The Saints of Atlantis 12

[jrd17.livejournal.com]

Title: The Saints of Atlantis
Fandoms: The Boondock Saints/Stargate Atlantis
Rating: PG15/Teen for violence and swearing
Author: Dragonfan

 

It was a week after the party before ART-1 saw the twins and Romeo again.  They were coming back from a trading mission when they ran into the three helping Doctor Zelenka with jumper repairs.  “Radek!  Tell me you aren’t letting him do repairs!” Rodney moaned as he limped over towards the group gathered next to jumper seven.

“Relax Doc,” Romeo said, looking at the mud covered scientist.  “I’m a fucking apprentice and this is my first week on the job.  That means I’ve gotten to the point where I’m handing out tools and thinking on or off when Doctor Z tells me too.  The twins are here to help translate anything that might come up and make like a light switch if I can’t.”

“I am not so stupid or desperate that I would allow him to touch anything at this stage Rodney,” Zelenka said calmly.  “Jumper six is ready for its test flight.  You do remember what we discussed?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll grab an ATA moron who’s flight qualified and take six out as soon as Carson and Elizabeth are done with me,” Rodney said over his shoulder as he followed his equally muddy team on their way to the infirmary.

“What was that about?” Romeo asked curiously.  He’d been on Atlantis long enough to have heard about ART-1’s usual luck off world, so seeing them disheveled, muddy and just downright pathetic hadn’t phased him.  Hell, he even knew that the reason he’d gotten off so lightly with Doctor McKay was because of the exhaustion that poured off of every member of the team.  What he hadn’t expected was the change in Doctor Z’s tone from ‘of course not stupid and the only reason I’m not calling you on your obvious idiocy is because you’re in terrible shape’ to ‘little brother begging big brother to save him from taking out the trash in the dark’.  Conner and Murphy looked up from their seats where they were leaning against the wall of the Jumper Bay, reading the Ancient database on their laptops.  They were curious as well.

Zelenka looked down at the crystals he was testing, ashamed.  “Everything I could ever want is here in Atlantis, so I do not like to go off world very much.  If I am needed I will go, but while ‘gate travel I do not mind because it is over before you know it, jumpers are too much like planes for me to be comfortable traveling in them.  I know too much about how things can go wrong.”

“At least you’ve got a phobia that makes sense,” Murphy pointed out.  “Ours just makes us look like big babies crying for their momma.”

“You’d better make sure the man eats before he takes that flight,” Conner said.  “He’s a good man for all his arrogance and he may forget to eat because he’s already tired.”

“What do you see when you look at Rodney?” Zelenka asked.  It was the question everyone and no one wanted to ask.  What did the twins see when they looked at the people of Atlantis.

Conner smiled at the worry in Zelenka’s voice.  “Doctor Z, pride is a sin, not a crime.  Jesus himself is the only person who has ever lived without sin.”

“We read about him blowing up five sixths of a solar system and while he made the mistake of giving in to pride, it was just that, a mistake.  He would only be guilty of a crime if he’d known what was going to happen and did it anyway in order to harm innocents,” Murphy explained.

Zelenka breathed a sigh of relief.  “We were all a little worried.  We have all made mistakes since coming here that have carried a high price, most often in blood.”

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” Conner quoted.

“And that sure as hell ain’t us,” Murphy said with a smile.  Radek gave a little laugh as he nodded, before leaving the Jumper Bay.

“So what do you think about being a jumper mechanic for the next five years Romeo?” Conner asked.

“Kinda like I found my way home,” Romeo admitted.  “Ever since Doc Beckett gave me that shot, this whole place has been singing to me, but nothing more than these babies.”  He petted seven like it was a horse.

Murphy had gone back to reading the database.  As they were only restricted to places where they could bring their laptops and still be within the city, the brothers had taken to reading the database where ever they happened to be.  While its lack of any sort of organization that they could recognize made things difficult to find, he was beginning to think that the answer was staring him right in the face, for all that he couldn’t see it.  For instance, he was looking for medical information on radiation sickness.  What he had found looked like infertility treatments.  “Hey Conn, it looks like you were right about the Ancients.”

“Right about what?” Conner asked.

Murphy snorted.  “Most of them couldn’t get their fucking dicks up.  I just found a medical center where they’d put blood samples in a machine and out pops a kid nine months later.”

“Hey, mark that man,” Romeo said as he turned around.  “That’s one of the things that Doc Beckett is gonna need.”

“Why?” Murphy asked.  Conner just looked puzzled.

“Because the Genii have been making their nuts glow in the dark, remember?  They’re probably already getting kids born with all sorts of defects.  Doc Beckett could use that info to make sure there’s a next generation without any,” Romeo pointed out.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Conner said, his voice going as grim as it got.  “I was worried about all of those people who’ve been sentenced to death by radiation poisoning.  What about all those innocent little babies Koyla and his wanna-be Nazis have sentenced to lives in bodies that don’t work?”

“We need to take a good look at their politicians,” Murphy said, as grim as his brother.  “I know we’re going to have more on our list eventually than just Koyla, but we should start there.”

Teyla had arrived back in the Jumper Bay, damp from her shower after a quick physical as she hadn’t been injured just dirty, and had heard the discussion between the three men.  “The Athosian people wish to be first,” she announced, her pounding heart not showing on her face.  “Starting with me.”

“What are you talking about lass?” Murphy asked.

“You wish to take up the duties once performed by the mila poppaaem, purging those who are evil from the worlds of Pegasus.  My people wish to be the first you examine.”  Teyla was glad that she had a chance to make this request without any witnesses. 

“But why?” Conner asked.

Teyla drew a deep breath and gathered her courage.  “Many generations ago a Wraith experimented on the people of a now dead world.  The only survivors of those experiments were taken in by the Athosians.  The experiments were genetic, and at least one trait of those experiments was passed on.  Most of the survivors of those experiments went insane.  I am descended from one of those survivors.” Teyla knelt down in front of the brothers and bowed her head. 

“What did they do that makes you think we will see anything left over from those experiments?” Conner asked.

“They were given a gene therapy like the one that Doctor Beckett uses to help those whose ATA genes are recessive.  The Wraith used the DNA of its own people.  I have their DNA,” Teyla admitted.  “It can cause people to do unspeakable things.”

“Lass, there’s nothing wrong with you that we can see,” Murphy said, placing a hand on her shoulder.  “You’re a good person, but I think we just found something in the database that might help you and those like you.”  He pulled his laptop back into his lap and showed her a map of Atlantis.  “Here,” he pointed towards a room that had not yet been explored, “is where the Ancients created their children when they needed to use technology.  I’m sure there must be a way there for the Wraith DNA to be taken out.”

“And as long as Gretchen agrees, Murphy and I’ll donate our DNA so that you can have children.  I know you’ll make sure that they know their heritage so that if they’re called they’ll know what to do,” Conner reassured her.  Murphy nodded.  It was the one thing that they were concerned about.  No one knew exactly how God chose them to be shepherds; save that it was only their family that was chosen. 

“I will not cheat you!” Teyla said sternly.  “If the technology still works, if you are granted permission, and if Doctor Beckett can make the technology work, a fair trade must be arranged.”

“TEYLA?  ARE YOU IN HERE?” called Elizabeth.

“OVER HERE!” she called in return.

“Oh there you are,” Elizabeth said, eyeing the men with Teyla.  “I need your report for Aldouka.  Ronon just growled and stalked off, and John and Rodney are still in with Doctor Beckett.”

Teyla sighed.  “The season of storms came early.  The people of that world have already retreated to their winter camps.  We found nothing but mud and treacherous ground.  We fell down a lot,” she admitted.

“Well, at least no one was shooting at you this time,” Elizabeth tried to offer some comfort.

“Yes, and there were no Wraith either.  Not even they would want to be out in that mess.”  Teyla turned back to the twins.  “Has Major Lorne certified you as pilots yet?  The stronger your ATA gene, the easier it seems to be to learn how to fly the puddlejumpers.”

Romeo tried to stifle his amusement, but failed utterly.  Conner and Murphy glared at their friend.  “We just got done with our solo flights,” Conner admitted.  “That’s why we’re practically sitting in each other’s laps.  I understand that Lorne and Sheppard need to know how long we can be separated, but eight hours was very difficult.”

“Then if you could fly Ronon and I to the mainland, you could see what we have to offer as trade for your seed,” Teyla said.

“We’ll take you, but we already figured out what a good trade would be,” Conner said.  “We’d like your people to help us set up the chapel for our religion.  We’d need wood workers, blacksmiths, and candle makers to work on it.”

“What religion do you belong to?” Elizabeth asked, remembering what John had told her about them.

“We’re Irish Catholic,” Murphy said.  “Do you think it would be possible to get a priest out here?  Five years is a long time to save up for confession, not to mention we’re used to going to church every day.”

“Actually I had been thinking about it.   Would you mind if we ended up with a Chaplin instead?”  It was sort of a trick question.  Elizabeth had no doubts that she could get a Catholic priest out to Atlantis, but would they accept any other religious faiths?  It wouldn’t be fair to bring in a priest just for them, and there were other religions represented among the expedition members.

“Not at all,” Conner said.  “As long as we can go to confession, we don’t mind.”  Murphy nodded.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Elizabeth said, surprised.  She shouldn’t have been.  She knew that John didn’t tell her things were fact without making sure that’s what they were.   She did hope though that whatever seeds the McManus twins were trading were worth what they needed.

“Jumper three is up for a trip,” Romeo said.  “You can go as soon as everyone is ready.”

“Meet back here in an hour?” Murphy asked as he and his brother stood up.  “That’ll give us time to file a flight plan with Atlantis control.”  Everyone agreed and left to get ready save for Elizabeth who had the last two members of ART-1 to track down for their reports on mud world.