Another view. Fic based on Sunday. Gen, G
“Incoming wormhole- it’s Atlantis!” Chief- Sergeant Harriman called out to the General.
Landry came to stand behind him as Weir’s voice came through the speakers, announcing her presence. “Stargate Command, this is Weir.” “Dr. Weir, this is General Landry. You’re not supposed to check-in until tomorrow.”
“No, sir. Something’s happened.”
“Go on.” Landry gestured with his hand and Walter, efficient as always, quietly paged SG-1.
Weir sounded and looked exhausted, and it was no surprise. Atlantis had not had an easy few weeks. “There’s been some kind of explosion. We’re still investigating the cause. We’ve lost three personnel, both military and civilian.”
Dr. Lam’s petite form settled by her father’s. “Dr. Weir, this is Dr. Lam. Are you in need of any assistance?”
Carter, who had entered the observation room with her teammates, broke in. “The ZPM is still on base for testing before we take it to Antarctica, so we can dial in. Unfortunately, the Daedalus is too far from both Earth and Atlantis to be of any help.”
She appeared to consider their offer before shaking her head. Even on the small screen the SGC members could see the strain on her face. “I would rather not take the risk of using the Stargate. If this was an enemy attack, they could have booby-trapped something to prevent us from leaving. Quite frankly, I didn’t want to dial Earth at all, but I thought it necessary for you all to know. In case we never got the chance… Besides, we have enough people to take care of everything and Carson didn’t seem to think he would have a problem handling the situation. It’s just- this is unexpected.”
Mitchell leaned forward, his eyes hard. “This could be an enemy attack, or worse, terrorism on the part of the Trust.”
“What would that achieve?” Jackson asked. “I mean, something that destroyed the gate, maybe. But three people? It’s a tragedy, but won’t affect the mission in the greater scheme of things.”
“If it stops at three,” Vala pointed out softly.
“Well, that is the question, isn’t it? Anyway, General Landry, SG-1, I’m being summoned by Dr. McKay. I need to see what’s going on, and as soon as I know, I’ll contact you again.”
“You do that. And Dr. Weir, take care.”
“Weir out.” The wormhole shut down, leaving the people watching to look at each other warily.
Then Landry shook his head to clear it. “Well, any suggestions?”
“I’m going to put together a trauma unit just in case. And prepare a shipment of emergency medications as well. It might also be a good idea to check on our rehabilitation facilities and contacts. While Carson Beckett is an excellent doctor, Atlantis isn’t the ideal place for long-term care.” Carolyn’s voice was brisk, but her eyes were shadowed with worry.
“It might also be useful to check over logs, records, etc. to see who was on the last trip out there. In case there’s another Goauld threat.”
Vala smiled wryly. “It seems almost old-fashioned to be worrying about the Goauld again, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t think that kind of worry ever goes out of style,” Landry pointed out. “It would be useful, Colonel, and I think you and your team should get on it immediately.”
“Yes sir.”
*
This time, as soon as the klaxons sounded and Walter sounded the alarm for an unscheduled activation, the senior members of the base were in the observation room. At the sight of Weir, even more tired and just on the edge of breaking down, they knew the news wasn’t good. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped, as if unable to begin.
“Elizabeth, what happened?” Daniel spoke, his voice gentle. He used her first name on purpose, knowing it wasn’t the time to observe formalities.
She bit her lip, and though tears were now shining in her eyes, managed to speak. “We found the cause of the explosion- it was an accident with an Ancient device that caused the two people investigating it to be infested with a kind of explosive tumor.”
“Excuse me?” Lam asked. She’d been part of the SGC for over a year, but still had trouble with the stranger cases.
But Weir wasn’t in the mood to explain. “We discovered the device in the second person and Dr.- Dr. Beckett”- here, tears began to fall, but she didn’t seem to notice and continued doggedly- “managed to remove it. Unfortunately, it exploded as it was being contained. Stargate Command, I regret to inform that we have lost Sergeant Williams of the US Marine Corps and… and Dr. Carson Beckett, who risked his life to remove the device despite being told to evacuate. His actions, though they resulted in his death, saved the lives of the infected scientist, a member of his staff and countless others over the years.” There, she did stop, and move off camera.
Sheppard came to take her place, and, taking advantage of his audience’s stunned silence, quickly ended the transmission. Stony-faced, he said that reports would quickly be made and sent. “Williams was new to the city, and we know that the Daedalus or the SGC would be a better place for his memorial, so Lt. Jamison and his team will be accompanying his body and those of the first three victims to the SGC now. We’re having a memorial for them a little later.” He too stopped, but rather than become emotional his expression only grew stonier. “We’ll be having a small ceremony for Dr. Beckett and some of the science staff and I will bring him back to Earth. We’d appreciate handling the personal matters ourselves, at least in his case. Now, I’m sorry to be abrupt, but… we have a lot to do. Stand by for personnel.”
Not waiting for a dismissal was a break in protocol, but no one was going to call him on it. Atlantis was a small city, a village inhabiting a metropolis, and its residents were wounded. Sheppard’s unauthorized leave-taking was not going to be an issue that day.
“Oh, God,” Landry breathed. He’d met Beckett several times, and during the Scottish doctor’s six-week stint at the SGC, gotten to know the man a little better. Aside from Daniel Jackson and his daughter, there weren’t too many senior-level people on the base who didn’t wear a uniform and call him sir. “Harriman, get our people to the gate,” he ordered as the first bodies came through.
Sam sighed, remembering the SGC’s own Chief Medical Officer. Janet Fraiser had been a wonderful doctor and friend. “I- I think I’m going to call Cassie.” She walked out quickly.
Teal’c and Carolyn Lam silently left to help with the mournful procession. The slender, pretty doctor was pale and shocked, but forced to keep going by an innate desire to help and heal.
Daniel thought of that fateful day, bending over the injured body of Simon Wells, and then the staff blast that had killed a woman who had cared so deeply for everyone who came into her infirmary, especially the ones that were there the most. And during Carson’s stay at the SGC, he’d conducted several post and pre-mission medical clearances on the flagship team with humor, professionalism, and not a little gentleness. “We should- we should inform his family.”
“He talked about them once,” Mitchell said slowly, remembering the care the Scottish doctor had used when treating the Lt. Colonel’s twisted ankle after a particularly boring mission peppered with stupid accidents. “Mentioned something about it being big, about there being a lot of kids but that they’d lost his father, and that they still had a mother. He seemed close to her.”
Landry closed his eyes. It was always difficult to break the news to wives, fathers, siblings, husbands, and God, impossible to do it when faced with children. But the hardest was telling a mother she would never see her child again. “You heard Sheppard. We’ll leave that up to them.”
Quick steps were heard and then Lt. Jamison, a normally composed woman in her thirties, entered. She saluted the General with hands that were only shaking a little. It wasn’t until one looked into her eyes that one could see her grief and despair. She had been on the first expedition to Atlantis.
“At ease, Lieutenant,” Landry said, his voice brisk but not hard. He didn’t want her to break, but he understood.
She nodded. “Thank you, sir. I have brought the bodies of four Atlantis personnel, including one air force captain- Captain Harkens. We also have two scientists, Drs. Houston and Petris, and a member of the Russian diplomatic force, Dr. Bostahn. Here is a preliminary report from Colonel Sheppard, with his assurances that a more complete version will be sent as soon as possible.”
Landry took it silently, a little surprised as Sheppard had made it sound as if nothing had been typed up as yet. When they would later open it in the briefing room, he would understand. All that was written were the names of the victims and a one-line explanation. An Ancient device caused explosive tumors in their bodies.
“Sir,” she continued slowly, “My team will assist with the- my team will stay here and return with the people who come through tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Landry said, but planned to give them the day off so they could visit their families.
Mitchell raised an eyebrow. “Maybe we should go too.”
Daniel nodded. “I’d like to pay my respects.”
It was a mark of the woman’s distress that she said “No!” loudly before she could control herself. Calming down, she flushed and explained. “Excuse me sirs, but Colonel Sheppard expressly asked that you be here to receive them tomorrow. He said that”- she stopped, unable to explain that Sheppard had wanted it to be them. Residents of the city, mourning one of their own.
They understood. They’d been there too.
*
Landry walked into his office and sat down, closing his eyes for a second before reaching for the phone. “This is General Landry. I need to speak to Major General Jack O’Neill.”
It wasn’t a long wait. They had informed Washington about Weir’s first transmission. “Jack, it’s Hank. I have some bad news.”
*
Daniel wandered into the infirmary, looking for a connection to the departed. Despite ten years of loss, despite his personal tragedies, he still couldn’t believe that it was possible for something as big and significant as a life to disappear that easily and quickly.
He was distracted from his thoughts by the sight of Carolyn, methodically folding linen. Odder than the fact that she was doing a job better suited to a subordinate were the tears that continuously flowed down her cheeks. “Dr. Lam, are you all right?”
She looked at him, not at all startled. It was as if he had appeared in a dream, and she wasn’t quite aware that he wasn’t meant to be there. “I was just thinking about the turtles. When General O’Neill returned from Atlantis, he had a message from Dr. Beckett that he had left a couple of turtles in his apartment. He was asking if I would take care of them, and I thought, why not? I mean, I am home enough to keep them alive, and I can make sure my cat doesn’t eat them. But it’s like they know, like they’re sad without their true owner. And they’re waiting for him to come home. And all I can think of is that they’re going to be waiting forever, and I don’t think there’s a way for me to tell them.”
As she began to sob, he rushed forward and held her for a few minutes, aware that someone was drawing a curtain around them to give them some privacy. “I’m so sorry,” he said, as he realized that the grief he could feel on the base was most concentrated here, where Beckett had worked.
She quieted, and, as the storm of emotion within her abated, grew embarrassed. “No, I’m sorry.” As she drew away, the natural elegance of her movements and the armor she drew around her made it easy to ignore her pink eyes and nose. “It’s just, it’s difficult. He was a great doctor, and a better man.”
*
As the wormhole was established, Landry adjusted the collar of his uniform shirt and signaled through the glass for Walter to lower the shield.
Beside him, Jack stood straight and tall, his grim expression giving away his dark thoughts. He had not yet gained back the weight he had lost during his time with the Replicators, and this newest tragedy and the five letters he had written, to send with Landry’s, seemed to be adding new lines to his face.
They were all in uniform, except for the civilians, who wore well-tailored clothing that was indicative of their respective cultures. Because of the varied nationalities of the victims, several others flags accompanied the American one in the gateroom. The two remaining members of Jamison’s team were also there, somber and just a little apart from the rest of the group.
They could hear bagpipes now, and Landry couldn’t help thinking of how much he hated them. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for the music, but rather that the sound was so mournful.
Then they stepped through. McKay and Sheppard were first, and he heard Carter breathe in quickly. Sheppard was a little white, and his mouth seemed on the edge of trembling, while McKay was, well, wrecked. Then came an American doctor who made no effort to hide her tears, and the Czech scientist that he’d never actually spoken to. Finally, Major Lorne, grief evident in his expression too, and the big alien that no one from the SGC except Woolsey and O’Neill had ever met. He had been helping another team when SG-1 had visited Atlantis and never come to Earth.
As the gate shut down, the procession walked down the ramp and put the coffin on the table put there especially for that purpose. Then the military officers saluted, and O’Neill stepped forward. “It wasn’t that long ago that the good doctor defied orders, my orders, and helped save both my life and Woolsey’s. I can say a lot about Dr. Beckett, and I’m sure Dr. Weir has already said it all eloquently, but in the end, it comes down to this. He, and the other four people who lost their lives, will be missed.”
There were some more words said, platitudes exchanged, but they kept it brief. Then Ronan, Lorne, Drs. Zelenka and Morris returned to the Pegasus Galaxy, and Sheppard prepared to visit the home of the Marine officer while McKay received his ticket to Scotland. Upon his return, McKay would visit Houston’s family. The Russian commander at the SGC had already handled his patriot’s tragic return to their home country and the IOA was taking care of Petris.
They were, unfortunately, accustomed enough to loss to have perfected dealing with the practical aspect of it. The emotional burden was a whole other story.
*
And then it was a week later, and McKay and Sheppard were ready to return to Atlantis. The Lt. Colonel had finished his briefings some days before, but separate trips would have been too much of a drain on the ZPM.
McKay didn’t look much better than he had the day he’d arrived on Earth, and Sheppard didn’t look much better. If anything, both men appeared more tired and the relief with which they heard Weir’s voice, confirming the lowering of the shield, showed where their hearts and minds wanted to be. Wherever Beckett’s body lay, it was obvious that those he had worked with felt closest to him in the city that had been his last home. That was their home.
As the gate shut down, Landry leaned towards Carter. “Well?”
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. “They’re not doing so well. This has to be the one time I’ve met McKay and he hasn’t… caused me some frustration,” she answered tactfully. “And Sheppard spent his free time in his room, so aside from briefings I haven’t seen much of him. But they’ll survive and, with time, they’ll do better.”
“In the meantime, I’ve compiled a list of doctors that I think we should go through and then send to Dr. Weir. Atlantis needs a CMO.” His daughter interrupted. She looked less somehow, a little faded. “I know that won’t be easy, but Dr. Morris doesn’t have the experience to handle this on her own.”
Daniel rushed in, looked around and ran towards the base commander. “General, have they left?”
“Sheppard and McKay? You just missed them.”
The anthropologist and linguist winced. “I wish I’d seen them off. How are they?”
“Not so good.”
Daniel bit his lip, understanding what that meant. “Damned Ancients.”
Mitchell, overhearing, threw his hands in the air. “What now?”
“Nothing, I suppose.”
“Naturally,” Vala broke in. “It would be fairly unusual for them to actually do anything.”
They all nodded, agreeing with the unorthodox alien woman. Teal’c, who had been raised to worship them, seemed disillusioned as well. But Daniel said that it wasn’t something they’d done, but rather the invention they’d made. “I understand the need for them to create new ways to kill the wraith- their entire race was being wiped out! But to make something like that, and then leave it lying around… How could they have been so stupid?”
Landry shrugged. “They’re not the only ones to ever do that.”
“It’s the nature of war, I suppose, for mistakes like that to be made,” Mitchell offered a weak excuse.
“Does it have to be?” Carolyn asked. “Or can we be better if we’d only try a little harder?”
“I think,” Daniel answered slowly, “the trick is that we have to try.”
THE END