My Universe (Stargate: Atlantis John Sheppard)

Chapter 1: Antarctica

(Rising parts 1 & 2)

"Cold, cold, cold, cold...." I trailed off, bouncing lightly on my toes as I stood next to another guard on the freezing cold surface. I sucked in a breath and tucked my nose into my furry parka. I heard the guard beside me snicker and I fought the urge to kick him.

"Find a happy place, find a happy place." I chanted, struggling to hold still. There was a sharp static in my ear and I flinched slightly as I heard Dr. McKay's voice in my ear.

"Lt. Ford, I need you down here right now, please."

I sighed at the sound of the impatience in his voice. I pressed a finger to my ear peice.

"I'm on my way, Dr. McKay." I grinned tapping the small button again to shut it off, realizing that what I said rhymed. I tapped the guard next to me on the arm and nodded as I walked to the elevator.

...

"Yes, Dr. McKay?"

"Right, Lt. I need you to touch that."

"That?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I need you to touch it, Annie."

"But, Rodney, why didn't you just ask the Doc? I'm on guard duty."

"Dr. Beckett doesn't want anything to do with this, he refuses to touch it even though he's going to have to sit in the chair again. You're the strongest Ancient-gene holder here at the moment, so just touch it and you can go back to being a guard."

I sighed and stepped onto the pedestal. I placed my palm on the little hand thingy and suddenly the console lit up, there were little whirring sounds as it powered on. I sighed and stepped back down, turning to Rodney.

"There. Can I go now?" He nodded and I walked back to the elevator. I saw my brother, Aiden, and held up a fist. He grinned and bumped his own against mine. We did a little explosion at the end and I bit my lip to contain my laughter.

I stepped into the elevator and waved to Aiden as it closed, humming softly to myself as I ascended to the surface. I stepped back out and stood at my post, keeping a sharp eye out as the cold slowly returned. After a few hours of staring at white nothingness, there was the faint sound of a plane. I heard the guard beside me radio it in that General O'Neill's helicopter was in sight.

I sighed in relief and grabbed my little orange light things to direct the helicopter to a safe landing. As it came closer, the other guard and I waved our glow sticks. And I couldn't help but wonder how I got stuck with this job, I mean, I had no idea what the hell I was doing with these things.

Back at my old base, I shined my boots, cleaned my quarters, my uniform was clean. I didn't talk back, I passed all my exams, I followed orders. And no CO of mine has ever caught me with my hands in pockets. I don't think I got any bad reports. I mean, except for that one time when I caused a small explosion but that was a long time ago. 

As we continued to wave our sticks, something from the base burst from the glass dome. I whirled around and dropped my sticks, watching as the little yellow glowing thing started heading towards the General's helicopter.

"Something's headed for the chopper!" I screamed at the other guard. I heard him click on his radio but I was too busy pulling out my hand gun and taking aim. I squinted, having a shitload of difficulties seeing the yellow thing. I fired once and caught the tail of the tiny missile, giving the pilot enough time to jerk out of the way as the missile faltered in its path.

"Lt. Ford is attempting to shoot it down." The other guard radioed in. I shot again, the bullet scraped the side of the missile. The missile continued to follow the helicopter around and I was lining up to take another shot.

"Lt. Ford, wait a moment. Dr. Beckett is going to try and shut it off." Dr. Weir ordered through my ear piece. I pressed the button and frowned as I kept aim.

"Carson turned on the... Drone-thing?" I asked, surprised. She radioed a short yes and I watched as the drone got closer to the helicopter.

"Well, wouldn't it be faster if I just shot it down?" I questioned as I heard her speaking soothing words to the Doctor to get him to cooperate.

"It's Ancient technology, Lt. Ford. We don't want to damage it more than it already is." Dr. Weir explained.

"Well, the General's chopper is gonna be really fucked up if Carson doesn't hurry." I huffed, clicking my ear piece. The chopper touched down on the snow, having lost the drone. It suddenly burst from the snow a few yards from them and I tensed, watching the pilot dive out of his side. The General hopped out just as the drone fell from the sky, no longer glowing or making weird noises. It came to a sliding halt in front of the General. I sighed in relief and told the guard to report to Weir. He nodded and clicked his radio again.

I made my way towards them, my gun still held firmly in my hand. I had it cautiously aimed at the drone as I came up on it and the chopper. I looked down at it. It was bigger than I thought it was, with a strange design as well. I tilted my head to the side and kneeled down to examine it.

I heard footsteps crunching on the snow and I turned to see the pilot, then I looked forward to see the General kneeling in front of the drone as well. I immediately stood, straightening and saluting.

"Sir." I addressed, staring forward.

"At ease." The General nodded after saluting. I nodded to the pilot behind me and turned back to see the General looking closely at the drone. I blushed when I saw the bullet hole on its back end. I scratched the back of my head and scrunched up my face when I saw the line that the other bullet carved into the side of the drone when it brushed past. Dr. Weir is not going to be happy. The pilot, who taken off his helmet to reveal unruly dark brown hair and green eyes and a handsome face, traced it. He turned back to me and noticed the gun in my hand, his eyes widened.

"That was you?" He asked in awe. I sheepishly nodded. General O'Neill turned to look at me with raised eyebrows.

"Huh." He said with a contemplative look on his face. He then started back to the base, patting my shoulder on the way. I saw a medical team headed out along with several scientists, who tripped over each other trying to get to the drone. I stepped out of their way and found myself beside the pilot. He eyed me with a strange look on his face and started to walk, keeping a slow pace in front of me.

I tucked my hand gun back into its holster, stepping into the elevator with the pilot and the General along with the medical team and the guard from before. We all stood silently as we descended, I stared forward, trying to ignore the pilot's eyes on me. When the doors opened I stepped out and stood to the side with the other guard, letting everyone pass in front of me and following once they did. The General went to talk with Dr. Jackson, his pilot trailing behind.

As we walked, I noticed Aiden fall into step beside me and I nudged my brother's elbow with my own, earning one back. I fought to hide a smile, he was worried about me. My carefree brother Aiden, was such a worry-wart when it came to me, but he always cheered me on when my crazy plans worked.

"Did you shoot the drone?" He mumbled quietly.

"I totally shot the drone." I mumbled back, as we hid our smiles. We came to a stop behind everyone and Aiden tapped the back of my hand twice, a signal that he was leaving and saying goodbye. We had developed our own secret language during our time in the military, we've basically used it for our entire lives, but a lot more when we are on base.

We aren't generally allowed to act like siblings when we're on the clock except for our secret fist bumps, so we made our own little way to communicate. I tilted my head to the right, a signal that I understood. He walked off, a proud smile on his face.

A small smile crept into my face but it was gone as soon as Dr. Weir's stern gaze met mine.

"Lt. Ford. Would you like to explain this?" She asked, gesturing to the bullet hole in the drone. I saw the scientists giving me dirty looks. I gave an innocent smile and shrugged.

"Oops?"