To Linda: Huh. Yeah. Good call. I didn't realize that's exactly what I've been using her speaking Czech for. Very much so in the next chapter... I feel that focus shifts a bit later, but it certainly serves the purpose for now.
Last time: Sheppard's pretty bossy. But I guess that's his job. And now we'll do our job.
Chapter 24. Fit In.
"Can I go now?" Anna asked. She couldn't think of a place she'd rather not be than in the mess hall talking about science when science was happening right now in the hangar bay. Wraith dart science, which seemed way more interesting than this.
Collins ran a hand through his blond hair while he checked her work. Anna didn't doubt that he hated this. On the other hand, he'd apparently volunteered for it. He said he used to teach, but wasn't clear on what, exactly. Anna imagined he was a professor at a research university, like Radek wanted to be at one time. More research than teaching, but apparently he had the aptitude. Doctor McKay, who as far as Anna knew had never taught a day in his life, made him his aide.
"Just because McKay gets caught in a Wraith dart doesn't mean the world stops spinning…" Collins mumbled. "Remind your dad of that, would you?"
Anna smirked. A lot of people sure acted like the world just stopped spinning, Radek included. And Anna had to agree. Doctor McKay was a brilliant scientist, but just as replaceable as anyone. Right? He was just so used to thinking on his feet and snatching the city from the jaws of death that it was sort of second nature by now. Experience counted for a lot in another galaxy.
"I will," Anna said finally. "But I can do this later, yes?" She pulled up the most recent homework assignment. This one had to do with the Daedalus and, to be honest, she'd much rather have Wraith dart homework to do. "I can help with the Wraith dart in the hangar. That's almost homework."
Collins seemed to consider that… for half a second. "No, it's not."
"But practical," Anna pointed out.
"Less practical than the Daedalus," Collins said.
Anna couldn't argue with that. On the other hand, it looked like she was going to be in the Pegasus galaxy for a considerable amount of time. That made knowledge of Wraith darts very practical. But no one really knew a lot about Wraith darts, either, so it was almost like not learning. It was more like guessing.
"It can be the laboratory portion of classwork," Anna suggested.
"We'll talk to McKay about that later," Collins said. "Right now, Daedalus. You've mislabeled half the junctions." He took a second glance at her labeled maps and schematics of the Daedalus and laughed. "And the mess hall is over here."
"I'm very distracted," Anna said, snatching the tablet from him. She glanced at her labels while Collins went back to what he was doing… painting a set of acorns. She was about to ask him what in the world he was doing, but decided that the junctions were more important. If she finished the junction labels, then... But there were over a hundred labels.
She was never getting to the hangar. "I'm sorry. The English is wrong. It's very technical."
Collins shook his head, grinning in amusement. "The mess hall isn't technical."
"Who cares about the mess hall?"
"If you were hungry, you might," Collins pointed out as he straightened out the lines on the isosceles of the tiny Czech flag on his acorn.
"I'm not hungry. What are you doing?" She couldn't help it anymore.
Collins smiled. "Painting."
"Why?" That was not at all the question she wanted to ask. More like, why are you painting an acorn? Why are you painting a Czech flag on an acorn? What about this Canadian acorn?
"My brother and I used to do this when we were kids," he said. "We had a huge oak tree in the yard and my mom used to put some of the acorns in a bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. Some sort of autumn decoration, I guess. We got snowed in one day, and we were bored, so we decided to paint the whole bowl of them."
"So you paint them when you're bored?" Anna asked.
"I usually start them in meetings. Finish them on lunch," he said. He pinched the Czech acorn between his thumb and finger. "What do you think?" He turned it about by the cap so she could see all sides. He'd painted it a pale brown color, sort of khaki. One side had the flag, rotated a little to the right were two silver circles.
Anna squinted at it. "I don't know. The flag looks fine. Why the Czech flag?"
Collins shrugged, lining it up with a dozen other acorns on the top of the bin he'd brought filled with painting materials. The Canadian acorn, a Japanese acorn, an American acorn with a yellow ring painted on its top. Another American acorn had a brown line down one side and silver boxes on the other.
It was one of the weirdest things she'd ever seen.
Collins motioned for Anna to give him the tablet back. "Let's see if we can fix this."
"I will relabel everything, I promise. But I need Radek to help me translate."
She held on to the tablet while Collins seemed to consider her position. He looked like he was giving in.
Anna smiled at him as sweetly as she could. "Can I please go to the hangar?"
Collins didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway. "I guess one of us should be there." He sighed and stood, gathering his things from the table. "Have fun."
Anna almost squealed in excitement as she picked up her tablet and rose. She turned and bolted down the aisle between tables—right into Colonel Sheppard and his tray of food.
Fortunately, Colonel Sheppard's reflexes were excellent. "Whoa, Anna, where are you going in such a hurry?"
"I'm sorry—the hangar." She gasped and looked around to see if anyone was watching.
The caveman was watching, smirking like this was the most amusing thing he'd seen all day. Anna frowned at him, which he seemed to find even more amusing.
"Well, take a deep breath. Relax. Nothing interesting will be happening for a little while." Sheppard sighed and looked at his plate. "Just came from there. Something about a transformer…"
"I thought it probably needed something to convert raw power into something more stable," Anna said with a nod.
"Oh. Good. Maybe you should go down there." Colonel Sheppard picked up a floret of broccoli from his plate and popped it in his mouth. He nodded at her tablet. "What do you got there?"
Anna glanced at it. "Homework."
"Don't you think you should do that first?" he asked. "Something about… work now, play later?"
Anna really hoped not. Besides, it wasn't like working with the Wraith dart wouldn't be some version of work. It was just that she really, really wanted to do that instead. "I will do my homework. Here, look." She pulled up the map of the Daedalus and the junction schematics. "This is right in Czech, but I need Radek to help me translate it."
"Maybe I can help," he said, taking the tablet.
Anna frowned at him. "You don't know Czech."
"No," Colonel Sheppard agreed. "But I do know English. Oh, oh," he said, and pointed at a Czech word. "I know that one. Your dad's been teaching me some words. That's the head."
Anna frowned. "I don't know…"
"The bathroom," he explained. He proceeded to tell her how to say, "Kde je toaleta?" * Anna almost laughed. He smiled and took her tablet as he went to sit down across from Ronon. "Ronon, have you met Anna?"
Ronon waved at Anna with fingers smudged with mashed potatoes. "Yeah. Some scientist's daughter."
Anna pursed her lips and watched him pick up another handful of mashed potato and shove it in his mouth. Maybe he actually was a caveman. Colonel Sheppard watched him with approximately the same look on his face.
"Yeah. So what do you think of Atlantis?" Colonel Sheppard asked.
"It's fine."
Anna grinned at Colonel Sheppard. Apparently Colonel Sheppard ascribed to the same philosophy Anna did. A caveman was more interesting than homework.
"What do you think you're going to do when you're done here?" he continued, propping up the tablet to look at it while he ate. He glanced at Ronon.
Ronon looked at him for just a moment and continued eating. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No!" Colonel Sheppard shook his head. "No! Stay as long as you like. I'm just saying, you know your way around." He paused. "You can take care of yourself in a fight. You hate the Wraith as much as we do…"
Colonel Sheppard paused when Ronon gave him a glare that could have killed.
"Okay, maybe more than we do," Colonel Sheppard allowed. "But the point is, we could use a guy like you around here and you look like you could use a place to stay."
Ronon paused to take a swig out of a gallon jug of water. Then he glanced over his shoulder at a guard that Anna had only barely noticed before. Must have been following Ronon around. He was new. And a caveman. Couldn't let people like that just wander around Atlantis.
"I'm not sure I fit in here." He stuffed a few cubes of Jell-o in his mouth to emphasize his point.
Anna laughed. Couldn't help herself. Colonel Sheppard and Ronon both looked at her in surprise. "Hm," she mumbled. "Well, neither do I." They continued staring.
Ronon looked at Colonel Sheppard. "Do I have to decide now or can I finish eating?"
"Oh, take your time," Colonel Sheppard answered with a wave. Then he unwrapped a fork and knife from a napkin on his tray. He handed them to Ronon. "And try these. They work great." He watched Ronon use the fork and to shovel yet more food into his mouth than fit.
"Right." Colonel Sheppard blinked once at Ronon and then looked at Anna's tablet. "What do we have here…?"
"Can I just go to the hangar?" Anna asked.
"Give me a minute. Well, first of all, the mess hall is over here," he said.
"Yes," Anna sighed. "I know. I'm distracted."
Colonel Sheppard chuckled, nodded, and continued to look at the tablet. "I can tell." He looked at her sideways. "What does this mean?"
It was one of the junction labels she was sure she got right. "Do you want me to explain it to you?" She sighed.
"No. Never mind. But if you ever need help with maps and stuff, I can read English."
"Thank you!" Anna was too busy snatching her tablet off the table and dashing away to hear anything Colonel Sheppard was saying.
She did know one thing: as far as that table was concerned, she didn't fit in at all.
Czech Things
* Where is the bathroom?
Next time: You wanna say that to my face!? Oh. ... I guess you do...