Everything is on fire. Washington and London and Tokyo and Moscow. Newscasters are talking about something called the Ori and Dave doesn’t understand how this could have happened and he doesn’t know what to do, who to call, if there even is anyone. Shirley left and Dad’s dead and he hasn’t heard from John since the funeral.
He hears a car pull up in the drive and runs outside, a sudden wild hope in his chest. A man in a military uniform gets out of the black car. It’s not John.
“Are you Dave Sheppard?” the man asks. Dave nods. “I’m Sergeant Bates. If you come with me, I’ll take you to your brother.” Dave figures he doesn’t really have anything to lose.
An hour later, he’s standing with a small group of people in front of a round circle of blue light called the Stargate and someone is saying how they are on a list of evacuees and if they’ll just step through the wormhole, they’ll be with their loved ones. There is a couple beside him with a young daughter, crying in her mother’s arms. “Shh, Madison, it’s okay,” he hears the mother say. “We’re going to see Uncle Mer.”
Dave steps through the Stargate and comes out somewhere entirely different, with stained glass windows, people and soldiers everywhere. “Dave!” someone shouts. The crowd parts, and suddenly John is in front of him, hugging him like they’re still children, or like it’s the end of the world. “Dave,” John says again, close to his ear, and Dave hugs back tight.
iv.
John calls randomly one night in early October and says, “Hey Dave, um, watch the news tomorrow, okay?” He hangs up before Dave can ask why.
Dave wakes up at 5 am and turns on the TV, but it’s just weather forecast and entertainment recap. At work, he keeps half an eye on the set in the lounge, waiting, and almost has a heart attack when he hears the word explosion. It turns out to just be a filler story about a gas leak.
Finally, the 6 o’clock news has an icon in all caps that reads: BREAKING STORY. The President gives a short, strange speech that only makes sense in context when generals in dress blues start talking about something called the Stargate Program.
They run pictures and video clips that are both horrifying and amazing and then Dave sees John up on a podium with the American flag behind him. “Hey, everyone,” John addresses the huge group of screaming reporters surrounding him, laid-back and cheerful, without the smug superiority of many of the earlier military leaders. Dave knows that John is talking to him. “I’m Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, and I’m the military CO of the best part of the Stargate Program. Atlantis.”
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Four ways Dave Sheppard didn't find out about the Stargate Program, and one way he did. [Part 2]
Date: 2009-02-09 08:34 pm (UTC)Everything is on fire. Washington and London and Tokyo and Moscow. Newscasters are talking about something called the Ori and Dave doesn’t understand how this could have happened and he doesn’t know what to do, who to call, if there even is anyone. Shirley left and Dad’s dead and he hasn’t heard from John since the funeral.
He hears a car pull up in the drive and runs outside, a sudden wild hope in his chest. A man in a military uniform gets out of the black car. It’s not John.
“Are you Dave Sheppard?” the man asks. Dave nods. “I’m Sergeant Bates. If you come with me, I’ll take you to your brother.” Dave figures he doesn’t really have anything to lose.
An hour later, he’s standing with a small group of people in front of a round circle of blue light called the Stargate and someone is saying how they are on a list of evacuees and if they’ll just step through the wormhole, they’ll be with their loved ones. There is a couple beside him with a young daughter, crying in her mother’s arms. “Shh, Madison, it’s okay,” he hears the mother say. “We’re going to see Uncle Mer.”
Dave steps through the Stargate and comes out somewhere entirely different, with stained glass windows, people and soldiers everywhere. “Dave!” someone shouts. The crowd parts, and suddenly John is in front of him, hugging him like they’re still children, or like it’s the end of the world. “Dave,” John says again, close to his ear, and Dave hugs back tight.
iv.
John calls randomly one night in early October and says, “Hey Dave, um, watch the news tomorrow, okay?” He hangs up before Dave can ask why.
Dave wakes up at 5 am and turns on the TV, but it’s just weather forecast and entertainment recap. At work, he keeps half an eye on the set in the lounge, waiting, and almost has a heart attack when he hears the word explosion. It turns out to just be a filler story about a gas leak.
Finally, the 6 o’clock news has an icon in all caps that reads: BREAKING STORY. The President gives a short, strange speech that only makes sense in context when generals in dress blues start talking about something called the Stargate Program.
They run pictures and video clips that are both horrifying and amazing and then Dave sees John up on a podium with the American flag behind him. “Hey, everyone,” John addresses the huge group of screaming reporters surrounding him, laid-back and cheerful, without the smug superiority of many of the earlier military leaders. Dave knows that John is talking to him. “I’m Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, and I’m the military CO of the best part of the Stargate Program. Atlantis.”