A/N: I don't like this chapter as much as the last one, but I wanted to have Gemma's reaction to the Stargate universe. I do not own Stargate Atlantis or SG-1 and all mistakes are mine. Enjoy, and please review.
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I smiled and said, "Three days."
Gemma gasped and ran straight to her room. "I have to pack!" she called.
I rolled my eyes. Every time we go on vacation it takes double the time we're going away for her just to pack. I flipped up the screen of my cell phone and dialled Daniel's number.
"Hello," answered the archaeologist.
"Hey Daniel. It's Cassie, is that Atlantis offer still on the table?" I asked.
"Yeah. Jack told me about your friend. How did she take it?"
"Pretty well considering that she just found her roommate is an alien. She wants to come too. To Atlantis," I said.
"OK. Can you drive to the SGC later today? We need to debrief her and stuff. Sam sent you a list of stuff to pack, you should get it in the mail today."
"Cool, I'll have a look. See you tomorrow," I said as I hung up the phone.
I can't believe Gemma actually said yes. I mean, she has no idea what it's about or the dangers that we may face. Damn, the Wraith! I knew I forgot to tell her something.
I walked over to the fridge and searched around for the mail. Don't ask me why Gemma leaves it in the fridge, she just does.
There was a letter from her parents, something about the rent and a letter addressed to me in Sam's handwriting. It read:
Cassie,
If you chose to accept Daniel's offer and decided to go to Atlantis, I've written you a list of what to take. Good luck whatever your decision and remember to have fun!
Sam xxI turned the letter around and read the list. It was a lot of basic stuff, like clothes, toothbrush, chocolate etc.
"Gemma, I found a list of what we need to pack," I said, as I went into her room. Gem is a neat freak, unlike me; I'm a slob at the best of times. Every thing is always immaculate in her room, whereas in mine, you can barley see the carpet.
"Let's see it then," she snatched the list out of my hands and quickly skimmed it. "What about uniforms?"
She handed me the list went back to throwing things in a suitcase. I looked over her shoulder to see what she was taking. A couple of pairs of pants, a few shirts, a dress, her photo album, underwear and a toothbrush. She went over to her draws and chucked her ipod, a couple of her favourite books and some jewellery into the case on top of her clothes.
I sat down on the bed and closed the lid. "The SGC will provide them. Listen, there's something else you should know," I said, mentally planning what I was going to say next.
"What?" she asked.
I sighed and tried to find an easy way to explain about the Wraith, which was hard, as I don't know a lot about them myself. "The Pegasus Galaxy is home to a species known as the Wraith."
She gave me a 'wtf' look, so I carried on. "There sort of like space vampires. They suck the life out of you through their hands."
Gemma laughed. "Seriously Cassie. If you don't want me on this trip them your going to need to come up with something a little better than space vampires. And weren't the Wraith those things from Lord Of The Rings?"
I rolled my eyes at her and layback on her bed. "I am being serious Gem. And don't look at me, I didn't name them."
Gamma started to look worried. I probably should have told her about the Wraith once we were on the Daedalus. "What are the chances that we'll run into these Wraith?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Probably not very high. That's the military's job. I'll explain everything later today when we go to the SGC for a debriefing."
Leaving Gemma to continue packing, I went into my room and dug out a suitcase from under the bed. I walked over the closet and found that there were only three shirts in there, so I folded them up as neatly as I could and picked up various items of clothing from the floor.
I got my ipod out of the draw and made sure I packed the power cable for it. I packed my digital camera, some reading material and some extra coffee. I heard that the infirmary only let people drink decaf after the coffee supply ran out last year and everyone suffered caffeine withdraws.
I also packed some of my graduation gifts from SG-1. I swore when I realised that I'd brought the zat gun home. I buried it under my clothes at the bottom of the suitcase and zipped it up.
I glanced at my watch and swore again when I saw the time. "Gemma, come on. We need to get going!" I called, as I went to through my stuff in the car.
"I'm coming!"
She got into the passenger's seat and we drove off. "So, where is this SGC place?" she asked.
"Ever heard of Cheyenne Mountain?" I asked.
Her eyes widened again. "No way! The Cheyenne Mountain?"
I nodded and said that they would answer any more questions she had once we got there. I also told her not to touch anything and to stay away from big red button's, they'll be the death of us one day.
I parked the car and indicated for her to follow me. I got access to the base and went to find General Landry. Making sure that Gemma was still behind me, I knocked on his office door.
"Come in," he called.
I tugged on Gemma's arm and dragged her in with me. "General Landry, sir," I said, mock-saluting him.
He smiled. "Cassandra, good to see you again. Please sit," he indicated to the chairs in front of him.
"Sir, this is my friend, Dr Gemma Williams. Gemma, this is General Hank Landry," I introduced them to each other and they shook hands.
There was a knock on the door and Cameron Mitchell poked his head round the door. "You wanted to see me sir?" he asked.
Landry nodded. "Yes, gather SG-1 and meet me in the briefing room in ten minuets."
"On it sir."
General Landry filled in the basic information for Gemma, such as what she would be expected to do on Atlantis, the Stargate, and the off-world teams.
She looked like she had a million more questions to ask, but I told her they had to wait as we made our way to the briefing room.
Sam, Teal'c, Daniel, Cam and Vala were already there waiting for us. They stood up as the General entered.
I sat down next to Sam. "Guys, this is Gemma. Gemma that's Sam Carter, Cam Mitchell, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran."
SG-1 smiled at her and she sort of waved.
The debriefing last two and a half-hours and Gemma got to ask all of her questions. She was also informed about the Ori and the Goa'uld. She was asked at then end if she still wanted anything to do with the SGC and she still said yes.
Sam and I then showed Gemma to the cafeteria, where Sam and I argued over the last blue Jell-O. The food was as horrible as ever, but I've heard Atlantis has better chefs.
Suddenly the alarm ran throughout the base, which often meant unscheduled off-world activation. Sam darted out of her chair and headed for the control room.
"What's that?" demanded Gemma, looking worried.
I shrugged. "I don't know. Something is going on with the gate. Come on," I pulled her out of her chair and went to find out what was going on.
We made it to the control room just in time to see the gate activate. Gemma watched in amazement as the gate spun to life and the chevrons locked into place. "Oh my God," she whispered.
"Close the iris!" General Landry commanded. "Security team to the gate room!"
"Sir, receiving radio transmission," said Walter.
"Let's here it," said Landry.
"Sir! We're coming in hot! Have a medical team waiting!" I recognised the voice. It sounded like Colonel Dixon.
Landry ordered the shield to be lowered and a medical team rushed into the gate room to attend to
SG-13. Bosworth was shot in the shoulder, but he was going to be fine.
After the fuss was over I showed Gemma to our VIP quarters, where we would be staying for the next few days.
"Oh my God! Does it do that every time?" she asked as she jumped on the bed. She was grinning like a kid in a candy shop.
I sat on the edge of the table. "What? The gate? Yeah, it always does that," I said, acting like it was no big deal.
For once in her life, Gemma was speechless. I took a moment to appreciate the silence. However, it was soon broken. "Man, how cool is this place? What's it feel like?"
I looked at her. "What does what feel like?"
"Going through the gate?" she said.
I had to think about it for a while. "It doesn't really feel like anything. Especially once you get used to it," I smiled.
Gemma and I spent the next few hours talking about the SGC. She still had millions of questions and I was happy to answer them.
We went to bed at about eleven. Well, I went to bed, I'm pretty sure Gemma won't be able to sleep for weeks after the day she's had.
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Next Chapter: Cassie and Gemma arive on Atlantis.
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