," Seeal put in with less enthusiasm.
Carson tuned out of the conversation, glancing back over his shoulder towards the stage to see that his angel was still in conversation, but another familiar face was looking his way. Teyla smiled at him as she stepped down from the stage and headed across the auditorium floor.
"Sheppard, your entirely platonic wife is on her way," Seeal noted and Carson was barely able to suppress his smile as he glanced at John.
"Shouldn't you be back at the Facility holding Oneakka...'s hand?" John asked Seeal with a pointed pause in his question.
Seeal narrowed her eyes at John's retaliation. Carson was pretty sure Oneakka was the name of one of the Elite warriors mentioned in John's reports. "I don't hold any part of Oneakka, thank you," she told John firmly, but John grinned, clearly feeling he'd won by getting that reaction out of her.
"Honoured Elite Oneakka," Inifee told Seeal, using the honorific title you were supposed to use when talking about Elite in the Alliance.
Seeal sighed dramatically at Inifee. "Did Madesh tell you to do that?"
Carson glanced back round to where Teyla was approaching their small circle, John already breaking away from the huddle to meet her. Anyone would have to be blind not to see the very natural happy smiles shared between the married couple. Carson glanced away as the two exchanged the usual Athosian forehead touching, and noticed Seeal giving a pointed look to Inifee at the couple.
The Athosian greeting over, Teyla and John joined the circle. "Good day to you all," Teyla smiled at them all. "Dr McKay," she smiled specifically to Rodney who smiled back almost shyly and still clearly in his polite and quiet mode. Clearly whatever Colonel Carter had said to him earlier had had an impact.
Teyla then turned her lovely smile to Carson and, as she was stood right next to him in the circle, she turned to face him. "I am very pleased that you were able to attend, Dr Beckett," she told him kindly.
"Carson," he corrected her with a smile, as she had used his first name during her stay in Atlantis when she had visited him almost daily.
"Of course," she smiled. "Have you met Imseti yet?" She asked as she glanced round, presumably to find the scientist. "She was very much looking forward to meeting you."
"I did, though very briefly," Carson answered her. "I hope I can get some time to talk with her later. It's so nice to finally meet the lady behind the letters."
Teyla smiled. "There should be plenty of time. Though, if you need anything to be comfortable through the day, do ask. There is a side room which you are free to use if you need some time to rest."
"Thank you, Luv," Carson smiled and then considered that perhaps she might be able to help in another way. "Do you think it would be possible for me to have a quick word with the Elite gentleman who visited me in Atlantis?" He subtly indicated where the Elite was stood up on the stage.
"Massa?" Teyla reminded him of the man's name. "Of course," she nodded, her eyes full of something close to compassion. "You are free to go speak with him or anyone here."
"Thank you." Carson glanced to John, "I'll just go have a quick word?" He checked.
"Sure, Carson," John nodded.
Carson shared another smile with Teyla and then headed away from the group, crossing the flat floor towards where there were large steps up to the stage. As he crossed the open space, he tried to plan what he could say to interrupt the Elite in their conversation up on the stage. But it wasn't necessary in the end, as Elite Massa had looked round and noticed him approaching. Carson watched as Massa said something to the people he was with and then broke away and started down off the stage to meet Carson's approach.
Carson quickly ran through what he could say, though none of it expressed how grateful he felt towards this man.
"Doctor Beckett," Massa smiled as Carson reached him. "It is good to see you here."
"Honoured Elite Massa," Carson used the full title and found himself kind of bowing his head slightly. From his sick bed, Massa had seemed massive and now, with both of them stood together, he was just as big. Massa was a tall and wide-shouldered man, though his smile was far softer than during their first conversation.
"You look much stronger than when I last saw you," Massa noted.
"I am, thank you," Carson replied. "I wanted to thank you for your intervention," his voice almost caught slightly to relive not only the darkness he had been in until Massa's brief appearance but in recalling what Massa had shared of his own pain. "I can't tell you how much it has helped me."
"We all need people to remind us of who we are when we lose our way," Massa replied philosophically.
Carson nodded at yet more wise words. "Aye, and I'm very grateful. Are you well?" He asked, his gaze drawn to Massa's bare forearm, where the man's own scars looked well healed.
"I am doing well, thank you," Massa replied and then paused thoughtfully. "Though, as a Healer on Earth, do you have experience in caring for young infants?"
"Yes," Carson nodded, though somewhat surprised by the question.
"How do you care for teething babes on your world? Do you have some special medicine that helps them?" Massa asked.
Carson felt an instant burst of confidence. This was a subject he knew and if Massa needed some advice, he felt eager to offer some small thing in return or Massa's wise words. "There are a few medications you can use to help with their pain, though I have found one of the best methods is a chilled teething ring," Carson explained.
"Chilled teething ring?" Massa asked with sudden intense interest that had a slightly desperate hopeful edge that Carson recalled from all too many parents during his training years in Paediatrics. "What is that?"
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Halling checked the list and saw that everyone had arrived and a glance towards the side table confirmed that all of the electronic pads had been handed out, so it was time to begin. With a nod to Silvar, who triggered the preparation chimes, Halling collected up his tiny control panel for the massive display screens and headed towards the centre of the slim stage. The general hubbub of the auditorium had shifted into the last minute conversation of people finding seats, and he looked out across the sea of faces, picking out familiar ones among the crowd. He saw that Teyla had selected a seat halfway up the tiered levels, sitting alongside Sheppard, the other Atlantis representatives to his left, and then Seeal and Inifee beside them. In the row above them, Ronon was visible leaning forward in his most central seat, his gaze catching Halling's. Halling nodded to his friend and Ronon grinned back. The Satedan was looking far more rested than the last time Halling had seen him, which implied that his infant boy was hopefully getting more sleep of late.
From Ronon, Halling shifted his eyes up and around the levels of seating, a few last people negotiating their way along the lines to the last available places. Together, they all represented the very finest of experience and intellect within the Alliance, but also from Atlantis, so this room now included not only knowledge from another galaxy, but access to the Ancestral City's ancient database. It was the best that he had hoped for today.
It struck him that had Sitayi' worst prediction come to pass, this sharing of knowledge and preparation for the likely battle against the Skerti would never have been possible. Had she not warned him, and had Oneakka not striven with his last breath to get help to him, then that Skerti Queen would simply have escaped into the ether, or perhaps been destroyed in the weapons fire of the battle with the Military Fleet. But now they had her body and the Skerti Drive, but, most importantly, forewarning.
Silvar triggered the chimes one last time and the room dropped into quiet with just the last shifts of people settling into their seats and the occasional cough. Halling waited a little longer, all eyes focusing on him. After a few more moments, the massive room fell into complete silence.
He had repeatedly gone through all the military and science data on the pads in every attendee's hands, had worked alongside various Elite and staff, even employing Oneakka's assistance from his sickbed, to ensure everything was recorded clearly. However, he had not precisely planned his words for this presentation. As an Elite he was familiar enough with presenting important information to large groups, since it was a vital aspect of Elite work to lead military forces into battle. He felt no self-consciousness with all eyes on him, but he did feel the weight of importance of today.
"Greetings to all," he began, his voice carrying easily in the acoustically designed auditorium, but also aided by several microphones set into the stage. "You each have an electronic pad which holds all the technical specifications and research information on all that will be presented today. You are free to take the pads away with you, but the information is to be considered controlled, high level information and is not to be made publically free. On the initial page of your pads you will see an agenda for today's briefing. The briefing will cover three fields, as represented by each of your fields of expertise: military, engineering science, and biological science. The first part of the briefing will be a presentation by myself on the military engagement with the Skerti, then Silvar, Lead of Elite Engineering Research and Development, will present the findings of the Skerti Drive tech, and, finally, Imseti, Lead of Elite Forensics and Biological Research and Development, will present details from the dissention of the Skerti body. After that, we will have a midday meal and then return for an open question and answer session, which will then be followed with time for each of your experts in their respective fields to meet to discuss what has been presented. Does anyone have any questions about today's process?"
Halling looked around the sea of faces, but no one raised a hand or spoke. A good beginning then.
"Very well," Halling lifted the control to the display screens behind him, which currently showed a simple turning schematic of the Rogue Hive. He triggered the first of the long length of visual presentations he had prepared. "This is our most detailed composite image of the Rogue Hive that violated our territory," he glanced up towards the new images crossing the large wall of screens. A series of pictures played showing the deformed Hive from various angles. "As you can see, the Hive's hull was grown into an abnormal shape and you will immediately identify the extra drive pod here." At the touch of his thumb on the control, the images slid into close up details of the lump of the Hive hull in question. "Within this was discovered the means by which the Hive was able to jump to four separate locations within our space, able to travel vast distances without the need for standard hyperdrive technology."
The images slid into drive pod, presenting a variety of pictures of the Skerti Drive from schematics, scan data, and visual images taken when the drive was removed from the Hive.
"As you can see, it is not Wraith tech and, though the exact method by which it allows this new form of space travel is still unclear, it is clear that the drive when active created a powerful and highly destructive radiation. This partially explains why the Hive's hull was so thick, as it provided structural support against the damage caused by the radiation, but the reinforced hull may also have provided some protection during the actual unknown form of space travel."
Halling turned slightly to watch the next series of displays. "As you can see, the damage to the Hive from the radiation is as surprising as it is extensive. When my team boarded the Hive in the Arkinian System, the floors, walls, and ceilings were literally dissolving apart." There was some whispering as everyone watched the various images taken of the inside of the Hive as well as sensor readings from his own pad that he'd had while onboard the Hive. "However, the damage was not solely limited to the Hive itself," he triggered the next series of rather gruesome images of dead Wraith. "The Wraith onboard were themselves being damaged by the radiation on a cellular level. From the dissentions undertaken on some of these bodies, it has been estimated that, had the Hive not been stopped in the Arkinian System when it was, the Wraith onboard would have been dead within a day from internal damage."
Halling triggered up one particular picture of a dead Wraith's naked torso. "As you can see, these Wraith were not only sickly in general, but they are noticeably emaciated. As far as our tests show, the majority of the Wraith onboard had not feed for weeks or up to two months. Due to the need for their bodies to deal with the damage from the radiation, their bodies grew far thinner than what we would expect to see in just months without feeding. We have to then ask, given that their Hive had the ability seemingly jump anywhere in the galaxy as needed regardless of distance, why did they not jump to a planet outside our space and simply feed on an unprotected planet to help them recover from the effects of the radiation? It was apparent to those of us on the Hive that the Wraith onboard were mentally as damaged by the radiation as they were physically, and dissentions show that their brains were as severely damaged as their Hive. However, given that even the weakest and confused of creatures usually will still know how to feed themselves, was there another factor at play that prevented them from feeding?"
Halling triggered another series of scans of the Hive taken from his own pad. "As you can see from this scan of the Wraith within the Hive, there is one life-sign showing up far warmer than the rest. This is the Skerti individual that I encountered on the Hive."
He turned to look back out at his audience, all of them staring silently at the displays.
"During our mission onboard the Hive, a Wraith informed my colleague that the Skerti had pretended to be a Wraith Queen. After detailed examination of the Wraith bodies, and salvaged pieces of Wraith fighters taken from the Hive's bays, we have concluded that all of the Wraith onboard were made up of survivors from different Hive groups that had been part of the Nest System battle. We therefore believe that the Skerti Queen first somehow obtained a normal legitimate Hive and then set about gathering up stranded groups of Wraith, probably all looking for retaliation against us, to help her invade our space. Those Wraith were apparently, according to our Wraith informant, duped into believing she was one of them."
There was whispering from the seats, but he turned back to the screens.
"This is further confirmed by the fact that, when our salvage teams entered the Queen's Chamber within the Hive, they found a large pile of thirty eight dead Wraith," a new image appeared of the unpleasant pile of dead blood-splattered Wraith bodies. "Each were killed by the Skerti herself, as they all display her unique feeding method, which Imseti will set out for you later, and they were all piled up in a corner of the Chamber out of view from any Wraith visiting her chamber. There was also, unusually, a long fabric-like room divider put up in front of the Queen's throne, which presumably was in place to help her conceal her true nature."
He ran through the images of the strange Wraith fabric, though it had been partially dissolved by the time the salvaging team had reached the chamber.
"As the Skerti showed no signs of being damaged by the drive tech's radiation herself, it is possible that it did not affect her in the same way as the Wraith, or, more likely, she was feeding off the Hive's Wraith in order to stave off the damage to her own body. Clearly, the Skerti had no affection for the Wraith she was leading in her Hive. This is also backed up by our Wraith informant, who named the alien as a Skerti, and reported that her species were thought to be a deadly ancient myth to the Wraith and clearly he believed her to be something to fear."
There was more quiet chatter in the auditorium, no doubt all agreeing with that conclusion.
"Considering her duplicity and need to remain undiscovered by the Wraith she was leading, it is possible that it was the Skerti, in her role as their Queen, who was denying the Wraith the opportunity to feed and thereby keeping them weak and easily manipulated as she led the Rogue Hive into our space. Considering the short timeframe of each the invasions into our space, it is our belief that she was testing our defences, perhaps the Wraith as well, and possibly even the drive tech. During our salvage work on the Rogue Hive, we were unable to locate any useable information from the Hive's database, mainly due to damage from the radiation, but it is also likely that the Skerti deleted anything useful from the database before she attempted to escape."
Halling turned back to the screens as he set a new series of scan data across the display. These were again taken from his own pad and showed all the sensor readings he had captured during his pursuit of the Skerti Queen down through the Hive. "During the Elite mission on the Hive, unaware at the time of the true nature of the Queen, I worked my way down through the ship's floors and cornered her in the Queen's escape craft. What you are about to see is a holographic re-enactment of my subsequent battle against the Skerti Queen. This was compiled by my own recollections, a staff member's recollections who was later present, sensor pad data, as well as scans of the Hive, the escape craft, and the Skerti Queen's body after the fact. The Skerti did not communicate verbally, but rather used a very powerful, and considerably painful, method of telepathy. Therefore, we have had to recreate the Skerti' voice, but further details of my experience in communicating with her are set in my report on your pads."
He tapped a control and the lights within the auditorium dimmed to black and he triggered the recording of the recreation to start. He didn't need to watch it play through himself, not only because he'd been through the actual event, but because he'd spent numerous hours building the re-enactment in the Generator to capture everything as accurately as possible.
So, instead, he watched the faces watching it as the recording's audio of his own cautious breathing played over the crunch of his boots in the recreated escape craft. With the light of the screens above him, the faces in front of him were cast in dim eerie lighting and he could see that all eyes were wide and intently focused on the drama he had lived through. The drama that he had barely survived and feared for so long.
There was a loud gasp as something happened and he glanced up to see that the Skerti Queen had dropped from the ceiling of the escape craft and the fight had started. He turned back to the watching faces. It was very obvious which in the room were the military representatives from each Alliance member, as they were the ones sat forward, watching the battle with intense experienced eyes, while their science compatriots looked far more shocked at the drama they were watching.
His own voice cried out and then grunted loudly in the recording and he could almost hear his own body and muscles straining as he fought the Skerti, and he saw a few people in the audience partially cover their faces. And then came the blasting sound of Seeal's energy weapons fire that had stopped the Skerti, forced the creature to turn towards her new attacker and had given him the chance he'd needed to save himself. He turned back towards the recording in time to see Seeal's last blasts of weapons fire hit the Skerti and then his own blade slice up and round, decapitating the Skerti, which was greeted with loud gasps in the audience. He watched as the Skerti' head dropped from her body and rolled away.
He triggered the end of the recording and lifted the lights again. A sudden rise of applause greeted him and he looked round, surprised, to see the audience applauding him. He'd not expected that reaction.
As the applause fell away, he started up again. "As far as we are aware, that was the one and only encounter we have ever had with the Skerti to date. However," he paused for dramatic effect, "it is not the first time we have encountered their technology. In the Arkinian System, just prior to the battle at the Nest System, the Elite encountered a ship which we have previously named the 'Seed Ship'. You will have already been made away from previous briefings that this ship was unusual and included a combination of organic and metallic tech, and that from them, invading 'slug controlled robots' targeted the Elite ship Sythus. Subsequent comparisons now show that these two unique pieces of tech are now believed to be Skerti tech. The metallic samples from all three are identical, showing the exact same time dates and manufacturing techniques."
A low whispering filled the auditorium.
"We also believe that, before its purposeful self-destruction, the Seed Ship had engaged and destroyed at least two Hive ships, so this adds further weight to the theory that the Skerti see the Wraith as an enemy. As both of these encounters in the Arkinian System have occurred within bare months of each other, and the Wraith informant stated that the Skerti were believed to be ancient myths, it is our conclusion that the Skerti are a re-emerging threat to this galaxy. Where they have been for thousands of years is undetermined, but our best guess at this time is that they left the galaxy and have now decided to return. It is therefore the aim of the Elite now to hunt down any indications of their presence in the galaxy."
He set a new series of images playing on the display screens, a wide solar system stretching across the wall.
"So far the only common feature of the three discoveries of Skerti tech is the Arkinian System. Though this solar system is devoid of any intelligent life, and has no Portal, there are still basic life-forms living within one moon. That moon also once held a very old Wraith base, but this was purposefully destroyed by the Wraith, possibly during a battle with the Skerti Seed Ship at that location. It is also possible that the Skerti chose this location because the Arkinian System is so close to the border between our space and the Wraith. If looking to gather intel on both our sides and observe how we are fighting one another, the Arkinian System is a good point to do so. However, it is also possible that, according to some theories regarding the Skerti' drive tech, that Arkinian may be an important point for the new jump tech. Either way, investigations into the system are underway and any further discoveries with be shared.
"Turning then to other avenues available to track down the Skerti, the Elite have begun deep scans of the galaxy outside our territory, looking for any indications of unusual readings or activity that may be this new enemy. Atlantis are assisting us with this endeavour, but, so far, nothing conclusive has been found. However, the Elite are also implementing a tried and tested method that was used in hunting down concealed Hive ships on various planets. We are looking at local folklore and any stories that have been recently shared among starfaring people. It could be that previous stories we had attributed to the Wraith, may actually reflect Human encounters with Skerti, both modern and ancient. We are also seeking to make contact with the Travellers, but so far they have decided not to respond to any contact signals."
Halling triggered a new series of images across the screens. "Otherwise, our only other significant avenue of investigation is an ancient recording discovered by Atlantis. These images are taken from that recording and are believed to show actual Ancestors," there was some murmuring at that announcement. "The recording is believed to be an Ancestral emergency beacon, possibly sent out from an Ancestral craft, and it includes a warning to the Ancestors who once lived in Atlantis to beware of the Skerti. This is the only exact mention of the Skerti we have outside of the Wraith informant and the Skerti alien itself. Atlantis is currently searching the Ancestral database in the city for further details of the recording and those in it, but it appears that the information was either not recorded, the warning was never received, or perhaps relevant information was deleted by the Ancestors themselves. Atlantis is looking into this further and Elite scientists have been assisting in the investigation."
Halling shifted the screens to a holding image of the deformed Hive and turned back to his audience.
"The pads you have been given provide far more detail on what I have presented, but so far all planets, moons, and space-stations have been provided with the radiation frequency emitted by the Skerti Drive, so it is currently our only early warning system if the Skerti should again invade our territory. Otherwise, our only tactic now is to seek out the Skerti wherever they may be hiding from us. Therefore, the Elite and Military Fleet are comprising a list of targets to investigate outside our borders and scouting missions to those locations will shortly be organised. The Elite will keep all members updated on this progress and we request that each member world undertake their own database and historical searches for anything that may be linked to the Skerti."
Halling glanced around at the faces looking from him to the screen behind him. There was an air of anxiety in the air now, everyone one focused and frowning now that they had been presented with the name and face of the new enemy.
Next Silvar would present them with the unfolding research his team had been undertaking on the Skerti Drive, but it was clear to Halling that he had provided a sobering presentation to all those watching. If they had hoped to simply find a clear and easily defeated new enemy that the Elite were already crushing under their heel, then they had been very much mistaken.
As Halling introduced Silvar and moved off the stage, he still felt a burst of success in his chest. As somewhat unpleasant and unnerving today's information would be for those here, it was still far better than had Sitayi' gravest prediction come to pass.
At least now they were prepared and forewarned, and he was determined to be at the forefront of it, ensuring that hope would lead to victory.
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TBC