Fourteen – Doctor Weir
Dr Elizabeth Weir entered the gym on Atlantis to see the large human warrior visitor Ronin engaging one for the base team members in unarmed combat on a green floor mat. Around the two fighters were several other off world team members, also present were several members of the science and engineering teams. In the corner away from the others stood the Arbiter the large Sangheili warrior who had accompanied Ronin here with Colonel Sheppard's team, the large alien still wore his armour and had physically distanced himself while watching Ronin intently, like he was the only ally he had. In some ways the Arbiter was right Ronin was the only person he knew on the base as the Master Chief was off world with Sheppard's team searching for the still missing Lieutenant Ford.
She had decided to give the Arbiter his self-imposed privacy and concentrate on Ronin. She watched as the large man screamed at his opponent, who must have been half a foot shorter than him, swinging a closed fist at the other man who ducked out of the way of the blow however Ronin was prepared for this and his other hand was quickly swinging lower striking the soldier sending him spinning to the ground. Weir observed with a keen eye and realised that while Ronin had hit the man moments before he had struck him Ronin had opened his hand cushioning the blow making him feel it but not hurting his opponent.
As one opponent rolled away from Ronin's attack another Atlantis team member, a female marine, tried to grab Ronin from behind. Ronin didn't hesitate he rolled his body forward his bulk raising his opponent off the ground. His rapid movements threw her into the air but Ronin was in full control, he had a firm hold on her spinning her into her back and down to the ground with an audible thud. Ronin screamed delivering a "killing blow" by striking the mat beside her. Weir was shocked by the violence despite the smiles from the personnel, while she had been on Atlantis for over a year and being around the military for even longer, she had struggled to get into the rhythm needed to fully embrace self-defence training she knew the basics like all Atlantis personnel but nowhere near what was really needed.
Ronin then stood up offering the blonde-haired woman his hand pulling her to her feet. "Right, split up and try yourselves" he said noticing Dr Weir watching he stepped over to her.
"Hello again Ronin, I see your fitting in well" she said glancing at the training personnel. She had heard that Sheppard had allowed Ronin and the Arbiter to train with the base personnel.
"Yup" Ronin replied giving her very little, from the interactions she had with him so far this seemed to be Ronin to a tee.
"Colonel Sheppard mentioned you'd be training with the teams" she said trying to draw something out of him.
"I am" he replied again his expression still not giving out anything, his expression was perfectly polite but she could tell he was nervous.
"He also mentioned that he'd extended an invitation for you to possibly join his team along with your friend?" She asked glancing at the imposing Arbiter who hasn't moved an inch since she had entered. Ronin simply nodded "how do you think about that?"
"Still thinking about it" he admitted
"Ok" Weir said pausing as a marine was thrown to the ground "he should really have run that past me..." She suggested "and I like to know those that are joining us."
"Okay" Ronin repeated almost awkwardly "nice to see you again" he offered her "can I?" He glanced at the training team members, Weir realised that years on the run from the Wraith had made a peaceful social setting uncomfortable.
'Of course," she said with a brief smile allowing him to escape from the conversation. She glanced at the Arbiter again but decided that making one of their visitors awkward was enough for today. As she stepped out of the room, she heard the alarm indicating that an off-world team was returning.
She headed down the corridor and entered a lift arriving in the Gateroom just as Colonel Sheppard and the other three members of the team returned to Atlantis. There was no sign of Lt Ford but as he stepped through the gate Weir noticed the Master Chief's shields were glowing yellow, the large warrior immediately turned his assault rifle onto the "puddle" exit of the wormhole. Sheppard glanced around seeing all four team members were present "SHUT IT DOWN!" He shouted to the gate operator cutting off the wormhole.
Weir approached the team as the caught their breath. "Hostiles Colonel?"
"The Wraith interrupted our search. Ford was hunting them."
"And Ford" she said glancing at the other team members.
"He held a gun on me!" Rodney complained breaking in with his own personal gripe.
"You're fine, Rodney" Teyla said stepping forward steering the conversation back onto what had actually happened "Lieutenant Ford was trying to evade us and attack Wraith hunters who were on the planet, he escaped…" she paused and looked at Sheppard who nodded "by jumping into a Wraith Dart's capture beam." She explained to Weir.,"
"We'll debrief fully in a couple of hours." She said turning to leave allowing them to get some peace to recover.
Sometime later she was in the briefing room with the four members of Sheppard's team and Colonel Caldwell who had insisted on sitting in.
The team had explained how Ford had eluded capture leading the team to Wraith hunter teams. He has then used the confusion to stun them using a Wraith stunner and had briefly captured Rodney.
"And where were you?" Caldwell asked accusingly looking at the Master Chief.
"The Chief broke off from us as a distraction for the Wraith." Sheppard explained while military doctrine would have put them in teams of two but the Master Chief was more than capable of taking on the tasks of an entire team of soldiers. "He took six of them away from us and then dealt with them on his own but by the time he returned Ford and Rodney were gone. I then sent the Chief to the gate to take out any further Wraith" Sheppard said taking the flak away from the Chief.
"You were bested once in a fight, Colonel, by a single soldier who used to work for you. And then you had to rescue Dr McKay from him?" Caldwell asked again going at Sheppard's team, ignoring that it was Weir's debriefing and that he was a guest.
"We were ambushed during a fluid situation, by a soldier who the United States spent thousands of dollars on training." He countered defending himself "Ford had no intention on hurting McKay, he took him briefly to gather intelligence knowing that he would cause the least trouble out of the four of us." Sheppard further explained Rodney looked offended by the comment but he couldn't argue that he was the weakest fighter in the team. "I made a tactical decision based on the needs to maintain an exit strategy for my team." Sheppard pointed out explaining why the Chief hadn't been with them during their encounter with Ford.
"I wanted to appeal to Ford, one on one with no threats" Sheppard explained "I caught up to them just as the Darts arrived. And I found that Rodney had inadvertently triggered one of Ford's many traps..." he explained remembering seeing Rodney hanging by his feet from a tree.
"He was waiting for you?" Caldwell interrupted looking dismissively at the scientist.
"No" McKay replied not hiding his irritation. "Ford had created a hunting ground for the Wraith. He was looking to ambush them. I was bait"
"He's searching for more of the enzyme which is affecting his decisions" Teyla added.
"I stopped him, I spoke to him he was lucid..." Sheppard began only for McKay to make a sound.
"You think otherwise Rodney?" Weir asked concerned that Sheppard's friendship was clouding his opinion.
"Ford is paranoid, he thinks we're looking to take away his new abilities to strip him of what he sees makes him special. He's also angry that we replaced him so quickly with..." McKay said trailing off as he realised the Chief was looking at him directly.
"A man in his position and you let him go, Lieutenant Colonel." It was a statement not a question, this looked and felt like a public dressing down to everyone present, Weir needed to move them on from this fast she thought as Caldwell continued "with intimate knowledge of this facility."
"I shot him" Sheppard responded sarcastically. "Ford, is highly trained and motivated. He won't give up this position and we'll see him again." Sheppard stated he was absolutely sure he'd see the young man again, if he'd be a friend or an enemy, he wasn't sure.
"Alright, get some rest. We still have the FloodHive to deal with" Weir reminded them. All four began to filter out of the room leaving Weir with Colonel Caldwell."
"That's it?" Caldwell started incredulously walking around the room so he was stood opposite her he was shocked that she'd let them walk out "Doctor, this facility..."
"Colonel enough" she said interrupting him "I'm well aware of this facility's importance and that teams importance to this expedition." She said barely moving an inch from her position. "Remember one important thing Colonel I have full authority over operations in the Pegasus Galaxy confirmed by your commanders and the International Oversight Committee."
"I'm well aware doctor" Caldwell began she could hear the sarcastic tone to his voice.
"Enough Colonel." She stated cutting him off she needed to establish a working relationship with the man going forward but she wouldn't have him interfering with her command at this early stage. "Sheppard commands the military actions of this base in Pegasus. He has my complete support, if he says Ford will not compromise this base then I believe him and we move on. We have bigger things to deal with now." She stated in a firm tone she could see he wasn't happy but that wasn't her concern "how is the Daedalus?" She asked in a more diplomatic tone.
"Repairs are almost complete but I do not see how a second engagement will turn out differently than the first. We'd need Atlantis' drone firepower to counter that hive." He suggested moving on from their previous thought without further hesitation.
"Or the Sangheili" she suggested, the Colonel looked shocked again but they were running out of options.
"We don't even know if there are people of the Arbiter's race in this galaxy. It could be a piece of technology that fell off their ship."
"Or it could be a lost tribe of their people, a group of warriors who could help turn the tide against the Wraith and the FloodHive." She suggested weighing the pros and cons of an expedition.
Lantea, the world which Atlantis resided on could be a cold world especially at night. While it never dropped as low as freezing it could still be uncomfortable without a jacket outside. Tonight was one of those nights with light rain soaking the base as daylight disappeared.
Weir like most of the expedition team on Atlantis resided in the main tower at the centre of the city. If they had the food, supplies and the power Atlantis could support a population in the tens of not hundreds of thousands but the expedition, even with the addition of the engineering teams working on the Forward Unto Dawn, only numbered three hundred leading to them being mostly housed in close proximity.
Tonight, Weir found it hard to sleep so she had added a black jacket to her red uniform tunic and gone for a walk. The tower was quiet it's lights dimmed at night with minimal staff on duty however as she walked, she heard excited shouts from one of the science labs. Most work had concluded for the day so out of curiosity she had followed the noise stopping just short of the door peeking in trying not to interrupt those who were working.
Inside the lab she saw the massive armoured Sangheili warrior holding what appeared to be a long purple rifle. Startled she reached for her radio earpiece to warn security but she stopped hearing Dr Rodney McKay's voice "Do it again!" He called out the Arbiter fired a bolt from the rifle at something she couldn't see. Stepping further in she saw the Arbiter and McKay were joined by John Sheppard. Both humans were stood near the alien watching the Arbiter's armour intently and were both quickly happy by something they've seen.
"The energy output is impressive." Sheppard remarked as the Arbiter reached into a compartment on the arm removing a cartridge of ammunition for the Carbine.
"This suit is quite old Dr McKay modern Sangheili suits can produce far more carbine ammunition and charge their plasma rifles at two or three times the speed." The Arbiter explained as McKay looked at his scanner's display.
From her position at the door Weir was impressed to see them working so late. However, what happened next surprised her as the Arbiter disappeared completely from sight. She thought she saw a shimmer of movement but there was way to be sure moments later the Sangheili reappeared on the opposite side of the room. "Wow!" Sheppard remarked seeing the active camouflage in action in a safe environment.
"Indeed Colonel, again modern units are able to maintain their active camouflage for far longer periods than I."
"This is really useful stuff; we could be able to make real progress here." McKay said looking up at him "thank you" from her position Weir was impressed not only by the Arbiter's armour but also McKay's reaction. She was oddly proud of him for saying those two little words.
The Arbiter bowed in response and then began making for the other exit as Sheppard and McKay looked at the results. Weir decided to leave them to it and went around the room following the Arbiter. The large warrior stalked along the corridor with impressive grace before exiting the floor out onto a balcony overlooking the city.
Standing in the rain he slowly removed his helmet and stood the rain washing over his dark leathery skin his yellow eyes closed and his four mouth mandibles relaxed in the rain. For several moments Weir thought to join him but chose to leave him in peace turning to leave. "You may join me, Dr Weir" the alien growled deeply.
"I did not mean to interrupt you" she said stepping to the doorway. "How did you know it was me?"
"I smelled you" he stated plainly "you humans all have differing scents" there was an edge to his voice.
"Thanks, I think" she said quietly unsure if it was a complement the large alien could have been regarding her like a hunter and its prey.
"You have nothing to fear from me" he said despite their conversation he had remained in the rain; he looked like he almost enjoyed it.
"What do you think of Atlantis?"
"It isn't home" he said his head hanging low on its long neck. "I miss my family; I miss my people" he said looking at her his eyes opening as he looked over. For a moment Weir was unnerved seeing the Arbiter's similarities to the dinosaurs of ancient Earth, he was a large dangerous reptile who could rip her to shreds in moments.
"How long has it been?" She asked trying to keep the conversation light.
"Nearly eight years since my dishonour losing to the Demon in battle and taking on the reins of the Arbiter." He said remembering the pain of the dishonour and his desire to defeat the Demon, Master Chief. "Eight years since the fall of Thel'Vadam, my hope is that my clan have protected them but I will likely never know." He explained "when I and the Demon defeated the Hierarchs and their loyalist faction the Sangheili stood alone. A lot could have changed where we come from."
"I know it will take time but you are welcome to remain with us."
"There is only so long a member of my race can be separated from the rest. If there are Sangheili out there I must seek them out, my position of Arbiter is an important one to my people. I have commanded fleets of warriors; I have been responsible for thousands Dr Weir. I cannot simply be a warrior as part of a team." He said unlike his previous growls this was softer it was not a question or a demand it was more of a plea. Leaving the Arbiter in the rain Weir returned to her quarters thinking about their two guests and their place in Atlantis and the expedition's next steps, they had many problems but she also had to think of the people that were here and their needs as well. As she entered her quarters she was reminded of Aiden Ford and she hoped the young officer was alright and that he found a life for himself in the Pegasus Galaxy.