A/N: I am so sorry for the late update. I have actually had most of this written for a long time but school got crazy busy and I wasn't able to finish it right away. Then I had major writer's block so I struggled to write the last bit of it. Now I am officially done with high school (WHOOOO!) so hopefully I will have more time to write.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who has stuck with this story. I'll try to update fairly regularly from here on out.
Disclaimer: I don't own SGA.
Like Their Parents Ch. 3
I stood in the embarkation room and stared up at the gate, trying to hide my fear. I was about to walk through an active wormhole that would theoretically transport me across our galaxy into the neighboring Pegasus Galaxy where I would then have to go rescue my dad from some alien or another. And oh yeah, after I rescue my father, I would then be living in the abandoned city of the Ancients. The whole thing made me think of that old TV show Wormhole X-Treme…Cheesy to the extreme (no pun intended), that show was based on the Stargate program.
Adysin stood next to me, her eyes wide. I knew she was terrified. Aiden stood on her other side trying to look cool. I wasn't buying it. The gate began to rumble and I almost took a step back. This was insane…I would probably die doing this but I had to. I needed to see this through to the end.
"Chevron one, encoded," said Walter (at least I think that's his name…). "Chevron two, encoded."
I forced myself to take deep breaths and watched the gate carefully. I didn't want to miss a moment of this. I committed every sensation to memory that I could. I am a writer after all and if I could use this someday…
"Chevron seven is locked!" said Walter.
A WHOOSHING! noise roared through the embarkation room and I nearly ducked. A silvery-blue substance—almost like water—shot out of the ring towards us. Adysin let out a small cry and stepped back. I don't blame her. The only reason I wasn't panicking was because I felt like I had to prove to myself and Aiden that I earned my right to fly the Jumper. He hadn't been very nice to me since I kicked his ass in the race.
"Stargate Atlantis Team 13," General O'Neil's voice came over the microphone. "You are ready to proceed through the gate. Good luck, and we'll see you in a while. Send your parents our regards!"
Aiden, Adysin, and I all looked at each other and with a nod stepped forward. I guess we were actually a team. We were in this together and I suddenly realized that I could trust the two of them to watch my back just like they could trust me.
Walking up the ramp I focused on the undulating surface in the gate. The event horizon, Sam had called it. We paused and I could tell Adysin didn't want to be first or last. She hesitated and looked at Aiden and I nervously. I gave him a nod, took a deep breath and stepped through.
I felt every atom in my body be pulled apart and felt a strange floating sensation. Then I found myself walking into a different room, looking at a room similar to the control room at the SGC. Inside a balding man with glasses peered down at me. I straightened my shoulders and turned to look at the gate behind me as I caught my breath.
Traveling through the Stargate had a hurt a bit and I was cold and tingling all over. I didn't want these new people to see just how badly I had been affected by gate travel. I had been warned my first few times would be incredibly strange experiences and I shook my head. Aiden and Adysin should be here any second, I thought.
A voice spoke from the control room, "Incoming traveler."
Adysin and Aiden came out a second later. Adysin looked close to tears and I gave her a smile. She returned it with a weak one of her own. We were all here. And so far, we were all okay.
Aiden shivered slightly but quickly stood up straight, taking on the military persona I knew had been drilled into him since he started attending George Washington.
The man in the control room glared down at us. I didn't like the way he looked at us as if we were completely helpless. I knew he and I were going to have problems.
A pretty woman walked over to us. She had strawberry blonde hair and a round face. When she smiled, she had dimples. "Hi there," she said. "I'm Dr. Jennifer Keller, but you can call me Jennifer. Mr. Woolsey would like to talk to you three and we'll introduce you to Torren."
She gestured for us to follow her and we did. I couldn't help but like her. She seemed so sweet and I felt that I could probably count on her to help me out with anything. The fact that she had been kind enough to introduce herself and tell us what was going on was a point in her favor. We walked out of the room with the Stargate and up a set of stairs. At the top she led us into a room that was walled with glass. We followed her inside and took our seats.
"I'll be right back," Jennifer said as she left us.
Adysin was beginning to relax I could tell but Aiden was wearing his usual mask. Watching his eyes dart around the room I could tell he was nervous too. We waited in silence for a few minutes and I nearly pulled my notebook out of my bag again. Then the bald man entered the room and sat at the head of the table. I had a feeling this was Mr. Woolsey. Which meant he was in charge of the city...Great. A young man followed him and smiled at us.
"I'm Torren," he said. Aiden, Adysin, and I shook his hand and he sat down across from us. I studied him carefully. This was my stepbrother. The stepbrother my dad had failed to tell me... Jennifer entered the room with a mad scientist-looking guy and the meeting began.
"Welcome to Atlantis," Woolsey said.
We nodded back at him and turned to Jennifer and the crazy guy. "Mr. Zelenka, would you please explain the situation to these three briefly."
The man looked flustered and turned to us. "Ah, yes," he began. "My name is Dr. Radek Zelenka."
He had a thick accent I couldn't place but I bet it was from the Czech Republic. He had a flag patch on his arm.
"Our first reconnaissance team was captured two weeks ago by a wraith vessel. With the team were Daniel and Vala Jackson, who were both visiting to learn more about the Ancients. We have not heard from them or the ones who captured them since they were taken."
He paused and looked at Woosley, who nodded for him to continue speaking.
"We contacted Stargate Command according to protocol and they decided to send you three. You will be joining with Torren in order to rescue Colonel Sheppard and his team. The teams tracer chips have not been blocked or deactivated so we have reason to believe this could be a trap, which is why we are sending you guys in," he said.
I snorted, "Really? You decided that since it might be a trap you would send in four teenagers?"
Jennifer and Radek both gave me small smiles while Woolsey's lip curled slightly. "Stargate Command believed that it might give us an advantage if we send in a team who isn't used to our methods…They also hope that they can begin integrating civilian family members of current personnel into the Atlantis project."
That was interesting, Stargate Command wanted us to live here permanently. I wasn't sure how I felt about it but now wasn't the time to worry about this new information. Right now, I needed to focus on rescuing my dad and learning more about the Pegasus Galaxy.
"You leave tomorrow morning at 0900," Woolsey commanded then stood up to leave. "Doctors Keller and Zelenka will show you to your rooms and Torren will give you a tour."
Adysin looked at me a bit confused, I just shrugged at her. I didn't understand Woolsey's abrupt manner either. Jennifer smiled at us and gestured us out of the room. Aiden, Adysin, and I followed her with Torren and Zelenka talking behind us.
I didn't really look at the city when I first arrived. It was very futuristic. Polished blue metal covered nearly every wall. In a few places there were copper colors as well.
As we walked through the building-city-I corrected myself, I forced myself to try to remember where we were in respect to the Gate room. I didn't want to get lost here if I could help it.
"We decided to put the four of you in a hall together," Jennifer said. "We are hoping it will help you bond more as a team."
I nodded. It made sense what she was saying. She stopped outside of a door and smiled at us. "This is the room we set up for Adysin," she said. Jennifer waved her hand in front of a panel next to the door and it slid open. It looked pretty sterile, I will say. The walls were the same slate gray-blue as the rest of the city. Against the wall there was a desk and a bed. A massive window provided her with a view of the city. Adysin stepped in a put her bag on the bed and gazed around her new quarters.
Jennifer gestured for us to continue; across the hall was my room. It was a copy of Adysin's except I had a window gazing out at the ocean. Next door to mine was Aiden's. I was a bit jealous of him because he had a balcony overlooking the ocean off of his room. Torren was staying next to Adysin and his room was actually personalized a bit.
After dumping all of our stuff in the rooms, we stood awkwardly in the hall with Jennifer. I could tell she wasn't sure what to do next and as we all stared at her she shrugged.
"Dr. Keller to medbay!" a voice commanded on the PA system the city appeared to be equipped with.
"Torren," Jennifer commanded. "You get to finish their tour." She then raced off and left us with the young Athosian. My stepbrother.
The tour took most of the afternoon and we all quickly came to like Torren. He was funny and answered our questions. As we walked to the commissary for dinner, I had hope for us as a team in the future. Torren had a way of keeping everyone calm and I knew he was going to be an asset. I also came to like him as my brother…
A/N: Sorry for the rushed ending. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks so much for reading it!