Five things that happened to Aiden Ford (before or after he left the expedition)
01. Sitting his grandparents down to explain the decision to join the military. Talking to his grandparents hadn't been difficult. It was more like explaining what they already expected. They wanted him to go to college, learn more about the world, and hopefully come back to help the family. His grandmother had cried over the fact she was losing a grandson she'd raised since birth while his grandfather had gravely nodded in acceptance and pride. The rest of the family had merely shrugged, even when worried, because everything was in flux with an extended group that never had an easy life.
Disappointing them, never going back, was the one true regret that weighed down his mind every night before the siege.
02. The last day before landing in the Pegasus. Once the SGC had cleared the expedition members for a day of thinking, setting things right, filling out important documents and saying goodbye, Aiden went paintballing for part of the day with military friends. Those in his unit had become a surrogate family after he left the Fords. So it was paintball, a huge lunch of his favorite foods, and catching a new flick before shopping for a few things to take to Pegasus. There was flirting with a sales clerk along the way but it hadn't been anything serious. The most fun had been calling his grandparents to say he loved them and he'd be sending them letters because the latest mission would be too remote for a phone. Sergeant Dunal would be sending them out for a while and then Private Jones would send out the rest. All lies but it'd stop them from worrying.
At the end of the day, he was exhausted but happy. Filling out the paperwork only took a few hours before bed. Sleeping proved to be difficult so he repacked and packed everything again, just in case. Leaving something behind wouldn't be easy to pick up without a link to the SGC. He fell asleep four hours before it was time to get up but being in the military had trained him to go on little rest.
03. His first month without the military and how to barter for supplies. Stumbling around whenever a Wraith was unavailable for dinner meant that the Pegasus natives found him to be kinda alarming. He did admit the strange eye and facial features along with the twitching would be off-putting to him as well, but well, this was the same man that'd saved their lives before. Now all he wanted was a few supplies to live from place to place. Watching the farmers’ barter their skills for year-round supplies seemed like a smart plan; one he had eventually followed after week two of smelling rather foul from the hunt and nothing to do about it. Instead of offering to plant or clear out a region, he would offer the ability to chase out any rogue Wraith that used the population for a fast food joint. Worked, too. He ended up with enough supplies to set up base in a nice hidden cave.
Bartering provided a social network of contacts as well: easier to find the loners to gather up a new team to try out the Wraith enzyme on; Doctor McKay would have blathered on about the technological babble, Teyla would have been happy to save her people again, and Major Sheppard would have just enjoyed shooting the bad guys while looking cool. The new people simply followed along. Though being a leader was harder than he thought it would be, too.
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Part 1
Date: 2011-07-05 01:57 am (UTC)01. Sitting his grandparents down to explain the decision to join the military.
Talking to his grandparents hadn't been difficult. It was more like explaining what they already expected. They wanted him to go to college, learn more about the world, and hopefully come back to help the family. His grandmother had cried over the fact she was losing a grandson she'd raised since birth while his grandfather had gravely nodded in acceptance and pride. The rest of the family had merely shrugged, even when worried, because everything was in flux with an extended group that never had an easy life.
Disappointing them, never going back, was the one true regret that weighed down his mind every night before the siege.
02. The last day before landing in the Pegasus.
Once the SGC had cleared the expedition members for a day of thinking, setting things right, filling out important documents and saying goodbye, Aiden went paintballing for part of the day with military friends. Those in his unit had become a surrogate family after he left the Fords. So it was paintball, a huge lunch of his favorite foods, and catching a new flick before shopping for a few things to take to Pegasus. There was flirting with a sales clerk along the way but it hadn't been anything serious. The most fun had been calling his grandparents to say he loved them and he'd be sending them letters because the latest mission would be too remote for a phone. Sergeant Dunal would be sending them out for a while and then Private Jones would send out the rest. All lies but it'd stop them from worrying.
At the end of the day, he was exhausted but happy. Filling out the paperwork only took a few hours before bed. Sleeping proved to be difficult so he repacked and packed everything again, just in case. Leaving something behind wouldn't be easy to pick up without a link to the SGC. He fell asleep four hours before it was time to get up but being in the military had trained him to go on little rest.
03. His first month without the military and how to barter for supplies.
Stumbling around whenever a Wraith was unavailable for dinner meant that the Pegasus natives found him to be kinda alarming. He did admit the strange eye and facial features along with the twitching would be off-putting to him as well, but well, this was the same man that'd saved their lives before. Now all he wanted was a few supplies to live from place to place. Watching the farmers’ barter their skills for year-round supplies seemed like a smart plan; one he had eventually followed after week two of smelling rather foul from the hunt and nothing to do about it. Instead of offering to plant or clear out a region, he would offer the ability to chase out any rogue Wraith that used the population for a fast food joint. Worked, too. He ended up with enough supplies to set up base in a nice hidden cave.
Bartering provided a social network of contacts as well: easier to find the loners to gather up a new team to try out the Wraith enzyme on; Doctor McKay would have blathered on about the technological babble, Teyla would have been happy to save her people again, and Major Sheppard would have just enjoyed shooting the bad guys while looking cool. The new people simply followed along. Though being a leader was harder than he thought it would be, too.
[continued below]