Chapter 10- The Possibilities
The day was going very well so far.
After showing the Elite their quarters for the next week, Sam had invited them for a quiet informal lunch in her office for 'English tea', as Jack had called it. The chefs had put together a light lunch of sandwiches, shortcake and ginger biscuits and, as was traditionally very Athosian, some tea. Sam had served a light fragrant green tea that John had told her that Elite Emmagan favoured when she stayed in the city, and both the Athosian Elite certainly seemed to enjoy it.
The food had been well received as well, especially the ginger biscuits, which Elite Si had finished off with clear approval, so Sam made a mental note to ask the chefs to include some ginger in the planned meals this week.
Biscuits and tea aside, Sam had been glad with how the informal lunch and light conversation had gone. She'd wanted some time with the Elite without the IOA representatives present, well, except for Jack, but he was Earth Defence's rep rather than the IOA. Plus, Jack, in his usual amenable way, had already appeared to have built a good relationship with both the Elite warriors over the last two weeks at the Conference. With John sat on the other side of the Elite, the office had held a very informal and relaxed atmosphere. Colonel Sumner had insisted he be present, but even Marshall seemed inclined to welcome the Elite. In fact, he'd been very vocal with the IOA in his approval of the new contract with the Alliance.
In the weeks since the Political Wedding, the Elite had been silent on what they were prepared to trade and what they might want in return, with Elite Emmagan citing that the Elite were discussing the matter and that the terms would be delivered on her visit. Sam had therefore scheduled a meeting for initial trade talks as the first order of business after lunch, so that, finally, after weeks of waiting, it was now time to find out what this new relationship with the Elite might deliver for Atlantis and Earth.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sam had found herself feeling somewhat nervous about the trade meeting. The new contract with Athos and the Elite had already brought a significant improvement in communication and trade with the Alliance, and the IOA were fast putting together a long list of new, and potential, trading partners. But, as important as trade and cultural exchange were, it was the trade with the Elite that would provide the greatest chance of real military and technological advances that would allow the Atlantis expedition to finally fulfil its mandate.
And it would also most likely be the yardstick that the IOA and Earth Defence would use to gauge Sam's success as Commander of Atlantis.
So, no pressure!
However, it became quickly apparent to Sam that the others felt the same sense of nervous anticipation, as the IOA had looked quite tense and formal as Sam had led the Elite into the Conference Room for the meeting.
As everyone took their seats, Sam noticed that the IOA had all sat along one side of the table, with the Elite, John, Rodney, Zelenka and then Sumner along the other side. Sam had selected to sit at the head of the table, suspecting she might have to play the role of a mediator between the two sides. There shouldn't be that division, but her people had sat that way anyway – the IOA versus those who lived and worked in Pegasus.
Sam set her mug of tea and her tablet down on the large conference table and settled her hands on the surface. As she did, she noticed that Emmagan's pet, Ketra, was sat between Emmagan and John's chairs and that the reptile's long neck allowed her to look over the top of the table. Ketra looked like she was going to be part of this meeting, her orange eyes studying each member of the IOA as they all once again exchanged pleasantries with the Elite.
Shifting her gaze from the strangely intelligent looking reptile, Sam exchanged a smile with Emmagan. Last night, Sam had considered long and hard about how best to start this meeting, wondering whether it would be best to make a small speech for the recording of the conversation, for history's sake perhaps. Jack had suggested she simply start with "so whatcha got and what do you want for it?"
However, it appeared that Emmagan was already ahead of her, as the composed woman shifted her gaze away to the rest of the table and started talking.
"As you are all no doubt aware, the Elite do not follow a hierarchy; we have no leaders and decisions are made by all of us by vote," Emmagan began. "I am pleased to report that all of my fellow warriors, bar none, are very pleased with the new contract between ourselves and Atlantis and Earth."
"That's great to hear," Jack responded from across the table.
Emmagan smiled at him. "For me as well, General O'Neill." There had been a subtle sense of a joke in her tone and Jack's smile widened.
Emmagan's smile slid back to seriousness. "We have discussed and voted at length on what we would be prepared to share with Atlantis and what we would like in return. My fellow Elite have tasked myself, and Honoured Elite Si, to present to you our conclusions."
Sam forced herself to relax as the fateful moment approached. Whatever the Elite offered and wanted, presumably there would be some scope for negotiation.
"Firstly," Emmagan continued, and Ketra at her side glancing up at her with interest, "I believe it will go without much debate that we would welcome an open and free exchange of information regarding the ongoing war against the Wraith. And we would welcome the opportunity to combine our forces on particular missions against the Wraith."
It struck Sam how like Torren Elite Emmagan sounded today. Despite her sister Zabetha's apparent station as Torren's assistant and possible replacement, it appeared that Elite Emmagan had inherited many of the same skills from her father.
"Such collaborations would need to be defined," Woolsey replied.
"Of course," Emmagan inclined her head. "We are not seeking to set definitions on such assistance, as the Elite believe that flexibility is vital in warfare. Essentially, we are looking for allies in particular battles, not to tie each other to set programmes of war. By working together on particular missions as they arise, we can increase our success against the Wraith; which will benefit both our peoples," Emmagan slid her dark gaze to Sam.
"However, as part of our trade, we would request that Atlantis begin to put pressure on the Wraith," Emmagan continued, "that you push out from your space towards the Alliance border. If you hold an increasing line of defence against them, we plan to squeeze the Wraith in between our two territories."
"Territories?" Shen asked, "as in you want us to establish our own area of space like the Alliance?"
Sam couldn't see that happening.
"Yes," Elite Emmagan replied simply though.
"With all due respect ma'am," Faxon smiled politely as he leant his suited elbows on the shiny tabletop, "but my understanding is that the Alliance is able to hold its vast territory with its Military Fleet. I'm afraid we do not have enough ships to do the same."
"This expedition did not come to the Pegasus galaxy," Shen added slightly hotly, "to build ourselves an empire."
"We are not suggesting that you do," Elite Si entered the discussion.
"The Elite recommend that you forge a 'zone of protection' around local systems," Emmagan supplied. "By monitoring the local systems to you, Atlantis can respond to Wraith incursions and help protect other planets from culling. It will allow you to assist in reducing the territory the Wraith currently hold so freely and help save many lives."
"Such an undertaking would involve a large amount of resources," Woolsey put in with the worried frown of a bureaucrat, but his point was valid enough. The resources and time it would take...
"To defeat the Wraith, extra resources are going to be necessary," Emmagan replied.
Sam tried to think though the logistics of it all - if they had both the Daedalus and the Apollo in Pegasus permanently then maybe they could respond to incursions...
"As we understand matters, Atlantis already tracks Wraith Hives across this part of the galaxy," Emmagan continued, "and responds to requests for help from peoples undergoing a culling?"
"We try to help if we can," Sam nodded.
Emmagan glanced to the IOA representatives and then round to John on her left. "If we are truly to defeat the Wraith, and save countless thousands from them, you will need to start to fight back more effectively."
"I agree," Sam replied, drawing the woman's attention back to her, "but if we start actively building a 'zone of protection', we are going to draw the Wraith's attention back on us."
"And you will have the support of the Alliance if they do," Emmagan replied.
"You're going to bring your entire Fleet across the galaxy to help us?" Sumner asked doubtfully from further down the table.
"We can send support via Portal," Si replied. "We have methods of attacking the Wraith that do not involve battleships."
"What methods?" Sumner asked.
"Not unlike the Ancestor ships," Emmagan replied, "we have fighters that can move through an open Portal and engage the Wraith in orbit."
"Gate ships?" McKay asked with clear eager anticipation. "Could we get some of those in the trade?"
Sam held up a hand to McKay, silently asking him to restrain himself, not that it'd probably work.
"The Alliance hold its border not only by the use of the Fleet, but by the use of sentry sensor platforms that continuously scan local space and relay information back to monitoring stations," Emmagan turned her head to look down the table towards McKay. "We are not in a position to trade Portal fighters, but we are prepared to share with you the technology of our sentry sensor platforms."
That caught some attention around the table
"You're going to give us sensor satellites?" McKay asked.
"We will share our technological approaches to assist you in designing and building your own systems," Emmagan corrected. "The sentry platforms utilise various sensor systems, many of which are specifically attuned to detecting the Wraith, which you could also add to your battleships as well as the sensor platforms."
"That sounds very promising, Elite Emmagan," Sam replied as she glanced across the table to Jack. This was more like it.
"In turn, we are also interested in learning about your use of energy shielding for your battleships," Emmagan continued. "You have already informed us that certain technologies on your main ships are not to be traded, but we understand that you have access to other types of shield generators, including those here in Atlantis. We would like to trade for a shield generator from your galaxy or to be allowed to study the Ancestor shielding deployed here in Atlantis."
"You guys don't have forcefields?" John asked, his first comments in the meeting. Sam had noticed he had literally kept one hand against his mouth as he had listened, as if holding himself back from saying anything.
Emmagan turned to look at him. "We do, but we would like to study more effective shielding, as we have been unable to create a protective stable energy shield held out beyond a ship's hull."
Sam had already talked with the IOA about the possibility of sharing some Goa'uld tech with the Elite. Maybe they could trade a Goa'uld shield generator.
"We would, of course, agree to share anything we discover with you," Emmagan added.
"I'm sure we can take the suggestion to our people back home," Sam replied carefully. Personally, she would love the opportunity to work with Elite scientists to try and create a working shield generator that wasn't simply an adapted piece of alien tech.
"We would also," Emmagan continued, clearly on a roll, "look to trade with you for your retrovirus technology." This was the main item that Sam had been certain would be on the Elite's list.
"As you know, the retrovirus isn't yet useable," Sam replied.
Emmagan nodded. "And we believe that we can assist you in its further development."
Sam nodded, pleased. "We would need to insist that the work is done in Atlantis. Your experts would be welcome to come here to work on the project together."
Emmagan glanced at Si, the two silently agreeing. "That should be agreeable," Emmagan concluded. "Once the retrovirus is viable, we would expect to have complete access to it."
"If we can get the retrovirus to work," Sam replied, "it will be important that we proceed carefully in how we deploy the viral weapon. If we show our hand too soon, the Wraith may have time to counteract the effects, and working out how to deploy it effectively could take time. I suggest that we look to work together not just on developing the retrovirus but also how we can use it effectively on the Wraith."
"We could create a joint taskforce devoted to the development and also the deployment of the technology," Emmagan suggested, seemingly to Si as much as to the rest of the table.
Si nodded. "The others would likely agree, but we would need assurances that the Elite would have free access to the retrovirus once deployment methods and a plan of attack are decided upon."
"I am sure that we can come to a clear agreement on the subject," Sam answered, glancing to the IOA, seeing Jack glance back at her. She could tell instantly from his expression that he agreed. If they could get the retrovirus working and have the Alliance's help in working out how to deploy it, it would be more than worth the deal. If the retrovirus worked, it could solve all their problems with the Wraith.
"So," Sumner put in from the far end of the table, "you want access to Ancient forcefields, or alien equivalents from our galaxy, the retrovirus, our help in fighting the Wraith, and for us to risk pushing back the Wraith and creating our whole large protection zone. That's a lot that you want from us; what do we get in return?"
Sam internally winced at the blunt question.
"As already stated," Emmagan replied calmly, Ketra swinging her head from Emmagan to Sumner and back, "we will share our sensor platform technology, which will allow you to monitor Wraith activity successfully."
"We already have the Ancient scanners here for that," Sumner put in. That wasn't quite accurate; the Ancient long-range scanners could detect Hives, but not Wraith arriving on a planet through a Stargate and limited to a planet's orbit.
"You will have our assistance in developing your retrovirus into an effective weapon," Emmagan continued, "for which you will no doubt require fresh Wraith tissue samples?" Emmagan's attention returned to Sam.
"Yes," Sam confirmed.
"Then we will be able to provide that for you," Emmagan replied, "at our own risk. We will also be able to capture live Wraith for you once the retrovirus is ready for proper testing."
That was no small thing. Getting hold of Wraith samples fresh enough for Carson's research had already been a sticking point. When Iketani had captured Carson, the retrovirus research had jumped forward significantly by her technology but also because the woman had had captive Wraith from which she had taken fresh cell samples for Carson's work. If the Elite were able to provide that side of things, it would take away a hell of a lot of risk for Atlantis.
"However," Emmagan continued again, "in return for your active assistance in reducing Wraith territory and assisting us with certain missions, we are prepared to trade our energy weapons technology."
A shocked pause fell over the table.
"What?! Really?" McKay exclaimed with excited delight.
Sam saw Emmagan smile just faintly. "You will be able to create and maintain your own energy weapons, of any scale," she continued. "We will show you how the technology works and how you can adapt it for use on your battleships or even on sentry satellites."
Sam's heart beat loudly with desperate relief.
"We would also," Si continued now, "provide you with our defuser technology, which enables wearers to be immune to Wraith stunners."
"We are also be more than willing to share our skills in fighting the Wraith in close quarters should your projectile weapons fail you," Emmagan added, the two Elite tag teaming the sales pitch. "In addition, if you require Elite warriors to assist you on your own missions, or simply require our advice, we will be available to you."
It was more than Sam had hoped for and would possibly fulfil the expedition's mandate in one foul swoop. She looked across the table to the IOA, looking at each in turn, trying to gauge whether they were pleased. Most of them were too good at hiding what they were thinking, but Faxon sent her a happy smile and Woolsey was feverishly scribbling down some notes on a legal pad.
The sticking point would be the 'zone of protection', but what Atlantis would get in return...
"No doubt you will need to discuss our offer at length," Emmagan continued. "The Elite do not expect an immediate response, but, once an agreement has been reached, we will be ready immediately to begin the trade."
"Thank you, Honoured Elite," Sam replied. "I believe I can speak for all of us in saying that the Elite have been very generous in their offer and we will indeed discuss this further and present the Elite's offer to our people back home."
Si and Emmagan both nodded solemnly.
"If you would like, there is time now for you to join some very eager Marines in the gym who are waiting for their first training session with you," Sam suggested to the two warriors. Elite Si smiled at the suggestion.
"We would welcome it," Emmagan replied with a nod.
Sam briefly tapped on her radio earpiece. "Major Lorne," she voiced into the small microphone and immediately the large floor-to-ceiling doors to the Conference Room began to swivel open behind her. "Major Lorne will show you to the gym."
Everyone around the table stood up as the Elite rose. Sam watched as John uttered something quietly to Emmagan before she moved away from the table, the two appearing to be handling their new 'marriage' situation well.
Sam had decided not to question what that marriage might involve, as it was best not to know.
The Elite exchanged polite nods with the IOA as they headed out of the room, Ketra following along behind them, to where Lorne was waiting for them with a large smile.
Sam settled back into her seat and waited as the doors to the Conference Room once again swung closed.
"Well, that went well," General O'Neill summarised happily as the doors shut.
"If they really are going to give us their energy weapon technology," Rodney began excitedly, "it could change everything."
"Do you not already have Asgard energy weapons?" Professor Morgan asked.
"Only on the Daedalus and Apollo, and we haven't quite worked out how to build our own versions yet," Sam supplied.
"I thought there had been some advances in the Goa'uld technology now that the Jaffa are trading with Earth," Shen asked.
"The Jaffa didn't make the Goa'uld tech," Rodney scoffed, "and their energy weapons have nowhere near the precision or efficiency of what the Alliance and Elite use. If we can start making our own stunners, have our own beam weapons-"
"Yeah, we all get it Rodney," John warned, but Sam could see the same excited hope in John's eyes.
"Stunners and help with the retrovirus are, of course, extremely useful," Ms Shen put in, "but in return we will be agreeing to this 'zone of protection'. I cannot see how we have the resources or the willingness to start taking on the custodianship of large numbers of other planets."
"We also have to consider the Wraith's response to all this," Professor Morgan repeated Sam's earlier point. "Right now, as I understand the current events, we're not a major target for the Wraith. If we start running joint operations with the Elite and establishing our own territory in this galaxy, the Wraith will see us as a dangerous enemy."
"They already see us that way," John pointed out.
"This city survived the last Wraith attack by cunning rather than weapons," Professor Morgan replied calmly. "If they discover that Atlantis still exists, if they do not already know, what will stop them from returning here?"
"We've got both the Daedalus and the Apollo, and the Alliance have agreed to help us through the Gate and with ships," John replied. "And if we get our own energy weapons, plus Atlantis' shield and drones, we can fight back."
"We won't always have both the Daedalus and the Apollo," Sam noted.
"Aren't they building more Daedalus class ships?" John asked.
"Yes, we are," Jack replied. "But, stationing two of them in Pegasus all the time could be an issue."
"With our new trade deals with various Alliance worlds," Woolsey considered from Jack's right, "we should be able to have more than enough food for the ships for longer stays."
"Running and maintaining spaceships is more than just having enough food," Sam told him. "There are repairs, decontamination procedures, and air supply issues. Plus the personnel assigned to them do not sign up to permanently remain in another galaxy and we have no idea of the long term affects of living and working on spaceships."
"So one ship goes back to Earth as another heads here," John suggested, "the second ships tag team each other. Or we could change personnel through the Gate?"
That was possible.
"Keeping two ships here would also reduce the protection for Earth," Jack added. "Earth Defence won't be happy about that."
"Or we just start building here," McKay put in, all eyes turning to him. "We can set up an Alpha Site in Pegasus and start building ships and manufacturing our new sensor satellites and stunners here in this galaxy."
John nodded along with Rodney. "Do we even need to build new ships as big as Daedalus?"
"If we start building a new colony for such manufacturing in this galaxy," Faxon cut into the excited talk, "then that will require even more resources."
"Not if we use Pegasus based materials," Sam considered. "That would greatly reduce the cost for Earth."
"Our new trade deals could provide us with a lot," John added in.
"A few components would need to be brought in through the Gate, like Naquadah." She looked to Jack.
"We're talking about setting up a huge operation here," Jack said. Sam could see the caution in his eyes, the calculation of what Earth Defence would say.
"But it would save money," Sam replied. "We've got our new trading partners here."
"We'd need to find metal ores," Zelenka entered the conversation. "We'd need to start with basics, like smelting the metals, forging."
"Or we trade for it," John replied. "Sheet metals from the Alliance."
"And become reliant on them?" Sumner noted.
Sam turned her mind around the idea. It would be a significant increase in production and investment in Pegasus, but anything built could be taken back home if needed.
"Doing so would be committing a lot this galaxy," Professor Morgan put in, and echoing Sam's thoughts. "Are we all, and those back home, ready to fully commit to staying here long term?"
"We're here now," John argued back quickly, "and the Wraith aren't going away. If we work with the Elite to help finally defeat them, then it'll be worth it."
"What about the mainland?" Sumner asked from down the table. "Maybe there's resources there we can use?"
"The results of some initial geological tests suggests there are some potentially useful mineral deposits; we'd need to do further research," Zelenka replied. "We could use the mainland for ship building as well, rather than using an Alpha Site."
"Even if we use materials found in Pegasus and obtain much by trade, we are still talking about assigning significantly more personnel here," Shen pointed out.
"The more people are involved in the work here," Professor Morgan added, "the greater the chances grow that there will one day be a leak of the existence of the Stargate programme and the extent of our new reach."
"That'll happen eventually anyway," Rodney dismissed the significant point. "The secret has already leaked out before and, even if it does, that won't stop the Wraith from eventually finding a way to Earth."
"Maintaining a base in Atlantis is one thing, setting up an empire is quite another," Shen argued.
"We're not talking about an empire," John answered her. "We're talking about making a stronghold, keeping these sentry sensor platforms and going in to deal with any Wraith targeting a planet nearby. We pretty much do that anyway."
Sam had to agree with that.
"And if we get the sensor satellites working," John continued passionately, "that's technology we can use back home, watching over Earth. And we know the Elite and Alliance have more we could one day trade for; all of that helps us here and back home."
"I'm not saying we should turn down the offer," Shen replied, "I am simply stating that we may not be able to do what the Elite want us to do."
"But," Woolsey piped up, "it may be well worth trying. Major Sheppard may be right, we could become more akin to 'wardens' of the local area of this galaxy, keeping a watch that the Wraith do not get too close. If we are able to have possibly two ships in orbit, we will have the ability to respond and call in assistance from the Elite if needed. We just have to negotiate with the Elite so that they understand and accept our interpretation of the term 'zone of protection'."
"I agree with Dick," Jack nodded, and Sam had to work to keep a straight face. "Ultimately, the space guns and help developing the retrovirus will be worth negotiating the extent of this 'zone of protection'." In typical Jack form, he'd made speech marks with his fingers as he'd said 'zone of protection'.
"If we can deal with the Wraith for good with a workable retrovirus," Sumner added, "then we can always pull out of Pegasus at a later date. Until that time, we need this deal and their energy weapons."
Sam hadn't missed John's alarmed frown at the Colonel's suggestion of pulling out of Pegasus in the future.
For now though, debating the issues around the table could take all day, and ultimately they weren't going to be the ones to make the final decisions.
"I think we can all agree that, in principle," Sam said to everyone around the table, "the Elite are offering us some very favourable terms. There's a lot that we need to refine and discuss further with them regarding the 'zone of protection', what that actually involves, how much of the local area will they expect us to hold, and many other questions. But, I think we have plenty to start with for our reports back home."
Sam consulted her watch. "Our scheduled dial-out to Midway is at 16:00 today, so if you could all have your reports, and any other files you want transmitted back home, in the usual place on the city server by 15:30."
All heads nodded around the table.
"I will be in my office for most of the afternoon if anyone wants to discuss things through, and we have the welcome dinner for the Elite this evening," Sam looked around the table. "I will see you all then."
The meeting broke up quickly, people rising up from their seats and chattering away as they headed out of the room. Sam took her time though, tapping on her tablet to stop the audio recording and saving it securely. She let out a heavy sigh of relief as she stood up, collecting up her tablet and her forgotten mug.
As she turned towards the sideways angled doors out of the Conference Room, she saw that Jack was waiting for her, a smile across his handsome face.
"That went well," she repeated his earlier assessment as she joined him in one of the doorways.
"Any meeting is good if it includes the phrase 'we want to give you stunner technology'," Jack replied.
She chuckled.
"Unless they're about to use said stunner technology on you," Jack considered.
"I still think the most surprising part of the meeting was you agreeing with Woolsey," she teased as she led the way out.
"Don't remind me," Jack muttered as he followed.
00000
He'd pushed himself a bit too far this afternoon. A dull ache of a strained shoulder muscle quietly complained as Oneakka leant into the warm rush of the gym's shower.
He knew when he'd done it; he'd overextended as he'd blocked a downward attack from Massa.
Sparring with his fellow Elite was always challenging, and today things had gotten to a powerful intensity with six of them all sparring as a mass group. He'd organised it, pushed for the weapons practice and the six-way sparring. It had been good and had lasted almost two hours. Everyone had been panting and exhausted by the end, simulating battle as much as was possible outside of the Generator.
The best part had been that Halling had kept up, not showing any obvious signs of physical weakness. Oneakka had been worried that his friend had been neglecting his training during the long weeks on the Sythus, but Halling had clearly been keeping up his training and that helped calm some of the worried nervousness inside Oneakka's chest.
The others had left the gym an hour ago, heading off to their own duties, but Oneakka had moved into the Generator to train further. He'd programmed some basic combat against three simulated Wraith. It hadn't been as difficult as the sparring, but it had strained the shoulder muscle further and his ribs were complaining again.
He had to be more careful. Injury in training was just as limiting as injury in battle. He had to make sure not to push himself too much in his desire to be ready for whatever it was that was out there waiting to kill Halling. He couldn't allow any weakness that would stop him from saving his friend.
The shower's pounding water was good and hot and he angled his body to focus the pressure of the water on the complaining area of his back. He rolled his shoulder under the relieving onslaught of water, testing and stretching the muscle fibres, the ache started to ease somewhat.
His hands pressed against the bright tiles behind the streaming water, he closed his eyes and just stood under the torrent of shower. He focused his attention on his breathing, working on calming the storm inside that was far harder to tame than any strained muscles.
There were no new clues on what ancient enemy was preparing to strike, with only the update due on the Amduat situation the closest to any real leads. And Amduat's silence was probably due to some stellar phenomena – it usually was with that out of the way station. Unless, the new enemy had chosen to strike from there first.
Maybe the day was now fast approaching.
Or it was still months away and all Oneakka could do was wait. Watch, prepare, and wait.
He wasn't overly good at the waiting part, not when Halling's life depended on it. Not when these worried anxieties pulled at old weaknesses.
He reached out and shut off the shower, the last drips of water falling onto his upper back. Alone in the shower room, he simply held still and rested his weight against the wall through his hands.
Years of experience and training told him what to do. He kept breathing slowly; focusing his attention on his well learnt and used techniques to calm his body from emotional and physical stresses.
He breathed in the cooling air and pictured the grass of the Ugun field under his feet, imagined the old remembered sound the summer wind had made through the tall grasses around the open space. From the first days that he'd been taught this technique as a young Recruit, he had built the imagery, adding a myriad of sensory details to fully embody the experience. He recalled the playful singing of the other children playing around the edges of the field, the laughter and grunts of the older children practicing their wrestling and fighting moves, and the sweet fragrance of the wild flowers in bloom.
After all these years, he couldn't really tell what were actual memories from his early childhood on Ugun, but the patchwork of recollections, recorded pictures of his planet, and from his own dreams, he recreated his home village in his mind. He imagined the feel of the soil of Ugun under his bare feet, imagined drawing up strength and determination from it. It gave him the centre he needed, the purpose and drive to act to make sure that he honoured his people and made sure their fate never happened to anyone else.
He snapped open his eyes, feeling better; the swirling anxiety drifting away on the remembered Ugun breeze.
He turned from the dripping shower and padded across the empty shower room. A concealed cupboard door opened to a selection of large fluffy towels and he pulled one out. As he started drying himself down, he heard the door in the attached men's changing room open and two Recruits enter, chattering back and forth about their progress in weight training.
Oneakka ignored the noise as he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed into the changing room. The Recruits were heading into the shower and both bobbed their heads respectfully as he passed by them. As was usual with the Recruits, they avoided his eye contact, but he saw their eyes clock his usually hidden tattoos across his ribs and the large Ugun marking on his upper chest. He remembered his days of being a Recruit and how all had attempted to count markings on their favoured Elite warriors, seeking to see for themselves how many Wraith Queens each had vanquished. Now, older and wiser, Oneakka didn't care how many he had, but he knew each marking gave the Recruits more faith in their own future abilities.
Back in the changing room, alone once more, Oneakka set about dressing. Quickly checking the time displayed up on the wall, he realised he was close to being late to meet Seeal and Madesh in the weapons gym for their evening training session.
Pulling on a long sleeved top, he felt a flush of relief in not having to wear body armour for the rest of the evening. As used to it as he was, after such a long sparring session, he wanted nothing more than to wear something soft and comfortable.
Fully dressed, and his calm control back in place, he picked up his aforementioned armour and headed out of the changing room. It was far cooler in the corridor outside, but that was probably helpful to ease the overworked shoulder.
He paused by a computer terminal and checked the latest status reports. The Military Council had authorised pushing out the border near the former Nest System and there still wasn't an update on Amduat. Oneakka considered messaging Edfu again, but the Joint Security Lead had promised to report anything new directly to him as soon as it arrived.
Continuing on, Oneakka took several turns until he approached the closed doors of the weapons training gym up ahead. Two small windows in the doors did not show Seeal and Madesh inside, but Oneakka could hear them.
As he pushed open the doors, he was unsurprised to see that there was no one else in this smaller gym. Most of the Recruits knew he used this block of an hour to train in here, and they probably knew Seeal was in here too. Since her 'incident' with the Recruits, they tended to avoid her; so, with both him and Seeal scheduled to use the gym at the same time, it was little surprise that no Recruits wanted to share the space.
Madesh and Seeal looked comfortable enough in here though, the two stood to one side by their bags, both deep in loud conversation and laughter. As he entered, they both turned, and the atmosphere shifted immediately. Madesh's grin shifted quickly into polite attentiveness and Seeal's laugh became just a smile.
Oneakka was more than used to people becoming more subdued when he entered a room, it could often be a useful reaction, but he kind of didn't like that Seeal and Madesh reacted that way to his arrival.
Ignoring that reaction though, he headed towards the closest space along the wall and set his armour down.
"Honoured Elite," Madesh approached and practically bowed.
"Madesh. How is the Sythus?" Oneakka asked as he hadn't seen the man since before the mission to Sol.
"All is well, Honoured Elite. The repairs seem slow, but are on schedule," Madesh replied, ever polite and eager always to please. "It is good to see you back from your mission's victory."
Oneakka toyed with the idea of asking Madesh for further details about the Satedan music festival, just to tease Seeal, but he decided not to.
Seeal approached him and Madesh, a bottle of water in her hand. She was dressed all in black today. He'd noticed the considerable change in her clothing of late. He gathered from pieces of conversation between her and Madesh that the two of them had been visiting some trading stations and markets in their free time, and maybe with her new social group from the Sythus in tow as well. Clearly her new life was already having an impact on her, showing not just in her new wardrobe additions, but also in the new routine relaxation to her shoulders, the increasing flush of health to her cheeks, and a pleasing extra amount of muscle and strength to her body. He'd made sure to push her in her training to make sure she was as strong as she could be, because soon enough he would be leaving on the Sythus once it was repaired. He wanted both her and Madesh as expertly trained as possible and as fit and ready as they could be for whatever ancient enemy was apparently returning.
"Have you been keeping to the training schedule?" He asked them both, knowing already that Seeal had confessed to not quite keeping up with the assigned programme.
"Yes," Madesh replied, but his eyes slid to Seeal. "Mostly."
Seeal glared at Madesh as she lifted her water bottle to her lips. "We did the cardio, weights, katas, and some of the weapons," she reported before swallowing some water.
Along with the new range of tops and jackets, she'd started wearing brighter colours and tops with slightly lower necklines – nothing too revealing, but it was new for her. Today's top was black, but there was red detailing along the seams, it was sleeveless, and had a neckline that stopped just below her collarbones. He was certain he hadn't seen this particular top before, so it was another new addition to her collection.
"Good," he decided to accept their report on face value. "We'll start with a warm up and then you can go through the knife and sword katas."
He smiled openly at Seeal's wince at his mention of the sword katas. She hated training with some of the swords, but that didn't stop him from ensuring she could use them all.
The doors to the gym opened to Oneakka's right and Edfu entered.
Oneakka's more relaxed mood shifted quickly into alert concern. Did this mean there was an update on Amduat?
"Honoured Elite," Edfu smiled and bowed as Oneakka turned towards him. Edfu seemed relaxed enough to Oneakka's eyes. "Seeal. Madesh," Edfu smiled to the other two as they moved away, starting up their stretching before their warm up.
"You have an update?" Oneakka asked.
"Yes, Honoured Elite," Edfu confirmed, only for his overly bright smile to flow back towards Madesh and Seeal. "I am sorry to interrupt your training," he smiled again, all polite and friendly towards them. Or, perhaps, mostly towards Seeal.
"We've barely started," Seeal supplied unhelpfully from where she was stretching out one of her arms and Madesh was touching his toes next to her.
"I timed it well then," Edfu grinned at her with his unnaturally white teeth.
"What have you got?" Oneakka demanded, fed up with the pleasantries.
"I have an update from Station 1641," Edfu reported. The next station on from Amduat that was investigating the silence.
Good, finally. But was it going to be the worst kind of news?
Edfu's attention slid away from Oneakka again, back towards Seeal and Madesh.
Oneakka glanced at them to see that Seeal was rolling up from an extreme forward bend where her head could practically touch the floor between her outstretched legs. As she curled her upper body up, facing towards Edfu, the former sedate neckline of her top now showed more than she knew, or perhaps cared about. Oneakka made sure never to look below her collarbones in such circumstances, but clearly Edfu didn't have that polite restriction.
Oneakka started towards him. "Let's talk about this outside," he ordered.
"Yes, of course, Honoured Elite," Edfu agreed and turned to leave. "Good to see you both, Seeal. Madesh," he added to them.
Oneakka kept walking directly towards the door and Edfu in front of it, forcing the other man to leave the gym faster or get crushed.
Edfu successfully out of the room, Oneakka paused in the doorway and looked back to Seeal and Madesh. "Start warming up - laps around the gym until I get back," he instructed, and then headed out into the corridor outside.
In the slightly darker space of the corridor, Oneakka saw Halling approaching towards him and Edfu, presumably called in by Edfu to hear the update on Amduat.
As they waited the few seconds for Halling to reach them, Oneakka moved around Edfu to stand centrally in the corridor, facing the closed doors to the weapons gym. That put Edfu's back to the windows into the gym and ensured he wasn't going to get distracted again by any possible views of Seeal.
"What's the update?" Oneakka asked as Halling reached his side.
"Station 1641's sensor scout bot reached the midway point between the stations, but its own transmissions have become filled with static," Edfu reported.
"Interference?" Halling asked.
"Yes," Edfu replied, all professional now he wasn't distracted; he should know better in his position. "It is a difficult region for clear transmissions, as you know, but there appears to be some new interference limiting the bot's scans beyond the midpoint."
"Can it go further out and still maintain contact with Station 1641?" Oneakka asked.
Through the windows behind Edfu, Oneakka spotted Madesh appear in view, jogging along the far wall of the gym, as instructed. Seeal wasn't with him, but then she might have started the run behind him.
"Yes, so the bot has been sent further out towards Amduat as far as possible before it loses contact with Station 1641. The closest patrol ship is still days away," Edfu added.
"Are they running analysis on the new interference detected?" Halling asked.
"Yes," Edfu replied.
Madesh came back into view, running past the gym's windows, having run a half lap of the relatively small gym. Seeal still wasn't in view.
"They suspect it is some new radiation emission from the nearby supernova, as most of the new readings and the previous intermittent interference from Amduat of late has been due to its flares and radiation ejections."
Oneakka nodded. It was the most probable explanation for the interference and for Amduat's ongoing silence. Still...
"There is nothing else that can be done at present," Edfu uttered. "Station 1641 will report in again on an hourly basis, unless the bot detects something sooner."
Oneakka nodded.
Madesh ran through the view, once again on the far side of the gym, but Oneakka saw that he was gesturing off to the right, no doubt to Seeal; probably attempting to persuade her to actually join in the warm up run that Oneakka had instructed.
"As soon as any report comes in, I will alert you both immediately," Edfu promised.
"Anything new from the new border advance?" Oneakka asked.
"The Fleet Commanders are discussing tactics as we speak, though the meeting was paused several times due to ongoing strike and run attempts by the Cruisers along the local border. Honoured Elite Seifer is heading the Elite involvement at the meeting and will report in once decisions are made," Edfu supplied.
"Good," Oneakka concluded.
"Thank you, Edfu," Halling added.
Edfu nodded and moved to leave. Oneakka held still as the Security Lead moved around him, watching to see if Edfu was going to look back into the gym. The man kept his eyes forward though and moved around Oneakka's shoulder and his steps echoed away down the hallway.
Madesh jogged past the windows again.
Halling stepped into Oneakka's view, partly blocking the gym's windows.
"It is most likely the supernova," Halling stated.
"Most likely," Oneakka nodded as he shifted his stance so that he could once again see through the windows behind Halling.
"We shall simply have to wait to hear from station 1641," Halling concluded.
Oneakka nodded again, aware that both of them were saying one thing but worriedly thinking another. But there really was nothing else they could do right now.
Frustration reared out loud and angry in Oneakka's middle, threatening his recently regained calm.
"I started some historical research into the little we have on Amduat's region," Halling reported.
"I'm guessing you didn't find much," Oneakka predicted. There was hardly anything in that part of the galaxy as it was literally where the stars ran out and the void outside the galaxy began – it was so boring that even the Wraith didn't bother with it. Which would make it a perfect place from which to attack. But then Amduat's sensor capability was designed to prevent that very situation, with its sensors able to pick up anything approaching from a vast distance away. It could even detect hyperspace windows before they opened.
If Amduat had detected anything unusual or worrying, they would have been able to report it. The sudden silence implied something other than an attack, but Oneakka wouldn't rule anything out until he had some facts.
Behind Halling's shoulder, Oneakka finally saw Seeal appear into his limited view of the gym. She was not running laps though; instead, she was stood in the middle of the gym, talking towards Madesh running around the room. As she turned, Oneakka saw the dark cable of earphones hanging from her ears which were connected into the portable music device that had fast become her constant companion.
Her new obsession with music had started after the Nest System's victory celebration, and any time he'd spoken with her in the following days, there had been music playing from the tiny speakers of her tablet computer. So, he'd found her a portable music device instead – which he had ensured didn't have anything on it that she might use to hack into anything – and some earphones to save everyone else from her new fixation. She'd had the music device with her nearly always since. If it wasn't attached to her, it was in a pocket of her jacket or connected to her tablet.
"Massa has invited us to late meal with him and Aki," Halling stated.
"He said he would invite you," Oneakka replied, but his attention was split between Halling and Seeal.
She had started moving on the spot, swaying one way and then the other. One shoulder lifted and then the other, starting a clear rhythm, which presumably was in time to the music playing in her ears. In fact, her mouth was moving as she turned, facing Madesh as he ran around the gym, most likely singing along with the lyrics to what she was listening to.
"Are you free?" Halling asked.
Oneakka shifted his gaze onto his friend. "I planned to bring those two to late meal," Oneakka nodded his chin towards the windows. He often sat with the two for a meal after training. He wasn't overly certain why he'd starting doing that. Maybe it was because he had gotten used to Madesh being around this last year, and he usually shared at least one meal a day now with Seeal while they worked on the database research.
The dance moves inside the gym had become bigger, her head moving, her body twisting and her hips swaying. She was pointing her fingers at Madesh as he ran, moving her arms in time with her music and lyrics.
Madesh had slowed his running as he passed the windows, and Oneakka thought he saw the man's shoulders moving with laughter.
"They can join us," Halling said.
"Okay," Oneakka agreed.
She started moving across the gym floor, tapping her toes to the floor one way and then another.
He'd not seen her dance since the victory celebration, and her willingness to throw herself physically into dancing had surprised him back then. He'd thought she would have been more reserved and self-conscious. She clearly wasn't feeling self-conscious in the gym as she swung her hips quickly one way and then the other, demonstrating that crazy flexibility she had in being able to move her upper body separately from her hips. In training she often used backflips, tumbles, and unusual leaping twisting movements. He'd watched her bend her body entirely backwards, flexing her spine in a way he could only ever dream of being able to replicate.
Madesh ran into view on the far side and Oneakka could see he was grinning as he ran.
The two really had forged a friendship.
Oneakka felt something strange shift in his chest. He frowned at the sensation, unable to identify it.
Halling, realising something was going on behind him, turned and looked into the gym. "What is she doing?"
"Dancing," Oneakka supplied the obvious. "As a warm up," he explained further.
Her backward sliding steps moved her out of view.
Halling looked back round. "They appear to have formed a strong connection."
Oneakka shifted his gaze back to Halling, drawn by something pointed in his friend's tone and expression. "They have a lot in common," he agreed.
Halling nodded, but there was a faint frown tightening his forehead.
Oneakka focused his entire attention back on his friend. "Edfu will keep us informed on Amduat," he reassured Halling. "It is most likely radiation from the supernova."
Halling nodded, but did not look overly convinced. Oneakka wasn't either.
"I will see you shortly at late meal," Halling stated with a nod, but Oneakka saw a wealth of tiredness in his friend; though, that might be due to the two hour sparring session earlier.
"I'll see you later," Oneakka agreed.
Halling nodded, but glanced back towards the gym's windows with a frown as he moved away.
Oneakka wasn't sure what that was, but then everything Halling did now made him worry.
He was getting too sensitive about things.
He would save Halling. He had to.
Alone in the corridor now, Oneakka looked back to the gym's windows.
Seeal was back in view, swinging her body in time to her music. The beat was so obvious by the way she moved that he could almost hear it in his own head.
Raven was flying free, and so much faster than he'd expected of her. She had a social group, new clothing, new confidence to dance freely, and an especially good friend in Madesh.
He really hadn't expected her to adapt to life here so well or so quickly, but then she had a way of always surprising him, at every turn.
Madesh appeared in the centre of the gym, walking towards Seeal now. He was still smiling, saying something to Seeal. He looked well warmed up from his run, and Seeal had certainly warmed her body with her dancing. Once again, they looked relaxed and happy without him in there with them.
The feeling in his chest stirred again.
He shook his head. He'd made a promise to himself not to dwell on the situation with Seeal. The Sythus would be repaired soon enough and he would be heading off from the Facility. She would do fine here by herself.
Flying free.
Without him.
He strode towards the doors, crushing the distracting thoughts as he pushed back into the gym.
Madesh and Seeal both looked round towards him, Madesh's smile shifting quickly from relaxed to polite and attentive again, while Seeal looked faintly embarrassed.
"It was a warm up," she explained.
"Let's start with the weapons work," he decided, getting things back to training. He turned to Madesh. "Which weapons didn't you get to?" He asked, knowing Madesh would give an honest answer. Seeal was already making complaining noises as she headed back to her bag to put the music device away.
"We didn't have enough time to cover all the swords," Madesh replied, the words carefully chosen. They really were developing a close friendship if Madesh was looking to try and not answer something directly.
"Which ones precisely?" Oneakka asked, fixing his gaze on the man.
Madesh lowered his eyes a fraction – he'd understood the look. "We didn't manage to train with the wide twin-edged Litan sword or the standard broadsword."
That made sense. Oneakka looked towards Seeal as she returned to the centre of the gym. "Let's start with the broadsword," he stated with a knowing smile.
Seeal pulled an instant face of protest. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed from her 'warm up'. "Why the broadsword?" She objected. "It's far too heavy for me." It wasn't the first time she'd made the point.
"All the better to build your strength by learning to use it," Oneakka pointed out, also not for the first time.
Seeal set her fists on her hips and faced him. "You might have had a point about the javelin earlier, but when, in any realistic situation, am I going to end up using a broadsword?"
"If it's all you have then you'd use it."
"Because there are broadswords just lying around everywhere," she said sarcastically, though perhaps somewhat correctly.
"You need to learn to use it," Oneakka stated.
"It's too heavy for me," she repeated her reasoning. "If I used one in a fight I'm more likely to hurt myself from swinging the thing around. I'd never use one, even if one was conveniently to hand."
"You made the same argument about the two-handed battleaxe," he pointed out.
He shouldn't really enjoy someone arguing with him like this, questioning his methods. Most people would accept that he was clearly an expert on how to use weapons, but Seeal just liked to argue with him. And he liked to argue back.
"And I still have yet to find a two-handed battleaxe lying around for me to use," she protested sarcastically.
"There's one over there," Oneakka pointed off towards the practice battleaxes along the far wall.
She scoffed at his clear victory.
"Both battleaxes and broadswords are stupid weapons," she complained, clearly having lost the argument and running out of excuses.
Madesh had since retrieved two of the practice broadswords. They were made of wood rather than metal, but had the same weight and balance from added weights inside the wood.
"Both weapons can behead a Wraith with one stroke," Oneakka informed her.
"Maybe with big strong arms like yours," she gestured towards him with one hand.
The compliment was unexpected and threw him for a second.
"But, I'm not as strong as you," she continued.
He supposed 'big strong arms' was actually a description of him rather than an intended compliment.
"You'll get stronger arms by training with the broadsword," he replied, pleased at his argument.
She huffed out an annoyed sound, which clearly heralded another victory for him.
"Run through the standard sword kata movements first," he instructed as he stepped back, ending the verbal sparring session.
Seeal looked like she was going to refuse for a second, but Madesh offered her one of the training broadswords.
"Fine," she muttered as she grabbed the weapon and moved away to take up the starting position. "It's still stupid," she complained.
He was definitely winning this evening.
00000
TBC