Meme Time: Stargate Atlantis (Patreon)

Karren Reish asked for Stargate Atlantis.  I have a partially written story in the Igigi universe over at Archive of Our Own.  I haven't published much on it because I keep stalling out. It's too close to reality and it hurts my heart to write it.  But I did another chapter on it. Who knows, maybe this will poke me out of my funk.  

Chapter 10, Lions and Tigers and Conspiracies, Oh My. 

“Teyla, what happened to Tony?” John asked the second he came through the gate. It’s what people would expect from him, but a couple of people, including Walter, quickly averted their eyes. They knew. If Knight and Helms couldn’t smell the revolution in the air, they were morons. That was increasingly possible.

“Nothing,” Teyla said with a serene smile. She stepped forward and leaned in. John touched foreheads, and her calm surrounded him. “He and Gibbs have chosen to wander away and Dr. Knight is concerned. I believe he wants to ensure the entire council is present to discuss the possibility of trade with Patros’ people.

“Great. And that’s enough to raise the alarm?” John did his best to sound confused. “If you’re back to that discussion, Tony and Gibbs probably went to talk to Todd. They are disturbingly friendly with each other.”

Dr. Knight walked down the stairs. “Yes, I had noticed. I am concerned that Mr. DiNozzo’s responsibility is to Atlantis and this council. If he is choosing to speak with that Wraith, it raises questions about his loyalties.” Mr. DiNozzo—not Agent DiNozzo or Ambassador DiNozzo or even Dr. DiNozzo. Knight was asking for a verbal slapdown.

John faced off against Knight, ready to rip him a new asshole.

“Yes, yes,” Rodney said as he charged between John and Knight. “You’re going to take offense on Tony’s behalf and say something cutting about Dr. Knight’s lack of leadership and inability to remember anyone’s title. He’ll retaliate by reminding you that it was your brother who created the Wraith last time you ascended so technically you’re Todd’s uncle. Disturbing.” Rodney shuddered and then pointed a finger at Knight. 

“And then John will pull out the verbal napalm and compare your progress to Elizabeth or Sam or a hypothetical monkey pounding on a keyboard, all of whom would have more success than you’re managing. I’m dirty and tired and I haven’t had a shower in too damn long, and I had to play nice with Larrin. I hate that woman. So if you two can stop trying to prove who has the bigger dick, it would be awesome. John wins, by the way.” Rodney gave Knight a look that would have made a T-Rex retreat in fear. “I’ve seen your medical records. John definitely wins. Now, chop-chop people.” He slapped his hands together. “We need to get the shit readings from the broken lab downloaded to Ahleigheta. Where’s Radek?”

Rodney’s verbal diarrhea left Dr. Knight standing with his mouth open.

“Aw, Rodney, you take all the fun out of it,” John complained. One of the Marines snorted in a failed attempted to hold back his laughter.

“Yeah, well, people who annoy me when I’m this tired sleep on couches,” Rodney warned. “Where is Radek?” Throwing one of his computer bags over his shoulder, Rodney headed for the transporter.

“A ten day,” John complained in his most pathetic voice. “I was trapped with him for almost ten whole days.”

“Suck it up, Sheppard,” Ronon said as he walked by. He added in a shoulder slap that sent John stumbling to the side.

“Ow.” John rubbed his arm.

“General Sheppard, don’t you have any good news from that site?” Knight asked. The man wisely avoided making any more complaints about Tony.

“We saw what are clearly molds for the outer housing of an energy weapon, but Rodney couldn’t get any computer systems to initialize, and I couldn’t get the facility to do much more than turn on the lights.” John shrugged. “So, trade with Patros’ world. That’s a big deal. How is the rest of Pegasus going to take it?” John asked Teyla. 

Teyla glanced at Dr. Knight. “They are concerned. They feel those from Earth do not understand the deep-set anger toward those who sheltered the Wraith.”

“They still consider Patros’s people Wraith-worshippers, don’t they?”

“Yes,” Teyla said sadly. “Some begin to understand the difference between those Wraith who would live with humans and those who would hunt us like animals, but too few years have passed. Forgiveness is hard for those who have seen their parents and children eaten.”

“Patros’s people have access to technology we need.” Dr. Knight said. That was so much more politically correct than saying Earth wanted Wraith technology. It was cheap, easy to grow, durable… cheap. Really cheap. It never ceased to amaze John that Earth could want a trade relationship with Todd and then turn around and treat Tony like a traitor for having a professional relationship with Todd. Maybe he was getting old or maybe he’d been off Earth for too long, but he was starting to sympathize with the Traveler complaint that Earthers were weird.

“I’m exhausted. I’m going to head to my quarters and get a shower before Rodney shows up and hogs all the hot water,” John said. He looked at Teyla for a half second longer than necessary.

“I was hoping for a more complete briefing,” Dr. Knight said. “You were gone for a week and a half. You must have found something.”

“The limits of Ronon’s patience,” John said, “but to be fair, I’ve already knew where that was. I don’t have much more to add. Only Rodney can give you the technical details on the facility, but from the amount of cursing he did, I don’t hold out high hopes.”

John headed for the transports, and Dr. Knight followed. “Then why did Ms. Larrin appear?”

“To annoy us?” John guessed. “To see if Rodney had gotten it working? To make a point about Earth not owning everything? To pick up or drop off something or someone at some base they have on the planet? Hell, I don’t know. Ask Kitsune.” And then Kitsune would gleefully tell him to go to hell. From Knight’s grimace, he knew that, too.

“General,” Dr. Knight snapped in frustration just before John stepped into the transporter. John gave a little fingertip wave as the doors closed. He was retired; he didn’t have to play nice with politicians anymore.

The transporter opened onto the level where John had his quarters. Locals called this the elder tower because most of the original crew who retired ended up claiming one of the rooms near John and Rodney. And the one time the IOC representative had tried to claim a room in the area on the basis of wanting solidarity with the experienced staff, Aleigheta had firmly evicted him by refusing to unlock the door.

Elizabeth waited for him at the first interjection. “How did it go?”

“Worse than I expected,” John said. He stopped there. Theoretically Aleigheta could protect them from eavesdropping, but the stakes were too high for him to take a risk. Earth had all sort of alien technology, and John would not put it past them to use it on Atlantis. Elizabeth gave him a worried look as she followed.

“I sometimes worry about this streak of masochism you have,” she chided gently. “You’re supposed to be retired, you know.”

John scoffed. “Like you’re any better. How many negotiations have you overseen this year?” Just because the IOC wouldn’t let Elizabeth work for them didn’t mean the rest of the galaxy had any less respect for the Grand Lady of Atlantis. “Besides, a mission with my husband is not the same as dusting off my military uniform.” John unlocked his door and stepped aside to let Elizabeth in. 

“Aleigheta?” he asked.

Her hologram appeared. “Nihtay and I have both checked your quarters and they are secure,” she said.

“Thank God,” Elizabeth said. “So, how bad was it really?”

“Horrible.” John threw himself down on the couch. “The US is playing games with people’s paperwork, blocking communications, and inventing new regulations. The Russians and Chinese are simply banning emigration through military service, holding all spots for government officials, and my Spetsnaz guys had their families threatened. Two of the Saudis have vanished, but we brought their families, and Lorne says his promotions have hit a wall. What the fuck has happened to our planet?”

Elizabeth sighed. “John, they don’t have the same sort of external threat they did before. The Lucian alliance is a complex problem without a clear solution—and one that different countries might choose to handle differently. They are pulling apart as each country tries to chart a course—cooperation with the Lucians, paying protection, fighting, joining. Increasing rivalry should be expected in a complicated political situation.”

“I’m surprised,” John said. He felt like Earth had turned into Genii-lite. “They have holding camps for refugees on dozens of borders.”

“That’s always been true.” Elizabeth sat down next to him and put a hand on his knee.

“They have camps on the US border,” John said miserably. What the fuck was he supposed to do about that? He’d wanted to kidnap everyone out of every center and bring them here, but he didn’t have a right to drag people away from their families and lives and home planet. And that left him helpless and furious. If they’d stayed one more day, plan be damned, John was going to engage in mass kidnappings. Instead he had smuggled pictures to the press, and he wasn’t even sure the press would use them. Bastards.

“I’ve heard,” Elizabeth said. “On the bright side, when we take Atlantis away, some of these fractures may heal as they plot to retake the city and the Pegasus galaxy from us.”

“Yeah, great,” John said dryly. “Actually, you know what, good. They can cast me as the villain and I’ll even buy a set of black leathers. I’ll go the full Ba’al, and they can pull together in mutual hate for all things John Sheppard.”

Elizabeth’s smile was sad. “I’m sorry you had to get involved. You deserve to be remembered as the hero who saved Earth.”

“Hey, no,” John said. “I don’t care what they think about me. This is about Atlantis. I don’t want to sit home doing nothing while you guys do the work. Speaking of, is Teyla coming?”

“No. They’re watching her more,” Elizabeth said.

John frowned. “Who?”

“Never mind.” Elizabeth hand waved the whole issue aside. “Is Larrin going to bring a package?”

“Eight hundred and fourteen people,” John said. “A little over half are Russians, a couple hundred Chinese with the US citizens coming in close behind them. After that… we seemed to have picked up a few people from everywhere. Earth isn’t just violating the treaty on allowing return, they are stomping all over it. Teyla has all the evidence she needs that Earth has broken the treaty. She also has hundreds of Earth citizens to help settle into new lives.”

“She has that down to an art.” Elizabeth sounded distracted. “What excuse were the Americans given when they weren’t allowed to come?”

“It ran the gamut. Anne was told she didn’t retire from Atlantis because her last post was on Earth. Another was told he would have to leave behind any family members who didn’t have US citizenship. Several kept hearing that they’d filled out the wrong paperwork.”

“So, no open refusals. What about the Russian Federation?”

“Veiled threats to family.”

Elizabeth frowned. “China?”

“Not-so-veiled threats.”

Elizabeth’s frown turned into a full-blown grimace.

John’s gut churned. “I know that look. I hate that look. Isn’t this what we were looking for—evidence that Earth is breaking the treaty?”

Elizabeth leaned back and tapped her long fingers against her knee. “We have personal testimony and complaints, but this is not the sort of smoking gun that we can use to force Earth to walk away. At best, we have evidence that we could take to court and initiate a long, ugly legal battle.”

John let his head fall back against the couch. Elizabeth was their expert on Earth, so if she said it wasn’t enough, John had to believe her. “I hate politics.”

Elizabeth didn’t say anything, but she did pat his leg. It was a cold comfort.