Gaah! It has been forever since I updated. Last updated on the Seventeenth of November? That's almost a year ago! I can't believe my own laziness! Actually, I've been really involved with something almost more important, The Stargate of Alagaesia. It's been fun, and I've been updating every three days or less. Anyway, you didn't come to see me talk, you came to read a story!
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With Angel:
Having done what needed doing in the conference room, Atlantis released her hold on Angel, who didn't know where to go from there. Finally, she walked down the stairs, and wound up in the mess hall. It was deserted except for a few people who liked eating alone. Angel loaded a tray, and took it to a balcony that was hidden from most people. Setting up a chair that had been redesigned by Nudge to make it more "wing friendly", she sat down and put her feet up.
"Anything in particular on your mind, Angel?" asked a familiar voice.
Angel's head whipped around fast enough that her hair fanned out behind her for a moment. "I didn't see you there. Will you sit down with me?"
"Certainly." The owner of the voice sat down. "You're wondering how I'm able to do this, aren't you?" she asked kindly.
"Yeah, maybe a little."
"Well, there was a project that involved hologram projection, but it never worked and it was abandoned in its infancy. Most of the projection systems were removed, except here, and in the database room. The research shifted to holo-form technologies so that the people aboard Aurora-class vessels could communicate face to face. That was just before they left, hoping that either they would return, or that their inheritors would love this city the way they did. You know, originally it was Janus who was supposed to bond with me, but the evacuation interrupted many projects, several of which were placed on indefinite hold. That's why I was so happy when you arrived, you had nearly all of the genetic calling cards of Janus. Of course, later, after I'd had some time to better examine your DNA, I realized that there were differences, but I ignored them, having decided that the avian DNA did not rule you out."
Angel looked thoughtful as she chewed her sandwich. "So why is it then that I went to bed looking and feeling like a six year old, and now I look like I'm sixteen?"
"Aside from me, who's going to take a six year old seriously? Besides, I needed to stabilize your DNA so that your gift would not become a curse."
"The expiration dates."
"Yes. I also dealt with your winged friends. The eldest of them would have died four months from now had I done nothing."
Angel had finished her sandwich, and stood, looking out over the city. When she heard that Max and Fang could have died from their genetic coding unraveling, she ran over to where the holographic female representative of Atlantis stood, also looking over the city. The hologram found suddenly itself wrapped up in a hug.
"Thank you," Angel whispered.
"No problem."
Angel finally released her, and the hologram drew a breath as if Angel had been suffocating her.
"So what's next?" Angel asked.
The holoform smiled, and looked out over the city. "For now, nothing. The one called Woolsey has an investigation that he must conduct, and it will be a while before we can truly resume normal operations. For whatever reason, he seems to like living by all those rules, some of which don't even apply here." She fell silent.
The two ladies looked out over the city for three hours, not saying anything, when Angel spoke up.
"Did you hear about the new person that's supposed to be taking up residency here?"
"Yes, and I'm very interested in seeing what happens with him. The fact that Max doesn't know anything about him has me worried for you."
"Don't be worried," Angel said, holding the hologram's hand. "We know how to take care of ourselves."
"You do seem to be quite skilled at surviving." she replied. She stiffened; a look of alarm evident on her face. "I must go, someone approaches." She faded from view and Angel just looked out over the city, the wind tousling her hair somewhat.
A moment later, the door opened, and Max stepped out onto the balcony. "Hey Ange," Max said as the door closed behind her. "You seem different. Did you do something new with your hair?"
Angel giggled, and after a few moments, Max and Angel were both laughing at the joke.
They stopped laughing, and Max got up the nerve to ask what was really on her mind. "How is it that you look like a sixteen year old?"
"Atlantis changed me," Angel said simply.
Max did not relish the thought of the place she was living in rewriting her DNA or doing other things to her cellular structure.
"Atlantis didn't just change me, Max." Angel said, looking Max in the eye. "She changed everyone in the Flock."
Max's hand involuntarily went to her face before she even realized it.
"All she did was to correct the genetic instabilities that would have led to expiration." Angel clarified. "Well, she also accelerated my growth, obviously, but other than that, nothing."
Max relaxed somewhat after Angel said that. "Why did she change you anyway?"
Angel noncommittally raised and lowered her shoulder. "She said that people wouldn't take an eight year old seriously."
Max's eyebrows rose and fell just as quickly, a sign that she saw Atlantis' point. "I think I can understand her point of view," she said.
"Hey!" Angel responded indignantly.
Max grinned. "Aside from Atlantis, and us, who would take you seriously as an eight year old?"
"Atlantis said much the same thing." Angel replied quietly. She looked up suddenly, as if she were looking for something.
"What is it, Ange?" Max asked, concerned.
"The new one is here. We should go meet him." Angel replied. She turned and waved her hand over the door crystal. "Coming?"
Max raised an eyebrow, had Angel really asked and not just made it a near order? "Sure…"
In the Gate Room:
A young man, no more than twenty years of age stood at the minimum safe distance from the Stargate, his head bowed and his arms extended halfway out from his sides.
He was dressed in a black uniform that had red shoulders, with wings of gold pinned in place on the grey turtleneck underneath. His skin was of Caucasian descent, though well tanned. His face was sharp and thin, and his hair was mussed in a style similar to Sheppard, though his hair was a dusty brown instead of black.
After a few moments, he raised his head, and looked around. Seeing that he was actually on Atlantis, he bounded up the stairs, and looked into the office. Seeing Dr. Wier there, he tapped on the pane of glass that served as the door.
"Come in," came the muffled voice.
The door panel slid away, and Ajax walked in.
"Please, have a seat." Dr Wier said, putting her computer on the recharger. "I understand you know about Max and her family?"
"That is correct." the youth replied. "My name is Ajax, and you, I assume, are Dr. Wier?"
She did not look surprised that he knew her name, and continued on. "Are you here to stay?"
"No, I should be leaving within a few days." Ajax replied. "I'll do my best not to get underfoot in the meantime."
"If you aren't staying, might I ask why you're here?"
Ajax thought about it for several seconds, then said, "Yeah, you might ask why I'm here. And if you do, I might answer." He seemed pleased with himself somehow, almost like when John had the diplomat over a barrel and knew it.
"Why are you here?" she asked directly.
Ajax carefully raised an eyebrow like he had seen a Vulcan do on Voyager. "I need to access Atlantis' database, I'm looking for something on behalf of Dr. Samantha Carter." Not a lie, Ajax thought. It will involve her expertise eventually, just not as directly as I'd like Wier to believe.
"Very well," Elizabeth said, inclining her head. She returned to her tablet in a clear dismissal, and Ajax walked out of the small office just in time to see Max and a sixteen year old that looked vaguely like Angel entering the Gate Room.
Already feeling the awkwardness rising up inside, Ajax quickly walked down the staircase, and moved towards a door opposite the one he had seen Max and Angel use to enter the Gate Room.
The door closed as he approached it, and he looked for a mechanism to open it with. Seeing the crystal tray, Ajax slid his hand along the tray, and the crystals went dark in response. He stepped back slightly, waiting for the door to open, but it remained closed. Max and Angel still approached.
"So," Angel stated, "you're the one who knows about us."
"Yeah…"Ajax replied, still looking for an escape. "About that…I remember rescuing the Flock from certain death in Death Valley."
"And yet I've never seen you before in my life," Max countered, hand on her hips. "Care to try again?"
"Different reality…" Ajax sighed. "Look, this is really, unspeakably awkward for me, seeing as how the Flock is still on the ship, and you're here. Though I don't think I know your friend." Ajax blurted to Max.
"My 'friend' is Angel." Max hissed, incensed.
"Oh. My apologies." Ajax replied. To Angel he said, "Did you do something with your hair?" When all he got was a stare, he said "Look, I'm on a time-sensitive mission, so it was really nice chatting with you and all, but I got to go." Ajax dodged around Max, who looked offended that Ajax had had the gall to blow them off like that, and tried the other door. The tray likewise powered down, and Max heard Ajax mutter something about "…Windows crap, always freezing up or buffering."
Angel looked positively incensed at that, and was walking towards Ajax, Atlantis influencing her actions.
On the other side of the door, Sheppard tried to open the door, and found that it seemed to be locked. McKay wasted no time in prying the cover off and swapping crystals around to override the lockout. It worked, and the doors opened to reveal Ajax, still waiting for the door top open.
"Thanks for getting the door to work!" Ajax said hurriedly. "Igottagobye!" With that, he pushed past the surprised adults, and ran down the hallway.
"Angel?" Sheppard asked. "Do you know anything about what just happened there?"
"I locked the doors because I wanted to talk to him. In response to the door being locked, he made a comment about how this city was like Windows, freezing or buffering. I was about to deal with the situation when McKay hacked into the controls."
"Speaking of…McKay, didn't that guy's clothing look like they were from somewhere kinda familiar?" Sheppard asked.
"You're right, it did looked familiar!" McKay sniffed. "It was a Starfleet uniform, Voyager and early DS9. Wait a minute; he was wearing a Starfleet uniform!" McKay started to head back in the direction he had seen Ajax run off to.
Ajax made it to the teaching room without incident, having memorized the layout of Atlantis based on some schematics they had at the SGC.
"Welcome. You may enter your inquiry verbally, or by using the console before you," the hologram said, shortly after appearing.
"List of locations for the Infinatus," Ajax stated.
"Three fragments are located in the Star Trek universe, one fragment in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, one in the Maximum Ride universe, one in the Halo universe, seventeen in the Warhammer 40k universe, one in the Temeraire universe, one in the Avatar universe, and three in the Harry Potter universe. There are an additional twelve fragments, whose locations I am not permitted to give."
"One more question." Ajax said, hoping to test this computer's abilities. "Is it possible for me to win at Mahjong Titans?"
The hologram was still for a long moment, then looked directly at Ajax. "The way you play, only by getting lucky."
"Well," Ajax said, heaving a sigh, "you've been a great help. Thanks." he stepped off the platform and the hologram disappeared with a smirk as Ajax left the room.
The door closed behind Ajax, and he stowed his small spiral-bound notepad before looking up, and there was Angel, still looking pissed. McKay was standing next to her, looked exceptionally curious.
"Do not compare this city to a severely flawed operating system," Angel said evenly. "I won't tolerate it."
"You're right," Ajax said, "I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I'm just in something of a hurry, and your presence here makes things…awkward. That's why I was trying to evade you and Max."
"Why would it be awkward?" Angel asked, not probing his mind.
"Because I come from a different reality, and I had rescued your family in an alternate reality. You had been left in cages to die in Death Valley, so I brought you aboard my ship, and gave everyone positions suited to their individual skills. The Gasman makes a darn good tactical officer, and handles the guns far better than anyone else ever did. Iggy is the Chief Medical Officer, and Nudge is doing even better than I predicted as the Chief Engineer."
"And what position do I fill?" Max queried.
"First officer. Fang is the tactical analysis officer, essentially, the tactician of the ship," Ajax replied.
"And we all wear those uniforms?" Max's tone betrayed her disbelief, and after a moment, she cracked up. "I just can't see that happening."
"Actually, yes, the Flock does wear this style of uniform," Ajax replied. "Nudge did make some…modifications to it of course, but for the most part, everybody wears a uniform similar to mine."
"And the wings?" Max asked, deadpan.
"The grey turtleneck underneath was cut to allow for wings, and the jacket remains uncut so as to hide the wings when necessary, as well as furnish a professional look."
At that point, Angel joined Max in laughing uncontrollably at the idea of a professional look.
Ajax just heaved a long-suffering sigh, and walked out to the Daedalus to assist in the unloading.
When the Daedalus left Atlantis, Ajax was aboard with Woolsey, playing chess, the information he had requested sitting in his pocket for safekeeping.
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The Layman here, with a very necessary Author's note that should clear up any confusion about this chapter. You see, I've pretty much given this story completely over Sir Hideout Writer, and as such he has decided to briefly include his OC, Ajax. For more on Ajax, please refer to HW's story "The Infinatus".
In closing, here are some review responses from Sir Hideout himself.
GallifreyanGhostGirl: Rodney deserves everything that he gets.
iNSOMNIAC-rEADER-2014: I do a gravity test every morning upon waking up. If gravity isn't working, I go back to sleep for another few hours until the gravity starts working again!
XxHisLilLoverGirlxX: I just did.