Ace In The Hole
Chapter 52
"I'm sorry sir"
"It's OK sergeant" Sheppard sighs whilst rubbing the back of his neck in frustration "I understand, honestly I do, I'll just be sorry to see you leave" he shakes the young marines hand before offering a crisp salute "You best get packing"
"Thank you sir" sighing once more as the young man exits the room, Sheppard slowly counts to ten ensuring that he is well out of earshot before "Damn It!"
"Problems?" Teyla says poking her head around the edge of the door a second later.
"Sergeant Graves has requested a transfer back to Earth" he says dropping down into the chair behind his desk.
"That is to be expected" Teyla says intuitively as she takes a seat opposite the Colonel "I believe he has a young family back on Earth"
"I know, its just that..."
"John not all of your people see Atlantis as their home like you do"
"I know, but we can't go on bleeding people like this, I'm down to only four active teams, I have them running off world op's almost back to back, if we don't cut them some slack soon they'll burn themselves out"
"The truth is we may have to start limiting our off world missions until we have sufficient people trained up to help" Teyla says with a wry smile.
"That may be jumping the gun, sure most the Travellers are combat trained but they tend to be a bit"
"Blunt I believe is term Rodney used" Teyla smiles.
"And coming from McKaye that's gotta tell us something"
"I guess being cooped up on a starship for most of their lives would cause their social skills to become..."
"None existent?"
"I was going to say rusty" Teyla grins
"Well what ever it is we are calling it, we have to decide whether or not they would be a help or an hindrance off world" Sheppard rubs the back of his neck once more in frustration "You know off world teams require a certain amount of tact and diplomacy"
"As Rodney often proved" Teyla laughs
"Precisely, I mean would you let McKaye out without one of us to..."
"Kurb his enthusiasm?"
"Exactly"
"I see you're dilemma"
"This is well overdue" Lorne smiles contentedly before he takes a bite of his sandwich causing the rest of his team to laugh.
"Definitely Sir, the Zadoran's may be nice but that stew tasted like..." Reed pauses to think.
"Stale ditch water?" Tim says with a grin.
"Worse!" Alex laughs
"They're culinary skill's weren't exactly the best I have to admit"
The team laughs whilst carrying on with their meal joking around playfully taunting each other but Lorne quickly catches Alec Coulson who is sitting across the room from them staring at them intently.
"He's still staring at you" Lorne whispers to Alex with a smirk.
"Everyone stares at me" Alex smiles "Most of em are to scared to even speak to me now"
"What you mean?" Lorne frowns but the comment catches Jakes and Tim's attention also.
"It's just most people seem to be to intimidated to even speak to me now they've all heard the rumours" Alex sighs
"Screw em then" Jake grins rubbing his knuckles on the top of Alex's head playfully.
"Yeh we know you just a regular ass hole like the rest of us" Tim grins.
"Jee thanks, I think" Alex laughs causing them all to laugh Lorne casts a quick glance around the room and sighs when he realises that most people in the crowded room are still throwing sly glances their way.
"I've had enough of this, we should have done this a long time ago" Lorne stands and whistles loudly "Can I have everyone's attention please!" The room quickly stills as everyone looks at Lorne in surprise.
"Most of you have probably met the young Lieutenant here " Lorne points to the now slightly blushing Alex "But for any of you that haven't this is Lieutenant Alex Weir and yes the rumours are true, he is also Atlantis" everyone around the room begins to glance nervously at Alex once more "In case you are worrying, no he can't see you into your quarters so what ever depraved and sordid things are going on behind those closed doors, he ain't seen squat"
"Although I would like to point out that doesn't mean I don't have to endure seeing it everywhere else" Alex says loudly whilst glaring across the table at Jake "Seriously in the armoury you know there's a security camera there, I'm sure you did that on purpose you perv!" Alex grimaces with an exaggerated shudder causing everyone in the room to laugh.
"The blonde?" Lorne asks with a grin, but he frowns when he sees Jakes eyes go wide as he shakes his head almost in-perceptively "Oh" Lorne glances around to see the same girl in question glaring at Jake in the distance as another girl sits smugly near by "Anyway, feel free to come say hi, and dump all your crap on him" Lorne grins as he sees Alex sigh "Jones?"
"Yes sir?" the young airwomen glances at Lorne nervously
"You've been complaining about your showers thermostat for weeks"
"Yes sir"
"Well, here's your man" Lorne chuckles at seeing Alex's shoulders slump Lorne sits back down and carries on with his meal as abruptly as he started, the room is a buzz with conversation in seconds.
"Great, I'm the repair man now as well, my job sucks!" Alex says pouting with a twinkle in his eye.
"Lieutenant?" Alex smiles as he glances up to see Alec Coulson hovering nearby.
"What can I do for you Mr Coulson?"
"Please, Its just Alec" Alex just nods "May I?" he indicates to the vacant seat next to him.
"Of course" Alex nods to the seat "You are the reason I stayed in the mess hall instead of leaving with the rest of my team" Alex raises a knowing eyebrow.
"I kind of guessed that Colonel Lornes little speech may have been meant for me, sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable"
"You didn't, but he guessed that you wanted to speak to me about something" Alex smiles.
"Teyla and Colonel Sheppard have their work cut out in Pegasus" It was said as a statement rather than a question.
"Yes they do"
"The Colonel has asked me to stay in Atlantis and take over control of Corellia Station"
"I know" Coulson frowns a little
"The meeting was in his quarters, I thought you couldn't monitor quarters?" Alex grins at the man happy at the fact he had immediately called him on it.
"Colonel Sheppard accessed the chair a few hours before your meeting, I believe he was helping Dr McKaye calibrate a few systems"
"And you read his thoughts?"
"Not in the way you would think, only surface memories can be read and as he was sat in the chair for two hours he may of thought about how he would broach the subject of asking you to stay" Alex sighs dramatically but smiles "A thousand times or so"
"Really?" Alec grins
"Of course that was interspersed with snide comments about Dr McKaye's sexual prowess" Alex chuckles. "Have you made your final decision yet?"
"Maybe, I was just wondering? how do you do it?" Alex frowns slightly "What I mean is, I've seen a lot of the reports from Destiny, and with all the problems that they have been facing and with everything that is happening here in Pegasus, how do you not get involved, you know take over?" Alex sighs and offers a small smile.
"The fighter that you are poised to create was merely a television prop a few decades ago, it has gone from the realms of someone's imagination to a fully realised design, you don't..."
"And you could probably find a way to defeat the Wraith in moments what stops you?"
"Its the way it has to be" Alex says solemnly, Coulson frowns slightly looking at Alex in a strange knowing way "You know I have always been puzzled by one thing since I heard about Atlantis' discovery, why? Why were you abandoned and not simply returned to the Milky Way?"
Alex shrugs but he can see Coulson is no fool "Why do you think?"
"I think that maybe it was because you refused to help the Lantians in much the same way that you've refused to help us" Alex stares at him surprised that an outsider had figured out something that those closest to him had not.
"Cities were built to guide not lead" Alex sighs "It was the founding principle, the Lantian High council ordered me to find a way to defeat the Wraith, I refused because it breached that founding principle, I told them that they already had the necessary tools needed they just had to use them"
"What happened?"
"Instead of thinking tactically they began thinking of more and more extreme weaponry, Arcturus, Attero even the Asurans were vain wastes of time instead of just hitting at the Wraith"
"So you think that the Earth is capable and responsible enough to hold on to all of this?" Alex smiles warmly.
"You are the fifth race you have the knowledge base of two of the great races, since disclosure do you know that there has not been a single life lost in war on your world, what happened in China as shown that true democracy free from party politics and personal ego works, I believe even your nation and others around the world are finally moving away from the old political games and are at last starting to work for the people"
"Believe me I was happy as anyone to see that disclosure as been taken mostly positively but we are really ready for this much responsibility? We have gone from a fractured world to a world that is the lynch pin of two galaxies"
"Three actually" Alex says with a smile at Coulson's frown.
"Andromeda, I believe the Ori now venerate Earth and see you as their..."
"Saviours?"
"More like guardians"
"They want our protection?" Coulson looks slightly horrified
"No the Ori made sure Andromeda was free from dangers that could have made them look weak as gods, no the people of Andromeda have heard the tale of your single world standing up to the gods for freedom and the right to self determination, they have seen that by working together the impossible can become possible"
"You say that like your proud" Alec smiles.
"Humanity's is our greatest legacy, Earth as effected change on a galactic level not once but three times" Alex smiles "In less than twenty years you have freed the Milky Way from the Goa'uld, Freed Andromeda's people from the tyranny and oppression of the Ori, and you are on the verge of freeing Pegasus from the Wraith"
"When you put it like that" Coulson blushes slightly but his smile remains.
"You have to have faith in yourselves, you have proven you are ready for the task ahead" Alex gazes at the man before him and smiles "The design for the fighter is good, I look forward to learning to pilot one"
"That obvious?"
"I know the pressures that come with something new if the design is proven then it may become the fighter of choice for both here and Earth that is not a small accomplishment"
"Thanks but that wasn't the only thing I wanted to see you about" Alec smiles and nods for him to continue.
"Colonel Sheppard has as much as admitted he has a man power shortage" Alex nods "Once we start knocking out fighters he is going to struggle to find good pilots"
"Possibly"
"Earth has made unmanned vehicles before but a combat fighter would require a far more advanced control system"
"Yes"
"You're people I believe only ever created one AI"
"Cal, yes" Coulson smiles
"She is quite inquisitive and chatty when she gets going" Coulson grins.
"You want to know why we never created more?" Alex asks intuitively causing Coulson to nod.
"The reason was simple simple, when does a machine gain a soul? Cal's creation unsettled many of my people, the idea that we had created an artificial life form that could almost think for her self" Alex sighs "We stopped before we locked a soul in a box, True AI was banned"
"I see" Alec rubs his chin "What about the replicators then they were free thinking machines?"
"True but they had the potential to grow and evolve beyond their programming so thus weren't trapped in a box, or so the council reasoned"
"They created a loop hole in their own laws?" Alec says slightly surprised at the idea.
"Like I keep trying to point out at the the differences between humanity and the Ancients is not as big as most think" Alex sighs
"Anyway" Alec smiles gaining Alex's attention breaking him out of his thoughts "I wasn't really thinking of creating an AI, it was more like using what we already have" Coulson says cryptically.