Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Credit goes to Phoenix Catcher for letting me borrow some of the ideas behind his story, "Cast Between Worlds."

A/N – Edits to the last chapter – Got the structure of a Marine company wrong – logistics is done by a gunnery sergeant, not a lieutenant. Previous chapter has been altered to reflect this. I'm going to be making the Marine chain of command, responsibilities and equipment about as realistic as I can, within the inherent 'rule of cool' constraint that SGA's plotlines frequently utilise.

To various reviewers – no Harry isn't just going to be Sheppard. He's going to be much more 'in Atlantis,' partly due to tactical reasons but also because of his affinity with Ancient tech, which will be developed more - a lot more, I hope.

Smaller chapter this time – I have exams, and it's taken me long enough to write this stuff.

Chapter 5 – City of Wonders, Part 1

"Be an example to your men, in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself, and let the troops see that you don't in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered and teach your subordinates to do the same. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide."

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, The Desert Fox

The next day, Harry and Sheppard put their heads together their new joint office, one level down from the Gate room. They had come up with a numbering system the day before – the combined Gate Room-Control Room level was 'Level 0', and from there each level down went up a number, a bit like the SGC in Cheyenne Mountain, while the hangar was just called exactly that – the Hangar, or the Jumper Bay.

The two air force officers were familiarising themselves with the structure and personnel of the Marine detachment on Atlantis, as well as what they knew about the city so far. Formally called a 'Special Operations Capable' rifle company, the usual command structure had been slightly altered. Major Sheppard was obviously the commanding officer (CO) with Harry as his Executive Officer (XO), handling day-to-day tasks and administration. Due to the fact Sheppard would also be commanding the primary offworld team, Harry would be staying on in the City unless specifically required offworld, lest they leave Atlantis without either of its two senior officers in a crisis.

Under them were the three rifle platoon and one weapons platoon commanders – Ford, Kagan, Hale and Morales respectively. The company staff were four senior NCOs with specific responsibilities: Bates on security; Stackhouse on training; Master Gunny Santorini on logistics; and Sergeant Major Saito as Company First Sergeant, the senior enlisted man for the detachment who served both as an experienced adviser with over fifteen years service but also as a link between the officers and their enlisted subordinates.

These last two men were a little unusual, as both Santorini and Saito were one rank higher than the norm for a company staff position; however the late Colonel Sumner had handpicked them, wanting the most experienced NCOs he could find to compensate for the fact the expedition would be cut off from all support indefinitely.

The floor below the Gate Room – Level 1 – had been appropriated by the Marines, who had set up temporary accommodation, an armoury, an impromptu pistol range and a small gym-dojo. It was a little crowded, but they were expecting to have more rooms to spread out into in the next few days. Harry and Sheppard's rooms – they had their own, CO's and XO's privilege – were separated by the office they were now in – a shared workspace for both of them as the commanders of the military contingent, while across the hall a larger room held some more desks for the other officers and NCOs who had command positions.

These two rooms were now the military's HQ in Atlantis, and although they weren't that busy yet, they surely would be. Another room that had been found to have an access console for the Ancient Database had been reserved for an intelligence/planning area, but wasn't being used yet since they were still locked out of the database until Dr McKay figured out how to access it from anywhere other than the control and hologram rooms.

Level 2 held the aforementioned hologram room, but was primarily dedicated to a large infirmary and a small communal space. Carson had set up shop and was now trying to figure out the Ancient medical equipment that lay recessed into the walls around each bed.

Level 3 was split – half to accommodation and half to the large kitchen-dining area. The next three levels below that were all accommodation, mostly single en-suite rooms but with some larger suites that had been given over to the six family units among the Athosians. The lowest level before the checkpoint held a collection of labs, already being used by the civilians, and a dormant secondary control room. Apparently that room would require some kind of code before taking control away from the primary room up by the gate – a code they didn't yet have.

"We've got a good crew." Harry commented, looking up from the personnel files he'd been reading on one of the expedition computer tablets. "Particularly the command group."

"Yep, that we do. Santorini and Saito between them very nearly have more years in service than an entire platoon. More than worth their weight in gold." Sheppard leaned back. "Still sure you don't want an offworld team slot?"

"Yes, sir, I'm sure. With my rather lethal skillset, I'm better used on call to rescue you whenever you get in trouble."

"So ... you'll have nothing to do then."

Harry just raised an eyebrow at his smart-arse superior officer. "Judging by how much 'trouble' SG-1 back on Earth managed to get into in just the first few months of Stargate operations, let alone the last eight years, why do you think it will be any different in this galaxy?"

"Why, my sparkling wit and charm, of course."

"Right, because everyone in our galaxy – and of course this one – knows about college football and Ferris wheels."

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Err ... no. Sir." Harry added with a smirk.

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to open a dialogue."

"I'm sure it would have worked…eventually. I'm going to go hassle the Marines. Have fun, sir."

"Fine. Are you going to stop calling me sir, at any point? I'm not that big on formality, as you may have noticed."

"Maybe, major." Harry kept a straight face, with little difficulty. It was fun to have a boss who didn't mind being teased a bit. "Is major better than sir, sir?"

"Ah, get out of here." Sheppard waved at the door, going back to the tablet.

Harry grabbed his tac-vest and weapons as he left, moving somewhat stiffly because of his still-bound broken ribs. In the interests of solidarity with the Marines under his command, he'd switched to the military's Atlantis uniform, a charcoal grey jacket and trousers with black facings on the chest, and a black assault vest. He'd kept his personalised weapons though – P-90 with laser aiming module and now a holographic sight, silenced Colt 1911, and his swords, now strapped upright on his back with the grips just below each shoulder.

"See you later, sir." Harry headed out to the 'checkpoint' a few levels down, which Kagan's platoon were assembling at for a sweep of the tower's lower levels, and was joined Santorini as he exited his own office opposite. "Morning, Master Gunnery Sergeant." Harry paused. "Is there a nickname for your rank, Santorini? No disrespect to that rank, it's just a bit of a mouthful."

Santorini, a tall, heavily built Italian-American from the Bronx, just chuckled. "Master Gunny or Master Guns to you officers, sir. Don't use it too often though sir, or the boys will think I won't mind being called that. I didn't work for twenty years at this so some greenhorn can get my rank wrong."

Harry grinned, "Got it." He'd already come to both respect and like the relatively easy-going senior NCO. Santorini was a career Force Recon marine, and he understood that having a ramrod up his arse wasn't going to make his men respect him – on the contrary, he understood that the soldiers sent to Pegasus were handpicked, best of the Corps, and trusted them to get the minor stuff right. This was so unlike Sumner's personality Harry had wondered how the two had ever got along, but the reason the Colonel had picked him had become clear in minutes – the man was competency incarnate.

Kagan and his three squads were waiting for them, geared up and ready to go. Harry waved the officer and squad leaders over. "We're playing leapfrog today, gentlemen. First squad takes the next level down, second the one below that, third the next. When you're done, radio it in to me or Santorini and move to clear the next floor that doesn't already have a team sweeping it. Also call in any critical finds and make a quick sketch map of each floor. We haven't been able to access full city schematics yet, so I want something I can give to the scientists so they can start studying stuff, while not getting lost." Harry grimaced. "The sooner they have something to do, the sooner they can stop complaining."

The Marines all had a good chuckle at his expression, having been on the receiving end of some of the more arrogant civilians' egos already. Some of the scientists seemed convinced that soldiers as a whole were just slightly more intelligent than apes, whose sole job was to fetch and carry for them. Harry was already fighting a strong desire to stab Dr Kavanagh, one of the physicists, just out of sheer frustration – and they'd only been here about seventy-two hours.

A couple of hours later, Santorini and Harry had settled into a routine. They waited in the area of the staircase on the lowest floor that had a team sweeping it, and gathered the sketches in from the squads that leapfrogged past them to the lower floor before following. This gave Santorini plenty of time to strike up a conversation with Harry in order to get the measure of their new XO – sure, Stackhouse and Markham had been pretty enthusiastic about the Captain during the rescue op, but the Master Gunnery Sergeant wanted to form his own opinion.

"Captain, yesterday you said the Taliban had a nickname for ya?"

"Yes, 'ahasifa ja'be'." Harry glanced at the Marine, wondering if he knew the language. (1)

"Storm … Bringer. Nice. Very poetic, sir." The NCOIC grinned. "Why?"

"That's classified information, Master Gunnery Sergeant." Harry told him mock-seriously. "But in light of the fact we're three million light-years away from any Johnny Taliban who might find out; I don't think the Secret Intelligence Service will mind me breaking OPSEC to tell you." Might as well, it'll help the Marines trust my command a bit more.

"That's mighty generous of you, sir."

"Isn't it just? Anyway, the Taliban's lower ranks had all these rumors floating around about a lone foreign soldier who had a penchant for showing up in the middle of thunderstorms, tearing the guts out of them then disappearing. Hence the nickname, Storm-Bringer."

"And that was actually you, or are you just having me on, sir?"

"No I'm not, that actually was me. Of course, it only happened a couple of times," more than a couple, actually, "but the rumours persisted. The Taliban's ruling council put a bounty on my head – very flattering."

"How much?"

"One million Afghanis ... which because Afghanistan has a currency a bit like Zimbabwe's comes to about ... twenty thousand US dollars. Not quite as impressive as it seems."

Santorini looked at him. "Ever had anyone try and collect, I mean come after you specifically, sir?"

"Not really. SIS and Army Intel fed me a few tips about some mercs who were hired to do so, but not by the Taliban – still don't know who did that. One guy in ISAF HQ in Kandahar set me up for capture, but not to collect the bounty – he was an Islamic extremist, wasn't in it for the money."

"What happened to them – and him, sir?"

Harry grimaced. "Well, the mercs are dead. Very dead. That treasonous bastard in Kandahar is doing federal time in Leavenworth. If he ever gets out, he'd better hide a long way away though - in a different galaxy might work." Harry looked around theatrically. "Or maybe not."

Santorini laughed again. "Yes, well, at least not in this one, sir."

"You got that right, Master Guns."

Sheppard joined them a few hours later as part of their combined plan for integrating into the unit and getting on the Marines' good side. Sheppard and Harry both fully understood the mantra 'Respect is Earned, Not Demanded' - it is hammered into the cadets of every military academy on the planet worth attending, and they intended to win the Marines over as fast as possible. This far from home, their very survival might be threatened if they did not. True trust, especially from elite soldiers did not come easily, but general awe of Harry's command presence during the rescue op had filtered down from the soldiers who had taken part or been rescued. These included several squad leaders as well as Bates and Stackhouse, two of the most senior NCO's in the company, and their word carried a lot of weight.

The jury was still out on Major Sheppard, as the late Colonel Sumner had clearly not approved of the man, and this had made an impression on his men. However, John Sheppard wasn't a man to let anything get him down, and since he was basically a thoroughly likeable guy anyway, the Marines were coming around steadily. The story about Harry that he had relayed to the Colonel on Athos had also made its way around the Marines from those who had overheard, and Sheppard's actions in it – going back for a comrade left behind – also won him points, however much he had downplayed his own part.

It took all day, but the Central Tower was now secured and considered safe for further exploration – all seventy floors of it. Sheppard had already had Hale's platoon on running escorts for groups of scientists in the upper part that had been declared cleared.

"What fun." Santorini grumbled as they began climbing all the way back to the top.

"What, I thought you Devil Dogs were tough, Master Gunnery Sergeant," Sheppard grinned, "is climbing a seventy story skyscraper every day not appealing to you?"

"Surprisingly sir, no, not particularly." Actually, that brings up a very good point.

"If the Ancients were so advanced, I find it hard to believe that they spent their entire time hiking up and down towers to get someplace." Harry gestured at the staircase they were still climbing, at the back of Kagan's platoon. "I mean, look at these stairs. Compared to the rest of the architecture and visual style of the tower, they're pretty bare-bones, not ornamental or decorated at all." They were unadorned metal, with a kind of corrugated grille for the steps rather like on an Earth fire escape, and very unlike the deep red and bronze style of the rest of the tower.

"Hmmm. Good point. Ask McKay if he can find anything in the Ancient Database when we get up there, it'll probably take him a while. I don't fancy spending half the day climbing up and down, although it will make us all very fit."

"You are a chopper pilot, sir, no wonder you're out of shape."

"Hey, don't push your luck, Captain."

"Wouldn't dream of it, sir. Wouldn't dream of it."

It took almost an hour to climb back up. Sheppard and Harry stopped to chat to the Marines on guard duty at the Level 8 checkpoint. Staff Sergeant Bates, in charge of security, had wanted the spot guarded 24/7 and Harry had acquiesced to his request to convert the nearest room into a guardhouse, with bunks for a squad and a small secondary armoury. He'd also gone a little trigger happy and had them set up a heavy-calibre machine gun position facing down the stairs – just in case. Although Harry hadn't had too much trouble with the Wraith in the Hive, he'd had the element of surprise and there hadn't been that many of them. They had no idea if the equipment and tactics the 'space vampires' had used there was typical of the rest – if the Wraith deployed in heavy armour for example, they'd need bigger guns than the P-90s to put them down.

"How much of the city do you think we can keep secure?" Sheppard asked as they continued further up.

"Hmmm…this tower, and the ones around it for certain. The thing is, the primary threat is external as far as we know. The Wraith apparently don't know where Atlantis is, and as long as we keep the gate secure we'll be fine. From the city itself, the danger comes from any devices or technology we don't understand that might be accidentally activated, so our security primarily depends on the scientists acting like adults and not twelve-year olds with a new gadget."

"Good luck with that."

"Tell me about it." Harry rolled his eyes. "The only one I'd trust with that right now is Zelenka, who seems far more level headed than any of the others. Have you given any thought to how we could use the Athosians?"

"Uh ... no. Why?"

"Well, they're here, we're giving them food and shelter, and they don't have any of their usual activities – hunting, farming, etc., so they'll be pretty bored very soon. We might as well ask some of the adults if they want to help out exploring the city; hell, maybe start training on weapons – they have as much reason to shoot the Wraith as we do. After all, we're going to ask Teyla for introductions to other planets in the galaxy, why not put Athosian 'native guides' so to speak on the other exploration teams?"

"That'd be good."

"It also avoids offending the Athosians by basically staying 'stay put, we don't trust you yet' or 'stay put, you're kind of useless to us,' neither of which is true, I hope." Harry glanced at Sheppard to check.

"Well, Bates does have concerns ..."

"I know, and I told him that even the slightest appearance of mistrust of the Athosians will be totally counter-productive, especially this early on, and without even the smallest piece of evidence. We can't afford to make more enemies now – the Wraith are already going to be hard enough as it is."

"Okay. You mind taking point with that? With Teyla and Halling I mean, as liaison. You were getting along pretty well back on Athos before the attack, have you talked much since?"

"A little, at the party yesterday. I'll go … open a dialogue, shall I?" Harry teased as they reached Level 1, the military floor.

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Again with that. Yes, go get cosy with Teyla."

You know, I wouldn't mind doing that.

"Is that an order, sir?" Harry asked him, with a perfectly straight face.

Sheppard's own thoughts seem to just be catching up the mild accidental innuendo. "Uh ... you know what I mean."

Harry laughed as he split off at the landing, "Do I? I'll go find Teyla. Catch you later, boss."

"Well, at least you're not calling me Sir any more!" Sheppard called out after him.

Harry didn't catch up to Teyla until dinner a while later. Although it was still pretty basic fare, the small kitchen staff – most of whom had other roles – had gotten set up in the dining area on Level 3 very quickly. Carrying his tray, Harry spied an open space opposite Teyla where she sat in amongst a group of Athosians, Halling by her side. Catching her eye, he raised an eyebrow at the opening, a silent question to which she responded with a nod and a smile.

The big guy, Halling, seemed to find this mildly amusing for some reason.

"Maasa el'khair, Teyla, Halling," Harry said, setting his food down.

"And that means…"

"Good evening." Harry sat down. "Had a good day?"

"Yes, indeed. To walk in the City of the Ancestors is not an experience I ever expected to have. It is both beautiful, and fascinating." You can say that again.

"Yes it is, although the lustre is somewhat worn off after climbing down seventy stories, and then up again." His jesting tone and slight smile reassured the other Athosians listening he meant no disrespect to their beliefs.

"So this tower has been searched?"

"Yes, although we'll still have guards go out with the science teams tomorrow, just in case of any emergencies. The scientists will almost certainly be heedless of the potential dangers of this place. The Ancestors," Harry deliberately chose to use the Athosian name, "were very advanced people, and there will be many things we will not understand, at least at first. I'd rather the good doctors didn't kill themselves or potentially the rest of us by being too eager." This got some smiles – the childlike enthusiasm of many the civilian staff was clear to all, at being essentially allowed to run wild in the most advanced city of what was quite possibly the most advanced civilisation ever. Even the Asgard, in the million years since their allies had left the Milky Way, had still not managed to equal some of their technological feats.

Having covered his side of things, Harry reversed the conversation back to the Athosians. He did want to know how they were doing, but was also aware he was building goodwill simply by being interested. People like to be remembered, and needed.

"Are you folks settling in all right?"

"Yes, although we will need more space if we are to stay here for much longer."

"Ah yes, well now that we've cleared the tower we can start spreading out I should think." Harry pulled out the sketch maps, which he'd put into the right order and stapled together in the office before coming down. "Let's see ... yeah, got some accommodation areas in the lower areas ... mostly single rooms here. Some larger apartments further down on Level 20 ..." Harry looked up. "Well, I'll pass the request along to Dr Grodin, who's handing the accommodation details for Dr Weir. I'm sure we'll find more space outside the main tower once we start pushing out more too; this is a city, it's hardly likely to be all laboratories."

"Thank you, Captain."

"I also wanted to ask if there were any Athosians who wanted to join our offworld exploration teams –"

"– I'll go!" Jinto interrupted. Halling's son was sitting next to him, two places to Teyla's right.

"Err ... points to Jinto for enthusiasm, but let's make that adult Athosians, shall we?" Harry grinned at the boy, who was nearly bouncing in his seat. The other members of the clan watching relaxed, and joined in the laughter, reassured that this rather intimidating looking Earther, with his prominent scars and piercing green eyes was not as harsh as his appearance.

"Major Sheppard will be commanding the first team, and I'm pretty sure he's going to ask for you to join him, Teyla."

"Well…" Teyla hesitated, looking around and Harry's respect for this woman kicked up a few notches. Clearly her first instinct was to think of her people, rather than herself. "Normally, I would say no, but since we seem to be taking up residence here, I suppose there is little for me to do once we have settled in."

"Well, he hasn't asked yet, so you have some time to think about it."

"Thank you, Captain. Or … shokran, yes?" Teyla said, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Harry's broad grin cemented the listening Athosians' also upwardly-revised opinion of him, as well as giving all of them even more reasons to gossip about both him and Teyla, although Harry didn't know that. "Afwan, Teyla. You're welcome." He looked around. "Would anybody else be interested? Of course, this isn't conscription or anything; we don't expect you to leave your families and lives behind if you don't want to. But the galaxy's a big place, and there are sure to be many interesting and wonderful things to see or experience out there."

He got a few nods, as expected. The Athosians seemed to be a very outward-looking group, very aware of the galaxy as a whole that could be accessed through the Stargate, rather than ignoring the potential gains entirely which many cultures seemed to do.

"Great. For those volunteering, we'd like to train you on our weapons, and probably have you working as part of a specific team. Our reconnaissance teams are rarely more than four people, and so they not only have to be capable of defending themselves but also tend to form very cohesive units, almost like families, but with each person bringing their own talents to the table. Back on Earth, the first and most successful team was called SG-1; it consisted of a soldier, a scientist, a language expert and an alien warrior who acted as a cultural advisor, so to speak. The team consisted of the same four members, with only one temporary change, for seven years or so, and have saved our world against aggressors time after time, and proved repeatedly that small teams can get the job done every efficiently."

"Would that be our role, Captain?" Teyla asked. "Cultural advisor?"

"At the moment, yes. This is a preliminary plan, and may change. We have a saying in our military – 'no plan survives contact with the enemy.' If the Wraith actively pursue our exploration teams, we'll have to be much more careful, and go out more heavily armed. However, we don't anticipate them being able to do that – the galaxy is a big place, after all. But at first, yes, we would appreciate it if the Athosians were to introduce us to your offworld friends and trading partners, so we can begin relations with them on a more friendly footing. The food supplies we brought won't last forever, and we don't know when we might be able to contact Earth or the other way around. Most of all, we need information about the Wraith – up-to-date intelligence on their movements, strengths, that kind of thing. If we're to take the fight to them, we have to know where they are, and they cannot learn where we are, because through Atlantis, they can reach Earth, and that is not an option for us."

"But what if you can't beat them?" the speaker was a younger Athosian; one he was fairly sure was called Koren.

Harry kept his voice level, but firm when answering. They're mostly farmers, not soldiers. They're used to the idea they might have to sacrifice for their family or tribe, but being told to step up and defend the galaxy is a rather different matter.

"There are seven billion humans on Earth alone, and many, many more on the other worlds of our home galaxy. This city is the gateway to that, and it must be held, even at the cost of our own lives. We will fight to the last man and the last bullet, and then we'll use knives, and then fists and teeth. Losing is not an option."

"Strong words, Captain." Teyla was looking at him, but speaking mostly for her people's benefit. "And wise ones."

"Thank you, Teyla. I try. But it won't come to that. The SG teams back on Earth had a habit of pulling miraculous solutions out of thin air even when the situation was incredibly dire. We have some of the brightest technical and scientific minds from our entire planet here, so I'm sure they'll be more than up to the task."

Teyla was happy to see the Captain again, as he'd left their conversation the night before on a rather mysterious note. However, she was also aware of Halling's quiet but amused interest in their conversation, and that the other Athosians were terrible gossips and so she was determined not to give them any ammunition if at all possible. Keeping the conversation work related seemed the best way to go – but then she just had to go and use one of the 'Arabic' words he'd spoken last night.

Spirits, that smile. It's like he's a different person, and he's probably made half the women on the table crush on him like teenagers – including me, spirits help me. The scars and worries seem to fade away; he looked like ... a young man, or at least a younger one ... thinking of which, he very carefully didn't tell me his age last night ... hmm ...

She was very impressed at his leadership skills. While appearing to address her, he was actually speaking to her people – whom he had never met, or had any real reason to bother with. He astutely addressed and assuaged their fears, both that they might be marginalized in this new and strange home, as well as the ever-present threat of the Wraith. He talked about how they could help, if they wanted to. He clearly showed that the Expedition leadership were thinking ahead, trying to deal with long-term problems like food supply before they became problems at all, and that they had a clearly defined set of goals for the immediate – make friends, trade, gather information to fight the Wraith. At the same time, he didn't give out any real details or time-frames. Teyla had already realized the Earth personnel were used to working in strictest security – especially the soldiers – and she could hardly expect them to trust everyone with their strategy.

For the moment, she also realized she was in that category, but Teyla intended to change that. She had always been prepared to fight the Wraith defensively, to protect her fellow Athosians, but had accepted that against the overwhelming superiority of their enemies, that wouldn't amount to much. Now, she was in the company of people who could not only have a chance to negate that technological advantage, but out-think and out-manoeuvre the Wraith within just a day or two of arriving in the Pegasus Galaxy, as they called it.

She had never encountered a group brave or suicidal enough to mount a rescue operation right into the depths of a Wraith Hive – or skilful enough to get out without being massacred. Now, with these people and this city's technology behind them, she felt as if there was a chance the Wraith could be stopped, if not defeated, and she wanted to be a part of that. The Wraith had been their bane for so long, who had taken her entire family, and so many others. Now, she could fight back.

Beside her, Halling seemed to be aware of at least the first part of her internal monologue, and was having a discreet chuckle at her expense. He knows me far too well, and no doubt he'll pass this along as further fodder for the gossips. Putting her surrogate big brother out of her thoughts, she focused on the conversation again in time to reinforce the Warrior's message.

"Strong words, Captain. And wise ones." Would anybody notice if I elbowed Halling in the stomach, I wonder?

After Captain Potter stood to leave, she tracked him across the room as subtly as she could. Something had been knocking at her all through the conversation, as if she had forgotten something ...

Oh of course, the way he walks. Light on his feet, always balanced even when weighed down in armour. I wonder if he would spar with me ... and who would win.

With this thought, a contemplative expression spread across her face, followed quickly by a sly smile. He'll be in for a shock ... I hope. Teyla had always been competitive when it came to the Bantos fighting discipline her people practised.

Once again, much like the night before, she wasn't able to slip anything past Halling.

Damn it.

"Thinking about introducing him to your little sticks, Teyla? Or are you just going to knock him over the head and drag him back to your room?"

Oooh, low blow.

When faced with an uncomfortable question, deny, deny and deny again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Teyla informed him with an innocent expression – too innocent by far.

The tall Athosian just laughed at her. "Yes, I'm sure. Now go and catch up to him, parum sororis." (2)

"Captain Potter."

A voice interrupted Harry's thoughts as he approached the stairs on Level 3, returning to his rooms. Turning, he found Teyla catching up to him. She was dressed in what appeared to be her standard manner of dress – a laced-up blue sleeveless top made of some type of pleated fabric, grey-blue trousers and brown suede boots up to mid-calf.

"Teyla. Something else?"

"Perhaps. Do you fight with your hands as well as weapons?"

Harry blinked, and then worked out what she meant. "I do, if you mean hand-to-hand combat. Are you looking for lessons?"

Teyla's eyes narrowed, one eyebrow raised. "No, I do not believe I am." Harry didn't find it too difficult to interpret that look and then mentally chided himself for making stupid assumptions.

Oh. Crap. Now she's going to be rather ... motivated to kick my arse around the dojo.

"Ah ... I see. Aasifa, Teyla. My apologies, I should know better than to underestimate you." He gave a little formal bow in her direction. "When would be a good time?"

"Well, you're on duty all day, and besides, we don't want a crowd now, would we? So, in the early morning?"

"Certainly. Oh-five-thirty, in the Marine gym on Level 1?"

"I will see you there, Captain." Teyla returned his small bow. "I have not had an equal sparring partner since my mentor grew too old to fight." She smirked, knowing she was upping the stakes just by implying no one had been able to defeat her.

"Is that so? Well now, we can't have a potential team member getting out of shape now, can we? Ela al'lekaa, alz'eyma Teyla."

"Not so hasty." Teyla said as he turned to leave again. "And what does that second part mean?" she added with a slight smile, ever curious. "I remember the first part, 'I'll see you soon.'"

"'alz'eyma' is Leader, or Chief. Walk with me?" Harry gestured up the corridor, and Teyla joined him on his left as they walked. "And the other thing?"

"A forfeit."

"Ah-ha." Harry regarded her with a straight face, but she could tell he was interested. "And what might the Lady desire in return for her unlikely victory?"

She hit him lightly on the arm, "For your impudence."

Harry smirked. "Lot of that going around these days, particularly in the command office. Major Sheppard is quite exasperated with me, I'm sure."

"Why so?"

"Possibly because I keep making jokes about his 'college football and Ferris wheels' attempt at diplomacy back on your planet."

Teyla laughed, the sound bright and musical in the hard, angular architecture of the hallway. "I must agree, it wasn't the best opening ploy for trade I've ever heard."

"Which is what I keep telling him. Anyway, the forfeit?" Harry cocked his head to one side and looked at her narrowly. "I'm not going to enjoy this, am I?"

"My desire, as you put it, is a few answers, to a few questions. Shall we say an hour, where I can ask you any question and you must answer – no dissembling, no dodging the question? As you seem to often do?"

"Ah, you noticed. Accepted, I suppose." He raised a finger. "So long as they don't conflict with any secrets I have been sworn to keep by my government."

"Very well. And yours?"

"Hmm. Well, as a knight to your lady, I believe I'm supposed to ask for a kiss." Harry chuckled at her half-taken aback, half-scandalized expression. "However ... if I win ... I would make it two way. You get half an hour, and I get half an hour to ask you. Deal?"

Teyla looked surprised. "Certainly. Although I can hardly think what you might ask me."

"Teyla, we're in a different galaxy. Adapt and survive, or perish. I want to know about the Athosians, about other cultures, that kind of thing."

"Oh. Of course. Tomorrow at five thirty, then."

"See you then. Ela al'lekaa." Harry winked and went on his way. "May the best fighter win!" he called out as he disappeared up the stairs.

Apologies to any Arabic speakers, which I'm not - I'm completely reliant on the internet for transliteration for the Arabic pronunciation into the Latin alphabet, which is much harder than it seems. If you want to hear what it actually sounds like, Google Translate has a nifty 'computer voice' thing which you can use. I'm a big fan of using endearments or catchphrases from other languages in English writing. I've always thought such words sound so much more genuine – by which I mean less trite or cliché – and more interesting than repeated uses of 'honey' or 'darling' – see what I mean?

For 'Old Athosian', the Stargate wiki says the languages of the Athosians are English (boring) or Ancient (which is apparently like Latin). So Athosian phrases or slang will be bastardized Latin translations. The intent is to lend some authenticity to the Athosian culture, which I'll be pretty much making up as I go along really, since the show didn't cover all much of it. This particular phrase is 'little sister.'