*voice of Teyla here* "Previously, on Angels on Atlantis:"
Directly ahead, I could see Max flying. I peered ahead, and was able to see the city. When Max saw it, she poured on the speed, and flew -all out- for Atlantis. Suddenly, a blue tunnel opened, and she shot inside it. It closed right behind her.
"Did she just open a hyperspace window?" asked Sheppard.
"I have no clue what that is…oh, right. I don't know. Maybe."
Angel had done something that nobody else had thought possible, without trying it. In addition to this, Atlantis was -if Angel's report was correct- sentient! The IOA would have a field day with that! Just thinking about the IOA gave me a headache.
"Suit up!" I heard Sheppard call. "We leave in five."
Nudge's POV:
I was walking around, trying to get a feel for the city, when my radio came to life.
"Dr. Wier to Nudge. Come in please."
"Nudge here!" I said excitedly.
"If you like flowers, you could help out the botanists in the garden section. I called ahead, and they said that they would love to have you help them."
"Sure. Sounds like fun! In fact-" Dr Wier cut me off.
"Sounds good to me. I have paperwork I need to deal with, Wier out." she cut the transmission.
Well, where's the garden? I chose a direction at random, and began walking. As I walked, I started trying just how many Wraith Max had taken out. Twenty? Thirty? As I was thinking, I was also randomly walking. Suddenly, I found myself in Sickbay.
"Hello…, Nudge, is it?" one of the people asked.
"Yeah, and you are…?"
"Dr. Beckett. I'm in charge of Sickbay. Are ye lost? Or are you explorin', luv?"
"Exploring, but I'll go with lost. I can't seem to find the gardens, and Dr. Weir said that I was welcome to help with the flower cataloging. So I've been walking around, trying to figure out where it is, and I don't know, and Angel isn't here to help me find my way, and everyone is so busy-"
"Lass, I know now why the others with ye called ye 'motor mouth'." He grinned. "I'll show ye to the gardens."
I pouted at the name 'motor mouth', but I supposed I deserved it. I just have so much to talk about!
We arrived at the gardens, and he turned to me saying "You take good care now, lass. I'll see you later." With that, he left. Swiping my hand over the door control and waiting for the door to open, my thoughts turned again to Max and the others. I didn't mind fighting so much; I just didn't want to do it all the stinking time!Being in the gardens would help, mainly because it was the closest thing I could get to fashion. For all the time I've been here, I have yet to even see a pair of Prada anything! Everyone wore the Atlantis uniform, but it wasn't very fashionable; I would have to fix mine soon.
Control Room:
Dr. Wier's POV:
"Unscheduled off-world activation!" the Gate technician on duty called out.
"Raise the shield." I responded. Sometimes it seemed weird that every time our gate was called that we always raised the shield
"Yes, ma'am." he called out. "Receiving IDC now." he noted. "It's Sheppard's team. They wanna come back home now." Did I hear a bet hidden in his voice?
"Well, let them through."
"Atlantis, this is Sheppard; mission was a success."
"What happened, John?" I asked, eager to know how they did it so quickly.
"The leader of the bird-kids, Max, was dumb enough, or brave enough -I don't know which yet- to give away her location, along with four others. The Wraith swarmed them, and we got in and out with not so much as a peep. Three Wraith found on our way back and followed us, but our resident explosives expert took care of them in short order."
I smiled in spite of myself. "Still want to send the kids home?"
"Aw, wipe that smug grin of your face. You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
"I didn't know it would turn out quite like this, but I liked what I saw when I realized it would come out like this." The first Jumper came through, and when I looked, I saw Angel waving enthusiastically at me. "John?"
"Yes?" came the innocent response.
"In your debrief, I want you to tell me why Angel is flying a Jumper. To my knowledge, she has had no formal instruction. From you or otherwise." The silence that followed my proclamation showed that I was right.
Five minutes later…
"She told me she knew how to fly them. I figured it would be alright to let her fly them, mainly because I knew that she was going to fly whether or not I let her." He was on the defensive, and throwing out that little bit about whether or not he let her was an attempt at distraction. It worked, mainly because I wanted to know how he knew that.
"How do you know that she would disobey?" I asked sternly.
Knowing he was sunk no matter which way he went, he answered. "She told me. With her mind. She's a telepath, and when she said that, with her mind, I believed her. By letting her fly them with my permission, I figured there would be less trouble. Besides, given what happened, wouldn't she be qualified to fly them?"
He had me, and he knew it, but was trying hard not to show it on his face.
"You have a good poker face John, and you're right, you've won this round. Even so, you should have tested her before letting her fly. The Jumper I mean," I amended when realized who I was talking about.
"But I did! The day that we were supposed to go on the picnic. She was flying, and I was co-pilot, to make sure she didn't crash or anything. She made the best landing I have ever witnessed. I never even felt it, and told her that she hadn't landed. She brought up the HUD, and showed me that the Jumper was indeed resting on the deck."
"Well…"
"As far as Ancient tech goes, I think she one step removed from being Ascended. I mean that thing with Atlantis…" he trailed off.
"Well, just make sure that you and Rodney keep an eye on her, okay? I don't want there to be any…problems."
"OK," He replied easily, standing to leave.
"John? Wait. I got a message from Stargate Command; they're sending one more person over. He claims to know about the six kids that we already have here. Oh, and the IOA is coming to review my performance."
"But you've done a great job! I mean, with all the pressure that is on this base, what with the Wraith and all the technology that we don't understand, you've done as good a job as anyone could have done in your position!"
"I appreciate your defense, John, but the IOA doesn't see it that way. I expect you to cooperate with whoever they send."
"Fine. But I don't have to be happy about it, do I?"
"No, but you should be diplomatic about things."
John grunted.
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
He grunted again, indicating that he did not wish to speak further on the subject.
John Sheppard's POV
I hated the idea of the IOA coming in here like they owned the place, and giving Elizabeth some performance review just because they could. Deep down, it was because she let me get away with things that I would never have gotten away with if Col. Sumner had been in command of Atlantis. She understood that things were intrinsically different here, and was able to adapt to suit the situation. Besides, I liked her. She had a different viewpoint than I did, but we usually got to the same conclusion anyway. It wasn't right, what the IOA was doing. But I realized that I would have to be at least a little polite if I wanted Elizabeth to remain as the civilian leader of Atlantis. I was interested in this 'seventh kid', and decided to ask Max about it.
Ten minutes later, with Max.
"I don't know of anyone else being affiliated with us," she declared. "Well, at least not friendly people. There are plenty of enemies that know about us, but no friendly people, mutant or otherwise. Who is this person?"
"I don't know, Elizabeth didn't tell me much except that the person in question is male. She brought up the fact that an IOA representative is coming to, quote: 'review her performance while under pressure' end quote.
"It's a line of crap. I know it, she knows it, and the IOA knows it. They just want to replace her with someone more bent to their agenda. They're half-assed fools if they think that they are going to muscle their way in here, find some excuse to fire her, and then replace her with some pawn of their own. I refuse to allow it!"
She snorted. "Yeah, right! If I know anything about politics-'cause that's what this is-politics, it's that nothing happens by muscle, but by money, and the good guys never win in real life."
"So cynical. Besides, as the leader of the military here on Atlantis, I can do things that other people wouldn't get away with. The difference with Elizabeth is that I respect her, and she has a way about her that I can't touch. I've seen the other people in the IOA, and I would have no problem steamrolling them."
"Oh, there you are! I've been looking all over for you."
"Rodney, when you are looking for me, it's typically either you are in trouble, or I'm about to be. So my question is, why are you looking for me?" I did a double take, "And why are you carrying those Bantos rods?"
"I found them in your quarters." Rodney replied smugly. "I have a bet with Ronon."
"What kind of bet?" I was very suspicious at this point. Ronon almost never made a bet with Rodney.
"Oh, nothing really…just this." Before I could act, he hit me over the head as hard as he could, which wasn't all that hard.
"McKay! What the hell was that for?" Now I was pissed.
"I bet Ronon that I could hit you with these rods-on the head-before you could do anything about it."
I looked around, but didn't find Ronon. However, I did see Teyla. She had a camcorder in her hand, and I was pretty sure it was recording.
"RODNEY!" He jumped, and started running. I chased him, and caught him a moment later. Taking the Bantos rods from him, I took him over to the nearest transporter. Touching the screen for the Control Tower, I wrestled Rodney's bulk into a more manageable position.
"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" he whined.
"You'll see." Dragging him into the control room, I motioned to one of the techs at the computers. "Get me on city-wide, please." There was a tone, and he nodded at me.
"Attention, all personnel. Rodney has made a bet with Ronon. The details of the bet were that Rodney could hit me over the head before I could do anything. Teyla recorded the whole thing, but neither Teyla, nor Rodney, nor Ronon expected me to do what I am about to do. If you want to see what I am about to do, come to the Gate Room to see it. You will have five minutes to get here." I passed my hand over my throat in a slashing motion, and the tech turned off the city-wide. Just then Elizabeth came out of her office.
"John?"
"Rodney hit me over the head for personal gain. I'm not letting him get away with it."
"What exactly are you going to do?" she asked, a little more stern this time. "I need my best scientist to be in one piece."
"Oh, thank heavens, someone with some sense!" whined McKay.
"I'm gonna spank him. Like a little kid. Isn't that right, Rodney?"
"Oh, crap."
"John…," Elizabeth chided.
"I'll use the rods that he hit me with, and I won't hurt him…much." I couldn't help feeling smug. "I refuse to be hit over the head for someone's personal gain without my foreknowledge and permission."
Searching him for knives, and any other tool that he could use to get free, I handed the two knives and the pen that I found to a nearby tech. I then took his shoelaces, and tied his hands to the wall at the top of the flight of stairs. By now, the gate room was pretty much filled with people.
"Do you really have to do this?" whined McKay.
"Yeah. My only question is whether or not Ronon was to protect you if you won the bet."
"No."
"Good." I proceeded to dramatically wind up, and then swing down as hard as I could, slowing drastically before actually making contact. I did this a total of twelve times, doing a full swing on the last one, and not slowing down. That one he felt, and I guessed he would continue to feel it for a solid half an hour.
"YEOW!" the Canadian scientist roared. I untied him, and he turned and ran down the stairs headed for his lab.
Seeing Dr. Wier semi-glaring at me, I walked over and said, "Well, I couldn't demote him. I couldn't kick him off my team, and I couldn't dock his pay. This will be memorable, and I very much doubt that anybody will try that sort of stunt ever again. Besides, I only gave him a total of one real swat."
"I appreciate that you didn't want to lose him, but don't you think that took things a bit far?"
"HE hit ME on the HEAD for PERSONAL GAIN! I couldn't let that stand!"
"Okay, okay, calm down a little." Elizabeth held up her hands as if in surrender.
"If it's any at all, John, I approve of what you did. It kept it light-hearted, but got the point across."
I whirled, and Angel was standing there. She had grown since I last saw her. Angel looked less like an eight year old, and more like a sixteen year old. She still had an aura of purity around her, though; most kids that age rarely seemed as pure as Angle did. She had a simple choker necklace that had a small blue box with Ancient writing on it, and it was lit from within. The light from the small box faded, and she turned and left.
Neutral POV:
Angel walked through the halls at a quick pace, tapped into Atlantis' internal sensors. She was able to detect clumps of people and act accordingly. Waving her hand over a door control crystal, she entered, and flopped down on her bed. The government had paid for an Ipod for all members of the flock, and paid for a hundred songs per player to boot. Angel picked hers up, and began idly spinning the wheel, stopping after a moment, and letting the song play through, and leaving the library on 'shuffle'. Laying down on her side, she closed her eyes and to everyone else, she appeared to be asleep. The box began to glow again, and her eyes darted back and forth as they would in high REM sleep. Her face twitched multiple times before she calmed again, and the box's glow ceased.
Meanwhile, in the control room:
"The Daedalus has arrived, ma'am."
"Thank you." Elizabeth walked down to the same level as the 'gate, and waited for the visitors to be beamed down. A moment later, there was a bright flash of light, and Richard Woolsey stood before her. "Welcome to Atlantis." she said, holding out her hand.
"Thank you." He looked around. "I can see why General O' Neill likes this place. I will be beginning my review at once." He walked up the stairs and entered the briefing room. Shortly afterwards, Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, and McKay entered. Moments later, the flock walked in. Angel seemed to be distracted, and her eyes were still closed, but her accuracy in finding a seat rivaled Iggy's accuracy. The Ancient box was lit again. And when her eyes opened, it was not Angel, but Atlantis personified. Woolsey seemed slightly unnerved by her presence but pressed on anyway. The doors closed, and the lights brightened in preparation for the meeting. Woolsey attempted to open the meeting right away, but Atlantis overrode him.
"Wait," she said, "we're not ready yet."
Dr. Weir looked at her in surprise, but let it slide. A moment later, one of the doors rotated to admit one of Rodney's underlings with three pitchers of coffee. He set down the coffee on one of the tables and walked back out for a moment, returning with a tray of mugs. As soon as he left, the door closed again, and Atlantis inclined her head to indicate that the meeting could proceed. Woolsey looked like he knew he was on thin ice and couldn't do anything about it.
"I heard the report about Atlantis becoming sentient, so I will direct the majority of my questions to her at this meeting." He paused for a moment, unsure as how to proceed.
"Atlantis, it has come to my attention that you are fully sentient, correct?"
At the nod of her head, Woolsey proceeded.
"In that case, I think that my orders should be revised slightly. Have you ever taken it upon yourself to forcibly remove someone from your halls?"
"I have never destroyed anyone, but I have made it very unpleasant for certain people to stay here in the past."
"So then it is at your behest that we remain, am I right?"
"Yes."
"In that case, what is your personal declaration of Dr. Weir's actions in command here? If it were entirely up to you, should she stay in her current command?"
"To the second question, yes, she should stay in her current position. As to your first question, that may take some time.
"She is a very competent leader, and she balances her duties well. I have not seen her try anything that could be defined as inappropriate, and she is very compassionate. While there are people who would refuse sanctuary here, I have watched as she took in whole peoples from other worlds. She has helped many to relocate from disasters, or from severe Wraith attacks. Many times, she has invited people to remain here as a part of the team. She has taken calculated risks for the greater good based on the resources available to her, and very rarely has it not panned out the way she wanted to. It is my opinion that she should stay, removed only by death itself. That's not to say that she should be killed to install one of your own. That is the short version of my side of the story. There may be others with opposing views. If that is all you require of me, I would like to go now."
Woolsey nodded, jotting down the information he had received.
"Oh, and Woolsey? I think that out of all the personnel from the IOA, you are the best because you pursue the truth like a dog after a bone."
One of the doors opened, and she glided out, the door quietly rotating shut behind her.
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Hideout Writer here: So sorry friends, I've been busy with 'The Stargate of Alagaesia' and the inspiration just wasn't coming, but it's here now, so leave a review, and I'll see you again. (hopefully soon)
Answers to Readers:
To GallifreyanGhostGirl: So glad you like it. I try hard to keep thing balanced, so hopefully it'll turn out all right.
To Baby-Rosalita: I'm glad you love Atlantis, I just can't wait for the movie to come out. (whenever that happens)
Read, review, til next time, goodbye, and stay tuned.
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Layman here, and this chapter is brought to you by…Nothing! That's right, nothing.
No, I kid you. HideoutWriter wrote this. Pleases review favorably!